3 Ways to Be Successful in Marketing Your Business by:Kristie Lorette

If you make the wrong decision in your marketing efforts

, it can cost you major bucks. It can also keep you from achieving your marketing goals-increasing business. While no one marketing method works for every business, there are ways to ensure that whatever marketing method you use works at the optimal level.

1. Define your market. Your product or service can't be everything to everyone. Whatever product or service you're selling, there is a specific group of people, businesses, or organizations you should be focusing on for your marketing efforts. Narrowing your marketing efforts allows you to spend your marketing dollars wisely and helps you define the business you're in. For example, if you're a web designer, you may be able to design a website for any type of business. Your marketing budget, however, does not allow you to reach everyone, so in order to spend your money wisely, you focus on marketing to financial service firms. Since you specialize in financial service firm website design, when a financial service firm is looking for a website designer for their next online project, they'll know right away who to call-you!

2. Create a marketing plan. It may seem like a daunting task, but if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. When you write out a marketing plan, it helps you to put a plan in place. This plan further helps you to consistently market to your target audience. If you hold a seminar or send out a marketing email sporadically, the likliehood of your marketing efforts paying off are slim to none. Marketing success comes from consistently and constantly getting in front of the right people and then converting these people into your customers.

3. Give it time. Rome was not built in a day and neither is a successful marketing program. Consistency and repetition pay off when it comes to marketing. Many businesses make the mistake of sending out emails and direct mail pieces for a couple of weeks and when they don't get the response they're expecting, they throw up their hands in disgust and deem marketing a waste of time. To truly determine if your marketing efforts are successful, you have to give it six months to a year of consistent marketing before you can say if your marketing method is successful or not.

Make the right decision in your marketing efforts and use your marketing budget wisely. It's the right way to achieve your marketing goals and increase business. While no one marketing method works for every business, if you stick to these three marketing methods, you'll do what is right for your business.

About the author

Kristie Lorette is a freelance writer that specializes in helping businesses and entrepreneurs create copy that sizzles, motivates, and sells. She is also the editor of The Inky Dot, a bi-monthly e-newsletter that offers tips, tricks, and advice on writing and marketing tips for businesses. You can learn more about Kristie and subscribe to The Inky Dot at www.studiokwriting.com.

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