Today’s guest post comes from David Murphy. David is the founder of Bewater Marketing Concepts. Bewater Marketing Concepts specializes in working with small businesses not only to survive, but to thrive using simple and very effective marketing strategies. Prior to Bewater Marketing Concepts, David was part of the Sage Software and Intuit teams working with resellers on creating a customized marketing plan, then helping with the launching, tracking, and optimization of each individual campaign.
Believe it not, we’re half way through 2009. So be honest, how are the business goals and resolutions you set at the beginning of the year coming along? Whether it’s your business, or your function at the business, a lot of goals focus around increasing revenue.
There’s something about a New Year’s resolution that get’s people excited. It’s like a brand new start. If you’ve lost track of those goals (and your excitement) think of the second half of 2009 as another brand new start. One very important thing to remember is that your competition is as motivated as ever and moving full steam ahead!
Here are five ways to keep you energized and also keep the lead pipeline full.
- Work from a list: Create daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Prioritize your list each day.
- Keep your head in the game by reading other marketing newsletters and educational pieces. A couple I really like are:Marketing Over Coffee
Sales Round Up
Duct Tape Marketing
and of course Hall Web Services! - Network, Network, Network! Get involved with local trade organizations. Present whenever possible. This keeps you sharp and also strengthens you as the local expert.
- Take a step back: Look at things like your company’s phone hold music or what the outside and inside of your office looks like. Remember, all these are forms of marketing as well. Do they speak to your clients and prospects? Also take a look at your company’s core message, elevator speech, differentiating statement…whatever you want to call it. Do you have it down cold? Does every employee in your company also have this down cold, WORD FOR WORD?
- Keep a positive attitude! The #1 question we get asked is: “What are other companies doing that’s working?” To be perfectly honest, besides smart and consistent marketing, there’s no silver bullet. The only piece that holds true across the board is: companies who have a positive attitude toward their marketing, more often than not, seem to be the successful ones.
It’s vitally important to stay excited about marketing. After all, your competition is!
David Murphy
Bewater Marketing Concepts