Sometimes it is as important for business owners to understand what not to do as it is to know what they need to do.  It is also important to remember that not every tactic or strategy is right for every business.  What can turn out to be the worst marketing advice for one business may be marketing gold to another.  Having said that, there are some pieces of marking advice that qualify as the world’s worst for any business.

1. Focus on the Products

Countless business owners have been advised to do things like “Build a better mousetrap,” or “Just make it and people will buy it.”  Michael Greaney, of Universal Values Media discovered that focusing on the product isn’t always the best advice. After spending all of their money on developing their product, they didn’t have any money left for getting the word out about it.

The fact is; even companies with the best products in the world, (such as Apple) use marketing and advertising to get the word out about their product.

2. Directory and Phone Book Listings

One of the biggest challenges all small businesses face is figuring out which channels are the right match for their business.  Spending valuable marketing money on ineffective channels is bad news for any business.  Ryan Schmudlach of Wisconsin Canoe Company said that he was advised to invest a significant portion of his startup funds in phone book listings because “That’s where people will find you.”  But Ryan went with his knowledge of where his customers hung out and invested in adwords instead.  He’s glad he did because his business has doubled in sales every year since.

Martha De la chaussee from Advocate Tax Group LLC has a different story.  She paid for expensive online directory  listings, participated in social media platforms, and invested in several different kinds of advertising mediums.  None of these channels provided her with the leads, prospects, clients, or cashflow expected.  Honing in on where her niche customers were and finding ways to reach them directly provided far better results with less effort and expense.

This is a great example of how things that work for one business can be ineffective for others and emphasizes the need to laser focus on your niche.

3. Give it Away for Free

Another thing I hear about all the time from small business owners is that “everyone” in their field said that if they did this one thing, they would have all the clients they could need.  Unfortunately, that is rarely true for any business and putting all your eggs in one basket can leave you with a lot of eggs but no cash flow.   Zenobia Garrison, of Success Transitions, took this advice when she was starting out in her coaching business.  She focused on building private clients by offering free sessions which was touted as the fastest way to positive cash flow and a full client list.  But without a specific focus on the right niche, she discovered that spent a lot of time helping people for free without gaining a single client.   Once she focused her marketing efforts on the right prospects and adopted marketing strategies that fit that niche she started to see results.

This is a great example of why it is important to understand who your target market is because even though offering free sessions is a good tactic, it doesn’t work for all prospects.

4. Social Media Marketing

Another area where bad advice can really take a bite out of a marketing tactic’s benefit is when it leads to using a great platform for the wrong thing or in the wrong way.  Ian Aronovich, the CEO of GovernmentAuctions.org made this mistake.  Based on the advice from others, the company initially used its social media presence for promotion purposes only.  Posting to their Facebook page meant plugging the business and linking to the website.  They found it difficult to build a following or expand their fan base because they weren’t doing anything to engage or encourage interaction with their fans.  Once they changed gears and started using contests, giveaways, and casual interactions with fans to give people a reason to “Like” them, they were able to build a valuable social media community.

This is a great example of how the right thing used the wrong way can be just as ineffective as doing the wrong thing or nothing at all.

5. Guerilla Marketing

While guerilla marketing can be effective in attracting attention to your business, it may not be the attention you desire.  Merrick Pickens from Oak Mortgage Group in Dallas, Texas was advised to “Pay some dude to tattoo your logo on his chest and go workout at the gym where he can recruit for you as a walking billboard. It might be expensive but if you pay him a commission he can get it removed later.”

6. Websites

Michael Esser, copywriter and author for hire was told “build it they will come.” What he discovered was that just because you have a website doesn’t mean people will find it.  It takes time to build content and gain top search engine rankings.  And while having a website is one tactic in your marketing strategy, it’s not the only thing you should do.

Lesson learned. Diversify your marketing.

Can you relate to these stories of the worst marketing advice received?  I know I can.  The lesson for me are don’t take advice from people who don’t know your business, your customers or your market.  Also, I suggest that before you invest heavily in any marketing strategy, test it out first to see if it works.

Have your own “worst marketing advice” story?  Share it here!

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free e-book called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Tiffany Manley (blogger, homeschooling mom, and one of my awesome 23 Kazoos marketing team members) about how Girl Scouts go about selling so many boxes of cookies.  Tiffany’s daughter Ava, who is 9 years old, sold 500 boxes of Girl Scout cookies last year which is pretty phenomenal.  This year, Ava has set her sights even higher and is working hard to achieve her goal of selling 750 boxes.  Ava, along with four other girls is part of Troop 763 from Chelsea, Alabama, have already pre-sold 1000 boxes of cookies for this season.    With pre-sales that high, it’s no doubt Ava and the other scouts will meet or exceed the sales goals they have set for themselves.

So what is the secret to their success?  I asked Tiffany for some insight to share with small business owners.   Tiffany explained that “They don’t want to fail; they work really hard to reach their goal.”  She added that she lets Ava run the cookie sale the way she wants to because “it’s her own little business.”  With the support of their parents and their eyes on the prize, the Troop comes up with their own ideas about how to market the cookies and increase their sales.  When I heard what Ava and her troop were doing to sell their cookies I thought, “These girls are brilliant!”   I immediately wanted to share their marketing practices with you.

Here’s how they do it.

1. They set a goal. (The number of boxes they want to sell.)
2. They have rewards. (Prizes for each level of sales)
3. They formulate a marketing plan to reach their goal.

To come up with their plan, Ava and her mom visited retail and grocery stores in their local community.  Ava noted what she liked and didn’t like about what the stores were doing and used the best of their ideas to create the Troop’s marketing plan.

Here’s their Girl Scout Cookie Marketing plan.

1. Talk to everyone you know.

When the order forms come out, the girls hit the streets to visit friends and neighbors and ask them to order a couple boxes of cookies.  Business owners can do this too by getting out of the office and talking to people wherever they go about their business.

2. Go to where the most customers are.

The girls visit area businesses and ask the business owner and employees to buy cookies.  One of their marketing tips: Business owners buy more cookies.  I think it is an act of solidarity as small business sales teams have to stick together.  Business owners can benefit from this strategy by doing the same thing, going to networking events, attending chamber of commerce events, and putting themselves in the path of prospective customers at every opportunity.

3. Build a customer list.

The girls keep their order forms from previous years so that when the new order forms arrive, they hit the phones and call all previous customers to ask them how many boxes they want to order.  Customers from previous years will refuse to buy cookies from other Girl Scouts because they have an existing relationship with the Girl Scout who calls them personally every year. This strategy helps secure repeat business but also frees up the Troop members’ time which allows them to market to new customers.  Most business owners know how important it is to build their customer and prospect lists; this example from the Girl Scouts just reinforces the importance of list building and highlights how much difference a personal touch can make.

4. Boost sales by bundling.

The girls tie three boxes of cookies together, wrap them in a bow, and sell them as a unit.  Even without a reduction in price, this increases the total number of boxes they sell.  Business owners can use similar tactics to bundle products and services in complimentary packages and increase their sales.

5. Tie marketing promotions to holidays.

To attract more business and differentiate themselves from other Scout Troops, the girls are turning their bundles of cookies into special Valentine’s Day bundles wrapped in Valentine’s Day ribbon complete with a Valentine’s Day card.  They make it easy for buyers like me who have little imagination and even less time to shop for the holiday.  Business owners can capitalize on this strategy all year long by tying promotions to the various holidays and using the promotions to generate business buzz and attract new customers.

6. Support a charity.

The girls are also taking donations of money that is used to buy cookies to send to the troops overseas.  This is a win for everyone.  It creates good will for the Girl Scout Troop, offers people a creative way to support the troops, gives soldiers a little taste of home, and helps the Troop sell more cookies.  This is a perfect example of how business owners can do good deeds for their community in a way that also boosts their bottom-line.

7. Be prepared for objections.

One of the most common objections the girls hear is “I’m on a diet.”  Their standard reply is, “Well that’s okay, we are also collecting donations so we can send boxes of cookies to the troops overseas.”  This strategy has a 90% success rate at converting an objection to a sale, according to Tiffany.  The girls have learned that if they stick with it, and keep asking, most people will buy at least one box.  There are two great takeaways here for small business owners.  First, be ready to answer objections.  Second, perseverance pays off.

8. Dare to be different.

Like other Troops around the country, the girls set up booths in front of local businesses with lots of foot traffic to sell cookies.  The Troop took this sales tactic to the next level by creating “Girl Scout Cookie Billboards” out of strapping and empty boxes that they walk around in to funnel customers to the table.   This is the kind of “out of the box” thinking that can be sales gold for small businesses.

9. Have a contest.

The girls set up a drawing for a free box of cookies at their booth which helps pull people over to the table where the girls can talk to them and make the sale.  As part of the drawing, they collect email addresses and get permission to email people when their order is in or when cookies come out next year.  This is a great example of how business owners can use a low-cost contest to generate interest for their business and build their customer list for future promotions.

10. Follow up after the sale.

The girls don’t stop after the cookie orders have been delivered to customers.  They send handwritten notes to each customer thanking them for buying cookies and letting them know that they have extra boxes for sale in case they want to buy any more.  They sell lots of extra cookies this way.  And the handwritten thank you notes go a long way in cementing the relationships the girls have built with their customers.  This is another great example of how powerful personalized service can boost sales.  Small business owners can mimic this type of tactic to build customer relationships and attract future sales.

Girl Scout cookies may seem easy to sell because they support great programs, are sold by cute little girls in green uniforms, and they sell a product that most people love.  However, Ava and the girls from Troop 763 in Chelsea, Alabama, are proof that it’s having a marketing plan along, and paying attention to details,  can make the difference between an average cookie selling season and a Troop of cookie selling superstars.

Small businesses, especially ones like the ones at my local farmer’s market, have a special place in my heart.  I immediately wanted to go give them marketing tips to help them be successful.  My mind raced with ideas for how these small businesses could spread the word about what they do, bring in new customers, and secure repeat business.

What I realized was that there was one marketing strategy that they were missing out on that would make a significant impact on their business, and that marketing strategy is email marketing.

Customer and prospect email addresses are one of the most important assets a small business can have.  Because email, unlike social media, goes directly to the consumer.  Social media on the other hand is a hit and miss proposition.  Even though you may have 100 fans on Facebook, the actual number of people who see your marketing message is only a fraction of that.  While you can’t guarantee that people will open your emails, if you have their correct email address you can at least make sure that all of the people on your list are receiving your message.

In order to use email marketing effectively in your business, you need ways to gather email addresses of current and prospective customers.  Here are some of the best ways small businesses can gather email addresses.

1. Give Something Away

Everyone loves to win free things and one of the best techniques for getting people to give you their email address is to have a free drawing for one of your products.

2. Offer an Educational Opportunity

Do you have a special skill or is there something customers and prospects would love to learn that you can teach?  Hosting a free online webinar or in person seminar where people have to register, including their email, to attend, is another way to gather email addresses.  As an added bonus, this can boost your image as an expert in your field.

3. Create a Preferred Customer List

Let customers sign-up on a piece of paper in your shop, stand, or stall to be preferred customers to get advance notice of sales and special discounts and promotions.

4. Share Something Special

If you are known for your ability to grow amazing tomatoes, write an ebook about how to grow tomatoes and offer it for free to anyone who signs up.  You can even do this offline at a farm stand without electricity by having people sign-up and sending the ebook via email.

5. Appreciate Your Customers

Remember, everyone likes to win and when you position it as a monthly customer appreciation drawing, you give customers the chance to win while letting them know you appreciate their business and gathering their email addresses.  It is a win for everyone.

The key to effective email marketing is getting the email addresses of your customer base.  With a good email list, you can send personal emails, a regular newsletter, and announcements about sales and promotions.   Marketing experts say you generally need to connect with someone seven times to make a sale, email marketing can make it easier to reach out and connect with your customers.

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free e-book called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably said this statement many times: “If I had only known then what I know now.” I understand that mistakes are part of the process, but do I have to make so many of them!?! Experience has made me a fast learner and now, more than ever, I pay attention to those who have gone ahead of me so I can learn from their mistakes and hopefully not make so many on my own. Maybe you do too.

To gain some more insight, I asked business owners who have been in business five years or more the same question, “If you would have known then what you know now, what would you have done differently and why?” Their answers were not only insightful, but inspiring and I think you will really appreciate what they had to say.

So here you go; 29 (plus one) insights from business owners like us on what they would have done differently had they known.

We would love to hear your answers too, please leave a comment and let us know, “What would you have done differently in your business if you would have known then what you know now.”

Enjoy!

1. Hire Slowly, Fire Quickly

Oh man, I wish I would have remembered this one every day when I woke up. There is little of greater importance than having the right people on your team(s) and when you find out an apple has gone bad or you have found a worm in a seemingly perfect apple, get rid of it ASAP! The old adage is often true, ’some dogs can’t hunt’.

Thanks to Ben Sayers, VoIP Supply, LLC.,VoIP phone systems, in business 8 years

2. Be More Open to ChangeTechnology and trends are constantly evolving: one day you are set in your Facebook ways and the next day Pinterest is the new phenomenon. Social media has changed the way we do business and how startups utilize it is integral to your success. However, if someone told me this during social media’s infancy, I would have called them crazy. I let all my years in business bias my first impression of social media and thought it was simply a fad. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Social media has changed the way we do business and has set the bar for the way we measure success. If companies are not willing to adapt, they will never become an industry leader or experience great successes.

Thanks to Jim Joyal,, SHIFT Communications, PR and social media agency, in business 9 years

3. Be the Boss Not the Buddy

Don’t be friends with employees. When you try to be too nice it makes it easy for others to take advantage of you, and that’s been true of about 80 percent of everyone I hired in the past. There was a time when I would give a job to almost anyone who asked, regardless if they were qualified or not, because back then I had the capital and I did not want to be the person who turned them down. Most of the money I lost when I started out was due to being overly tolerant of inefficient employees. It’s fine to be friendly with your staff, but you have to set boundaries and be willing to be a firm boss — whether you have three or 300 people working for you.

Thanks to Cathy Ward, BridesVillage.com, wedding accessories e-commerce retailer, 11 years in business

4. Lock in Your Location

Had I known then what I know now, I would have done everything possible to purchase my own business property. Last year, the rent for my original office, located in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn doubled, necessitating my having to move during my income tax preparation season.  If I had to rent a property, the lease would have included a “lease to own” clause and have a termination date during my slow season.

Thanks to Eustace L. Greaves Jr., Greaves Financial Services, Insurance and Income Tax Preparation Services, 17 years in business

5.  Start with Sustainably in Mind

In hind sight I would have focused much more deeply on a sustainable way to generate deal flow and new leads. No matter how large you think your network is (mine is large) it is not large enough and although power networking/word of mouth is the best source of leads of all the advisor/coach /consultant/soloprenuers I know almost none are reaching their personal income goals. What I am doing differently is focusing on the internet. I have just launched an e-commerce site and hope to launch a content site in the next 90 days. Historically my advisory services were delivered on site at companies located regional. I will continue with my advisory work with about 1/3 of my time, but focus on national and to a lesser extent international clientele via phone or Skype.

Thanks to Ajax Greene, On Belay Business Advisors Inc., business advising, 7 years in business

6. Know the Value of Vision

I would have placed an earlier emphasis to define the vision, mission and values of our company. It is important for the value of our employees to be aligned with my vision for our Company.

Thanks to Jason Maxwell, MassPay Payroll Services, payroll services company, in business for 8 years

7. Eliminate Distractions

Having owned several companies, I would have eliminated my distractions sooner than I did, e.g. real estate investments (rentals), buying and selling a laundromat, renovating homes, etc. While all the ventures were profitable they took away from focusing on building a brand that ultimately would have had more value than the combined profits of each transaction not related to directly building that brand.

Thanks to Joseph Carvelli, Retail Ingenuity, retail inventory and sales forecasting, in business for 12 years

8. Set Aside Significant Saving

I assumed if I built a good product, they would come! I had no idea how costly being in business would be, the amount of money I needed to succeed, or the toll the financial strain would take.

I am blessed that I had the tenacity and the strength to succeed despite overwhelming odds. If I could go back to the beginning, I would make sure I had significant savings set aside, or capital from another source. I cannot overstate the importance of being properly funded!

Thanks to Regina McRae, Grandma’s Secrets, dessert delivery, in business for 18 years

9. Put More Emphasis on Processes

If I had known then what I did now I would have put a lot more time into creating processes.  I find that with the majority of businesses these fundamentals often get overlooked and sometimes ignored completely. To me this is utter madness! A company can succeed or fail just by their processes. We find that we avoid 99% of mistakes because we process them out. This not only avoids unnecessary errors and client issues, but actually makes the company as a whole more efficient.

Thanks to Ben Norman, Koozai Ltd., UK based digital marketing agency , in business for 6 years

10. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

I would have delegated more and not tried to do everything myself. Although it does take time to build relationships with your staff, I waited too long to delegate certain responsibilities that could have been done by someone else. Giving responsibilities does much to validate a staff member’s gifts and also demonstrates a deeper level of trust in the employer / employee relationship. Letting go of certain tasks has been difficult for me but I have come to realize that the more responsibilities I entrust to others in their areas of expertise, the lighter I feel, the more confident a staff member becomes and greater things are achieved by their efforts than could have been done otherwise.

Thanks to Stephanie Ciccarelli, Voices.com, online voiceover talent marketplace, in business for 8 years

11. Let Go and Let it Grow

For many years I had to know everything and do everything. I have discovered that other people and organizations can do things better and at a lower cost than doing it myself.  Letting go has enabled my business to grow and prosper and made my life much easier.

Thanks to Bob Shirilla, Keepsakes Etc. and Simply Bags in business for 30 years

12. Avoid Delaying Difficult Decisions

My biggest lesson over the years was learning that sometimes decisions had to be made for the good of the company, which sometimes meant disciplining or dismissing employees. In particular, when the economy started going into recession, I had to fire one of my closest friends in order to keep the company going. I should have done it sooner. As a result of my delay, it took a while to regain the company’s financial stability. Making difficult decisions is part of owning a business. Owners have to be willing to do it.

Thanks to Susan Southerland, Just Marry, Just Right DM and The Susan Southerland Secret, event planning, destination management, and small business consulting, in business for 20 years

13. Start with a Solid Team

I would have started with a solid business plan, hired an account, and started with a solid team around me.  There are not many businesses that are successful with one person wearing so many hats. Do what you do best and allow others to contribute what they do best to help your business grow.

Thanks to Amore Leighton Black, Apples & Oranges Public Relations, public relations and marketing, in business 7 years

14. Charge What I am Worth

I would have charged more! I was so excited to be working for myself doing something I loved. I’ve never been a person who chased profits -that’s not why I do what I do. But I didn’t do my homework and when I started, I charged pretty close to what I was making hourly at the jobs I’d left behind. That was all fine dandy except when working for myself, that wasn’t enough to cover things like taxes, health insurance, and so on. And also, I was definitely undervaluing my services. I was booked ALL the time, yet I could never seem to get ahead. Even though my clients all loved me and thanked me for my work, I doubted my value, and that was definitely reflected in my pricing.

Thanks to Alaia Williams, One Organized Business, professional organizing and small business systems consulting, in business 5 years

15. Focus on Building Relationships

We spent a fortune of money on advertising when we started out (with unimpressive results). We then changed our focus on relationship building with existing clients and organic search maximization vs. paid ads.  Now we see incredible returns in the form of referrals, and new business at a cost that is a fraction of what we used to spend. We needed to learn the hard way but if I knew then…

Thanks to Ben Schusterman, ElJet Aviation Services - private jet charter service, in business for 5 years

16. Start with More Money, Less Friends

I would start with about three-times as much cash as I thought I needed. I’d also be cautious around hiring friends/family.

Thanks to Heidi Ganahl, Camp Bow Wow, doggy day & overnight care, in business for 12 years

17. Use a Better Business Model

If we knew then what we know now, we would have started with the business model that we changed to about two years ago. Before the recession hit, we charged $39.95 for an annual membership with no free trial, and no automatic rebilling at the end of their membership term. During the recession, the rate in which we generated new members waned and we reached a growth plateau. To combat our stagnation we decided to change our revenue model to a free trial and a monthly rebilling combination. We implemented a three-day free trial and then a recurring $18.95 monthly fee after the three days expired. We are doing very well as a company now, but in retrospect, we should have thought about rebilling from the get go.

Thanks to Ian Aronovich, GovernmentAuctions.org, providing information about government auctions of seized and surplus merchandise

18. Hire Employees Sooner

One thing I would do differently if I were starting my training business today would be to make my first hire sooner. Operating on shoestring (and a broken one at that), I originally had to do everything myself. The thrift that made it possible for me to survive and then thrive in the beginning quickly became a hindrance when I delayed hiring people who could do any number of specific tasks easier, cheaper and far better than I could.

Thanks to Barry Maher, Barry Maher & Associates, motivational speaker, leadership trainer

19. Dream Bigger

I would have dreamed bigger from the start. In the beginning, my focus was on serving clients in my own Puget Sound backyard, even though successful people who were familiar with my publicity expertise and storytelling gifts were telling me to think nationally or globally. If I had it to do over again, I would have put more emphasis on national and global reach of my message right from the start.  Lead with juicier, higher value, and leveraged offerings first. When I was just starting out, I put a lot of emphasis on creating the absolute best $10 product about do-it-yourself publicity that I could create. Yes, the Media-Savvy-to-Go Publicity Tips Booklets have sold by the thousands since debuting in August of 2006. However, it is so much easier to make a bigger impact for more people and my own balance sheet by leading with a juicer, higher value offering. Today, the Broadcast Your Brilliance Webinar Series and Bye-Bye Boring Bio PLUS! Programs deliver great value for many around the nation and the world at price points that make it a whole lot easier to make a good living. Whether you create an entry level product or something much more, you still have to create all the systems to support those offerings. By leading with a deeper offering, the rewards are greater for all.

Thanks to Nancy Juetten, Authentic Visibility, PR tools and training, in business 11 years

20. Approach Additional Services More Cautiously

I’ve been in business as a web designer for 18 years. The main thing I would have done differently knowing then what I’ve learned along the way is I would approach any add-on services very cautiously. I used to briefly check out add-on services such as hosting, domain name management, and others, and then I would jump in whole-heartedly. Most of the time, it worked out fine for me. However, the occasional missteps cost me dearly.  As I learned more about running a business, I also learned through hard knocks that it is much better to approach additional services methodically and cautiously. I don’t put a lot of funding and energy into them until I’m sure it is the right thing to offer. I’ve learned it is easier to resist the urge to jump at opportunities than it is to extract myself from the occasional quagmire!

Thanks to Jim Smith, Blarneystone, LLC web design, in business for 18 years

21. Give More Away Sooner and Speak More

Network a lot more in person (the Internet was in its commercial infancy) and hunt for in-person speaking engagements, even if they are not paid.  Good writing alone is not enough to convince clients to hire you. They want to hear you speak on your topic of expertise, and when you help business owners with their problems or concerns, they are more likely to hire you and/or to recommend you to others who hire you. I once helped a business owner write something for his church at no charge, and with another small assignment that paid very little. That led to a long-term writing assignment that exceeded $40,000 in fees. Sow seeds of good will and interest through your networking, speaking, and help. Continue to do this even after your business is successful because it leads to more success.

Thanks to Candace Talmadge, Talmadge Writing Services, writing services, in business for 29 years

22. Been More Focused on This Business

I wouldn’t have started it out of my apt.  I would have “cleared the decks better” by parsing other interests that I was juggling at the same time. I would have learned more about guarding a business (legal, insurance, LLC/Scorp/Inc).  I would not have spent so much money on a business plan.

Thanks to Todd Greene, HeadBlade men’s grooming, in business 12 years

23. Don’t Do It All Yourself

I would have gotten an assistant, accountant and web coder much earlier. I did it all myself for 8 years in my business and have only been hiring assistance for the last two years. I knew it would free up my time to hire people - and what I didn’t know was how much it would free up my mind and let me do better, more powerful work along the way. I’ve been able to create more products and do more thought leadership since getting those little tasks off my plate… and if I’d done it earlier, I can only imagine how amazing things would be.

Thanks to Erin Ferree, BrandStyle Design, branding for small businesses, in business for 10 years

24. Look Before Leaping

What I know now is the huge cost of marketing and promotion required to build demand. We started out expecting to sell retailers and distributors and attend trade shows and travel to customers and sell and spent two years on that path. Then we took a hard right and for past two years we have evolved into an Internet retailer running DRTV (Direct Response TV) infomercials with 85% of our business now direct to the consumer. Social media was never in the business plan either now it’s vital.

What would I do differently knowing what I know now? (1) Keep my old job as long as possible and not leapt off the cliff (but it was a nice feeling) (2) Anticipate 5 years to break-even, and set aside “don’t touch” money.

Do I regret jumping off the cliff? No way. As I tell my wife- don’t look down, keep looking up!

Thanks to Brad Barrett, GrillGrate, LLC, grill surface for better food, in business 5 years

25. Pick More Profitable Partnerships

I would have used deeper discernment in picking partners/vendors/joint ventures, even markets. I picked some doozey’s AND after the fact, saw all the red flags.

Thanks to Shawne Duperon, ShawneTV, media coach and production company, in business 11 years

26. Focus on Face to Face Interactions and New Technology

We learned a lot of lessons in starting our company. For example, we would never produce four-color mailers that are sent to mass prospective clients. We’ve learned that face-to-face interaction and building the business relationship is key. (This was pre-Internet). We also learned that a lot of mailing lists are not updated. This endeavor was expensive and resulted in a poor ROI. When the Internet came around, we certainly would have jumped on this new technology much earlier — developing a website much sooner. It’s an amazing tool to get your message out to the world to sell products and services with visuals. We try to make it much easier for clients to find us rather than we search for a ‘needle in a haystack’ to find prospective clients.

Thanks to Greg Jenkins, Bravo Productions, event planning and production company, in business 25 years

27. Plan For Growth, Be More Discerning in Following Advice

As the owner of a driving school in New York City, my first big regret is that I did not get all other licenses (Motorcycle, Bus, Truck license) earlier in life. I just pass my truck road test Tuesday January 17 2012.  Now I have to wait two more years before I can expand to teach Truck Lessons thanks to NYS requirement. Secondly, I was too naive and trusted many so called experts that convince me how to run my business only to find out they were wrong.  I wasted a lot of money trying ideas that did not work. 3.  In the real estate boom time I should have purchase commercial real estate to accommodate my growing business.  Now it’s impossible to get a loan.  I would have preferred to spend a bit more money to secure a property.

Thanks to Rajendra Hariprashad, Ena’s Driving School, in business for 8 years

28. Leverage People, Build a System

If I knew then what I know now I would have invested in two areas. One, I would have developed other people and brought them into the business sooner. No one is good at everything. Even Michael Jordon had a coach and team mates. One of my friends started a business five years ago and has 700 people working for him today. The more you can leverage other people and create a ladder for them to achieve what they want to then the more successful you will be. Find people you can trust and learn to work effectively with them. My business is much stronger today because I have a strong team.

Secondly, every business needs a system to build a pipeline that is consistent and measurable. I have depended too much in my business on my farming method which is delivering exceptional value to people I meet and eventually they and their friends become clients. I wish I would have understood how to build visibility for my business in my target market like I do today. I am beginning to develop a hybrid model that is both farming and hunting which I believe in the long run will deliver greater growth to my business. My approach that involves taking a prospect from visibility, credibility, and trust is proving to be highly effective. When people work with me they become more than clients they become friends because I am invested in their success. Everyday owning a business is a learning experience. I am very happy it is what I have chosen to pursue in my life.

Thanks to John Paul Engle, Knowledge Capital Consulting in business 10 years

29. Focus on Building Relationships with Customers

When I first started out, like most new veterinarians, my prime concern was my patients and their care. What I failed to fully appreciate was that each patient had an owner (aka client) attached to it! Often I would not address the needs and concerns of the client as well as I was trying to practice medicine and over time, I likely lost clients who, if I had better built my relationship with them, would still be a client today.

Thanks to Dr. James Day, Glendale Animal Hospital, veterinary practice in Glendale, Arizona, in business for 27 years

Bonus Tip:

30. Establish Boundaries With Employees

I would certainly separate “church and state” and I would have been more of a leader than a friend. As an owner and an active President& CEO of a small business- I’m in constant contact with my employees. When hiring new employees, certain requirements and credentials are necessary including: experience, expertise, and industry knowledge. Additionally, I look for multiple interpersonal skills and qualifications. That said, I’ve managed to find and retain wonderful employees who work well and who work well with one another. Formulating good friendships with my employees is nice but maintaining and stepping up as more of a leader at times, has been challenging. Establishing boundaries early on with employees is key and I wish I had known the importance of this, earlier on.

Thanks to Georgette Pascale, Pascale Communications, LLC. a healthcare specific PR firm, in business 7 years

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free e-book called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

As a business owner, I’ve learned that success in marketing is all about timing. The optimal time for a business to sell a product or service to a customer is right when they need it! Wouldn’t it be great, however, if we knew when that perfect time was for everyone?  Unfortunately we don’t. So here’s the rub, how can you get in front of a potential customer just at the exact time when they are ready to buy?  That’s where email marketing comes in.

In a special report made available by AWeber, one of the world’s leading email marketing platforms,  MarketingSherpa offers valuable insight into how small businesses are using email marketing effectively and how they can improve.  Their findings are based on a survey the company conducted across 2700 email marketers and shows some distinct trends in the use of email marketing across small businesses.

So, what are small businesses looking to accomplish with their email marketing campaigns?  The number one objective, ranked at the top by 80% of the respondents, was list growth and subscriber retention.  Simply stated businesses want to build better relationships with more prospects.

This isn’t surprising because business is simply about the law of large numbers; the more prospects you have in your pipeline, the more sales you have.   However, the findings show that our collective attitude about list building seems to be undergoing a rather significant shift leaving small business owners wondering which is more desirable - quantity or quality.

The quick answer is that a shorter list of high quality subscribers beats a giant list of random opt-ins any day of the week.  So, what can you do to make the most of your email marketing activities?  Follow the 5 B’s below and build the right kind of buzz for your business.

1. Be Customized

Businesses go to a lot of work to attract subscribers and get potential customers to opt-in to their offerings.  Don’t waste that effort by treating every one of those prospects as if they are the same.  Erase the concept of one-size-fits-all from your email marketing mindset.  In order to replicate that real-time relationship, your subscribers need to feel like you are talking directly to them and only to them.  Amazon and Pandora are two companies that do that well in email marketing, segmenting subscribers by interests and emailing them relevant offers and information.  What’s the practical application?  Don’t just have one email newsletter, have several, customized to meet your prospects’ (and customers’) needs.

2. Be Choosy

Just like the customers you are hoping to attract don’t want to feel like they are just anyone, you don’t want them to see your company as just any company.  Choose the right content and spark a conversation.  Conversations lead to conversion.  Choose wisely.  Practical application: strive to add value, give people want they want, don’t spam.  (How do you know what they value?  Just ask!)

3. Be Strategic

The most successful email marketers set goals and develop strategic plans for achieving those goals.  Understanding how your email marketing strategy fits into your marketing strategy will also help you stay on track.  Practical Application: Know what you want to accomplish.

4. Be Tactical

Once you know what you want to accomplish, (i.e., establish my company as the leader in my industry) email marketing success is also all about the tactics.  Knowing which tactics inspire prospects to opt-in and remain engaged is one of the foundations of using email marketing successfully.  Practical Application: Know which tactics your audience responds to and which ones turn them off.

5. Be Clear

There is a lot to be said for clarity, especially in communications.  When you are asking a subscriber to opt-in to your offer, make sure they know what they are getting, how often they will receive it, when they will receive it, and why they want it.  Practical Application: Don’t assume anything.  Make sure your email communications answer your subscribers’ questions.

If you’re looking to increase your pipeline in 2012, email marketing is still one of the best tools in your marketing tool box.  Use it well and you will reap the benefits. For more information about successful email marketing, check out AWeber.com. (Disclosure:  AWeber is one of the email platforms I use in my business.)

If you use email marketing in your business, please leave a comment below and let us know what tips you have for small business owners.

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free ebook called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

Here are 28 Small Business Marketing Resolutions for the New Year that will inspire you to write your own.

1. Build Relationships With Customers

To create more opportunities for our end buyers to interact with the company. As a manufacturer it’s always difficult to have a dialog with customers because our primary “sale” is to the dealer and we don’t get many chances to communicate with customers directly.

Stephen Roberts, Marketing Manager, Timberwolf Manufacturing

2. Engage and Monitor

To be consistent and emotionally engaging in all marketing efforts. To continue to monitor and measure all results. (I know that in 3 years my unique visitor traffic has increased by 250% to just under 8,000 unique visitors per month.)  To convert more visitors specific to eproducts thus increasing monthly income.  To achieve Alexa.com ranking of under 100,000.  To have the blog recognized as one of the top business, leadership and sales blogs.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, www.increase-sales-coach.com

3. Waste Less Time on Social Media

I resolve to waste less time on social media channels!

Tea Silvestre, www.theWordChef.com

4. Be More Visual

Don’t forget: All marketing is VISUAL.

David Langton, Principal, Langton Cherubino Group, Ltd. (http://www.langtoncherubino.com)

5. Consistency!

It is easy when we get busy to stop marketing ourselves, but we know that we need to do it consistently if we want to grow. So we have resolved to be more consistent in 2012 on doing our own marketing and PR.

Beth Walsh, Clearpoint Agency, Inc., (www.clearpointagency.com)

6. Update The Plan, Then Walk the Plan

Ann Siegle, Tria Marketing & Design, (http://www.triadesignfirm.com)

7. Discover Previously-Unidentified Markets

To find new ways to help customers obtain loans - financing is still a major issue.  To further expand our worldwide presence.

Catherine B. Ahles, APR, Fellow PRSA, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, Premier Aircraft Sales

8. No More Advertising

Our 2012 marketing resolution is we will no longer buy advertising. We will buy results. After spending a year and a half attempting to optimize click through conversion rates, design high quality marketing communications and locate appropriate advertising vehicles we have discovered that we are not advertising experts. We have also discovered
that the risk for advertising success lies entirely with us. If we buy media space in a publication that does not produce results we lose both time and money. The publication, however, gets to keep our money.

For 2012 we are completely converting our marketing efforts to shared risk. We will no longer pay for click through or brand exposure ads. We will only pay a percentage of sales actually produced by the ad. Our advertising budget had previously floated at about 9% of revenue. For 2012 we will be increasing this about 30% of revenue. Instead of paying $600 for a quarter page ad we will pay 25% of all sales produced by the ad. If the ad produces $10,000 in sales the advertiser will receive $2500. If the ad produces $100 in sales the advertiser will receive $25. This will be tracked through coupon codes for print. All web advertising will be converted to affiliate programs which pay by the sale. We can increase our media budget since all advertising will be paid for by additional sales.

This does not mean that we will stop brand awareness advertising. Our brand awareness strategy for 2012 however will be entirely based on shareable content and partnerships with publications that have a similar audience. We will be producing more free downloads and more shareable content on the assumption that if it is valuable - it will be shared and republished. This is a big risk since traditional paid advertising guarantees space in a publication. Shareable content, however, may or may not get reused in other publications.

Chris Tobias, Director of Educational Excitement, School Skills

9. Positioning

Our 2012 our resolution is to position ourselves as the Thought Leader in our industry and also to all lose 5% of our current body weight, eat right and exercise more.

John Fairclough, the r e s i c o m group (http://www.resicomonline.com)

10. Happy Shoppers

Our 2012 Marketing Resolution is to keep our shoppers happy. Our success is driven by word-of-mouth marketing from wonderful customers. When they like their experience with us - as in our jewelry quality, diverse selections, low prices and customer service - they come back and they tell their friends about us. And the cycle continues when those friends have a wonderful experience too! That’s why we always try to listen to the needs and wants of our shoppers and make their Joolwe.com shopping experience amazing.

Monique Bird, Marketing and PR Specialist, Joolwe.com

11. Regular Communication.

Contact our email list on a regular basis (no more being flaky!) and not worry every single time that I might lose subscribers. It’s better to have tried and lost, than to never have tried at all!

Chris Wise, Online Marketing Director,  Guideline Central

12. Systematic Marketing

For our own firm and for our clients, we are resolving to commit to a programmatic approach to marketing (strategy) instead of simply a project approach (tactics, often with no real plan behind them : “one offs”).

Charles J. Morris, Jr., Principal, Morris Creative Group, LLC

13. Community Centric, Mobile Friendly Website

For 2012, The Voice of Your Customer plans to revise our company website to be less content driven and more mobile friendly with a great focus on customer engagement and community involvement. Previously, our website as focused on flash and SEO heavy content that is no longer of interest to our visitors.

The Voice of Your Customer also plans to increase our visibility in the media by distributing more company press releases and applying for more industry, small business and community awards. In years past, we won several awards that generated quite a bit of exposure in the local, regional and niche media that resulted in more visits to our website and social media pages.

Additionally, The Voice of Your Customer plans to increase the activity on our LinkedIn and Facebook company pages, better utilize the engagement tools and more effectively use the visitor analytics. When the pages were launched, the focus was on increasing likes and daily posts. In the near future, we would like to use these pages for survey research, recruiting and content management.

Crystal L Kendrick, President, The Voice of Your Customer

14. Mobile Marketing

In 2012, our company, Leon Mege Inc. (custom made engagement rings and fine jewelry) will be doing a lot more mobile marketing. We will also be focusing more on Google+ and are allocating a smaller budget to print ads and Facebook ads. A lot more branding is also in store for the New Year for our company (we are currently in the early stages of developing a branding strategy).

Olga Topchaya, Director of Marketing,  Leon Megé Inc.

15. Increase Twitter Following

Our marketing resolution is to increase our twitter following, in order to control cost and to weed out the multiple offerings of Marketing Services that I am swamped with on a daily basis. If I can control advertising cost, I can hopefully make better use of time and money to hire help.

Lance Dzintars , Zaria & Bella’s LLC, www.zariaandbellas.com

16. More Online Engagement

Going to do more: Webinars, email campaigns with partners who send on our behalf, retargeting, startup daily deal sites, guest blogging.

Going to do less: sitting around twiddling our thumbs

Going to start: LinkedIn advertising to drive webinar signups

Joshua Krafchin, Clever Zebo (www.cleverzebo.com)

17. Have a Conversation

We’re going to be more conversational and ‘broadcast’ less. We’re going to bring true value to our customers as opposed to just marketing our products. We’re going to listen to our customers and ask them, instead of making guesses as to what they want from us.

Kendall Moyles, Green Surf Shop

18. Give More Value

My resolution is to contribute more ideas and expertise to social networks that are related to what I do within my company.

Christi Pemberton, Global Crest Productions

19. Invest in Advertising

In 2012 I am going to jump off the bridge and go for big advertising in a major wedding magazine THE KNOT…it is needed at this time and so for 2012 I am placing an ad in this national player in the wedding industry.

Kelly Marie Albert , The Perfect Card Box

20. Intentional Marketing

A.    Greater emphasis on social media. We want to expand our presence on Facebook by adding custom tabs/pages to help grow our fan base. In terms of audience interaction, we are committing ourselves to posting at least twice per day on both Facebook and Twitter. The significance of LinkedIn is also something we plan to utilize in the new year.

B.    Videos, videos, videos. In 2012 we are launching a YouTube channel to post things like customer testimonials and information videos about our products or services. The goal is to educate our existing and potential customers through the informational videos while building and reinforcing a sense of trust with videos such as client testimonials.

C.    Targeted mailings. When we first started our original business we worked out a deal with a local printer to create some post cards for us. We mailed them out to local businesses and the response was better than expected. It may be a new year but the world is still generally the same, so we’re going to get back to some basics with this one.

D.    Launch an email newsletter. It is important for us to stay in front of our customers and on their minds. We are committing to sending out an electronic newsletter each month to those customers who opt-in to receive it. The newsletter will give them a first look at upcoming specials and promotions, as well as offer subscriber-only opportunities.

E.    Advertise in local newspapers. This relates a bit to point three above. We ran a few ads early on and experienced some moderate returns, so we will return to this as an option for us in 2012. Online readership is growing and rates are more than reasonable at this time.

Daniel J. Spence, President, Big Bird Media, LLC

21. Develop Partnerships

I plan to develop some strategic partnerships with other business owners so that we can combine our efforts to host a Mini-Telesummit.

I will be attending the Diva Toolbox Conference in Boston, MA for the second year and also be connecting regularly with my local chapter members of NAWBO.

I enjoy blogging and will be sharing my ideas on my LinkedIn Profile and the new Facebook page I am creating for my Coaching Business: “Moving Forward Through Divorce.”

Nancy A. Kay, Divorce Management Coach,

22. Focused Marketing

Narrow our marketing focus by eliminating distracting products and services that don’t pay their way that we carried in the past to be a “full service” company for our clients. They are a distraction from our meat and potatoes offerings. Instead, we’re creating a group of complimentary partner companies to take over those duties using other area business people we’ve known and trusted over the years to take over those services. We’re referring to them as “trusted local partners”. We’ll refer business to them and in return they’re going to refer back to us based upon our defined competency. Members in this group must have a complimentary business product or service that enhances the group. This is different than a networking group like those formed by Chambers of Commerce that group non-competing businesses together without any regard to how well they complement each other as businesses.

We also plan to drop the less sophisticated parts of our previous offerings as they’ve become commoditized by the market. Offerings such as retail software, Internet Content filtering, computer repair services (we call it break/fix) and retail sales of computers and printers. We’re trying to move up the IT food-chain and focus on more sophisticated products and services that aren’t generally offered at the “shallow end” of the IT services pool. This is our effort to differentiate ourselves from the retail big-box “Geek Squad” type guys.

Jeff Hoffman, President, ACT Network Solutions

23. Pick a Few Good Marketing Strategies

Narrow down social media to 2 - 3 tools that REALLY work in terms of responses. Narrow down my marketing hours. Make more effort to make human to human contact rather than just social media. Hire people to do some work for me. (PR, day to day tasks). I know it’s an investment but it will free me up to think of the big picture.

Sandra Mendoza-Daly, DebutanteClothing.com and VintageFindIt.com

24. Increase Local Exposure

We will continue to get involved in our community through various B2B channels, such as the local Chamber of Commerce, regional newspapers and their online versions, and traditional “small town” handshake efforts. The goal is to have every local business owner know who we are, and more importantly, understand what we do.

Leverage the Local / Mobile / Social aspects of technology. Being in a small town environment limits the effect of many social media efforts, however the growth in location based services such as Foursquare, Oink, Gowalla, and Facebook check-ins have allowed small businesses to focus on the people who are already around them. As smart phones continue to grow on older customers, these services and features will become more and more important on the local level. We plan on offering specials and contests that involve being physically close to our location.

Increase community involvement. We plan on sponsoring a local softball team, running a clothing drive, and taking part in our local Autumn festival in 2012. We plan on doing at least one major community campaign per quarter of 2012.

We are in the process of developing tools for local business owners to leverage technology that they simply don’t yet understand. We have found that the average local business owner still does not know how to properly use even their old outdated Web sites to their advantage. Add in Social Media, iPhone apps, and local search listings (Google Maps, Bing, Yahoo Local, Yelp, etc.) and it just spins their head. We are working to bring these tools to the average person through a series of free seminars, online tutorials, and even a local business app builder which will allow for our community businesses to take a giant leap ahead of even their larger corporate competitors.

I am really proud that the same efforts that we use to market our company are going to help our local community and our local business owners. Although it sometimes feels that technology drives us apart, we feel that it can be used to bring back the Mom & Pop way of doing business of yesterday.

Jon Berry, Berry Smart

25. Create More Local Partnerships

Our resolution is to find more local/regional partners in order to foster visible job growth right in our own backyard. Restoring hope locally is job one in this economy!

John Leschke, Green 3 Apparel

26. Get Involved

We are going to work with more websites that cater to our target market. This includes offering free valuable information to other relevant sites on how businesses can start implementing strategies of their own to start seeing results. Developing more relationships with experts in the industry. Giving away more free information to prospective clients. Also participating in more guest blog related public relations.

We plan to do less direct mail advertising and instead use email and other virtual mediums to maximize profit. We also plan to continue not participating in cold calls.

A major thing we plan to start doing in 2012 is to be involved with more charitable events and more offline activities that are in the public eye. We feel that in conjunction with our online promotions, this could create a synergy that is unmatched.

Mike Calloway, Trinity Marketing

27. Be More Personal

I hope to be more personal than ever in my marketing.  As a freelancer and now a small business owner with predominantly remote work, online content marketing is a stellar way to establish my expertise, inform potential clients about my methods, and get my name out. But blog posts, newsletters, tweets, and Facebook posts only go so far as information vehicles. I’m finding more than ever it’s the thoughtful notes, unexpected responses, and general accessibility that powerfully push my business relationships and my career forward. It’s easy to write these things off since they don’t have the same reach of our other efforts!

Stephanie Peterson, Fairground Media

28. Referral Marketing

We plan on giving a strong push to referral marketing through social media in 2012. We’ve played with it in the past, but it’s time to really see if we can make it work to help grow our business!

Sara Sutton Fell, CEO & Founder, FlexJobs.com

What are your small business marketing resolutions for 2012?  Share them here along with the link to your website.  We always love hearing from you!

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free ebook called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available onAmazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

2011 is almost over and planning for the next year can get lost in the business of the of the holiday season. However, the best way to get 2012 off to a great start is to put some thought into your 2012 marketing plan outlining where you want to go and how you plan to get there.

For small business owners, your marketing plan can make all of the difference in your success. As you get ready to leap into the New Year, taking the time to develop a marketing plan will help keep you on track, ensure you are spending your marketing dollars effectively, and give you the focus you need to succeed.

I asked other small businesses for their thoughts  on how to build a successful small business marketing plan for 2012 and received many responses. Small businesses are taking a hard look at what worked and what did not work in 2011 so that they can focus their marketing dollars in the most profitable places. Others are looking for creative and innovative ways to expand their reach without expanding their marketing budget. To help you build the best marketing plan for your business, I pulled together the most consistent themes, sprinkled them with a bit of my own experience, and let the small businesses speak for themselves.

1. Begin at the End

In order to ensure you pick the best tactics and strategies to meet your marketing goals for 2012, you need to be clear about your goals. What do you need marketing to do for you in 2012? Are you looking to expand your market presence, bring in more customers, generate more leads, or break into a new market?

Beth Walsh from Clearpoint Agency, Inc. explained how they develop their marketing plan for the coming year.

We have several methods that we use to plan our marketing tactics, including a news release schedule and blog schedule, both of which are set-up as Excel spreadsheets. However, first, we are having a planning meeting with our staff of five where we will do a workshop on our key messages for the upcoming year. We plan our key messages based on what is true about our company culture and the services we deliver for clients and then we look for ways to differentiate from the competitors. We review competitors, look at their websites, marketing activities and press-pickup, and then we review our own in comparison.

2. Learn from Last Year

Look at your marketing plans for 2011 and compare them to actual results. Where were your marketing dollars most effective? Where were you unsuccessful in achieving the results you expected? What lessons can you learn from last year that will help increase the effectiveness of your marketing spend next year?

Catherine B. Ahles from Premier Aircraft Sales explained how experience dictates their marketing strategy.

Today, most aircraft purchasers do the bulk of their “hunting” online, rather than at their local airports. In 2012, we will be doing even more online advertising as well as creating more landing pages and other web-based tools. Incentives have become more important too. We will be offering things like free fuel for a year with purchase of a new aircraft. Also, we are still figuring out how to use Facebook to aid our customers in keeping up with new developments of interest. Our print advertising will go to bare minimum, and we will cease doing open houses and any trade shows except the very largest.

3. Stop Doing What Doesn’t Work

Understanding what worked and what didn’t is the first step, but in order to use that information effectively, you must also stop doing those things that aren’t working. For some small businesses, this can be difficult, especially when what isn’t working is one of those “marketing things” that every business is supposed to do.

Chris Tobias from School Skills shared this with me.

In 2012, we will no longer pay for advertising that does not directly drive sales. We will only pay for results. This means affiliate programs and partnering with publications to pay them based on the sales an ad produces rather than just paying for ad space. It means no more pay per click or pay for space. After spending a year and a half attempting to optimize click through conversion rates, design high quality marketing communications and locate appropriate advertising vehicles we have discovered that we are not advertising experts. We have also discovered that the risk for advertising success lies entirely with us. If we buy media space in a publication that does not produce results we lose both time and money.

4. Be Specific

It is always easier to hit the bull’s-eye on a target if you can see what the bull’s-eye looks like. Imagine you are shooting an arrow at a target that only has the giant red circle around the outside. It would be pretty hard to hit the center of the bull’s-eye without any other point of reference. Now think of that target as your 2012 marketing plan. If your marketing goal is to expand your social media presence, you only have a giant red circle to aim at. By planning out specific activities and actions as part of your marketing plan, you are effectively adding the other circles to the target that enable you to zero in on the bull’s-eye.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith from Increase Sales Coach talked me through the specific actions she included in her marketing plan for 2012.

Since 2005, I have been engaged in education based marketing with a primary component of article marketing. I plan to continue those efforts through at least 1 new article per week. Currently, I secure two new clients from inbound marketing activities each month and want that to double that in 2012. Continually updating the website is also critical as trends change keywords. Each morning I invest 1.5 hrs into marketing, the goal is to increase marketing activities by 20% as I have a new solution that will be offered in the summer of 2012. Blog posting must remain at an average of 5 per week. As I have expanded into Facebook through business pages, daily postings must be maintained on these pages as well.

5.  Just do It

One of the biggest mistakes that I see businesses make when it comes to marketing is that they don’t take the time to put together a marketing plan at all.  Their marketing plan consists of following the latest fad just because everyone says it’s the “thing” to do, without really taking the time to analyze if it’s the right marketing strategy for their business.  So take some time now at the end of the year to put together your 2012 marketing strategy based on these tips and your experience. You’ll be rewarded with better results.

Are you in the process of writing your marketing plan for 2012? What are your tips?  Share them here along with the link to your website.  We always love hearing from you!

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free ebook called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

Thanksgiving is over and the fun is just beginning.  For many people, the day after Thanksgiving propels the holiday season into high gear.

Countless news reports have detailed the frenzy and hubbub of Black Friday, when shoppers lace up their sneakers to face the crowds. However, in response to that, a new movement has emerged, that encourages Americans to shop at small, locally-owned independent businesses.

What Is Small Business Saturday?

Dubbed Small Business Saturday, countless individuals have pledged to shop locally and support their local economy on Saturday, November 26.

With a renewed focus on small businesses, the day presents an ideal opportunity for small business owners to connect with new customers or clients with free resources provided by the Small Business Saturday organizers. But lest you think the day is reserved for retail establishments, never fear: there are plenty of ways the home-based or service establishment to get involved in Small Business Saturday.

Five Easy Ways to Participate in Small Business Saturday

1. Promote Your Involvement Via Email

Do you have an established subscriber list of dedicated customers or clients? Send them an email about Small Business Saturday, outlining why you’re participating and the specials being offered to your local community. Encourage your subscribers to share with their friends and neighbors by including share buttons in the email from a free service such as AddThis.

2. Offer a Discount or Coupon Code

What special incentives can you offer local customers on Small Business Saturday? Brainstorm with an employee or trusted colleague to develop creative packages, discounts or coupons motivating your customers to make a purchase.

3. Add a Hashtag To Expand Your Reach

Hashtags, a community-developed method of categorizing content on Twitter, are an easy way to broaden the exposure for tweets. Connect with consumers - as well as other small business owners - by adding “#SmallBizSat” to your tweets about the day.

4. Create a Series of Autoresponse Emails for New Customers

New customers are typically most interested in receiving additional information right after they make a purchase from you, so invite them to your subscriber list at the time of purchase. Consider offering an incentive for individuals to sign up, such as a coupon or discount off of a future purchase. Make sure you have prepared a confirmed opt-in message in advance outlining the types of emails they can expect - along with a friendly welcome message thanking the customer for their business and series of autoresponse messages. Need ideas for your autoresponder series? Check out these tips from Chris Guillebeau.

5. Turn The Tables!

In addition to targeting local customers, don’t neglect the opportunity to show your own appreciation for small business owners. Consider creating a special offer exclusively for the hard-working entrepreneurs in your community.

Are you planning to participate in Small Business Saturday? What additional tips would you add for the small business owner?

Liz Cies is public relations specialist at AWeber, a leading email marketing service provider that helps businesses and entrepreneurs increase sales and profits through its suite of web-based software. For more information, visit http://www.aweber.com, subscribe to the AWeber blog, or follow on Twitter and Facebook.

1. Thanksgiving Cards Make a Difference

Send out a Thanksgiving card to clients & potential clients. You can go the catalog route… or send a series of personal notes. One previous client had his kid draw something and he made copies…depends on your style. But I guarantee your card will stand out since Thanksgiving is traditionally not a card-oriented holiday.
Rita Kueber

Beaumont School

2. Rubber Stamp It

When I was a caterer, I used a rubber stamp on every piece of mail, every check, every bill that went out of our office; it said (in big red letters….) ‘who’s catering your Christmas party?”

Celia Milton

www.celiamilton.com

3. The Early Bird Gets The Worm

In a nutshell; we believe that the early bird gets the worm. At Medelita, we begin planning our holiday sale in June and begin promoting it in early to Mid-October. We are currently building up interest on Facebook, for our upcoming sale, and a recent post asking who planned to shop the sale got a lot of positive feedback. As we grow closer to launch, we’ll expand to include emails, ads, etc…

Our holiday sale starts on Thanksgiving Day, offering our customers the ability to pre order at a 20% discount for the upcoming holidays. This ensures they don’t miss out on popular sizes or styles of our lab coats and scrubs that frequently sell out.

80% of our orders also get customized with embroidery, adding a personal and professional touch that our customers love.  Knowing this, we offer free expedited shipping and embroidery up until December 20th.

Angela Sherlock
Medelita.com

4. If you Sell It They Will Come

We are a small computer company located in Middletown CT. What we did last year that worked really well was a “Black Friday” special. We ended up selling all of our equipment at cost which really brought in tons of traffic and more sales after the special was completed. We advertised the sale over all social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Blogger to generate buzz. We also sent out a specials press announcement and released information on the sale a couple months prior in our monthly newsletters. We are planning on doing something very similar this year to once again bring in a great amount of traffic to the site and increase sales for the future.

Shane Hardy
All Star Software Systems

5. Themed Holiday Events

Here are a few themed holiday marketing ideas from Le Potager Décor in Fullerton, California.

• Fall Open House: With this event, we posted a page of a few of our recently acquired items that we bought on our summer road trips. People came specifically to buy a certain item they saw on this page. This was our best event (money-wise) yet.
• Annual Paris Flea Market: People love this event! They call the store all year long, asking when it will be taking place. It’s an outdoor event where
• vendors come to set up their wares, and the store is open as well. That day we offer 15% off in the store.
• A Day of Pampering: We will be having an esthetician give 15 minute mini facials. A local business will be setting up to give mini foot massages. A
• vendor will be having a trunk show with her soap line.
• French Apple Harvest: A day where will be offering sweet and savory dishes made with apples and using items from our pantry. Also being served: Calvados brandy and French apple cider.

John Reed and Jennifer Owens
Le Potager

6. “Best Darn” Contest

I have a line of fine glass Christmas ornaments with a Latino flair. Since tamales are very popular during the Christmas season I started a Best Darn Tamale contest with a list of locations to purchase tamales across the USA as a cheap, let say, clever way to draw people to my website during the holidays. I figured that if people love Mexican cuisine they will also probably love my ornament designs. Ads for my ornaments are of course sprinkled down the sides of this popular web page.  In fact the tamales are so popular we started doing tamale workshops last year and it has grown into a whole subcategory for my business.

Darlene Tenes
CasaQ

7. Holiday Gift Guides

We are a retail home furnishings, accessories and gift boutique in Fairfax, Virginia. One of the best holiday marketing practices for our business has been to develop an online gift guide slideshow. We send the slideshow link via press release (attached) to local media outlets and have had good success with getting our ideas picked up in publications. We also send it to our customers via our email newsletter. It allows us to present our customers with images, details and pricing of our top picks for holiday gift giving at very little cost. Our clicks through rates are extremely high as customers love being able to browse from home. It entices them to then come into our store to purchase and see what else we have to choose from.

Ann O’Shields
The Nest Egg

8. Holiday Cards With a Twist

Christmas cards are almost mandatory nowadays. However, most people get inundated with an avalanche of cookie-cutter Christmas cards that might be “pretty,” but few people take a second glance at them. Christmas cards are a fantastic way to bring you attention, but only if you do it right. Add a personal flair, make it humorous, and stop taking yourself so seriously.

Last year, some lawyers and their staff sent a Christmas card from their criminal alter egos. The resulting card was unique, stood out from the sea of cards most people got that year, and allowed them to show a side of themselves that no one would otherwise know. Not only was it great for personalizing and marketing their firm, but the photo shoot itself was great office bonding.

Tripp Watson
The Watson Firm

9. Holiday Gift Guides on Blogs

My business has received the best return on investment from blog holiday gift guides. I simply submit a product or a small fee and my award winning learning kit series gets promoted to my target market, parents! Small businesses should target blogs that reach the same market, research the blogs stats to be sure the audience is wide reaching and form an alliance. It may not be for long but blog gift guides are still a fraction of the cost of an advertisement in a print magazine!

Christy Cook
Teach My
www.teachmy.com

Have more ideas?  Share them here in the comments section.  I will pick a random winner to get a copy of my book “How to Build Buzz for Your Biz- Tap into the Power of Social Media, Publicity, and Relationship Marketing to Grow Your Business.”  Contest ends midnight Nov 5th, 2011.

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas?  Sign up for my free marketing newsletter and grab your free download of my eBook at http://23kazoos.com.

QR codes (or Quick Response codes) are similar to the UPC codes on the back of product packaging.  Just like when the grocer scans your groceries in your shopping cart, so can businesses owners use a scannable QR code in their marketing.  Consumers with smartphones (such as iPhone, Android, or Blackberry) can download a  free bar code scanner application so that they can scan the code.  Once a consumer scans the code, it will give them additional information about the product such as price, for example. A QR code would work in an instance where a consumer would want more information about a product but where there was not space on the package to print that additional information.

As with any marketing strategy, the first step is to decide if using a QR code marketing campaign makes sense for your business.  Although most scans are generated from QR codes on product packaging, there are many ways these codes can be used to bring in more business.  Understanding how QR codes can benefit your business is the key to deciding if they are a good fit.

In order to help you decide, here are 6 interesting ways businesses are using QR codes to enhance customer engagement, distribute information, and invite new prospects into their business.

1. QR Codes on Business Cards and Products

The most popular way to use QR codes is to put them on your business card.  The QR code then takes the person scanning it to your website where they can find out more about your products and services.  However, businesses also use QR codes to link customers to specific product information without having to print it and distribute it with the product.  For example, a plant nursery might use a QR code sticker attached to plant’s packaging to link customers to planting and care instructions specific to their climate.

2. Expand Selling Opportunities

Most businesses are not open 24/7, but even those who aren’t may have an online store where customers can shop at their convenience.  Posting a QR Code and the words “Shop Online Now” next to the opening hours in your shop window gives customers the opportunity to buy from you when they are looking for you, regardless of whether or not you are open.  For crafters and other companies who vend at local events, a QR code on your product label can help you build repeat customers who may not remember where they made their initial purchase or know where to find you to make additional purchases.

3. Link to Customer Centric Content

Imagine you are shopping for a new lawnmower and as you browse the selection at your local home improvement store you are able to access independent customer reviews for each product with a quick scan on your phone.  Companies can use QR codes within their displays to link to customer review sites, how to videos, replacement part information, or discounts.

4. Give Prospects The Information They Want When They Want It

One powerful use of QR codes is to enable prospective customers to access the information they want when they want it.  Real estate agents can use QR codes on their “For Sale” signs to offer prospects a virtual tour of the house as well as other selling information.  The QR code software has the ability to record the contact information of the person who clicked on it, therefore giving the real estate agent a new prospect to follow up with.

5. Host a Contest or Give a Special Discount

Because QR codes are new and interesting, businesses can use them to drive people to their business.  One idea is to host a QR code scavenger hunt where customers have the opportunity to win something by clicking on QR codes to find the clue to the next code.  QR codes on posters or on direct mail items can give customers access to exclusive discounts or enable them to enter a contest at just a click of their phone.  Businesses can put QR codes on event posters, advertisements and invitations to deliver people event information and special offers for discounted admission.

There are hundreds of ways that businesses can use QR codes to bring in business and build their brand.  The key is to find the right opportunity that makes sense for your business.  Whether you use it to build online sales or to broadcast the word about a new product, strategic use of QR codes can supplement your other marketing activities and have the potential to provide significant returns with a very small investment.

6. Use QR Codes to Simplify Registration and Follow-up

Infusionsoft used QR codes to simplify the registration process at their annual event Infusioncon. Instead of having attendees wait in line at the registration table while an attendant searches for their name and badge, Infusionsoft emailed each registrant a printable ticket with a QR code on it.  Attendees were instructed to bring the ticket with them for admittance into the event.  Once at the event the QR code was scanned at the registration table and the attendee quickly admitted.  The QR code was linked to the attendee email information so that Infusionsoft could email the attendee specific event related offers during and after the event.

As you can see from the examples above, using QR codes can be a low cost marketing strategy that can generate significant results.  However, before you begin to use them, decide if it will make sense for your business.  Ask the questions:  Do my customers use smart phones?  Do they understand QR code technology?  Are they always asking for more information on a product or service?

If you are using a QR code in your marketing, would love to hear about your experience.  Let us know in the comments and please leave a link to your business.

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas?  Sign up for my free marketing newsletter at http://23kazoos.com.