Traditional Marketing Methods You Should Still Be Using

Traditional Marketing Methods You Should Still Be Using

by | Blog, Contributed Post

***Contributed Post***

 

Traditional marketing isn’t dead. While we absolutely advocate the necessity of digital marketing and the latest technologies to boost your efforts, there are still avenues available to you that have worth. Provided you have time to commit to them, you may well see results, above and beyond those you receive from your website and content marketing techniques. Of course, you can also combine the two, by providing ways to link your digital marketing to the more traditional forms available to you.

Print marketing. Admittedly, many people have their eyes glued to their cell phones nearly 24/7, but they might still make time to read something that isn’t on the other end of a screen. There are still ways to reach your demographic through print media, using the best in literature design across your flyers, brochures, and business cards. These are the things you can hand out to people in the street. You can leave them on cafe tables and bus seats. When you meet somebody at a business event, you can shake hands and give them a business card with all of your contact details. You can still take the time to post flyers through doors. Print media isn’t dead, and while you might be eco-friendly and paper-resistant, you can still use sustainable paper sources when doing your printing run. 

Face-to-face marketing. You are the greatest marketing tool your business has. Through a smile and a helpful gesture, you are creating a good impression for your business. You can talk to others about your business wherever you are, be that at a business conference or on the train ride home. You can push your business to family, friends, and anybody else you come into contact with. Provided you don’t put pressure on people to use your business, you may receive a positive response. And the same applies to your team. Encourage them to spread the word to the people they come across on a daily basis. 

Billboard marketing. Billboards will never go obsolete. Provided nobody sprays graffiti on them of course, your brand can be broadcast wherever there is foot or car traffic. You can place them nearly everywhere, from the innermost regions of your city, to the outskirts and byways and highways. With the right images and creative use of wording, the billboard should grab the attention of the people you are hoping to reach. Take a look at these creative billboard ideas to fuel your imagination. 

Event marketing. We aren’t going to go into detail here, as we have already covered this on our website. But know this. When it comes to networking with people who can prosper your business, this is your best avenue. There’s no need to cold call. You don’t have to run the risk of too much rejection. When people are attending an industry event, they are there to meet people like you, so make the most of this marketing opportunity when you can. 

There are all kinds of ways to market your business, but you should always focus on those areas where you have the time and resources to do so. However, as you consider the right avenue to take, don’t pin all of your hopes on social media and email. You can still complement this marketing with the more traditional kind, so take advantage of any opportunity that may be beneficial to your business.

Why you need to plan ahead for marketing success

Why you need to plan ahead for marketing success

by | Blog, Marketing, Systems and Procedures

We know that one can attain some success by using last-minute marketing campaigns, but we also know that the key to success is… planning ahead.

Look at your marketing strategy more as a marathon instead of a sprint- even in the age of instant information and social media, it takes time to build trust and get noticed by your target audience.

Here are 3 tips to help you during the planning stage of your marketing campaign:

#1 Intentional Strategizing 

When you plan ahead, you have time to sit down and decide exactly what you want to achieve and how to do it. This will help you to stay focused and not get sidetracked easily by impulsive ideas. I suggest using a big calendar to put up on your wall where you see it every day, with all events and promotions marked for the coming 6-12 months. This way you can easily get started on projects before deadlines. If you aren’t a fan of wall calendars you can also use a google calendar where you can input your events and promotions and even color code them.

Remember, marketing is never a “one-and-done” proposition. It takes time to get the message out and get people to answer your calls to action. They’ll need to see them in multiple ways. Create a separate plan for each product and marketing channel.

#2 Stay Ahead Of The Competition

You should be looking at your marketing strategy for several months ahead. There are certain times of year that your potential customers are more likely to buy and you can use marketing data to determine these times. Then, you can map out and plan everything in advance. When you enter prepared for a summer sale, Black Friday offer or Christmas product, instead of panicking that you don’t have anything ready and throwing something together, you will cruise in like Santa on his sleigh, with all the hard work behind you. And hopefully the competition as well! 

#3 Less Stress & More Success!

I know for some it can be exhilarating to fly by the seat of your pants. But if you want your company to succeed and LAST, you need to be focused on the big picture. Patience and intentional planning will pay off in the end. Dig in your heels and do what it takes to set up your company (and yourself) for long-term success. When you are planning all the projects for a marketing campaign 2-4 months before it launches, you will do it with a level head. If you wait until the week before to throw it together, you will feel stressed, and this will impact not only the quality of work but also your quality of life. 

As you can see, learning to plan ahead has many benefits. Even if you are use to doing things last minute or enjoy the pressure of a fast deadline, you can learn to plan in advance and use more of your energy towards the success of the launch. 

If you are feeling overwhelmed or you need support for your next big launch, book a discovery call with me. I would be happy to spend some time going over your launch idea to see how I might be able to help ease the stress and improve your success.

Have a great week!

Robyn Bennett 

 

PS: Remember that you don’t have to go it alone, you can reach out and get the support you need to reach your goals, click here and let’s chat.

3 Things Your Business Plan Must Have

3 Things Your Business Plan Must Have

by | Blog, Business Plan, Time management

Businesses of every type, need a business plan. Don’t think you can skip by on this important step because you have a service based business instead of a physical product. Every business can benefit from a business plan.

Here are some steps you can take

Focus.

When you create a business plan you need to focus on the reasons for the business:

  • Who do you want to serve?
  • What do you want to provide?
  • When do you want to start?
  • Where will you set up shop?
  • Why do you want to start such an endeavor?
  • How will you meld all these things together to create a prosperous business?

These are the primary reasons why you’re going into business and they should always be at the forefront of your mind when making decisions.

Something else to focus on is your big dream. How much money do you want to make over the next 5 years? Do you want to sell multiple products or have several locations? Everyone’s big dream will be different but you should write it down as part of the plan.

 Plan.

Think of your business plan as a mountain. Your mission statement is at the base of the mountain while your big dream is at the peak. Everything in between is what you need to plan and these steps should also be incorporated into a business plan.

  • What products do you want to create?
  • How often do you want to produce a product?
  • How can you implement some passive income or affiliate income into your business?
  • Are there any speaking engagements or online summit opportunities that will expand your reach and your followers?
  • What can you add to your sales funnel for those not yet ready to commit to coaching?

Action Steps.

This is where your planning steps are broken down into smaller, actionable steps. Instead of just saying I want to write a book, break the process down further.

  • How much time can you dedicate each day to writing?
  • Do you want to self-publish or find a publisher?
  • You’ll need to hire an editor and someone to design the cover.

These are actionable steps that can easily be crossed off your to do list once completed.

Don’t be thrown off here, it can sometimes seem overwhelming. You don’t need to plan 5 years’ worth of action steps at one time. The idea is to plan a year at a time, keeping your focus in mind, so that the action steps become a pathway or a blueprint to your big dreams.

I think it’s important to plan the year ahead, I suggest you prioritize the time needed to put together a clear and detailed business plan for the next 12 months.  This will help your business as well as your personal life because you will have more time for family, friends or whatever it is you choose to do in your off time.