No.7: Marketing Mix

Work out how you can best target your potential customers, group by group, and promote your business by coming up with a marketing mix. A marketing mix is made up of five elements:

• Advertising
• Sales and Promotion
• Public Relations - PR
• Direct Marketing - DM
• Personal Selling

Advertising, although expensive, is effective, but must be done properly. For example, even though the advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper your target may be too busy to read it.

If you choose radio, make sure you choose the right station.

TV is terrific if you have the budget. Direct Mail and Telemarketing is a sure fire winner if you have the right data, the right Direct Mail piece and the right form of telemarketing in place.

Presence on the internet is now considered crucial.

No.8: Effective Communication

As George Bernard Shaw once said, the greatest problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.

Many different types of communication can be used to promote a companys message. Before you engage in any communication programme with your customers you must work out what you want to say, and who you want to say it to. You may have several messages for different products or services in addition to an over-all awareness message. It is usual to have a mix under the headings: product, and generic awareness. Most importantly, whatever it is you want to say, make it as clear as possible.

No.9: Your Staff

Make sure you have a team behind you who thoroughly understand your marketing plans. Also, make sure you have the right amount of back-up ready to handle the increase in customer enquiries.

No.10: Seek Advice

You know your business inside out. Marketing isn't rocket science, but it does require multi-skills and lots of time.

It's fundamentally about persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.

Seek advice from a reputable advertising marketing and design company who will look at the whole picture for you and make cost-effective recommendations. Marketing is not about a quick-fix. Its about growing your business for sustainable success.

We will leave you with this last thought...

"Doing business without marketing is like winking at a girl in the dark - you know what you are doing, but nobody else does." - Edgar Watson Howe