Are you caught in the "IN"
trap?
"I'm caught in a trap...I can't walk out..."
When Mark James aka Francis Zambon wrote those lyrics in 1968 for Suspicious Minds, I doubt he had us in mind. I'm sure Elvis
didn't when he sang it!
But those words ring true for many business owners struggling today to grow their business.
They are mired working IN their business leaving little time to work ON
it.
But are they really trapped?
Or are they just more comfortable with the devil they know (endless work days) than the devil they don't...namely, finding more efficient ways to generate
profits so they're freed up to do other things?
Let's face it...learning new things takes us out of our comfort zone.
But in order to maintain our success in today's noisy and crowded
marketplace - complete with economic downturns and new competitors springing up all over the place - we need to keep up with times.
And that means a willingness to venture into the unknown.
The alternative? Being left behind. Maybe not today. But eventually.
The days of reaction marketing are long over. As business owners, we need to be out in front if we want to making sure our businesses continue to thrive.
Especially when it comes to marketing.
For many business owners, marketing is an expensive, mysterious black hole.
They
often employ marketing strategies that continue to produce unsatisfactory results.
Often, that's the result of too many one-shot marketing tactics instead of a proven, systematic approach.
As business owners, we're in the promotion business - not the business of delivering products and services.
Perhaps you`ve never thought of it that way.
Although the reasons for
making promotion a priority are many, there's one that supercedes all others.
Without a focused effort on creating a marketing system, you'll continue to find yourself losing ground to competitors who have implemented one.
These savvy marketers understand the importance of implementing strategies and processes that automate their marketing efforts and equip them with the modern marketing weapons they they need to grow at a rate they want.
Many marketers leave TONS of money on the
table by not addressing three common marketing leverage points:
- They are trying to one-step prospects into buying. This is probably responsible for more lost selling opportunities than any other marketing mistake.Less than 5% of prospects are ready to buy when they first encounter your offering. And, frankly, many marketers have "me too" online messaging.
- They lack
an automated, easy-to-implement and manage email nurturing system. The fortune is in the follow-up.It takes time to woo prospects to a point where they feel comfortable buying from us. It's the back end where the profit lies.
- They have no organized system in place for upselling or cross selling. Clients who have already indicated they WANT the value the business owner offers are happy to be presented with additional ways we can help them.
A marketing system isn`t simply for attracting new clients. You can use it to inform, educate and manage your current stable of clients and customers thereby reducing the time you spend on the phone or writing emails.
If you`re tired of hacking your way through the
marketplace jungle with a dull butter knife, try implementing the simple strategies above so you have a systematic way of attracting, nurturing and converting qualified prospects into profitable customers and clients.
