Small Business Marketing Articles...

What Works for Marketing Your Services? Part 3 of 3

When you think about marketing your small business, do you think about that marketing as an activity you engage in once a month, whenever you think about it... or as an ongoing process?

If you treat marketing as a sporadic, one-shot thing, you'll never achieve the results you're after. Prospects simply won't respond to a message they hear only once, prospects simply won't respond to a message they see sporadically, you simply won't attract clients consistently if you're message is sporadic... no matter how great the message might be.

The key to success is consistency and repetition.

It should be pretty easy to understand why marketing that works, is a long-term process of consistency and repetition -- rather than a one-time event.

You're bombarded with advertisements for products and services every day in hundreds of ways -- radio, online, television, magazines, billboards, and on and on.

By necessity, you've learned to filter out the sales hype and commercials you see and hear. Guess what... so have your prospects, and the only way for you to get through to them (and get results) is with consistent effort and consistent, long term, repetition.

Think about is...unless you happen to be looking to buy a mattress on a particular day, you're not listening to the mattress company's weekly radio ad -- even if they're giving mattresses away at 75% off. But if you hear their message often enough, you'll probably think of that company when you're ready to shop for a mattress.

If you hear their radio ad a few times a month, see a sales flyer in the mail monthly, and then spot newspaper ads every other week stating the same message -- you'll also know exactly where to go when it's time for you to buy a mattress.

The mattress company didn't take a one-shot approach to marketing. They took a consistent approach, and they reached out to prospects again and again and again... over time. They used more than one avenue to reach you, and they repeated the same message consistently, over and over again.

Repetition is crucial when marketing your small business. You can't send out a postcard one time and expect results, or run one radio ad and wait for the phone to start ringing off the hook. Be prepared to repeat whatever marketing activity you're engaging in again and again.

So how much repetition and consistency do you need? The more the better -- given of course you are marketing to the right people (niche), using the right methods (strategic diversification) and using the language of your prospects (3Ps). If you're unaware of these methods, see my When Your Small Business is YOU Marketing Handbook for more info (see below for ordering information).

If you have these elements in place, you need to market to the same group of people for at bare minimum 6 months, before you allow yourself to get distracted and move on to something else. Twelve months is much better. At least that way you can safely say you have given a market a fair try and chance before moving on.

Repetition and consistency might not seem like a very glamorous or exciting way to market your services, but it's the only way you'll ever be successful.

If you want to attract clients consistently, you have to do the consistent work to get you there. The good news is, once you develop the habit of marketing with consistency and repetition, you'll have a system that works. Marketing consistently is the very best way to break out of the feast or famine cycle so many small businesses struggle to overcome. The same can be true for you.

By Jeanna Pool
©2008 CATALYST creative, inc.
All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeanna Pool is the author of When Your Small Business is YOU™ Marketing Handbook. Her firm, CATALYST creative, inc. helps small businesses attract more clients on a consistent basis. Visit Jeanna’s web site at http://www.CatalystCreativeInc.com and grab your copy of her Small Business Marketing Mini-Toolkit absolutely FREE!

You are free to use the information contained in this article in whole or in-part to post on your website or blog or reprint in your eZine or pass copies along to others. If you do so, you MUST include the complete attribution (writen above), including a live website link. Also, please email me and let me know where the article will appear.

If you like these articles...you can get more ideas, tips and strategies delivered to your inbox each and every month by subscribing to the Marketing Catalyst eZine. Once you subscribe you will receive my Small Business Marketing Mini-Toolkit absolutely FREE!

< BACK to the main Articles page