Marketing is an art in that it can continuously be tweaked to produce better results more efficiently. Minor changes in a process or format of a campaign can yield big results. In your own business, there are dozens of ways you could tweak your marketing to improve results. To help you brainstorm on what these would be, here are three ways I recommend you tweak your marketing for better results.
1. Convert your blog into print collateral. You have already spent the time and effort required to write a blog, so why not get more use out of it? Create a template in Word, Publisher or a graphic design program, e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign, that looks like an article reprint from a magazine. Then, insert each article you write into the template creating additional marketing collateral to hand out to prospects. This enables you to tailor your introductory collateral packages to each prospect by including an article specific to their concerns.
2. Automate your prospect and client communication. Are you wasting time manually sending a standard communication to prospects and new clients? Instead, use your customer relationship management system to automate the e-mail communication. Use the e-mail auto responder feature included in most e-mail marketing programs these days. This enables prospects and clients to receive a set schedule of information, freeing up your time for more productive tasks.
3. Use an online event registration system. If you host events, eliminate phone and e-mail RSVPs, and, instead, use an online registration system. Using a system like this helps reduce the number of "no shows" and improves the follow-up process, both common headaches when hosting events. I recommend EventBrite.com because there is no cost to use the system for your free events, and it enables you to accept payments for paid events at a nominal fee.
