1      How many pillars are there in your marketing? 

Your business is like the Parthenon - held up by MANY pillars

If you are over dependent on too few, whatever success you are cheering right now is an illusion - you are making a MASSIVE vulnerability. Marketing is a constantly changing medium

If you don't have at least 12 pillars, you are missing out on customers, on revenue and, most importantly - PROFIT! 

Here on Thebestofbarrowandfurness we have  – 21 Marketing opportunities to help your business grow.

2      Do the numbers in your business? 

What are the big goals over the next 6, 12 and 36 months in terms of your target numbers of customers, turnover, profit and even your business asset value?

How much profit did you make last week? - demonstrating that you know your numbers is one of the key characteristics of successful business owners

Do you know how cost effective your marketing is? Are you even tracking what works? Are you using Google Analytics? Using call tracking numbers for your ads and leaflets? If you can’t measure it you can’t monitor it.

For example  :- make  your special offers  traceable to one source only!

3      Are you in control of your database? 

Capturing your leads is critical to your business - if you are serious about taking charge of the relationship between you and your customers then you need to capture your leads.

So what's your bait? - Your website...? At the till...? At shows and exhibitions...? 

If you get your 'lead capture' mechanism right, the bigger and faster your business will grow!

Thebestofbarrowandfurness have collected over 3,000 + names though testimonials and events in the past few years.

4      Following up!

Did you know that 97% of businesses don't follow up more than 4 times (in fact, most don't follow up more than once!!)

But...81% of prospects don't make their purchase until after the 5th contact! 

Bear in mind, if you are sending the right information, to the right customer - but simply at the wrong time - it is still the 'right' information. 

Clarksons Coachways took 3 years to say yes to joining  tbo

It ‘s just a “No, not now, not a No, never!”

5      Segmentation: not all your customers are the same!

The broad brush approach to marketing is DEAD!

Think about the different ways in which you can segment your database, and hence tailor your communications to match... By product / Geographic / Purchase History / by price / by gender. My example about Twitter!

More relevant. More personal. More sales! 

Ask people how  they like to be communicated with.  Gas Water Heating got a quote for £11,000 off Twitter and £2,200 off Facebook last month!

6      Are you spending time ON your business? 

If you spend all your time - all day, every day - working IN your business, you will always limit the level of your success.

So, if you want to be truly successful, you need to find time- ideally EVERY day - to work ON your business. Use this time to achieve one marketing job every day and, little by little, you will gradually fulfil your plans and start to see the rewards of your hard work! 

7      You've got to TRULY earn your success! 

The honest truth is that no-one gets rewarded for being just 'ordinary' anymore. You have to strive to be better than the rest at the very least.

Just ask yourself the question...why should one of your hard-working customers put their hand in their pocket and give YOU some of their hard-earned cash? 

And you'd better come up with a really good answer. In 2012 you need a profound reason for your business to exist - and you needing to make a living is NOT a profound reason!

Thebestof  have a double your money charter –  which essentially says  that you have to work at it too! My best members are always contacting me!