How do you determine which marketing tools and methods make the most sense for your customer base? Below are some questions to ask yourself before you spend money on marketing tactics that seem cool but don't reach your customers:
1. Who are our customers and how much do we understand about their needs and interests?
2. What do we offer that's unique and why do customers value it?
3. Where do our customers find out about our products/services now? Is that evolving?
4. When are they looking for the products and services that we provide?
5. Why do they buy from us now? Do they also consider purchases from our competitors?
6. How do we deliver our products and services to them? Does it align with how we communicate with them?
After you've answered these questions, think about the tactics that make the most sense, based on who your customers are and why and how they want to conduct business with you.
Finally, you need to be able to measure results from your efforts because at the end of the day, it's always about ROI. Investments in marketing tools should not just be thought of only in monetary terms. They also need to be measured in terms of time invested, especially given how scarce a resource time is for almost all entrepreneurs. If you cannot justify your time and effort, simply don't do it.
Thanks to Beth Goldstein, President Marketing Edge Consulting Group Boston / Bloomberg L.P. / Businessweek
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2011/04/dont_squander_time_on_the_wrong_marketing_tactics.html
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