3 Types of Marketing Your Small Business
Needs to Grow
by Stacy Karacostas
If you’re like most small business owners the majority of your marketing and
advertising is focused on bringing in new business.
Maybe you’re doing a lot of networking...Or placing ads...Or cold
calling...Or finding referral partners...Or all of these and more.
I call these “attraction” tactics because they attract new clients and
customers. And they can be quite effective.
Entrepreneurs tend to use a lot of attraction tactics because that’s what
everyone is most familiar with.
Whether on TV or radio, the sides of buses, or in magazines and newspapers,
we’re bombarded with ads that are nothing more than a catchy image and slogan
plus a Web address. Pure attraction.
If all those big, successful companies are spending oodles of cash on
attraction tactics, you probably should too. Right?
Well, yes and no.
There are actually two other powerful types of tactics. And you need to use
all three if you really want your business to grow.
The problems with attraction
I’ll be the first to say attraction tactics can be a valuable and effective
part of any marketing plan. They get your name out there, create a sense of
familiarity, and hopefully make your business memorable.
The problem is that straight attraction tactics are usually the most
expensive, and take the longest to generate results (IE sales).
Here’s why…
On average, it takes 7 times more money to get a new customer than keep an
existing customer.
Because you’ve got to get in front of people 7-10 times before they notice
you. Then another 7 times or more before they even think about taking action
(calling, buying, etc.) And that’s assuming you’re getting in front of the right
audience.
On top of that, it’s often hard to track results from attraction tactics.
Coke has no idea how many people, if any, buy more soda after watching their
Super Bowl commercials. But they can afford to spend a ton of money just
building and maintaining brand familiarity. Most small business owners can’t.
Rarely recommend my clients even invest in straight attraction tactics.
Because the other two kinds of tactics—“conversion” and “retention”—provide far
more bang for the buck. Plus, conversion tactics can usually do double duty as
attraction tactics anyway.
The 3 types of marketing tactics every business should use
To really make your marketing work magic, you need to use a mix of:
1) Attraction tactics to get you noticed, develop brand recognition, and
increase familiarity
2) Conversion tactics to get people to take action, call, sign up or buy
3) Retention tactics to keep you in touch with past customers, and ideally
turn them into repeat customers and referral sources
Converting the masses
Basically, conversion tactics get you to take some kind of action. They
convert cold prospects into warm prospects, or prospects into customers.
The best examples are in direct response marketing…
Any letter or postcard that says “Put a sticker here…Send this back in…Order
this…Do that.” is engaging in conversion marketing.
An ad that says, “Call now for your free report on…” is looking for you to
take action. Conversion again.
Even a link on a Website that says “Click here to learn more about _______”
is a conversion tactic.
Effective conversion is a very, very good thing because it weeds out the
uninterested, helps you build a list, and often results in sales.
Don’t forget about retention
The final category of tactics is retention. This is where most entrepreneurs
fail miserably.
It’s easy to spend so much time focused on getting new customers you forget
about ones you already have. And before you know it, they’ve forgotten about you
too.
Yet retention tactics are usually the easiest, most effective and least
expensive to implement. After all, you don’t have to tell past clients who you
are, or explain the value of what you offer. If they were happy the first time
they did business with you, chances are they’d feel good about coming to you
again—or referring someone else.
You just need to follow up by creating a system for staying in touch and top
of mind. Send out a regular newsletter…Write thank you cards... Hold special
events…Call people personally. Whatever.
The bottom line is, you can’t just advertise and sit back hoping people
decide to call or come in. If you want to turbo-charge your business growth, you
need to take control with a mix of attraction, conversion and retention
marketing tactics. Once you do, your sales will soar.
Copyright 2008 SuccessStream/Stacy Karacostas. All Rights Reserved.
Practical Marketing Expert Stacy Karacostas specializes in
taking the stress, struggle and confusion out of growing your small business.
She's the author of "Putting Your Business on the Road to Success", "The Small
Business Website Bible" and more than 200 articles on marketing, copywriting,
sales and success. For more information, visit
Success-Stream.com. |
