Since 2010 is just around the corner and New Year’s resolutions are coming our way, how about making a resolution for your small business? The best resolution I recommend is to carve out an hour a week for marketing your business. In just that tiny hour, you can do so much to help your business grow.
Making Time and Keeping a List
Your first hour is going to be the hardest. Sit down, turn off the phone, and ignore incoming emails. Make this hour completely dedicated to you and your business growth. Start an ongoing list somewhere that you can easily add to, edit, delete, and FIND later. I recommend using whatever office programs you may already have, such as Mail “To-Do’s” for Macs or Outlook for PCs. Or go online and use one of the many free task list websites, such as RemembertheMilk.com or TaDaLists.com. Second, decide on a regular time and day that you can reserve for marketing in your weekly routine. Use whatever calendaring program you use, create an “event,” and make it repeat indefinitely. Do NOT erase this time, blow it off, or say you will do it later. Choose a time that will most likely work for you and do your best to never change it. And if you must, reschedule it for the same week. Once you have set up your routine and list, you are half way there.
Your Hour
What you do with your hour for marketing is up to you. However, remember that what you put it you will most likely get out. Your first month of marketing dates will be the most difficult. Use your first hour to make the list of all the things you want to do or have heard of as ideas for marketing. Your second hour will most likely be dedicated to prioritizing your list. Prioritize by things you most likely will do, have the budget for, and are most targeted to your target audience. Your third hour will be spent revising and adding to your list as well as starting the first task. The fourth hour and every hour thereafter will be spent revising your list and doing task by task. Keep in mind:
Marketing is something that every business needs to do to grow, despite its size. Sample business plans and business development centers even recommend a mandatory ongoing marketing budget for all businesses. Having a regular routine will help you keep marketing in your sights and your business in a direction for growth.
~If you need some help getting your marketing efforts streamlined, feel free to give me a call. I’ve helped numerous small businesses define goals, create a distinct path, and a reasonable ongoing process that fits time and budgets.