Small Business Owner | LGK Marketing Matters Blog

What is said, when it’s said, where it’s said and how it’s said are keys to effective communication. But too often we leave these keys in the glove compartment when it comes to marketing, choosing instead a “one and done” ride on a self-serving wing and prayer for immediate results. This week, we’re serving up suggestions in “marketing speak” to help you reach, engage and influence customers and clients.

When planning and budgeting for marketing programs and campaigns, add the following four ingredients in the mix to maximize your momentum.

Consistency: Find the right balance, channels and platforms to clearly convey your identity, brand/product promise and statements on an ongoing basis. Think long-term and plan for the long haul.
Frequency: A widely accepted rule of thumb is to “touch your target” or expose your audience to messaging a minimum of seven times to trigger a call to action response.
Repetition: Relentless use of the same message makes an imprint, builds “top of mind” awareness and reinforces brand/product positioning.
Emotional Anchors: Roy H. Williams, a well-known marketing guru, defines this term as implanting an associative memory. In other words, connect to the target’s needs, wants and emotional triggers; personalize the value proposition.

If you are a small-business owner, you can ill-afford to omit these ingredients in the marketing messaging mix. To do so will cost you time and money – resources in short supply for those pulling triple duty as chief cook, bottle washer and marketing officer.

What’s your messaging strategy? Stir this pot with what works for you and check out our previous recipe on focus to maximize your momentum. In the meantime, get your creative juices inspired by one of our favorite Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tracks from the 2010 Mojo album.

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If you’re the chief cook and bottle washer of your business, chances are, you’re the CMO (chief marketing officer) too. You are not alone. In fact, a small business survey by AWeber found that 88 percent of owners pull double duty as primary marketers. No surprise here, these owners have to be master multitaskers, for heating up the business and bottom line boils down to time and money. And success requires a key ingredient: focus.

This week, we’re serving up suggestions to improve your marketing focus. Assuming you’ve identified goals, determined strategy and outlined objectives, you need a plan to define what must be done. But here’s the rub. Many business owners know what they want but don’t have a plan, which is a recipe for disaster. A plan, be it merely a list or comprehensive document, holds you accountable and keeps you focused on using time wisely and spending marketing dollars most efficiently. Here are our top five suggestions to improve focus:

Identify the Buyer Persona. In other words, switch places with your ideal customer/client. Who are they, what makes them tick, what motivates them to choose your business or service. Failure to identify the buyer persona will have you trying to be everything to everyone and that’s expensive, time consuming and, in many cases, futile.
Develop no more than five actions based upon your buyer persona. For example, if your buyer persona is a 49-64-year-old commercial banker engaged on social media, why would you have a presence on a network that skews teens and why, oh why, post a selfie in a restroom (our new anti-obsession)?
Do the work. Allocate time each day to work on each of your actions.
Evaluate. Your actions should have measurable results and you should be monitoring them.
Adjust. Based on your evaluation, an action may require a little more time each day or a complete makeover if results prove ineffective.

How do you maintain your marketing focus? Help stir this pot of marketing mojo with your suggestions. And check back regularly for updates as we count down to the debut of the Marketing Mojo Show a flavorful podcast and Twitter Chat series to stimulate your marketing senses. In the meantime, get your mojo working with this classic Muddy Waters concert clip.