New Year’s Resolutions for Your Small Business

It’s that time of year again - making personal promises to better our lives, kick those bad habits, or improve behavior. Maybe it is time to position your business for added success in 2013; make a new year’s resolution to enhance your marketing strategies. Here are some resolutions that are a must for this New Year: 

• Identify and pursue new growth opportunities. Whether it is new products or new customer segments, how can you expand? Look at upcoming customer trends.

• Spice up your marketing materials. Start with your website. Get rid of items that have the previous year’s info. Use bullet points to break things up and make sure all your links work correctly. Also, make sure your business cards, website, e-mails, etc. are all coordinated with the same theme!

• Explore mobile marketing. Mobile internet will surpass traditional desktop use by 2014. If you haven’t done so already, use this coming year to explore mobile-friendly ways of advertising. Maybe an app?

• Further your reach in the social media world. Social media is here to stay and if you have not made the dive into it, 2013 is the year where it needs to happen.  If you have a social media presence, commit to furthering your reach by making daily updates and interacting with consumers more frequently.

By knocking out your business’s 2013 marketing strategy now, you can set the tone to be one- step ahead of your competition. Thinking ahead and making strategic decisions now will help you skip the game of constant catch-up later on. 

 

If you are interested in learning more about ways to construct a 2013 marketing strategy for your business, give us a call. The BBG&G team has the knowledge and experience to get your business ahead of the game!

New Years Resolution: Update that website!

If you are like most business owners, you began cutting back on your advertising and marketing expenses in 2008. And since that time, you have seen significant changes in the marketplace — with your customers as well as your competition. Chances are, some of your major competitors have closed their doors.

Fast forward 2011: People are starting to spend again!

Companies we are talking to are finally feeling the need to step up their advertising — whew! We are all cautiously optimistic about the future.

If you have made the decision to take that positive step of investing in marketing, the first thing you need to do is set aside a budget. This is where most companies fail, right out of the starting gate. If you need to know what a reasonable budget would be, those figures are available based on your industry and a percentage of your gross income.

The second thing you should do is update your website. If you do not have one, get one. If you do have one, chances are it is old and outdated. And don’t consider a website a one-time investment. In addition to the initial development costs, plan on investing regularly in updates. Technology is constantly changing, and it is important to stay current. It is also important to have a website developed where you can edit and update information as needed and include interactivity.

Use social media such as Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube … these are all integral marketing tools and can be maintained with a modest budget.

Do not get me wrong. Traditional media is still valuable. But the first thing you need to do is get your online marketing in order. The next step will be to use traditional media (print advertising, radio, and television) to excite and attract your customers to your online presence, where they will learn everything about you that they need to know in order to make their buying decision.

Feel free to give us a call. We would love to help you get started.

June Bisel