ick a small percentage of your target audience and watch the results very closely. You may be surprised in a good or bad way – or you may find that the new technique really doesn’t make a difference either way.

Success – And Failure – Are Measurable. Therefore, you should be measuring the results of your marketing efforts. How do you do this? Well, there’s one way that is a bit archaic… but it’s free and simple to use. Send an email, or a letter, and then watch to see how many new visitors you get over the next two weeks.

Or, offer a discount coupon. Or, there’s another technique that is a bit more involved… sort of.

Small business owners are always watching for new marketing and advertising ideas. That’s just the nature of small businesses. We watch the “junk mail” for interesting techniques, and we definitely pay attention to the internet. Those of us who have other business-owner friends ask questions about what is working and what is not. We toss around a lot of ideas and try many different techniques before we figure out exactly what works for us… and inevitably something changes.

There is one thing that always holds true for small businesses, and that is change. Therefore, my advice is to pay attention to the latest marketing trends – but to avoid them at all costs whenever possible!

Why? Well, quite simply I have found through experience that the “latest trend” marketing techniques tend to over-promise and under-deliver. Anytime I receive an offer from a marketing firm that promises me a “low fee” for “high ROI” I turn tail and run. The entire situation is a learning experience, and let me tell you that marketing copywriters are VERY skilled at using the psychological triggers that make you WANT to buy the services as fast as possible.

But, I warn you not to fall prey to these techniques. Remember that the beast you are dealing with is a MARKETING FIRM. Their sole purpose is to GET PEOPLE TO BUY. Yes, they even use their techniques to build a customer base.

The first few times that you bypass a “hot” new marketing trend, or the “only way” to turn visitors into customers… it’s painful! I’ll admit that. However, sit back and ask yourself the following question the next time you find something hard to pass up:

Am I willing to WASTE all of the money, time and effort that have already been invested in my marketing campaigns in order to risk changing to a new and most-likely unproven technique? Personally, I generally answer with a quick, there’s no possible way! And I move on.

This is not to say that changing the way you sell your business should be avoided! I have put together some tips for assessing whether it’s time to try a different “proven” marketing technique.

If the Wheel Spins, Why Reinvent? When your current marketing practices are steadily bringing you new clients or site visitors, and you are experiencing an acceptable conversion rate… You would be crazy to swap a known technique for something else just to shake things up. Consider adding to your current marketing, but if what you are doing is getting you measurable results, I say… LEAVE IT ALONE!

If you MUST try something new, pick a small percentage of your target audience and watch the results very closely. You may be surprised in a good or bad way – or you may find that the new technique really doesn’t make a difference either way.

Success – And Failure – Are Measurable. Therefore, you should be measuring the results of your marketing efforts. How do you do this? Well, there’s one way that is a bit archaic… but it’s free and simple to use. Send an email, or a letter, and then watch to see how many new visitors you get over the next two weeks.

Or, offer a discount coupon. Or, there’s another technique that is a bit more involved… sort of. I

o avoid them at all costs whenever possible!

Why? Well, quite simply I have found through experience that the “latest trend” marketing techniques tend to over-promise and under-deliver. Anytime I receive an offer from a marketing firm that promises me a “low fee” for “high ROI” I turn tail and run. The entire situation is a learning experience, and let me tell you that marketing copywriters are VERY skilled at using the psychological triggers that make you WANT to buy the services as fast as possible.

But, I warn you not to fall prey to these techniques. Remember that the beast you are dealing with is a MARKETING FIRM. Their sole purpose is to GET PEOPLE TO BUY. Yes, they even use their techniques to build a customer base.

The first few times that you bypass a “hot” new marketing trend, or the “only way” to turn visitors into customers… it’s painful! I’ll admit that. However, sit back and ask yourself the following question the next time you find something hard to pass up:

Am I willing to WASTE all of the money, time and effort that have already been invested in my marketing campaigns in order to risk changing to a new and most-likely unproven technique? Personally, I generally answer with a quick, there’s no possible way! And I move on.

This is not to say that changing the way you sell your business should be avoided! I have put together some tips for assessing whether it’s time to try a different “proven” marketing technique.

If the Wheel Spins, Why Reinvent? When your current marketing practices are steadily bringing you new clients or site visitors, and you are experiencing an acceptable conversion rate… You would be crazy to swap a known technique for something else just to shake things up. Consider adding to your current marketing, but if what you are doing is getting you measurable results, I say… LEAVE IT ALONE!

If you MUST try something new, pick a small percentage of your target audience and watch the results very closely. You may be surprised in a good or bad way – or you may find that the new technique really doesn’t make a difference either way.

Success – And Failure – Are Measurable. Therefore, you should be measuring the results of your marketing efforts. How do you do this? Well, there’s one way that is a bit archaic… but it’s free and simple to use. Send an email, or a letter, and then watch to see how many new visitors you get over the next two weeks.

Or, offer a discount coupon. Or, there’s another technique that is a bit more involved… sort of.

purpose is to GET PEOPLE TO BUY. Yes, they even use their techniques to build a customer base.

The first few times that you bypass a “hot” new marketing trend, or the “only way” to turn visitors into customers… it’s painful! I’ll admit that. However, sit back and ask yourself the following question the next time you find something hard to pass up:

Am I willing to WASTE all of the money, time and effort that have already been invested in my marketing campaigns in order to risk changing to a new and most-likely unproven technique? Personally, I generally answer with a quick, there’s no possible way! And I move on.

This is not to say that changing the way you sell your business should be avoided! I have put together some tips for assessing whether it’s time to try a different “proven” marketing technique.

If the Wheel Spins, Why Reinvent? When your current marketing practices are steadily bringing you new clients or site visitors, and you are experiencing an acceptable conversion rate… You would be crazy to swap a known technique for something else just to shake things up. Consider adding to your current marketing, but if what you are doing is getting you measurable results, I say… LEAVE IT ALONE!

If you MUST try something new, pick a small percentage of your target audience and watch the results very closely. You may be surprised in a good or bad way – or you may find that the new technique really doesn’t make a difference either way.

Success – And Failure – Are Measurable. Therefore, you should be measuring the results of your marketing efforts. How do you do this? Well, there’s one way that is a bit archaic… but it’s free and simple to use. Send an email, or a letter, and then watch to see how many new visitors you get over the next two weeks.

Or, offer a discount coupon. Or, there’s another technique that is a bit more involved… sort of.

s is not to say that changing the way you sell your business should be avoided! I have put together some tips for assessing whether it’s time to try a different “proven” marketing technique.

If the Wheel Spins, Why Reinvent? When your current marketing practices are steadily bringing you new clients or site visitors, and you are experiencing an acceptable conversion rate… You would be crazy to swap a known technique for something else just to shake things up. Consider adding to your current marketing, but if what you are doing is getting you measurable results, I say… LEAVE IT ALONE!

If you MUST try something new, pick a small percentage of your target audience and watch the results very closely. You may be surprised in a good or bad way – or you may find that the new technique really doesn’t make a difference either way.

Success – And Failure – Are Measurable. Therefore, you should be measuring the results of your marketing efforts. How do you do this? Well, there’s one way that is a bit archaic… but it’s free and simple to use. Send an email, or a letter, and then watch to see how many new visitors you get over the next two weeks.

Or, offer a discount coupon. Or, there’s another technique that is a bit more involved… sort of.

ick a small percentage of your target audience and watch the results very closely. You may be surprised in a good or bad way – or you may find that the new technique really doesn’t make a difference either way.

Success – And Failure – Are Measurable. Therefore, you should be measuring the results of your marketing efforts. How do you do this? Well, there’s one way that is a bit archaic… but it’s free and simple to use. Send an email, or a letter, and then watch to see how many new visitors you get over the next two weeks.

Or, offer a discount coupon. Or, there’s another technique that is a bit more involved… sort of. If you are able to maintain and update your own website, one of the ways that you can determine if your marketing efforts are driving in traffic is to make a page on your site that is a duplicate of your index.html page. You’re your advertisement recipients to that URL. Then watch the stats on your server to see if people are indeed responding as you had intended. To balance these numbers, you can also measure the number of hits on your standard front page. Compare the two, and see if your marketing efforts seem to be making a difference.

YOU NEED MEASUREMENTS – OR THERE IS NO SENSE IN ADVERTISING AT ALL!
Patience… the key to trying something new If you have decided to change your marketing plan, and to incorporate something new, keep in mind that Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are successful marketing campaigns. Sustainability is important, and that means it may take a while for long-term effectiveness to appear as a result of your new techniques.

In general, almost any marketing technique will boost your sales and client-base…eventually. The results may not be immediately visible however.

Changing a marketing plan is one of the most stressful parts of operating a small business, however when you are patient the benefits will eventually materialize.

Marketing Techniques that Promise you the World… Yes, as your mother used to say… if it sounds to good to be true, it most likely IS too good to be true. Small business owners often fall prey to marketing firms that promise AMAZING results – and can prove them through testimonials.

Um, can I tell you a secret? As a freelance writer I have been asked on more than one occasion to write FAKE testimonials. I refuse, because I have been mislead in the past as a result of similar techniques and honestly I cannot write a testimonial for a service that does not give me results. NOW, if you try a new technique or software product and it DOES work for you – by ALL means write a testimonial. But, be honest!

Anything worth having is worth working for. Another of my mother’s adages. Guess what? She was RIGHT! If you want to successfully market your business, you are going to have to DO something!

Add New Techniques to your Current Marketing Plan. This is something that many small business owners do not realize. You can add techniques to your marketing plan, as you might remember from above, without scrapping your current proven techniques.

Don’t STOP doing what works in order to try something new!