Over the last six months, I’ve been submerged in marketing for our printing and software companies, listening to and reading everything I can find on the subject, which I can attest, at times, seemed overwhelming.
As you’re probably aware, marketing in today environment changes rapidly, and it takes an effort to keep up. I have compiled a growing list of TO-DOs on marketing, some of which I’ll share with you here.
Below are some of my activities these past months:
- Negotiating air time and writing ads for AM, FM and Internet Radio campaigns in certain strategic markets.
- Working with graphic designers and selecting mail lists for direct mail campaigns.
- Setting up new auto responders for clients and vendors on our Websites.
- Working with a voice artist for our audiobook and setting up the digital book on Amazon.
- Overseeing our paid clicks campaigns on Google, Yahoo and Bing; creating banner ads for many highly-trafficked Websites in order to increase our traffic.
- Working with designers and programmers on re-skinning our online printing Website so it's better suited for mobile phones and other devices, as we just learned that half of our traffic is coming from mobile devices.
- Writing systems and hiring people to put feet to certain online and offline marketing efforts.
- Getting ready for our new podcast to be launched, hopefully, in the next few months, by creating content and purchasing all the necessary recording equipment. Also setting up a Website to stream RSS feeds, blogs and show notes.
- Improving our current direct sales system with Barton Beyer, our new sales manager.
- Writing blogs; creating YouTube videos with our video people; hosting and attending Webinars, seminars; overseeing social media efforts, SEO for Websites; meeting with direct salespeople, etc, etc.
Whew! That's just some of the marketing efforts needed to grow a business in today's world.
Just now, I’m thinking how nice it would be to have MANY “MINI MEs” to get it all done!
And how about all those OTHER things business owners are required to do, such as overseeing daily operations like cash flow, tax issues, sales, production, equipment acquisitions, new technology trends, government regulations, employee concerns, building maintenance, pricing issues for buying and selling—on and on it goes!
But wait! There's more!
What about those things that employees, friends, consultants, media, government and even family members are constantly suggesting business owners should do in order to have a successful business?
As a business owner or manager, do you ever wish you could CLONE yourself into about ten MINI YOUs? Even THAT might not be enough to handle all of the "Have-To-Dos," "Should-Dos" and "Wanna-Dos".
Have you ever stopped to consider how any small or even mid-sized companies could possibly implement and sustain the thousands of these TO DOS, to compete in our fast moving world, given the constant barrage of new information and ideas for improvement we are supposed to assimilate?
No wonder business owners’ eyes glass over and they want to hide under their desk when someone stops by to share a new idea. And all the more, when they attend a seminar with a "Rah Rah" boy, touting the LASTEST fad to grow a business: “It's a MUST SEE and a MUST HAVE!”
Yes, I am one of those people shouting from the rooftop, pleading and begging owners to “CLONE yourselves into MANY MINI MEs,” in order to do MANY times more than mentioned in the above paragraphs.
I know for a fact—it CAN be done!
However, to do it, you must FIRST do a "Brain Dump," that is, downloading (out of YOUR head into written systems) information about all the things you are now doing in your business that you shouldn't HAVE to do, or you don't WANT to do—so you can delegate (repeat, DELEGATE) that task to someone else.
By having access to your written systems, another person can do a task or process as if YOU were doing it yourself—a veritable MINI YOU. And YOU can be replicated MANY, MANY times over, using the power of systems. Admittedly, some might think more than one YOU could be a scary proposition!
However, I suggest you give it a try. You might discover you finally have time to go on a special vacation to that exotic place you've been promising your spouse.
Did I mention? Great Systems Work!
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Philip Beyer, founder/president of Ebiz Products LLC and founder of Beyer Printing Inc. in Nashville Tenn., is a chronic entrepreneur, business systems analyst and consultant. Author of "System Busters: How to Stop Them in Your Business" and recipient of an InterTech Technology Award for the design and development of System100 business process management software. Beyer speaks to business owners across the country on how to bring lean, sustainable order to their businesses. Contact him at (615) 425-2652.