Too Busy to Market, Too Busy for Success!

By Jody Gabourie

As small business owners and entrepreneurs it’s easy to
fall into the habit of believing you’re too busy to market.
However, this is like saying that you’re too busy to
invest in your ongoing success.

I think it’s human nature to forget about our marketing
when we’ve got clients coming in but as soon as the flow
slows down a bit (which it will), we panic and start
looking frantically around for ways to get more clients
coming in.

By making time regularly and consistently to market, you
ensure that you continue to find and keep your most
profitable clients. This is what will give you long-term
success and growth in your business.

So, how exactly do you make marketing a top priority?

Here are 4 suggestions to try…

1. Make sure you have a marketing action plan

When you have a roadmap that tells you where you’re going
and how to get there, then actually doing something becomes
much easier. When you have a plan of action, you don’t
have to waste time scrambling around every time you try a
new marketing activity.

A marketing action plan allows you to spend less time with
your marketing and be more focused at the same time.

2. Create a marketing action calendar

Having a calendar that plots out each marketing action acts
as a great visual roadmap. You can see at a glance any
“holes” or overlaps of strategies and timing. I plot
everything on my marketing action calendar – from
newsletter submission dates, blog posting schedule, special
email reminders, networking events, teleseminars and so on.

Having a marketing action calendar lets you stay on top of
the marketing you’ve committed to.

3. Schedule marketing appointments with yourself

Set aside at least a day a week to work on marketing your
business. Schedule this into your day-timer, PDA or
calendar and don’t break it! Consider it as important as
appointments you schedule with your clients. Take this
time to evaluate and track your marketing activities,
research new opportunities, tweak your sales goals, write
an article or blog post, conduct a client survey, and so on.

By scheduling appointments with yourself, you MAKE your
marketing a priority.

4. Do bite-sized marketing chunks throughout the day

You can deal with the bigger chunks (planning, writing,
tracking, etc.) of marketing during your weekly scheduled
marketing appointment with yourself. However, there are
lots of little bite-sized marketing tasks that you can do
between appointments or when you need a break from working
on a large project.

Here are some bite-sized marketing tasks that can be done
in 5 – 10 minutes:

* call up a client and ask for a testimonial

* sign up for your next networking event

* call a program chairperson about setting up a speaking
engagement at an organization you’re interested in

* email a potential referral source to set up a meeting

* jot down an outline for your newsletter content

* call a new client to find out if they have any questions
on their recent purchase

* send an article, with a note, to a client you know is
interested in the topic

* order a thank you gift, on the web or by phone, to be
sent to someone who just referred a client to you

* submit an article you’ve written to an article directory
website

* send a handwritten note to someone you met at a meeting
recently

* write up something for your blog and post it

* check out a company’s website that you are interested in
possibly doing a joint venture with

Incorporate these 4 tips into your everyday work schedule
and you’ll soon find it easy and profitable to make
marketing a priority.

About the Author:

Jody Gabourie, The Small Business Marketing Coach, delivers
simple, innovative and powerful marketing strategies to
help business owners find and keep their most profitable
clients. To learn more about how she can help you take your
business to the next level, and to sign up for her FREE
special report, ezine and articles, visit her site at
http://www.JodyGabourieMarketingCoach.com