You have more than a hundred ways to market your business, so it's important to know just when you'll be doing that marketing. Having your marketing calendar prepared for the year has several important reasons:
- So you can plan ahead and be ready to fire
- So you don't overlook opportunities
- So you can get your product suppliers to participate
- So your team knows what will be happening and when
- So that you can schedule enough staff for peak times
- So you can kick off holiday promotions
- So you can take advantage of special events
- So you can participate in your product manufacturer's promotions
- So you can qualify for additional co-op and promotional funds
Think of your marketing calendar as a road map to assist you in setting and realizing goals and keeping you on course. You’ll also need to set a budget, so the more planning you do now, the better.
Your marketing Strategy should accomplish the following:
- Acquiring more customers
- Persuading each customer to buy more products
- Persuading each customer to buy more expensive products or up selling each customer
- Persuading each customer to buy more profitable products
To accomplish this, here are some ideas to get you started:
- Call your vendors or associates and ask them to participate with you in co-op advertising.
- Take some time to send your existing customers' referrals and buying incentives.
- Have you thought about introducing yourself to the media? Free publicity has the potential to boost your business. By doing this you position yourself as an expert in your field.
- Invite people into your place of business by piggybacking onto an event. Is there a concert coming to town, are you willing to sell those tickets? It could mean free radio publicity. If that is not your cup of tea, how about a walkathon that is taking place in your area, why not be a public outreach and distribute their material?
It takes time to develop a marketing plan, but it’s important because it's a great opportunity to focus on the future, generate new ideas, and inspire your team and grow your company. Even a simple plan is better than none, but when you invest more effort upfront, you’ll have a better roadmap toward your goals.
