Happy New Year!

Blue Dog Marketing wishes you a very Happy New Year!

3 Tips to a Better Website

3 Tips to a Better Website

Having a website is an important part of your marketing plan. However, developing a website sometimes seems complicated and overwhelming. Here's a few tips you should follow to create a website that's easy to use and will keep your clients coming back.

1) Include contact information on every page. Be sure to make it easy for clients to contact you either by including an e-mail address, phone number or a link to a contact form on each page of your website. People are lazy. If they want to contact you and can't easily find your contact information, they'll leave your website.

2) Make sure everything works. If you include links or videos, be sure to test them and make sure they work. People will make assumptions about the quality of your business based on your website. Don't lose business because your website doesn't work properly.

3) Update your content. Be sure to provide fresh, updated content to your blog on a regular basis. When it's obvious new blogs haven't been added for several months, that creates a bad impression. New, fresh content will not only keep your customers coming back, but it will also help improve your search engine ranking.

Merry Christmas!

Blue Dog Marketing wishes you a safe and happy holidays! Merry Christmas!

Is A Brochure Right for Your Small Business?

Is A Brochure Right for Your Small Business?

Back in the 1980's-1990's Brochures were a hot marketing tool. Everyone was using brochures. Times have changed! Once the Internet became a creditable form of marketing, people have limited using brochures and some businesses have stopped using brochures forever. Why?

Just because you have a website or blog doesn't mean you should stop using brochures as a marketing tool to grow your business. Brochures can entice your targeted market to visit your website or blog.

Design your brochure to entice people to include a strong call-to-action, what you want them to do. If you are selling a product and your brochure is a tool you'll use to initiate the sales process. Add pictures, and a price list. If you are sponsoring a workshop or seminar, a brochure is a great way to get people to register for your event. Brochures are great for one time only events or a series of events. Below are a few more ideas to get you started on using brochures in marketing your business:

1. Don't use colored paper! Use off white or white and add color to the font used for the title and through pictures.

2. Be Creative and add graphic art and pictures.

3. Know how you are going to use the brochure. Will it be to sell a product? Promote your business in general? Or to offer a seminar, training or workshop?

4. Will your brochure be two fold or tri-fold?

5. Be sure to include the name of your company, your logo, contact phone number, and the purpose of the brochure.

6. You can use a brochure to introduce your company to the reader and describe specific products or services you have to offer. Make this information interesting to entice the reader to read on and not trash your brochure.

Cause Marketing: How Giving Back Can Be Profitable

Cause Marketing: How Giving Back Can Be Profitable

Cause Marketing is Good For Both Your Cause and Your Company

Cause related marketing, or "cause marketing" as coined by American Express with their campaign in the '83, continues to be a powerful marketing strategy. Cause marketing is a strategic marketing partnership that couples a brand or company with a social cause or cause-related organization for mutual benefit. It attracts consumers to a company or brand that patronizes a specific cause. This strategy has the potential to alter a consumer's choice environment and boost its public relations.

In cause marketing, marketers implement a charity into their advertising campaign. They raise a charity's awareness and gain a profit from their perceived elevated social responsibility. Benefits from this partnership include increases to revenue, visibility of the cause's message, and volunteers.

81% of consumers want to support a company's cause related product. A staggering 85% of consumers have a more positive opinion of a company that supports a cause, and 80% are more likely to switch to similarly priced brands.

This past fall, Blue Dog Marketing helped a client, trü salon, with cause marketing their participation in the American Cancer Society’s ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ walk. trü salon offered massages for a donation at the Park Avenue Festival in August. During October, the month of the walk, they held promotions in the salon to raise funds. They also had a large team participate in the walk. This is cause marketing. It’s part team building for the company, fun for the employees, raises awareness in the community, and, through marketing, raised name recognition for trü salon.

How are you giving back to causes through your company?

You Really Do Need a Marketing Budget

You Really Do Need a Marketing Budget

The mantra in business today is to do more with less. That concept carries through to marketing. There are many ways to spend your marketing dollars that may or may not achieve the results you are expecting. Here are several ways to increase the likelihood you will have an effective plan.

Be clear on what you are trying to accomplish
One of the keys in marketing is the return on investment for the money spent. By having clear, specific, measurable goals you will know if you are getting the right results. Many make decisions based on their "gut" feeling and never really know if they are spending wisely.

Concentrate on promoting what you do best
A small business can provide a wide range of services to their customers. That's doesn't necessarily mean they are great at all of those things. Promote the services that you are the best at doing and prefer to do.

Budget for outside support
While it is tempting to "do it yourself" to save money, the use of experienced professionals can save time and money if utilized properly. Someone who is skilled at developing web sites, for example, will know the pitfalls to avoid and how to make your site effective. Technology and analytics are available to experienced people to assist you with evaluating results to ensure your budget is spent wisely.

Plan for the unexpected
You cannot anticipate everything, good or bad, which impacts your practice. Be flexible and ready to react to changes. If your marketing plan brings in a large increase in customers, can you add staff to meet the demand? What happens if you have big promotion planned and there is a period of terrible weather than keeps everyone inside? Have some alternative plans in place to deal with the unexpected.

Regularly review your results
Most small businesses plan their budget annually, but it’s best to review the results monthly. That will allow for changes to build on what it working and possibly drop what is not. It is best to set aside time to do your review so it does not slip through the cracks.

Marketing your small business takes not only a solid budget, but a plan to implement and review it as well. Getting the most of the money you spend is key to achieving your goals.

 

Tips for Writing a Basic Marketing Plan

Tips for Writing a Basic Marketing Plan

Do you have a current marketing plan for your small business? Or do you keep putting it off because it seems overwhelming or you’re not sure where to start?

Creating a marketing plan is the best way to keep yourself on track to grow your business and obtain new customers. A marketing plan is also a great way to help you manage your time and energy by directing your day-to-day marketing activities.

A marketing plan doesn’t have to be daunting or time consuming to create. And a simple, easy to follow plan will help you stay more focused.

Here are five tips for creating your marketing plan:

Who is your ideal customer?

Determine who your ideal customer is. Identify who you want to attract to your business is essential to a successful marketing plan. Think about your current customers. Why do they need you? The more specific you can be, the easier it will be to create the right message and strategies to reach them.

Your goals

What are your goals? Again, be specific. How do you want to reach your prospective customers? Once you’ve reached them, what do you want them to do? You need to include a “call to action” in each contact with prospective customers. A “call to action” is the action you want them to take, such as signing up for your newsletter, visiting your website, or registering for a special offer.

Your prospective customers must get to know and trust you before they will do business with you. Think about the step they will take to trust you and become your customer.

How will you reach them?

Now you know who to target and what you want them to do, how will you find them? Are they on social media? What activities do your potential customers participate in?

Plan your budget

Your marketing dollars should be wisely spent. Determine how you will spend them. Social media, emails, newsletters, blogging and a website are some examples of where you can budget your marketing dollars.

Create a strategy

Plan your strategy. What is your message to potential customers? What are their pain points and how do you solve them? Why should they work with you and how will they benefit? Use the answers to these questions to formulate your strategy. Create an elevator pitch, business cards and website around these questions. Include calls to action in all your messages.

Track your responses. If you’re not getting the response you want, it might be time to re-evaluate what you’re doing.

Decide on 6-8 avenues to focus your marketing efforts on so you have an ongoing plan to continually reach your prospective customers.

Still need help writing your marketing plan? Give Blue Dog Marketing a call. We’d be happy to help you grow your business.

3 Reasons You Need a Marketing Plan

A marketing plan is a well-prepared document detailing how you will sell your products and services to your potential customers. Here are some reasons why you need a marketing plan.

Brand Recognition

Your brand is very important in helping you sell your products or services. Your marketing plan will guide you on the best way to make your brand known. To do this, you need to focus on the type of customers your business is meant for.

Timeline Gets Established

Your marketing plan should give you direction in what you what to do within a specified period of time and milestones that should be achieved when that period is over. Using the right marketing technique that will have a direct impact on your effort is the best way to proceed.

Have a Marketing Budget

Don’t overspend. A marketing plan will ensure that you properly invest your money in appropriate marketing avenues. Marketing is an investment, but it shouldn’t be overly expensive. Budget your money and stick to it.

A marketing plan helps keep you on track for the year. It directs you, and your dollars, to the correct avenues that will allow you to reach your potential customers and grow your business.

If you need help creating a marketing plan for your small business, contact Blue Dog Marketing. We’re here to help you succeed!

 

 

What Is a Marketing Plan?

 

What is a marketing plan and how do you create one? Your marketing plan will help you assess customer demand, discover distribution channels and pinpoint the best ways to market your business.

Before starting to write, you need to do some market research. You can hire a firm to conduct your market research or do it yourself. Through this research you'll learn about your competitors, customers, market and your product. Your goal is to know as much as possible about your product's world. Once you understand that, it's time to work on your marketing plan.

What is a marketing plan? A marketing plan is the road map to how your product will move out into the world. Not only will it lay out what you want to accomplish, but it will also explain how you plan to achieve your goals.

Your marketing plan will consist of 9 parts:

Executive summary: Your summary should contain the most important points from each section, capture the reader's attention and be polished to perfection.

Company: This is where you explain what your company stands for. Use it to introduce yourself as owner and outline your company's goals and values.

Product: Tell the reader about your product, including what makes it unique, superior or more in demand than your competitors' products. Back your statements up with hard facts.

Customers: Use this section to describe your target customers. One of the easiest ways to do this is simply imagine your ideal customer. Describe her life and what she wants from a product like yours.

Competitors: This section outlines who else is trying to reach your customers and what competitive advantages they have.

Delivery: How will your customers acquire your product? Will they buy it in a retail store, order it from a catalogue or buy it directly from you online or in person?

Reach: Here is where you explain how you will reach your customers. Plan your budget for each medium and how much time you will spend on each.

Handling challenges: New business challenges arise all the time, but if you're prepared you can overcome them. Outline some roadblocks you could face and how you will handle them.

Pricing: This section lets you explain your product pricing strategy. Outline the cost of your product, your profit margin and your retail and wholesale prices. If your price is higher or lower than others in your niche, explain you rationale.

Your business plan will change with the life of your business. As customers' tastes change, new competitors enter the market and old ones retire, you'll need to update your plan.

Choose a refresh date 6 months in the future to evaluate your plan: what worked, what didn't and what new directions do you want to take.

Now that you know what is a marketing plan I hope you'll start writing your own. While having a plan won't guarantee sales, it will help you set yourself up to meet your goals.

 

Blue Dog Marketing wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Hanukkah!

Custom T-Shirts as Creative Marketing Tools

A relatively inexpensive way to market your company is the use of custom t-shirts. T-shirts with your company name and logo can create greater visibility for your business.

Offering company logo t-shirt to your employees and to your customers is an efficient way to get your name out there. The more people who see your logo the greater your potential for increasing your client base.

Many promotion companies offer customized clothing for professional purposes. Whether you prefer casual t-shirts, polo shirts, or athletic wear for company events, it is easy to find what you need.

For the most sophisticated type of customization, you may opt to purchase custom t-shirts with your embroidered company logo. This type of customization is popular among universities, fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and many other professional organizations. You will have the option of using your specific company logo that has already been established or creating a new design. Using a consistent logo with creative variations will help the public to recognize your company.

The more custom t-shirts that you put into circulation, the greater your advertising potential. Consider t-shirt giveaways and other promotional events. In this way, your company t-shirts will pay for themselves in no time!

Best Times to Post on Social Media

Social media is 24/7. Someone is always tweeting, blogging or posting. For a small business, this can be challenging. You can’t be online all day. So, how do you know the best times to reach your audience? There are a couple of difference ways to determine when your audience is online.

We use a social media tool. There are many great social media monitoring and reporting tools around. I personally like HootSuite. I can use their AutoScheduling functionality to schedule my posts at the best times to reach my audience.

Another great tool is Timing+ on Google+. Timing+ analyzes your historical post data to determine what time of day has the most potential for your posts to have the greatest impact.

The best times to post on social media is definitely a hot topic and has resulted in a lot of fantastic research. Research recommends that you focus on posting during the following times:

• Facebook – between 10 am and 4pm Monday thru Thursday.
• Twitter – between 1pm and 3pm Monday thru Thursday.
• LinkedIn – focus on posting before and after business hours, 7 am to 9 am and 5pm to 6pm Tuesday thru Thursday.
• Google+ – 9am to 11am on workdays.
• Pinterest – This is the one social network you should focus on posting during weekday evenings and on the weekends (specifically 2pm to 4pm and 8pm to 1am on weekdays). The best time to pin items on Pinterest is on Saturday morning.

While this information will give you a great base to build from, it is definitely not the answer for every business. When determining when to post on social media make sure to consider your customers, your product or service, and the types of messages you are posting.

5 Questions to Ask When Creating a Social-Media Marketing Plan

"Failing to plan is planning to fail" is an old but wise adage that often rings true when it comes to social-media marketing. Creating a detailed, goal-oriented social-media strategy is just as important as having a rock solid business plan.

To attract and engage your social-media audience -- and ideally convert them into customers -- you must carefully map out a clear, effective social-media strategy. Here are some questions you should ask when building your social-marketing plan:

1. What should my company aim to achieve with social media?
That depends on the type of business you're in. You may want to use social media to gain exposure for your brand, to directly interact with your customers or to promote specific products and services.

Define how your social-media marketing will provide value to your customers. Specifically, think about how you can use social media to solve your customers' problems.

2. Who should set up and maintain my company's social media accounts?
If you're a small company with few employees, consider hiring a social-media marketing consultant. They will have the time and ability to create and implement effective social-media campaigns.

3. Should my company have a presence on all of the popular social-media networks?
Small businesses should start with a blog and a presence on just one social network, at least for the first few months. Which network? Find out what by surveying your customers about which social media platforms they use the most.

The more your company grows the more social networks you can experiment with.

4. What types of content should I post on which social platforms?
Certain types of content generally work better on certain social-media platforms. Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram are inherently visual, so striking, memorable images of your products, company events and perhaps behind-the-scenes snapshots of employees at work can be effective choices for those particular platforms. But text-only status updates on Facebook without an accompanying link also trend well, especially when asking questions.

On Twitter, aim for a good balance of tweeting about your company and retweeting others' content, including that of your business partners and industry influencers. LinkedIn is popular for sharing company news, productivity tips and thought leadership articles.

A diverse mix of content types (standout photos, short videos, useful links, helpful tips, thoughtful question, etc.) across your social-media platforms will keep things interesting and fresh. When you do this, your followers will come back for more.

5. How can I convert social-media followers into customers?
There aren't any surefire tricks to convert fans and followers into customers, though some tactics seem to work better than others. For example, Facebook ads can be an easy, inexpensive way to grow your fan base, increase engagement and collect sales leads. It's up to you to convert those sales leads.

Blue Dog Marketing is an expert social media marketing firm. We can help you create and implement your social media marketing plan. You should focus on your growing your business and creating new products. Let us handle the marketing for you!

 

6 Great Ways to Promote Your Blog

We just met with a client that is considering starting a blog and linking it to their website. The reasons why you should blog are many, but a couple of the most important are that a blog will establish you as an “expert” in your field. Also, having new content on your website increases your SEO (search engine optimization).

Once you start blogging, how do you promote your blog and acquire readers? 

Here are some tips to have a successful blog:

1.      Be Authentic. Don’t pretend be someone you’re not. Write in your own voice.

2.      Be consistent. If you want to gain readers, pick a frequency that works for you and stick with it. It could be daily, weekly or monthly.

3.      Include pictures. These will make your posts visually appealing. Make sure the pictures are relevant and original.

4.      Optimize keywords.  Include your keywords in your blog posts to increase your SEO.

5.      Share your blogs in your newsletters and in groups or forums you belong to.

6.      Consider guest blogging. Submit your blogs (with a bit of rewriting) to other relevant blogs.

And remember, it’s not about blogging more….it’s about promoting more!

Have You Used Email Marketing to Reach New Customers?

Email marketing is a very cost effective way to prospect for new customers. Marketing through email, when done correctly, can lead to huge benefits for your business. The following are three reasons your small business should consider implementing email marketing.

1.   Cost Effectiveness. Different from other marketing campaigns, email marketing does not cost a lot of money especially since there are no printing costs. And, it delivers huge results.

2.   Results are Easy to Track. Even though email marketing is cost effective, you may want to see what your return on investment (ROI) is from an email campaign. If you send prospects to a landing page created for the specific promotion, tracking your results is easy.

3.   You Can Keep Your Business In Front of People. Email marketing gives you a good way to stay at the forefront of your prospects and customers minds. Giving your target audience emails that offer valuable information and great deals will make you their most likely choice when they are ready to purchase.

Marketing Tips for Creating Your 2014 Plan

During the fourth quarter of each year, many businesses spend time planning their goals for the coming year. And while setting goals is an important exercise, the implementation steps are equally critical. The goal is the benchmark we establish to measure our success.

Before creating your marketing plan, here are some basic rules you should understand first.

Research social media - The latest and greatest social media site may not be for you. Just because everyone is talking about it doesn't mean it's for you. Before taking the plunge, decide how you will use it and how it fits into your plan. Can you devote the time and attention to it?

Make sure your website is robust - When someone is searching for you, they need to find you. And once they do, the more information you provide, the better your chances of being considered. The more information available, the more likely your site will have a greater impact on their decision.

Content is king - Focus on creating content of value. Not everyone will read everything you create nor will everyone be looking for the same thing when they visit your site. Your goal is to have the solution to your visitors’ problem on your home page. In a face to face selling situation, you're going to point out every advantage doing business with you affords. Your website should be as thorough.

Keep your website current – Your website should be updated frequently to reflect the changing landscape of your business.

So before you create your 2014 marketing plan, first look closely at your website and make sure all that traffic you are planning on driving to your site will actual take the action you want them to take.

Use Promotional Business Holiday Gifts to Help Market Your Business

When it comes to the holidays, the best policy for a company is to give the employees a nice present to show them how much the company has appreciated what their efforts during the past year. Your holiday gift can also double as a promotional tool. Incorporate your logo into the gift to help further market your business.

Promotional business holiday gifts are an excellent way to treat your employees to a nice surprise while putting the business first. There are a variety of different promotional gifts that are available for purchase that will help to market your company.

One promotional gift that employees will definitely use is clothing items with your company logo. These clothing items can vary from sweatshirts, hats, t-shirts, or a jacket. The possibilities that come with customizing clothing items to be promotional holiday gifts are numerous. Choosing a variety of clothing items to customize with your business logo will allow the business to appropriately give each employee their holiday gift for the year.

A paperweight engraved with the business logo can also be an excellent promotional holiday gift. Paperweights are not only convenient to have around but they can make a great statement if they are chosen and designed correctly.

Promotional holiday gifts can vary but including gifts that help to market a business can be more effective than mass purchasing an item. Make the gift something unique and one that your employees will appreciate.

Corporate Holiday Cards

Today, we have so many ways to "touch" our customers – web pages, Facebook, Twitter, etc. How would you like to make powerful impact on your customers this holiday season? Skip the digital holiday card and send an “old-fashion” paper holiday card.

Pre-digital era, paper holiday cards were a staple. Today, they are valued for their physicality and their personal touch, connecting in ways digital alternatives can't.

A card sent to a client stands out in the stack of mail they receive. It likely is the first thing opened before the bills, statements, flyers, etc.

Cards are often displayed on a bookshelf or on the receptionist’s desk People glance at it and connect it with the sender in a positive way.

Stand out from your competition and send a paper holiday card to your customers!

Every Small Business Should Have a Marketing Plan

Every small business should have a marketing plan. Do you have one? The plan doesn't have to be a multi-page document, sometimes one page is fine. The act of planning itself is essential to success.

Planning your marketing for the year gives you a clear vision and helps you think about your business long term.

The options for getting the word out about your business nowadays are endless. If you have a plan and a budget, your marketing will have direction and your business will grow.

Take the time to sit down and think about how you market your business. Hire a professional marketing consulting company, like Blue Dog Marketing, to advise you. A marketing consulting company can come in and aid you in creating your plan. They can also implement the plan for you so you can concentrate on running your business.  

Marketing is more than putting an ad in the local paper. It is everything that affects the opinion and purchasing decision of your customers.

As you continue to market your business, you will get to know what you customers want and like. You’ll become better at creating you marketing plan each year. And you will have a huge advantage over your competitors that do no planning at all.

3 Benefits of Social Media Marketing For Small Business

Is your small business on Facebook? Do you blog or tweet? Do you “pin” pictures of your products on Pinterest? If not, you’re missing a great opportunity to connect with potential customers and stay connected to current customers.

Here are some reasons why social media marketing is beneficial for small businesses and some tips to getting the most out of it.

1.   Engagement

Once you enter the realm of social networking, you become less of a business and more of a personality. Every Facebook or Twitter should be the start of a conversation, so be chatty, informative and even humorous to capture interest. Keep in mind the 'social' in social media and stay away from sales copy. Focus instead on developing relationships. One way to increase engagement is to respond to posts or questions from your readers. Have those conversations and you’ll discover what your customers like and dislike.

2.   Reputation

As social media use in business has grown, it has become common marketing knowledge that a large amount of Facebook 'likes' or Twitter followers indicates business popularity and customer interest. Take advantage of this online reputation indicator by getting more people to connect with your business profiles. You can encourage people to connect and 'like' posts by creating contest and giving out free stuff. You should also include your social media information in your email signature.

3.   Information

Social media is now a source of news and information. By blogging and tweeting not only information about your business and products, but about the industry you are in, can make you an expert in your field. Keep on top of what’s happening in your industry and share the information as well as comment on it. Relate it back to your company and your customers. You can use social media to develop a reputation as an expert and keep your customers informed about your industry.

For today’s small businesses, social media is an integral piece of a successful marketing plan. Yet, most businesses simply don't have the time. That's when Blue Dog Marketing can help. Let us “ghost blog” for you, set up your Facebook page or help you create the perfect Pinterest business page.

Thinking Of Building, Or Redesigning, Your Website Alone? Think Again!

Your small business needs a website. You should drive, through your social media and other marketing materials, all customers and potential customers to it. Your website should function well and appeal visually to your customers.

If you don’t have a website or, your website is old and needs a “facelift,” you need to ask yourself first if you can build a website and take care of its design. If your answer is no, perhaps it is time you think of hiring an experienced marketing company, like Blue Dog Marketing, who can do a great job creating and designing a website for you.

An experienced marketing company can properly implement search engine optimization (SEO) to get your website to the top search engine results. Today, if people need something, the first place they look for information is the internet. According to studies, most internet users rely on the first page result and hardly continue to the next page. By moving your website search ranking to the first page, you’d have more customers coming to your website.

An experienced marketing company can also create your website in a way that will provide everything you need. It can create a very functional website that would keep prospective customers on the site.

Additionally, only an expert marketing company can create a website that looks both polished and professional. We know the perfect layout, fonts, colors, templates and content formats to go with your site. These are important factors to consider because these simple details may discourage visitors from going further into your site.

An experienced marketing company knows how best to show your brand to the world. We can also show you how to brand your other marketing strategies, such as your social media and printed materials.

Don’t be afraid to work with a marketing company. We’re here to help your business grow.

4 Important Printed Marketing Pieces For Your Small Business

There are many marketing avenues available today – websites, social media, and videos. But there is still a place for printed marketing materials in today’s digital world. Here are five important printed marketing pieces that Blue Dog Marketing highly recommends to our clients.

1.   Business Cards 
A business card serves many different purposes. It tells people who you are, what you can do for them and it gives them something to remember you by. Your business card is often the first look at your brand that people see.

Be sure to include your company name, logo, tag line, website, and how to reach you (email and phone number). Don’t forget to use the back of the card. This is often overlooked real estate. You can list your services or key products on the back. This will help remind people about what it is that you do.

2.   Flyers

Flyers are great in that they can do double duty. You can have them printed and use them electronically. Flyers should have a strong message and a call-to-action. Include a coupon that will make people want to purchase your product or service quickly. If you’re hosting an event, use a flyer to advertise the event. A flyer also gives you room to talk about your business. Keep it brief. A flyer should not be covered in text. Use bullet points and retain a lot of white space.

As a PDF, you can attach your flyer to an email blast to your customers.

3.   Brochures

What’s the difference between a brochure and a flyer? Yes, a brochure is folded, but there’s more. A flyer is generally used for a specific offer or event. A brochure is used to educate prospective customers about your company, products and/or services.

Brochures are the place for more detailed information about your company. People are more likely to read a brochure from beginning to end. You can include coupons in brochures too.

4.   Banners

A banner can be a powerful marketing tool. Used properly, it attracts attention. If you have a physical store, this type of signage can be used to draw customers’ attention to certain items. If you’re at a tradeshow, a banner is a great way to tell people who you are. This will allow you to stand out from other tables that aren’t using banners.

If you want to have a strong marketing presence, then you need these four printed marketing materials. They will help you grow your business. If you need help creating any of these marketing materials, contact Blue Dog Marketing. We’re here to help you succeed!

4 Common Marketing Mistakes and How to Fix Them

It's important to review your marketing efforts on a continual basis to make certain you're getting maximum results for all your efforts. If your marketing needs fixing, it will take time to make the corrections. Most are not marketing mistakes need more than a quick fix. If you’ve made some of the most common mistakes, there are a few ways that you can quickly and easily fix your marketing.

What are some of the most common marketing mistakes small businesses make?

1. Don’t have a call-to-action on your website or marketing materials. A call to action means you are encouraging your audience to respond in a certain manner. If you don't ask them to do something, they won't. So ask. A call-to-action can be as simple as “Call Now” or “Sign up for our free newsletter.”

The Fix: Review your website. Do you have a call-to-action on all of your key pages? Review your marketing materials. Do you have a call-to-action on them? If not, add the call-to-action

2. Be unclear about what you do. If prospective customers are confused about what you do or how you can help them, they will not buy from you. Whether someone lands on your website or meets you in person, they should be very clear about the products/services you provide and what problem you fix.

The Fix: Review your “About” webpage and your elevator pitch. Do you clearly and concisely describe what you do, what you sell and the result or benefit it offers?

3. Don’t maximize your current customer base. It is five times more expensive to secure new customers than it is to retain and up-sell existing customers.

Your existing customers can help you more than new customers. If your customers are happy with your products/services, they can add to your revenue in a few different ways. Existing customers can buy something else, refer others they know as well as share your website, content, blog posts and emails with others. Loyal customers become brand ambassadors for your business.

The Fix: Think of ways you can show appreciation to the customers you already have. Simple gestures like thank you cards, free e-books or implement a customer appreciation program.

These are some of the most common marketing mistakes and the easiest to fix. Remember, some marketing mistakes take time to fix. If you focus on one area at a time, you will not get overwhelmed and you’ll see results. So, pick one area per week and work on it. If you don’t have the time to spend on marketing your small business, contact Blue Dog Marketing. We’re here to help you grow your business!