business strategies

Finding Your Marketing Mojo

A couple of years ago I was at a business retreat feeling like an utter moron in business.  I was making good money.  I had plenty of clients and things were going well.  But this business retreat had an entire day devoted to marketing.  I was clueless about marketing.  As we learned about creating a product funnel, our target markets, and different marketing strategies, I kept thinking, How in the world do I have a business if I don’t market? Looking back, of course I was marketing.  I just wasn’t necessarily marketing the way everyone else was marketing.  But it was working.  And it turns out, I really love marketing.  Especially now that I am contentiously doing it!   Here’s my top 3 tips for finding your marketing mojo!

Have at least 3, preferably 6 months of marketing strategies mapped out.  You can tweak it as you go, but if you don’t have a plan in place, you are just reacting to immediate needs.  Maybe you really need some new clients right now.  It’s important to fill that need.  But if you just respond to that need, you will continue to have that problem.  Getting out of that immediate need response requires a longer strategy.

If you hate it, don’t do it!  When I got my start in business I was doing direct sales and the go to marketing strategy I was taught involved meeting people as I was out and about and exchanging cards.  There was nothing wrong with the strategy.  It’s actually a really good skill to have.  But I was a young mom and the only places I was out and about was story time, the park and the grocery store.  And with my little guys, it was hard to stop and talk with people while my child was being a little guy.  So I spent years with someone else watching my kids while I went out and didn’t come back until I had at least 5 names.  I got really good at it, but I NEVER liked it.  It required so much discipline.  I wish I had known then that there are unlimited ways you can market.  I LOVE marketing now because I LOVE the things I do when I market.  I only use strategies that are truly enjoyable to me.  When you love the process it is so much easier!

Get creative and think outside the box.  It doesn’t have to be expensive.  It doesn’t have to be something you have learned about from a coach and read about in an e-book.  Just think, how can I connect with my target market?  When I was putting on my first A Celebration of Real Beauty event, I had so much cash going into the event itself, which I had to be really creative with my marketing budget.  I knew that I wanted mom’s to come and that mom’s would come if they felt it would help and benefit their teenage daughters.   One of my really good friends is the director of a charter school.  So I offered to go and do an assembly for their school.  I got the girls excited about the message.  I invited them to attend, and to get involved.  Pretty soon I had about 15 girls that were ambassadors and were reaching out to other school administrators and to friends to help spread the word.  That was basically free, and pretty effective.  It all came by thinking outside the box.

I challenge you to get your marketing plan in place.  I don’t want you to be focusing your energy on attracting a client or two here and there.  I want you to focus on having a constant flow of people moving to your business!  Go get your marketing mojo on! For more details you can visit here: http://amywalkerconsulting.com/