If you have a small business and you are looking to boost your sales and make the public aware of your business, how do you going about doing this? There is one sure way that I know to boost sales and create awareness. It may not be sexy, but it WORKS! The best way to "start" marketing any business is to develop a marketing plan. And before you decide you don't have the time or expertise to create a plan, I urge you to understand why it is so important. Creating a plan will force you to determine who you want to make aware of your business - it really is not just "the public." You need to identify who can most benefit from what you are selling. If it's a retail store, how far can you expect people to travel to do business with you? This will in part depend on what other stores can fill their same need. You also need to identify who these competitors are. Creating a marketing plan will ensure you understand these basic facts BEFORE you do any marketing. Why is this important? Because it is the only way you can ensure your marketing will be effective. No one wants to waste valuable marketing dollars. But that is exactly what many businesses do when they don't take the time to figure out exactly who they should be marketing to and what they should be saying. Without this you are just doing "random" marketing and hoping someone will respond. Why not do "laser" marketing designed to reach exactly the type of people who are most likely to respond, and with a message that speaks directly to their needs? (C) 2005 Debbie LaChusa
