Congratulations! You took the first step. You've committed to setting aside time to work on your marketing. You've even gone so far as to write these appointments down on your calendar. So what are you going to do during this time?
The most important work that you can do between now and the beginning of the new year is to refine (or define) your marketing strategy.
Remember our definition of marketing - getting someone with a need to know, like, and trust you. Your marketing strategy consists of two parts, 1) the description of your ideal customer and 2) your core message or how you are different from everyone else who say they do what you do.
The first step is to define the "someone". The more specific you can be when describing your ideal customer, the easier the rest of your marketing will be. Start by filling in the blank in this statement - "If I had 10 more customers just like _________, my business would be ideal." Now, identify all of the characteristics about this customer that you can, company size, location, how they make decisions, what they value, etc. You want to be as specific as possible because these are the people you are going to go out to find (and ask people to refer to you). Picture your ideal client sitting in a chair across from your desk and write descriptive paragraph or two about them.
Your ideal customer is not necessarily the one who pays you the most money. Don't forget to consider things like people who value your service, who listen to your advice, people who are reasonable but stretch you and make you grow, etc.
If you would like some more information about defining your ideal customer, read Step 1 - Narrow You Focus in the 7 Steps To Small Business Marketing Success available as a free download on my web site. Or purchase the Duct Tape Marketing Book.
