You must have heard ’bout Dan Kennedy, the famous guru of small business marketing and advertisement. Go ask your neighbor Tom, an established online home-based small business entrepreneur, and he will recite you the whole life story of the famous Dan Kennedy.
Anyway, just so you know, this is what his website says about him:
“Dan S. Kennedy is the provocative, truth-telling author of seven popular No B.S. books, thirteen business books total; a serial, successful, multi-millionaire entrepreneur; trusted marketing advisor, consultant and coach to hundreds of private entrepreneurial clients running businesses from $ 1-million to $ 1-billion in size; and he influences well over 1-million independent business owners annually through his newsletters, tele-coaching programs, local Chapters and Kennedy Study Groups meeting in over 100 cities, and a network of top niche consultants in nearly 150 different business and industry categories and professions.”
So, what Dan says about small business advertisement and marketing is that you have got to possess three factors to succeed:
Right Message
Right Market
Right Media
Explaining on the above points, you should always throw the right message. Sometimes, the message is too factual or unoriginal. Remember, it is advertisement, and neither slipping your business card into someone’s pocket or shouting your product’s name at the top of your voice (that might be an interesting idea though!).
You got to get original and learn to think the unique selling point (USP) of your product or service. You have to understand why a customer would want to buy your service, why you are special for him. Remember, your sales copy sells!
Secondly, you have to target the right market. Some people just don’t want to buy. Some people just want something else for their problem. You have to understand your competition, your audience and your own stand. Remember, you should always stand out from your competition and should cater to the need of your market. If you are selling cricket bats, you cannot send fliers to office-goers. That’s never going to work!
Right media is the last point that needs to be reiterated. Choosing the right media depends on your market, scale of operation and needless to say, your budget. If you are selling books, advertising them on TV may not work that much! Moreover, are you going for a local town business, whole country or international? Think about it. You cannot go for a television ad with a few hundred bucks in your pocket. Think before you leap, my friend.
That’s what you seriously need to keep in mind. Hey, are you even listening? Then tell me something.
Read this exhaustive Hubpages post on the Importance of Copywriting and role of Copywriter: You need a copywriter
Business and life are full of uncertainty. And, for small business growth to take place you must have back up. When looking at help for small business, having back up or a contingency plan is essential for success.
In business, the concept of backing up or having a contingency plan can mean many different things. The first thing many think of is backing up the computer system. Or, you could have an emergency back up system if the power fails. Maybe back up comes in the form of an employee who can step in and do the job someone else was supposed to do.
Regardless, back up or the concept of backing up or having a plan b is crucial to having a successful business. As a small business owner in creating your own business or running it, the most important back up you can have is confidence in yourself.
Thats right. You must have confidence in yourself and your abilities. Confidence is defined here as your innate belief in your ability to meet challenges and to solve problems.
Yet, somehow the self-talk of many business owners takes down their self-confidence. When life or business deals you a setback where do you go? If you dont have confidence as your back up, you become timid and afraid. You dont act to solve problems or overcome challenges.
There is one universal truth to be taken from this. How you feel about yourself in your business will always determine how far you will go. The greatest help for small business resides inside you, the owner.
Small business success is truly an inside job.
You become stuck. You may feel overwhelmed. Think about the turtle. He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out. As a business owner, you must have the confidence to stick your neck out. And, to keep moving forward to solve problems and to grow you must continue to stick your neck out.
Unfortunately, too many business owners retreat into their shells. It feels safe and secure. Is it really safe and secure? No. Because the end result of staying in your shell is that it kills forward progress and growth.
How do you move beyond being stuck? The best thing to build your confidence is to develop new skills or disciplines. After all, small business growth will be no bigger than the size of your thinking, skills and disciplines.
What is the benefit of having more skills and disciplines? You consistently put yourself in a position to overcome challenges and to grow your business and more importantly, have the life you desire.
How do you start? Begin with something small that would help you or your business. Start mastering some small, new disciplines or skills. Business and life are going to throw you some pretty big challenges. If you havent mastered handling the small challenges you wont stand much of a chance with the bigger ones.
As you develop more skills and disciplines you are building your back up. And, when you have more back up you have more confidence. Now, when a new challenge comes along you are ready.
You are building your foundation for small business growth. More importantly, because you have built your back up, you have the confidence of knowing that you are ready to move beyond the challenge to have the business you desire.
What thoughts or stories do you have on backing up and small business growth?
More detailed information can be found at http://www.businesskeystosuccess.com.
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for entrepreneurs, solo professionals and self-employed individuals striving to
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