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A Great Way To Start An Online Business
You want to start an online business,but you realize that you don't have a product,a web site, or prior experience. You now ask yourself, where do I start? Start with affiliate programs. What is an affiliate program? An affiliate...
Does my small business need a budget?
Copyright 2005 Melody Campbell "I only have a small business, I don't need a budget." "I don't have enough money to budget." For many small business owners, the word "budget" is something for the bigger company - maybe they'll have one when...
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A recent iLogos Research study revealed 94% of Fortune 500
companies now hire employees online, a stark contrast from 1998,
when only 29% of them were doing the same. If you own or manage
a small business, that means the vast majority of your...
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You have been if you’re a business, non-profit or association manager whose public relations budget is focused largely on nifty brochures, column mentions and broadcast plugs. Especially without a workable plan that helps you persuade your most...
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You may be in Mail Order, Direct Mail or you may be a local merchant with 150 employees; whichever, however or whatever you’ve got to know how is to keep your business alive during economic recessions. Anytime the cash flow in a business, large...
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Time for A Marketing Tune-up
If you have been in business any length of time, I can assure you that habits, not conscious thought, are guiding your marketing actions. Many business people are great optimists, or they probably wouldn’t have gotten into the game to begin with. They keep doing everything they’ve ever done in the hope that one day it will produce results. STOP! It’s time to get the brain back in the game!
If you are like most people, each time you come across a new marketing idea you add it to your existing approach. You never think to weed out the approaches which haven’t yielded any fruit yet. You just keep adding more. Time for that to change!
Marketing strategies and actions tend to accumulate. They hang around and continue to siphon off time from your day (even when they may not be working as well as you'd like). We get into habits of actions. Seldom do we take time in our busy schedule to really assess how we are spending our time.
To improve your marketing, you'll need to clean out some old ways of working. Start to make this a habit. Every week, at a minimum, schedule time in your busy day for a marketing tune-up. Ask yourself the following questions during that tune-up:
1)What’s working in my current marketing efforts? 2)What’s not working at all? 3)What’s not working as well as it should and how can I improve it?
What’s Working?
These showed be hard to find. They are all the marketing actions you are taking which are successfully getting your name in print, driving traffic to your website or blog, making the phone ring, and selling product.
What will we do about these? Keep doing them! In fact, is there a way to expand on a currently successful marketing tactic? Expand the places where you do traditional advertising? Write more articles? Advertise in more women-related
ezines?
Try to expand the marketing actions that are working.
What’s Not Working At All?
Pretty obvious what we should do with these, right? Quit doing them. Don’t live on the false hope that someday these tactics will surprise you. You don’t have time for that luxury. Concentrate on what’s working now and what can be improved.
What’s Not Working As Well At It Should & How Can It Be Improved?
Many of your marketing tactics may be yielding results, just not to the level you would like. It’s time to assess these and determine ways to improve them. Maybe a lot of traffic is coming to your website but your conversion to sales is small. Then you need to redesign the website. What would make your site more attractive to potential customers? Don’t know? Ask them! Add a survey form to your site. Ask your customer what they would like to find on your site. Be as ruthless as you can in assessing your site. Ask others to give you candid advice about your website and LISTEN TO THEM!
In this same way, you will look at every marketing tactic which is yielding results but could do better. As you do this, you will be well on your way to improving the results of your marketing efforts and freeing up time from those actions that are failing you now.
The hardest part of tuning up your marketing efforts is getting started. The time is NOW! Ready?
About the Author
Michele Schermerhorn calls herself a “Corporate Freedom Fighter” dedicated to freeing cubicle prisoners. She has over 30 years experience in the business world. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc. (www.obinstitute.com), authors a sassy marketing blog (www.imarketblog.com), and regularly conducts free online seminars. Online Business Institute Inc. exists to “Create Successful Online Business Owners One Person At A Time”.
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United States Small Business Administration |
An electronic gateway of procurement information for and about small businesses. Search engine for contracting officers, marketing tool for small firms, ... |
www.sba.gov |
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SBA |
The Small Business Planner includes information and resources that will help you at any stage of the business lifecycle. ... |
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Main Page - SmallBusiness.com - Small Business Resources |
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Yahoo! Small Business: Domain Names, Web Hosting, E-commerce ... |
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Small business advice business start up small business finance ... |
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Smallbusiness.gov.au redirect to business.gov.au |
Business Entry Point - Helping small business in big ways. An Australian Government initiative. The content from this website has now been consolidated into ... |
www.smallbusiness.gov.au |
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Business & Small Business |
Online and print small business publication. Information to help start, grow or manage a small business. |
www.entrepreneur.com |
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Microsoft Small Business Center |
Your home for information about Microsoft's small-business products and services, tailored business advice, technology tools, and more. |
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The Small Business Advisor - advice for starting and operating a ... |
Advice and assistance for starting and operating a small or home based business. |
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SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" |
A nonprofit association dedicated to encouraging the formation, growth, and success of small business nationwide through counseling and mentor programs. |
www.score.org |
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Small Business and Self-Employed One-Stop Resource |
IR-2006-2, January 3, 2006 - Temporary and proposed regulations will significantly reduce tax filing burden for nearly 950000 small business owners. ... |
www.irs.gov |
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Welcome to Small Business BC your business resource in British ... |
BC Business Services offers assistance and resources for those running or starting a business in British Columbia and Vancouver. |
www.smallbusinessbc.ca |
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Small Business Service | Home |
Provides information and advice to help small businesses realise their potential. |
www.sbs.gov.uk |
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NSW Small Business |
A site developed by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development for small businesses. Topics include management, resources, current issues and ... |
www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au |
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Business Management & Advice: Small Business Resources & Information |
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Small Business Funding Opportunities (SBIR and STTR) |
Links to Small Business Funding Opportunities and SBIR / STTR Applications. |
grants.nih.gov |
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Microsoft bCentral Small Business Directory |
Directory categorized by industry with company business card feature. |
sbd.bcentral.com |
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Facilitates the sharing and exchange of information among small business development centers, the small business administration and other business-oriented ... |
sbdcnet.utsa.edu |
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Small Business Development Corporation |
Our business information services provides guidance to improve business skills and knowledge on advice on starting, buying, selling and expanding a small ... |
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