Okay, things have slowed down a bit, but now that rates have risen slightly, it appears that there is more inventory coming on to the market, thus making it possible to convert some prospects into bona fide sales. For the last 1-2 years, you haven't had to do too much; the phone just rang and you ran with the ball.
However, now is the time to get back to the basics, evaluate your goals and check your plans to see if your goals are attainable. An integral part of this equation is your dedication to marketing.
You DO have a marketing plan in place, don't you? If you feel it isn't necessary, think again. Even in times of plenty, you need to continue to market yourself to the public, establishing yourself as the expert in your field. To that end, I give you...
10 Reasons To Commit To A Marketing Plan
1. The Market Is Always Changing. New families, new prospects, new lifestyles change
the marketplace. Nearly one third of the people in America will move this year. Nearly
five million Americans will get married. When you stop advertising, you miss evolving
opportunities and stop being part of the process. You are not in the game.
2. People Forget Fast. Remember, they're bombarded with tons of messages (an
estimated 2700) daily. An experiment proved the need or consistency in marketing
by running advertising once a week for thirteen weeks. After that period, 63% of
the people surveyed remembered the advertising. One month later, 32% remembered
it. Two weeks after that, 21% remembered it. That means that 79% of the people
forgot the advertisement that was placed.
3. Your Competition Isn't Quitting. People will spend money to make purchases,
and if you don't make them aware that you are selling something, they'll spend the
money elsewhere.
4. Marketing Strengthens Your Identity. When you quit marketing, you short
change your reputation, reliability, and the confidence people have in you. When
economic conditions sour, smart people continue to advertise. The bond of
communication is too precious to break capriciously.
5. Marketing Is Essential To Survival And Growth. With very few exceptions,
people won't know you're there if you don't get the word out. When you cease
marketing, you're on the road to nonexistence. Just as you can't start a business
without marketing, you can't maintain one either.
6. Marketing Enables You To Hold Onto Your Old Customers. Many enterprises
survive on repeat an referral business. Old customers are the key to both. When
old customers don't hear from you or about you , they tend to forget you.
7. Marketing Maintains Morale. Your own morale is improved when your marketing
is at work, and especially when you see that it does, in deed, work. Cutting out your
marketing seems a signal of failure to those who actively follow your advertising.
That may not be many people, but it will be some.
8. Marketing Gives You An Advantage Over Competitors Who Have Ceased
Marketing. A troubled economy can be a superb advantage to a marketing minded
entreprenour. It forces some competitors to stop marketing giving you a chance to
pull ahead of them and attract some of their customers. In all ugly economic
situations, there are winners and losers.
9. Marketing Allows Your Business To Continue Operating. You still have some
overhead: telephone bills, yellow page ads, rent and/or equipment costs, possibly
a payroll, and your time. Marketing creates the air that overhead breathes.
10. You Have Invested Money That You Stand To Lose. If you quit marketing, all
of the money you spent for ads, commercials and advertising time and space
becomes lost as the consumer awareness it purchased slowly dwindles away.
Sure, you can buy it again, but you'll have to start from scratch. Unless you are
planning to go out of business, it is rarely a good idea to cease marketing completely.
Just thought you should know. Let me know if you have any questions.
Have a profitable day!
Steven
;)
;)
