Does all your marketing work perfectly?
Do you feel all your investment of time, energy and money is worthwhile?
If you sometimes puzzle over why not all your marketing works, or just feel over-whelmed about how much there is to do, there could be a simple reason.
It's not your fault
We're all constantly bombarded with information about different marketing tools - such as all the social media tools, mailing, advertising, PR... There are so many different ways to reach your potential visitors.
Most of us wonder what to do first, and how to find the time to fit it all in.
How do you know what's most likely to be successful? What's worth spending time on?
You may even question whether you're any good at all of this?
The problem is that many business owners/managers are only doing the things they've heard about. They've putting effort into these promotional tools because they've been told they're important.
They are. But...
But they're starting in the middle.
It's like decorating a house before the foundations are secure and the roof is on. It might look good for a short while, until it rains...
What do I mean?
If you want to promote your business successfully, without constantly having to do something extra to get visitors, and without spending a fortune, you need to get the foundations right. If you jump straight into social media, mailings, websites and maybe even spend money on advertising without going through the basics, you could be wasting your time.
You need to be certain that you describe your business in a way that actually attracts visitors. How many of us were ever taught about writing to do that?
You need to really understand your potential visitors and choose the 'right' markets. It can be pretty random - until you're shown how.
You need to be clear about the promotional messages you use. Again, a little psychology is needed!
You need to find ways to stand out and be really memorable. Without spending a fortune.
You need to know how to combine tools like your website, social media and mailings so each activity is more effective and uses less energy.
You need to get your pricing right and understand when to use discounts and when to avoid them.
You need to know how to get visitors to recommend you to others and how to get them to come back again.
None of these things are difficult, but if you do them on their own or in the wrong sequence, they don't work.
The problem is that most courses and information don't really cover these essential areas. So it's not at all your fault if you've never learnt exactly what you need to do and how these different promotional activities should fit together (to help you save time and money).
A lot of what I know about marketing has been gained over years and years of experience, supporting small tourism businesses. Few books or courses offer the kind of practical knowhow that's needed.
So I've FINALLY developed a
short online course that explains all this. It will launch in a couple of weeks but if you'd like to get on the waiting list (with an Early Bird offer) do
email me.
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