by Sherese Duncan, president & CEO, Efficio, Inc.

To start let’s review what marketing is and why you need a foundational marketing system.

What is marketing?

Marketing involves all those activities a company does to:

•    Find out what their customers or clients need or want
•    Tell those customers or clients that they can fulfill their needs and wants
•    Persuade them to buy the solution from them

Why do you need a marketing foundation?

A business is only as healthy, strong and profitable as its client base and it is the marketing activities that acquire this client base.

For example, I recently worked with a client who offered products to people based on what he thought they needed.  He did well in the first two years because he had a background in marketing and he was good at selling.  By year three, however, it was not so good.  Why? There was not a market for what he was offering big enough to match the goals he had outlined, so he ran out of clients.  That was when his transmogrification started.  He realized he had to be customer focused.  That is when we began to work on his foundational marketing system.

For your foundational marketing system, we recommend starting with these four basic categories:

1.    Stay in touch to stay on top of mind: This category involves creating a monthly program that is automatic and simple.  No selling here – just useful information about how your solution will help the target market you have selected.  Ezines, postcards, letters, telecourses, note cards and other informational-type vehicles work well as a stay in touch program.

For example, Effició currently uses a bi-monthly postcard program and an Effició Insider newsletter that goes out every week.  These two vehicles help us to stay in touch with our customers and prospects on a consistent basis.

2.    Utilize quarterly promotions to highlight a specific solution: It is important to reach out to your target audience with special offers or special announcements at least once per quarter.  This is a good way to a) test out a new solution or idea, b) to increase sales in a specific line or c) to gain exposure for your flagship product.

Effició normally offers a price discount or a blow-out sale for our promotions.  We also conduct contests based on what is going on in the business community at the time.

3.    Develop visibility and credibility activities to establish brand recognition: As we all know, people do business with those that they know and trust.  It is important to create a consistent engine that establishes your brand in the marketplace.  This will ensure those who you want to close business with and those who can close business for you will begin to trust and value your business and the solutions you offer.

Effició regularly speaks to various organizations and submits articles all over the Internet for exposure.  While maintaining Effició’s visibility and credibility, these two vehicles also bring in the most business for our CORE products.

4.    Education: A lot of you are probably providing informational products, tele-seminars and classes on different subjects – some you charge for and some you do not.  While this is a great way to showcase your expertise, keep in mind that your foundational education is a marketing tool.  In order for it to be effective, you have to stay focused on the vision and your goal for providing education.

I used to conduct free monthly tele-seminars on how to build your business using our business model.  It was a great way to promote Effició, but I gave away so much information that no one needed to buy my solutions.  I had to really step back and decide how to not only educate but also market and sell my business.

Now I do a free tele-seminar every quarter, which is full of education and steps to implement now.  For more specific education, those courses and training are part of a full service line within my business school.

Get the foundation in place before adding niche marketing. You want your foundation working for you on a consistent basis for the life of your business.  Just make sure to change and adjust as your business and your target market changes.

© Effició, Inc.

Small Business Strategist, Sherese Duncan, “the Entrepreneurs’ Strategic Partner,” is President and CEO of Efficio, Inc., a business education and consulting firm.  For more information about Duncan and her company, go to www.shereseduncan.biz or if you have a burning business question that needs to be answered www.askefficio.biz.