Optimizing Your Small Business Marketing Campaigns

As a copy writer for web/print, I know that the most effective campaigns are guided by thoroughly planned out marketing strategies. I've written the following brief article to help you grow your revenue faster with less risk.

Optimal marketing campaigns—those that result in the highest net profit return on your investment of time and money—are the result of sufficient research, strategy, planning, and careful decision making, weighing all the factors. As a seasoned marketing strategist with experience in a wide variety of industries, I can help guide you every step of the way, preventing you from wasting your precious time and money. Then, when it comes time to design the format and write your copy for web sites, sales letters, post cards, flyers, and promotional audio or video, I can either write it for you or write it with you, teaching you how to do it yourself in the future.

Without the necessary research, strategy, and planning, the likelihood that you’ll have a strong ROI, or even have ANY profit from a marketing campaign, is much lower. If you take the time to develop a strategy that answers the following questions, you’re like to find much more success in all of your campaigns:

Which strategy is most likely to produce the greatest net profit in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of risk?

So, let’s break that down. Which strategy (or optional promotional opportunity) is 1) most likely (probability expressed as a percentage, e.g. 50% probability of success) to produce the greatest 2) net profit (a $100 net profit versus a $1000 net profit) in the shortest amount of 3) time (recorded in days, weeks, months, or years) with the least amount of 4) risk (the subjective emotional as well as financial component of the company’s decision makers).

Risk assessment is probably one of the most challenging of the 4 factors. If you had $1 million in your company’s accounts, you probably wouldn’t mind investing $50,000 in a marketing campaign. But, if you only had a total of $50,000 in your company's "war chest," you would be far less comfortable investing your entire amount of capital. So, for our purposes, we will express this risk factor as a percentage of total capital available.

This single question, involving several variables, will guide all of your marketing and sales process decision-making. It can be graphically illustrated in the following table, where the Options are the various marketing channels or promotional opportunities available to most small businesses. Then, you give a numeric value to each of the factors according to how important it is to YOU relative to each other.

Options	Probability	Net Profit	Time Frame	Level of Risk/ % of total budget
Option A	90%	$100	1 week	5%
Option B	40%	$2,000	3 weeks	30%
Option C	20%	$50,000	8 weeks	60%

Based on this matrix of marketing campaign decision making, which type of decision is easier, faster to make, and one that you’d be willing to go ahead with time and time again. Let’s look at Option A: Is it a “no-brainer” to make a decision that is 90% likely to work, only involves a 1 week time span, and requires only 5% of your overall marketing budget at risk? So, even though the net profit of $100 is not a lot, you could make this “bet” several times a week, couldn’t you? And you’d still be able to feel very comfortable with the level of risk, wouldn’t you?

Whereas, Option C, with it’s high net profit potential, is less of an attractive option, since it is only 20% likely to work and requires both a longer wait time of 8 weeks and a much larger risk factor, taking 60% of your marketing budget to execute.

Now, are you starting to see how analyzing every marketing opportunity available to you is a crucial step to making sure you don’t waste time and money? In fact, this one formula for comparing marketing channels can guide your every decision, making sure you are comfortable with the risk, and can improve your chances of a successful campaign many times over.

For testimonials from clients, enjoy reviewing my LinkedIn professional profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbarden

Sample copy writing sites:

www.eggurl.com/dV

www.AndrewBarden.com

www.SoccerMarketingInc.com

www.TrainingInLA.org

www.MackeySalesTeam.com

Tips for Effective Business Plan Writing

Hello. If you are thinking about starting your first business, writing a business plan can seem, ...well... overwhelming! If you feel you are not a researcher and writer, you'll likely want to hire someone who "plays" at doing those things. If you are a good researcher and writer, here are some tips that will help you develop a much better business plan. The more thorough and better written the plan, the more likely you'll both greatly increase the speed and amount of sales as well as significantly increase the likelihood that you'll get funded.

Looking for start up capital? Well, lately, just about the only banks giving businesses loans are those that are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Soooo... if you are smart, you'll visit your local SBDC (Small Business Development Center) and get your first draft of a business plan reviewed by trained experts.

Ok. So, here are the tips, written in the order of a typical plan outline. Keep in mind that the executive summary may be placed in the beginning but it is always written in the end, after you've written almost everything else.

Tip #1: What sets your apart from your competition? What is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?

Think about the number of business plans your readers must plow through each day (if they are angel investors, venture capitalists, or bankers). An average venture capitalists, for example, usually sees about 1,000 plans a year and likley invests in up about 10! What distinguishes yours from the rest of the stack?

Highlight the qualities that set you apart from all the other businesses early on in your Executive Summary. Put your winning concept up front and make sure your readers get it. Really emphasize that you've done your marketing research and concisely explain why you will dominate your particular market (with sufficient capital to send the message out, of course!).

Tip #2 The eye loves white space. Give your words breathing room.

Separate out your summary into paragraphs that mirror the sections of your business plan, giving at least 1/2 an inch of white space between each topic. It gives the reader's mind a chance to breath. Summaries are best written very dense, with the lease words possible to say the most important things. So, the reader will want to take a moment to soak it in. Give them the white space to take a "mental breath" before taking on the next big gulp of information.

Tip #3 Inc and grow rich.

If you are presenting a business plan to someone other than your friend or relative, be sure to have incorporated already. Have your incorporation information listed in the Company Description section of the website. Telling the reader that you have yet to incorporate could lead them to think that you're not taking your business seriously. When you show that you have at least an LLC (which can later be converted to a C Corp or S Corp), then they see that "you mean business." Now, which state to incorporate in? Did you know that there are good reasons NOT to incorporate in the state in which you currently reside? Talk to a good business attorney and ask about which states give the most protection in court. Also, never sell more than 49% of your stocks unless you are willing to give up all control to other stock holders.

Tip #4 Milestones show maturity.

You'll want to develop a history of your company that makes you look smart. You'll want to list milestones that you've already achieved. For example, show a chronology of the following, providing the dates of when you:

Incorporated

Completed your prototype

Shipped your first product

Secured major accounts / customers

Secured key strategic partnerships

Reached a significant sales level

You'll want to indicate at what phase of development your company is currently. Choose one of the following that best describes where you are:

Seed Company: The business concept is developed, but the product or service is not yet finalized. Not yet making sales.

Start-Up: In the early state of operation. Securing first customers.

Expanding: Established company adding new products, services, or branches. Rapidly increasing sales growth.

Stable: Established company with modest ongoing sales growth.

Retrenchment: Consolidating or repositioning product lines. Little or no sales growth.

Tip #5 Avoid Disclosing Sensitive Information

Be careful about putting highly proprietary or technical details in your plan, even if your reader has signed a non-disclosure agreement. You can present these details at a later stage of discussion.

Tip #5 Research, Research, Research - spot trends before they take you out of the game

Researching industry trends enables you to provide facts supporting your claims for your company's potential success. You'll need to show that your industry is growing instead of dying or flat. Even more convincing are sales figures for similar companies in the industry.

Tip #6 Invest in Yourself

Most lenders and investors want to see that the business owners have already made a significant personal financial investment in their own company. Many loan programs require owners to contribute 20 to 30% towards any funds sought. So, make certain you highlight the amount of money--as well as the time and other resources--you've already committed to your company.

Tip #7 Targeting your Market Shows Exactly How You'll Reach Certain People

A strong target market definition is:

Definable: It identifies the specific characteristics potential customers have in common

Meaningful: These characteristics directly relate to purchasing decisions

Sizable: The number of those potential customers is large enough to sustain your business.

Reachable: You can affordably and effectively market to them and have proven they will respond via cost effective marketing campaigns.

MORE TIPS TO COME... that's it for now, but, I'll post more tips soon... be sure to sign up for my RSS feed

Top 10 Ways to Ruin Your Small Business Plan

Hi there. If you are in the process of writing your business plan, you're in luck. If you avoid the following common errors, you are far likelier to reach your goals.

1. Make basic mistakes: If you leave out key info or get basic facts wrong, you'll mess up your entire business plan. Your readers will then begin looking for other obvious mistakes in your research and will discredit your ability to understand your position in the market and how to reach your target audience. Do your homework so you're familiar with standard industry practices. Educate yourself about distribution channels, price mark-ups, regulations, and legal and accounting matters. One error can ruin all your projections and assumptions.

2. Underestimate the competition: The worst thing you can say in a business plan is "There is no competition." No matter how unique or terrific your product or service, if you don't have competition, it means there's no market for what you're selling. Be sure to consider potential future competition once you've proven the concept.

3. Overestimate sales: When you launch a product or service that's better, faster, or cheaper than the competitions', it's natural to assume customers will beat a path to your door. They won't. Be realistic, even conservative, about how difficult it will be to build a customer base and how long it will take.

4. Plan more than one business at a time: Even though your business may eventually have a number of revenue streams, concentrate on one part of it at a time. Show you can be successful in one area before branching out.

5. Go it alone: Nobody can build a successful business alone. Strategic alliances, particularly with strong existing businesses, can improve your chances of success. And if you want your business to grow, you'll need to attract and keep capable management and personnel. Show you can work well and creatively with others to leverage your resources.

6. Use "phantom" numbers: Don't use financial projections just because they sound good. Don't use "boilerplate" numbers: industry averages might not apply in your situation. Be able to substantiate where you got your numbers and why you made your financial assumptions. Always overestimate expenses and underestimate income.

7. Forget a "Sources and Use of Funds" statement: Financing sources want to see exactly how much money you'll need, how you intend to use it, what money you're contributing, and whether you are expecting to get funds from other sources. If you don't include this information in a clear, concise format, you'll confuse potential investors or lenders.

8. Omit an exit strategy: While you may plan on running your business forever, others who invest in your company want to know how they'll get their money out. It's usually not enough for them to just get an annual return; they will want a way to make their original investment "liquid."

9. Lie: This is the best way to get a business plan rejected, increase the chances of your business failing, and ruin your reputation. While every business plan is developed with a certain degree of optimism, when the plan becomes fiction, you're in trouble.

10. Under-develop the psychographic profile of your ideal client/customer: Money comes from people making decisions. If you don't thoroughly understand the decision-making process of your preferred client or customer (the person who is most likely to buy what you are offering), you are setting yourself up for low ROIs of your marketing capital.

A largely untapped resource to help small business owners

Hi there. If you're a small business owner, entrepreneur, or just thinking about starting a business, you'll want to see what the Small Business Administration of our government has to offer you, often at no charge, that will help you start or grow your business. What a pitch! Basically, the government is saying "We'll help you make more money and never charge you a dime!" Can you beat that? And yet, I'm amazed at how many small business owners DON'T use the services of their local Small Business Development Center (SBDC)!

For 54 years, the US Small Business Administration has been a key resource for small businesses across our nation, funding local SBDCs and providing an amazing amount of helpful online and printed content. I urge you to take advantage of the many products and services your local SBDC provides. If you are looking for financing, business counseling, federal procurement opportunities (where the federal government buys from you), or you need help attaining the certifications necessary to compete in today's marketplace, then you'll want to stop by your local Center. You can locate yours by visiting http://www.SBDCnetwork.com

Like most any non-profit or government organization, when you work with an individual in that group they may be great or they may be less than great. It is hit-or-miss. But, just know that it is worth finding that "diamond in the rough," that person whose talent and sincere interest in your success actually makes the difference. So, don't be disheartened like I was many years ago when I made my first appointment with an SBDC counselor in Pennsylvania who turned out to be a dud. Since then, I've not only had amazing counselors but have become one myself, so I know that these positions do attract very effective business counselors.

It is easy to get excited about serving the small business community. People walk into our offices with such energy and hope and talent that you know they will do whatever it takes to succeed! And it usually requires that kind of attitude and persistence in order to make any new business work or to begin to dominate the market and grow your existing business.

Small businesses like yours are the lifeblood of our economy. Did you know that? Small business owners create between 60 to 80 percent of the new jobs in America. It isn't the big businesses that make up most of the GDP, it is the work of small business owners. They help drive our economy, transform communities, create jobs, and e3nable people to realize their dreams. What dream businesses do you want to start?

At the SBDCs, our goal is to help small businesses by giving the mthe tools they need to succeed. Curious about what we can do? Visit: http://www.SBDCnetwork.com to learn more. Whether you are starting or expanding a small businesses and need help developing a business plan, targeting clients that make you more money for your time, or establishing a budget or need additional training (don't you just LOVE to do bookkeeping!) (tee-hee), or you need technical or financial assistance, the SBDCs are here to help.

You see, the role of government is to create an environment in which the entrepreneur can flourish, in which minds can expand, in which technologies can reach new frontiers. Serious, hard-working and successful small business owners create wealth for themselves, their investors, and their employees. Their creativity, hard work, and productivity have combined to produce the most vibrant economy in the world (it's only the banks that have made it unstable lately).

Your local SBDC (Small Business Development Center), one of over 1,000 offices nationwide, are accessible via one of America's largest resource vaults for supporting small business owners at http://www.SBDCnetwork.com. Register for free, watch some training videos, write a business plan, apply for a loan, and a whole lot more. We're here to help.