Debra Kasowski

How to Get Your Marketing Plan Off the Ground?

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Many start ups entrepreneurs are unprepared for the trials and tribulations of being an entrepreneur. They try different approaches and different tactics that do not always side in their favor. They may have tried a brilliant idea or approach with all their energy and enthusiasm to only quit after the 2nd or 3rd attempt. They get discouraged and quit because people are not coming in droves to buy their products and services. Does this sound like someone you know?

Copyright: iko / 123RF Stock Photo
Copyright: iko / 123RF Stock Photo

Successful marketing is developed over time and consistent in its messaging efforts. The more and more people start seeing or hearing about you, the more clients you will have come your way. Your efforts will pay off and often come from places or people you may not expect.

It is easy to get caught in the idea of selling products and services and making money. What all businesses need is a solution for the need of the people.

People are the reason why people are in business. You need to build and nurture relationships over time. People need to get to know, like and trust you before they do business with you. I realize for some people, business is transactional but for the majority it is relational.

Business is about an experience that was created. Based on that experience, word of mouth marketing still remains the most powerful form of marketing out there. I would also say social media marketing is a form of word of mouth marketing.

There are  10 keystone questions you must answer when developing your marketing plan:

What is my Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?

What sets you apart from others doing the same thing you are?

Who is doing the same thing I am and how are they promoting their business?

Who is your target market?

What are their habits?

Where do they spend the most time?

What are their pain points (e.g. lack of time, money, childcare)?

How can you be the solution?

How much are you willing to spend – what is the budget?

What are the 3 marketing activities you can do that would make the greatest impact?

Take some time pondering and reviewing these questions. You want to get involved in marketing activities that you enjoy and feel good about because it will show up in the work that you do. Do not get discouraged; the universe or God rewards your efforts.

Remember successful marketing comes from consistent persistent action with a plan of action. It is important to sit down, review your day the night before, and review again in the morning.

A marketing plan can be overwhelming as you may have trouble thinking so far in advance. Make a plan for the next 90 days. It is doable and lots can change even in a month. What are 5 marketing strategies that you are going to do over the next 30 days? Keep in mind that simple consistent action reaps the greatest rewards. After 30 days, you can reflect and evaluate what worked and did not work. Decide what you have done well, what needs to stop, and what you need to start doing.

Rinse and repeat the process for the another 30 days. Watch what happens – people will start to inquire about your business and services. Don’t forget to start tracking what you are doing. How are people finding out about your business or services? Networking events. Track it. Cold calls to offices or people. Track it. Expenses. Track it. Each effort must be tracked. What gets tracked gets measure, what gets measured gets more clients, more money, and better opportunities. Are you all in?

What are 5 strategies you use to reach your audience with your message?

3 Reasons Why You Need to Have a Marketing Plan

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I remember when I first heard people talking about a marketing funnel and filling your pipeline. It all sounded more like oil pipelines and striking it rich with oil that it did about marketing. I now think of the analogy more like striking it rich due to consistently delivering and serving my market.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
― Benjamin Franklin

Too many business owners are walking around without of plan of action. They are taking stabs in the dark by trying out random marketing tactics once or twice and abandoning them if they do not work. Even if your plan is on a napkin, it is still a plan!

“If you don’t know where you are going,
you’ll end up someplace else.”
― Yogi Berra

It is better to have a plan than no plan at all.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

You can always adjust as you go. After all, you are in charge!

There are 3 why you need to have a marketing plan:

FOCUS – A marketing plan captures what your thinking onto paper or in a document on your computer. It creates a vision for your business and growth. The plan offers big picture thinking as well as smaller more detailed planning. There is nothing stopping you from adding an event or workshop along the way to boost your revenue. Ultimately, the market plan helps you focus on what needs to get done to get the results you want.

DECISION MAKING – By writing out the plan, you can make better decisions and save a great deal of time, money, and resources. You will learn where to allocate your resources or delegate tasks to so that you can get the greatest return on your investment.

PROGRESS & ACCOUNTABILITY – One area that is often over looked in planning is the reflection of how far you have come from where you started. When developing your plan, it is important to build in benchmarks or milestones where you can measure your success and celebrate! These benchmarks or milestones can act as an accountability check or reminder of your goals and next steps. Each step along the way build momentum for the next.

Successful marketing NEEDS a plan and you need to consistently work the plan.

There are many ways to market your business! Start with focusing on 2-3 ways and get really great at them and then try something new! You will discover what works for you often through trial and error, however, you will never know if you are on the right track if you never measure the metrics of your efforts. What ways do you market your business?

What Are You Waiting For?

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My role as a speaker, author, and business, executive and entrepreneurial coach is to help people really get clear on the direction that they want to go. Often, they are faced with a challenge in their immediate time frame. They are trying to figure out ways to move forward to and move through to breakthrough. So many times I find people are waiting. Waiting for opportunities to be brought to them on a silver platter!

Well, sometimes you need to go out there and create your opportunities. You need to start sharing what it is you want to go after.  There are people along the way who are willing to help you but if you are not willing to share what it is you are after – how do these people know how to help you?

The other thing is being very focused on what it is you want to achieve. What are things you need to do and be- to get there? How do you need to show up? Think about those things – waiting does not get you anywhere.

By taking persistent action and moving forward toward your goal, you create something to look forward to. The thrill of anticipation will be your motivator. Think about how things could work for you to move forward. Whether it is something in your life that you know there is one thing – that if you did this one thing it would change everything. It would create a shift whether it be in your family life, your personal life or in your business. How do you need to be to make things happen?

The question is “Why Wait?”. Create your opportunities and make the shift inside yourself. Become more aware of the opportunities already around you. There are probably many around you right now and the door is open.

But if you wait too long the door is going to close.

So take the opportunities and grab your silver platter. Make your day happen by creating those opportunities for yourself.

Why wait?

What opportunities are you creating for yourself?

 

 

5 Great Reasons to Rebrand

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“Authentic brands don’t emerge from marketing cubicles or advertising agencies. They emanate from everything the company does…”
― Howard Schultz, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time

18870173_lYour brand is everything from your business card to how you do business. There comes a time when new marketing strategies come into practice. The re-branding process can make you feel like a bundle of nerves and very excited at the same time. For me, it is going to be transformational. A fresh new look – new life.

Years ago, I started “The Millionaire Woman” as an opportunity to help people “live rich from the inside out”. I still continue to believe in the philosophy but something has changed. I have changed. I want to make a bigger difference on a grandeur scale.

I recently completed my Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Six months of webinars, alumni coaching, pro-bono coaching, and assignments. Our Capstone involved coaching someone in the community in front of an instructor and a handful of peers. It can be a bit nerve racking but for me – coaching makes me feel alive; it is like breathing. Don’t get me wrong – I did get nervous. I did have that negative self-talk – a chirping, but I learned to tune it out. I excelled and completed the program with incredible people from across Canada and parts of the U.S. Something changed – I developed a new vision for where I wanted to go. I continue to love working with the business owners but I knew I needed to branch out, up level, and show up as the person I wish to be at this new level!

There are many reasons to  rebrand and share who you are and what you are bringing to the world. Most importantly, it is to stay true to who you are – be authentic.

1.  Be Proactive – Keep it Fresh. Either you outgrow your brand or it out grows you. When you look at your logo or your marketing materials, you might feel that they are outdated and  you and your business or no longer the same. This growth comes with age and maturity of the business – but no one said you or your business become “old”.

2.  Expand Your horizons. It is time to stretch! I challenge people to dream bigger. We tend to limit our own dreams based on our current reality. Sometimes, I even need to be remind myself to dream bigger. When you first started your business, you may have decided to narrow in on your target audience and now you wish to broaden your horizons.

By expanding your horizons and being open to new opportunities, it  allows you to prepare for predicted growth.

Often I think of a phrase someone shared with me once, “If Oprah called today, would you be ready.?”  Would you be ready for an interview that could potentially change the entire landscape of your business? Do you have the infrastructure to support your growth?

I have expanded my audience to include business owners, professionals, and organizations to reach a global scale.

3. Stand Out from the Crowd. In today’s marketplace, business can get to be a big noisy place.

How do you differentiate your business from your competitor?

What makes people chose your business over someone else?

What keeps people talking about your brand and what you do?

A new logo or branding can help you step out from the crowd.

4.  New products, services, or offerings. You may have developed a new program or recently obtained some new education that supports what you currently do. For me, I added a certification in executive coaching even though I had coached many people before without a title. I love hearing how coaching has improve their lives and shifted their daily practices impacting their business growth.

5.  Identify your new brand or promise. Your mission and vision may change but chances are your core values with remain the same.

What will your company be doing for others?

Five power words that are a foundation to our  promise and the work we deliver:

 I am excited for the road ahead.

I know it will be transformational for you and I.

People. Passion. Productivity. Performance. Profits.

Secrets of Powerful Networking

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Today’s topic is about the secrets of networking. I am going to share 3 with you.

1. Be intentional about who you are networking with but I want you to be careful not to network  just because of someone’s title. It can be very deceiving about what their roles and responsibilities are. The other thing I want you to be careful about with a title as you never know where someone is going. Start treating everybody as a person of influence. I worked with someone who was a Director and then an Executive Director within two weeks time frame of me meeting them. Be careful so you do not miss out on opportunities of networking with very influential people.

2. Believe in yourself. When you go to a networking event, you want people to notice you. Be excited about what you do. Believe in yourself, your business, what you are offering, the products and services, and that you are an ambassador of  that. Be really clear and focus in on what you want to achieve when you go to networking events.

3. Take Interest in Others. When you are networking with people be careful not to “dump” everything on them – sharing everything about yourself. It is really important to start learning – when you meet people discover what interest them  and what their needs might be. Think about how you can help them reach their goals. In turn if you help them achieve their goals I am sure they will want to champion yours!

Share some of your networking secrets with us!