Tag Archives: ideas

Marketing Strategies: Tools to Beat the Rules

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Everyone is on a quest in their lives to find just the right thing and reach their goals. They want to know the most informative facts on a variety of subjects, to stimulate their senses, to discover the secret to lasting happiness, to find a solution to a problem, to see exciting entertainment, to connect with others that share their same passion, and to seek out what drives their purpose in life. Can you find just the right thing for your business? Determine your needs in this business assessment at Marinerco.com. Find the right marketing strategies. People are on a quest to find YOU and how you can give them a solution to achieve their goals or solve their problems.

Marketing Coach Carol Naff discovered that these main factors will make or break your business:
·Quality of your product or service, and
·Marketing strategies that you use.

Marketing strategies and tactics have changed greatly within the last three decades. The standard rules of marketing can change extremely quickly – in fact, almost daily with new and rapidly expanding developments in technology. It is moving at a very rapid pace and controls the effectiveness of reaching a copious amount of people with your message. Modern marketing also involves a great deal of creativity and constant adaptation to beat the rules that were previously established and controlled the way marketing was done for the past couple of years. Your marketing coach is your partner to find just the right marketing strategies to reach your goals.

These clearly defined tactics will get started on the road to marketing success:

#1 – Marketing Goals
Establishing a solid list of marketing goals develops a concrete foundation to anchor your business success. Without having clearly defined marketing goals, there will be no growth due to a lack of direction. A business with no direction is dead in the water. Utilizing marketing goals is like using a road map. Make them smart goals. Once the direction is established, the destination will be reached provided that the journey stays on course and that everyone in the business is all going in the same direction. Goals must be defined in order to create a logical and effective plan of action. The right action will produce positive results and will ultimately lead to business success.

#2 – Time Systems
Timing is everything in marketing. Knowing when the time is right to launch a campaign can be crucial to the success of the product or service being offered. Also, it is important to manage the time that is spent daily on marketing strategies in relation to the time needed for product development and in serving the customer or client. Utilizing a system for time organization should always be a top priority in order to meet marketing goals, deadlines, and build integrity with the customers.

#3 – Niche
Defining the target market (or niche) is an essential element in marketing strategies and marketing campaigns. It is a total waste of time and money to try marketing to everyone. You must live in the reality that everyone is not interested in what you offer. Your niche is your target market not necessarily everyone you can serve. Narrow it down and focus on the people who want what you are producing. The human race is not made up of a bunch of clones where everyone has the same goals and wants and needs the same thing. So conduct your demographic research and find the right people who will reward you for your expertise, refer you to others, and also return as repeat customers. Once you find your niche, then you will have control of the flow of your business and meet your goals.

#4 – ZINGER ELEVATOR SPEECH
So…what do you do? “Duh, I help people get out of debt.” (Huh…?) Come on people…make it a little more interesting like this: “I’m a Financial Power Consultant and I teach people how to totally control their money flow!” If you are not excited about what you do, then how do you expect others to be excited and intrigued enough to learn more about your services? DON’T BORE THEM. Make it sound exciting, make it sound like it will be fun and easy for them to accomplish it, and most of all, be original and different on how other people in your industry offer the same services. You have to show them that YOU have the solution they’re looking for. So grab their attention with an original and exciting elevator speech that will capture their interest and keep them hooked.

These are just four of the foundational tools that you can use to become better at marketing strategies. There are many more; especially marketing strategies that apply with the new technology becoming available every day. By learning more about how to effectively use these tools, you will be able to expand your business for greater success with your goals. Mariner Company can show you how to use these tools in the most effective way to grow your business. Visit our website at: marinerco.com and call Marketing Coach Carol Naff at 303-337-4394.

You can use the tools to beat the rules! A successful business future is in your control. Take action today!

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So, the media reviewed your book or published your story

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You’ve done it. Your book was reviewed in the newspaper. Your story was told in the media. Congratulations! Now what?

That’s right; now what? Today’s newspaper or magazine is tomorrow’s recycling, but that doesn’t mean the life of your review is over — far from it, as a matter of fact.

That piece written about your book, a top 10 list, book review, article, or “think” piece (like an editorial or letter to the editor), still has lots of promotional juice left in it if you know how to squeeze it out.

According to marketing coach Carol Naff, here are just a few things you can do with your published works. Obviously, the rest of the world moved on to the next edition of whatever periodical has published your piece. Use this opportunity to drive traffic to buy more books or bring in more potential clients.

  • Tell the world about your published status by posting your piece on your website. You can either post a PDF of the article, or a link to the publisher’s website (assuming it is on their website), or you can post the original copy you submitted along with a mention of when and where it was published.
  • Email signature. Add a link in your email signature to automatically inform everyone about your review. Use it to drive traffic to your website.
  • Frame it. That’s right; make a nice clean copy on archival paper. Lay it out nicely to fit on a single page, and frame it like a photo. Hang it proudly in your office, home, or reception area. Then your visitors who missed your piece when it was published can see what it looked like. They might be just as impressed (if not more so) than the readers who stumbled over your article or review in the first place.

See additional tips to keep your publicity in the sun on solobizmarketing.com

To Use Business Social Media or NOT

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This question is frequently asked by my clients and alliance partners. You notice that all the ‘big guys’ are using social media. Name just one major company that does not use Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Actually, we should call it ‘business social media.” Add the latest player on the Internet, Pinterest.

According to Jeffrey Gitomer, “Social Media is the new cold call.” In his latest book, Social Boom, Gitomer states, “Business social media is the best, least expensive, most direct way of communicating with your customers to be discovered in the last 100 years. By taking complete advantage of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube, you can promote and propel your business beyond the next level, beyond your competition, and beyond the economy. Now is not the time to go slow. Now is not the time to worry about a few negative comments from customers. Now is the time to capitalize on the opportunity … and become the market leader. Business social media will build your brand, your reputation, and your…

Business social media is valuable to:
1. Find clients and customers
2. Drive traffic to your website
3. Promote a sale
4. Hold a contest
5. Have a Web presence
6. Fill classes and seminars

This is the perfect way to have a web presence without a website. People can get to know you and your service. Yes, it does take time and expertise to set up all the options, but once it is in place, you can update most of it in an hour or so.

Strategy: Connect with me and then contact me to help you with your social media.
Facebook Business Page – facebook.com/#!/marinercompany
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/carolnaff
Pinterest –  pinterest.com/carolnaff

25 Best Cities for Staying Young

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Which are the youngest & oldest cities in America? Find out which places topped RealAge 2012 list for staying young and which tanked.

What a surprise to discover which cities rank healthier than Denver. You’ll also be surprised to know how Denver ranked. See the full listing here.

This year, RealAge reviewed two dozen factors that influence a person’s RealAge to reveal the best places to stay young. Lifestyle choices have a big impact on a city’s age, says RealAge cofounder Michael F. Roizen, M.D. “Cities with the lowest stress are basically the youngest. Stress, smoking, diet, exercise — all four of those seem to go together.” When residents take good care of themselves, they tend to have lower rates for high cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes. And that translates to a younger RealAge.

Denver, CO
Residents of the Mile High City and its neighbor Boulder rank best in the country for optimism. They’re also third best for exercise, thanks to more than 850 miles of off-road trails for cycling, running, and hiking. All that activity helps Denver-Boulder rank as the best place to dodge cholesterol and diabetes, and second-best place for healthy blood pressure

Where does your city rank? Do you live in a city where you stay younger? Or do you live is a city where you are aging too fast? I was surprised with some of the rankings. RealAge

Write your 25 best accomplishments

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What will you do to change your outcomes to what you want? When you continue doing the same stuff, you will have the same results.

Do you know what and how to change to make this year different? Did your 2011 achievements match your vision for your life and business? Did your values impact your year?

Write down your 25 best accomplishments for the past year.

This simple exercise is extremely powerful. Time goes by so quickly that we forget to celebrate the good things that happen. It is so easy to focus on what we didn’t get done rather than what we accomplished. First, find a quiet spot where you will be undisturbed. Then write down 25 accomplishments that you achieved in 2011.

Then, taking each one in turn, read them out loud. After the last one, IMMEDIATELY make a list of 10 goals for the New Year. After truly acknowledging all the amazing things you did in 2011, you’ll feel incredibly powerful and set even higher goals!

Then as the year progresses, continue to keep track of your accomplishments. Each and every day, write down three achievements for that day. It could be as simple as went to the gym or signed a new client. This is very different from a ‘to do’ list. At the end of each day, reflect on your successes.

Strategy: Learn how to change your business structures and systems to realize your dreams in 2012.

“Marketing is not a function in a company; it is the entire being of a company.” Steven Levitt

Trends Analysis by Thomas Frey

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We are in for a very exciting year ahead. It’s a year where many competing trends will collide, and through those collisions we will see new pathways emerge.

At the same time, many new trends are forming, some with enough steam to form entirely new movements, others that will run their course and splinter into other emerging ways of doing business.

The “new normal” is quickly becoming the “nothing normal,” and our daily routines, …read more at  ColoradoBiz magazine

A Gift of Time

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Everywhere (in magazines, newspapers, email, Internet, and blogs), we are given tips and tricks to clear our clutter. We often think of that clutter as papers, books, and piles of stuff. While it is important to manage that clutter, consider for a moment that our time also can be cluttered. Give yourself a gift of time. Tackle time clutter for a stress-free life. Get a small timer and designate it for use as your business timer.

  1. Stay on Track. By setting your business timer as a reminder of your next event, you can focus totally on your project without having the distraction of constantly looking at the clock. You won’t waste time or energy constantly redirecting your attention. You’ll get more done in less time.
  2. Set time limits. Set your timer for 30 or 60 minutes or more. Completely focus on just one thing for that entire time. Then if you need more time for the project, add minutes as needed. If a project or task pops into your thoughts tempting you to move to that activity, jot a note on a paper to deal with that later. We are tempted to interrupt our focus because “it will only take a moment” and we don’t want to forget to do it.
  3. Email notification. Shut it off! Every time an email comes in and the ping sounds, it distracts you. Every distraction takes 5 – 15 minutes away from your project. You might set your timer to alert you a few times each day to check your email.
  4. Relaxation. Set the business timer for power naps or periods of relaxation to relieve stress. Then relax completely without having to worry about missing the next event.
  5. Avoid perfectionism. Work for excellence – get it 80% perfect and get the job done.

Strategy: Use these tips to enable you to focus and get more done in less time. That way you are giving yourself a Gift of Time. By clearing your time clutter, you will have more time to savor the moments.

Go With the Flow – Can you change your direction?

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Water is the perfect non-resistant element. 
 
We can see where it has worn away even the hardest rock.  You can go to the Grand Canyon and be stunned and amazed by the power of non-resistance over time.  We have also seen water sweep everything before it in torrential outburst:  Bridges, buildings, trees; nothing can withstand its force.
 
Yet, note how the great river begins.  It starts as a little stream high up in the mountains, and it’s usually very crooked in the beginning.  The little stream just runs over the boulders or the fallen tree.  It doesn’t stop and wait for its energy or its force to build up so it can push the obstacle out of its path.  It’s not interested so much in the boulder or the tree as it is about creating or getting where its current pulls it. 
 
You and I can use this to understand how we can be non-resistant.  Flow is one of the great Laws of Life.
 
Mary Morrissey writes a daily dream builder column…. always some interesting ideas. Think about how your business started with just an idea and with much meandering, success became a reality.