Marketing Tips to Launch Your 2011

What does 2011 hold in store for you?

Success? More clients? A better year?

It doesn’t happen by itself. But by taking action on the right answers to key questions about marketing, you can make it happen. Here's five ideas to get you started.

Develop a written marketing plan. Sounds pretty basic and it is, but if you do not have a plan - - a detailed plan in writing - - your marketing efforts will probably be fragmented. Your plan must state your specific objectives, identify and rank your target audiences, spell out your messages to those audiences, identify the tactics you will use to deliver those messages, and establish a budget. Of course, you can revise your plan throughout the year. But how can you prioritize what path you will pursue without devising that path? In addition to my own business, I work in the marketing department of the college of business at a large university. We never start to promote a major project or program without a written marketing plan. Never. If we’re doing that on a per project basis, how do you expect to successfully advance your entire business without a written, structured marketing plan?

Advertise. In my experience, when PIs want to know marketing ideas, they usually really mean they are looking for marketing ideas that are free to implement. I’m personally in favor of no cost ideas myself. But if you want to own your market, if you want to have truly top-of mind awareness in your area, you sometimes have to spend some money. Chances are you never hear a PI firm advertised on the radio. That’s not because several have tried it and failed, it’s because they don’t do it. So be the one PI in your area who is willing to invest in his or her business. You do not have to restrict it to radio advertising (although the start of the year is a great time to find bargains), and, yes, you should consider advertising on Facebook.

Update your website. Continuously. Fresh content is king. Business owners are always trying to find ways to increase their Google rankings, and one of the leading ways is to frequently update your website content, and to do so with references to key search words. You can’t just put the words “private investigator” into a paragraph a dozen times, because the good folks at Google are wise to that. But an unfreshened website will miss the mark on attracting new visits. Besides, more and fresher content gives people a reason to visit your website more often and spend more time there. (Personally speaking, my top business goal for 2011 is to expand and completely revamp my very modest website. If you have not updated your site since you put it together a couple years ago, now’s the time.)

Feed your marketing mindset. Use available resources. Read the great collection of marketing articles on http://www.pursuitmag.com/. For help developing your marketing plan, advertising copy and for tons of other marketing ideas, you might want to invest in the PI Marketing CD. (You can find details at http://www.letbobhelp.homestead.com/.

Join the conversation. Yes, I mean Facebook. There are tens of million of people on Facebook. They include many of your current and potential clients. You don’t have to post every picture of your dripping wet dog as he climbs out of the pool, but you do need to be where people are, and that is Facebook. This is not a step that will necessarily bring new clients to your door tomorrow, but you have to do this.

A classic approach. The start of a new year can be the start of a lot of new, positive relationships for your company, relationships that are just one step away from someone whom you already have as a client. So write a letter to your current clients, friends, neighbors, associates of associates, simply suggesting that the start of the year is the time when you always want to take that extra effort to strengthen your relationships with them, and to let them know that you are also available to help their family, friends and business associates with a wide (or narrowly specific) range of problem solving services. Even if you sent some of these people a Christmas card (you did send Christmas cards to your best clients, didn’t you?) the time to send them a personal letter is now. And I do not mean an email. I mean a real, paper and ink, hand-signed, stamp on the envelope letter. Just because you need to implement high-tech tactics such as Facebook, you do not need to throw out classic, proven forms of communication such as personal business letters. My insurance agents do it, and I’m confident that they are being coached by top marketing minds in their organization.

So there are five things to get started. For help developing your marketing plan, advertising copy and for tons of other marketing ideas, you might want to invest in the PI Marketing CD, just $37, at http://www.letbobhelp.homestead.com/.

Happy - - and successful - new year!