The end of the year and the end of another business quarter are just around the corner. Now is the perfect time to check and clean out your marketing toolbox to and refresh it for the New Year. So what is currently in your toolbox and more importantly how are your tools contributing to your goal to increase sales?
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Upon opening your toolbox, you will have a removable upper tray that contains your lightweight marketing tools. Down below is a larger compartment to hold those heavier tools. All of your tools have a cost and deliver results.
For example, your lightweight tools include your elevator speech, value proposition, business cards, stationery from envelopes to letterheads, brochures, postcards, postage, promotional items or giveaways CDs or DVD’s, Costs for these tools range from pennies to hundreds of dollars.
The heavier tools at the bottom of your toolbox have a lot of variety. There are speeches that you can deliver to local organizations or to larger conference audiences. Printed books along with published articles are always effective heavy marketing tools. Paid advertising, membership in referral groups, local chambers and other networking groups are other heavy tools. Finally, there is that all important website and let us not forget your blog especially if you are engaged in quality content marketing. These heavy tools costs hundreds to thousands of dollars, but may also provide you a steady stream of passive income.
When you analyze all the costs within your toolbox, you will be amazed at the total investment. For some this may quickly exceed $50,000. Whatever the costs the results that these tools deliver must be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure their value.
- Is your 30-second elevator speech effective? If no one is seeking you out after you deliver your infomercial, then it is definitely time to refresh that tool.
- Have you updated your website to make it search engine friendly?
- Are you consistent in posting to your blog? What are your results
- How are your social media platforms working? Are they delivering you new sales leads?
TAKE ACTION by establishing a 30-day goal to clean out your toolbox and refresh or even replace some of your marketing tools. Just as the blade to a shovel becomes dull, so do these tools. Make sure they are razor sharp and sparkling clean to cultivate and grow new sales leads.