Marketing 101: New Year’s Resolutions

This year, resolve to enhance your marketing efforts. Even in light of a gloomy economy, your marketing dollars should be the last thing you cut. If you feel like your marketing ROI is too low, re-focus your efforts. The following five resolutions may help you get the most out of your marketing budget this year.

1. Update your website and incorporate search engine optimization. Keep your content and look fresh, original and baited for search engines. Add some streaming video. Give people a reason to keep coming back.
2. Incorporate social media. Social media, when executed right, can actually help you accomplish all 5 of these goals (and then some) in one fell swoop. It is not a quick fix, though, but a process that requires strategy and interaction – strategy and interaction that will be worth your while. Social media will help to strengthen and manage your brand, let alone gain new customers.
3. Focus on customer service and satisfaction. It takes a lot more money to attract new customers than to keep your current ones happy.
4. Keep it fresh and real. When marketing, dare to be different. It is essential to grab consumers’ attention and keep it. If you are not going to make them laugh, make them think. Allude to something that strikes an emotional, passionate or comic cord and they will remember you.
5. Be loyal to your brand. You can’t be everything to everybody. Find your niche. Tell people the benefits of buying your products or doing business with your company, and then tell them over and over and over again.