1. Your staff knows exactly what is happening and when
2. Your staff buys into the excitement of what you have planned
3. Your staff is trained to handle customer enquiries and challenges that may arise once the promotion is in place

In all the years I have worked in retail marketing either as an employee or consultant, I have often witnessed poor communication and training in outreach to existing customers and prospects.

During my time as the West Coast Marketing Manager for the Virgin Megastore at the corner of Robson and Burrard in Vancouver, I worked diligently to put systems in place to ensure management and staff knew exactly what was happening and when. Each week, a “Tip Sheet” was posted in the lunch room with all of the marketing initiatives for that week. Ads were also posted on the bulletin board right next to the time clock. Management was debriefed and managers followed up with staff.

We also had the benefit of a DJ booth in the store. DJs were given a weekly script with all the promotions that were happening. They would announce each promotion. This benefited both the customer and the staff.

When a large promotion would take place, more training was required, particularly for in-store promotions where we would partner with other organizations or retailers. Some examples of this would be giving out Virgin Bucks at the cash register or getting staff to commit to putting bag stuffers in all shopping bags at the beginning of the day.

Although this was a large operation with many managers and more than 100 staff members during peak times, similar systems still need to be implemented even in smaller retail operations with few staff members. It is important that employees feel they are included in whatever promotions are planned before the customer learns about them. This can be as simple as staff getting a copy of an email blast that is going out to the customer database at least a day or two before it hits people’s inboxes.

Over time, your team may become complacent to each new promotion you launch. It is your responsibility as the owner to ensure they remain excited and passionate. It can be deflating when a customer enters the store holding on to an ad you ran in the weekly paper and is greeted by a less-than-excited salesperson. This customer most likely has not visited your store before and they may expect that, once they discover they need what you have, they will get your undivided attention. This is a crucial moment in successful sales and marketing.

Most of my retail clients have monthly, if not weekly staff meetings. This is a great time to provide your team with marketing updates. Not only do you want to inform them, you want to ignite a feeling of excitement about the next promotional campaign. You want to equip them with the information and tools they need to do the best job they can do.

This means having a discussion around any concerns they have as your frontline team. Once these concerns are aired, solutions can be implemented.

Last fall, I worked with two Pharmasaves on Vancouver Island. Both spent time on a daily basis educating incoming staff on their marketing focus. The Comox Pharmasave had a white board in their lunch room that could not be missed. It had a Monday-to-Friday calendar with important information on it. So, in between sharing the information with the team verbally every day, management provided staff with a reference point during breaks and mealtimes.

When I worked with Cobs Bread last year, brand manager Michelle Duck shared with me one of the tools they created to help franchise owners educate staff about how to handle customers who redeem coupons at one of their bakeries. The educational video shows employees how to deal with receiving coupons in a passionate and welcoming manner even if they have no idea where the coupon came from. This is a great way for Cobs to set the standard for their franchises, keep the Cobs Bread brand strong, and keep its customer service model in check.

I believe that employee training is the weak link for most small- to medium-sized retail operations when it comes to customer service and marketing. It starts with how the staff answers the phone to following up with customers after a purchase has been made. Right from the moment someone makes a phone call or sends an email, they have an interest in what you are promoting. This customer can either have a very positive initial experience or a very bad one.

I was at Essence last week purchasing essential oils. The salesperson was alone in the store. She didn’t know the answer to my question so I asked her to call another store to confirm if I could get a discount on my purchase because I was returning bottles. She was happy to oblige. While ringing in my transaction, the phone rang. I was asked if I could hold on for a moment while she took the call. During the call the person was told the employee was the only one in the store and asked if she could take down the person’s phone number and call them right back. I was impressed with her ability to treat me and the person on the phone as important customers without compromising either relationship.

As you plan your next marketing campaign, include involving, educating and training your staff. Once you do this, they are 100 times more likely to actively promote and endorse the campaign.

In summary, here are some key takeaway points to put in place or refine to make sure you have a well-oiled marketing machine:

1. Make time for regular staff meetings to discuss marketing campaigns
2. Give your staff an opportunity to discuss their worries or concerns
3. Allow them to be part of the solution process through discussion and resolution
4. Walk them through the campaign prior to its launch date
5. Check in with them once it starts to see how it’s going
6. Listen to and coach them on how they can be welcoming and passionate about customer enquiries
7. Circulate and post all marketing materials and deadlines so staff look and feel well informed in the eyes of the customer

Jen DeTracey, is a strategic alchemist and one of Canada’s Top Marketing Experts. Her proven 5-Step Strategic Marketing Process, the LIFFT™ Process, has helped hundreds of business owners and their staff members understand how to get the most from their marketing efforts. To receive Jen DeTracey’s complementary One Minute Marketing Tips via a biweekly email, go to www.liftstrategies.com and subscribe.

This new world goes well beyond tried-and-true Yellow-Page advertising concepts and traditional print and radio advertising campaigns. These days, websites have become a common tool in a retailer’s marketing mix.

From working with retail owners over the past ten years, I realize retailers are busy people. I have also seen discomfort or scepticism towards online marketing for those forty-five and older.

Are you feeling the pressure of needing to understand and get on the Twitter bandwagon before it’s too late?

Some business people are doing just that; investing a great deal of time into writing blogs and tweeting on Twitter. They’ve done this so much that they have submerged themselves in the online world, yet they aren’t following a road map. As a result, their efforts have become a time waster instead of an income generator.

Let me put your mind at ease. Putting the brakes on everything you are doing in business so you can switch to social media is not the answer. For example, writing blog postings is like anything else; it represents just one layer of your overall marketing strategy. As an owner, you can’t rely on just one form of marketing to create enough awareness to sustain your business.

If you start using social media to gain and retain customers, it’s best to develop one method of online marketing and build or modify as you go along. In keeping with your marketing budget, you many need to pull back on some of your other marketing investments in order to manage your overall marketing budget.

For example, Yellow Page directories are becoming obsolete. Consumers over 45 rarely pick up a copy of the Yellow Pages to find out where to buy the products and services you sell. Some of Lift Strategies’ clients are now phasing out their Yellow Pages advertising over the next year or scaling back substantially.

What can become overwhelming, especially to the unseasoned social media marketer, is the sheer number of different options available and where to get started. It is important to start by ensuring that your website properly represents your retail business. Does it include the type of information your customers want and need to know? Is it easy to find out store location(s) ? Is it easy to find out what time your store(s) open and close? Does the website position your business as specialists in your area of expertise? Two websites from our clients which have achieved these objectives are: www.vangasfireplaces.com and www.sofasogood.ca.

Once you are happy with your business’ website, it is time to choose and commit to one type of social media. Blogs are a great way to reach your ideal customers with new and relevant information. Blogging is simply a way to communicate your thoughts, opinions and timely information to prospects and customers using a website as your method to get the message out to your ideal fans. Often, blogs can be incorporated into an existing website or linked to your retail website.

Although you can start a blog very easily without any step-up fees (using, for instance, www.blogger.com), I recommend talking to your web developer about the best method of integrating a blog into your existing website.

Once the blog is up, it’s time to start writing. If you can’t write your own material, there are hundreds of eager writers who will do it for as little as $20 per blog posting. The most important aspect of blogging is consistency and frequency. I write a one-minute marketing tip twice a month, post this to my blog, and send it out to my client database. I can ensure this happens every month. In order to boost my blog content, I ask other experts to contribute to my blog under a section called “Meet the Experts”.

Do you have an employee who would love to write for your blog once or twice a week? It would be ideal to find someone within your own organization who would be interested in taking charge of a project like this. This person will require some writing guidelines so that they can properly represent your company. They will also require a schedule and reliable commitment to posting entries every week.

As soon as regular blog postings happen, it’s time to reach a broader audience through Twitter. You can set up a Twitter account at www.twitter.com and then start tweeting your blog messages to your followers. Entering the Twitter world is a beast in itself. I suggest you find out how to set up a Twitter account by going to www.youtube.com and doing a search under “how to get started on Twitter.” There are hundreds of videos you can watch that will provide excellent guidance as you venture into this new field.

Twitter is simply one of many methods of getting your message out to prospects and customers. Although social media is not for everyone, the average consumer does online research well before walking into your store. In the next issue of Retail Connections, I will share more information with you on why and how social media can play an important role in helping your business maintain a strong presence on the map.

Jen DeTracey runs Lift Strategies Inc. a strategic marketing firm. www.liftstrategies. Sign up for our one-minute marketing tip. 604.255.2098.

The first step is to make sure you have a good website with the right information on display. The second step is to get a reliable individual to start blogging. The third step is to use Twitter to tweet out the content that is posted on your blog.

What’s next? One important side note is to make sure your business is on the map. By this, I mean the importance of being listed in your local marketplace with Google. More and more, Google is striving to localize the information people receive when they are searching. If your company has a Gmail account (Google mail account) then you can register your business with Google Local. It’s free and puts you on the map with Google within four weeks. Try it out here: http://www.google.com/local/. It will take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete the process.

One item we have not touched upon is Facebook. Facebook for some is a dying method of marketing, while for others it is a hotbed for communicating important informationsuch as sales announcements to your clients and potential clients.

The first question you may want to ask yourself is “Are your fans (the customers you love) actively using Facebook?” Last week, I was talking to a client who lives in a small town. They have found Facebook to be an extremely effective way to get the word out about the special events they host at their hotel.

If you have a good database of fans through Facebook, then this can be an effective tool to tell them about a sale or new line of clothing. One of my retail clients has experienced the opposite, however. Despite many attempts at getting customers to register on Facebook and participate in a photo contest, the interest was very low. Most of the fans were actually family and staff.

The best way to find out the most effective method of reaching your fans is simply by asking. You can have the staff ask an interested client how they heard about you either when they call or at the point of purchase. If this scenario feels like too much of a time crunch, then a follow-up call, email or quick online survey will help you to determine how to best stay connected to your fans.

E-newsletters are a cost-effective method of staying connected. How often Lift Strategies’clients send out information to their customers depends how much time they have to generate new content. We make sure the retailer is able to commit to a regular schedule. Some of our clients send out a message every quarter, up to twice a month, or simply every time they have a new promotion to announce.

There are many easy-to-use e-newsletter services available. Some of the most common are www.constantcontact.ca, www.icontact.com, and www.myemma.com.
The beautiful thing about sending out an e-newsletter is the ability to track its results. Additionally, it is common to include links to specific pages of your website in the e-newsletter. This way you can draw existing customers and prospects back to your website. As a result you can see what they are interested in and how long they stay.

Getting online doesn’t have to put a large dent in your marketing budget. It is more of a time commitment than anything else. If you don’t have time to do it, you can incorporate some of the tasks into one of your employee’s job descriptions.

In a nutshell:

1. Take advantage of Google Local’s free map option

2. Find out if your customers are active Facebook users before using Facebook as a promotional tool

3. Find out the best way to reach your ideal fans online

4. Commit to sending out regular e-newsletters even if it’s only every three months

5. Incorporate links from your website into your e-newsletter content

6. Find a champion amongst your staff who wants to help market your store online

Jen DeTracey runs Lift Strategies Inc., a strategic marketing firm. Visit the website at www.liftstrategies.com and sign up for our one-minute marketing tip. Jen can be reached at 604.255.2098.

During the past twenty years as a strategic marketing expert, Jen DeTracey, founder of Lift Strategies Inc. has discovered time and time again that follow up is critical to the success of any small business. Marketing campaigns become irrelevant when an organization does not put focused efforts into follow up. As a result, 75% of business opportunities are lost due to lack of follow up.

There are three critical areas in which follow up is necessary for small business success:

a. Sales

b. Frequency

c. Maintenance

Sales – Good marketing strategies and strong promotions should increase call volumes and business traffic, yet if the front-line staff does not have the ability to convert prospects into customers then the efforts are lost. Sales skills are an essential part of doing business, and often this comes down to asking the right questions, developing rapport and providing helpful solutions.

Frequency – Many forms of promotion, including email marketing and advertising, require frequency. Sending out an email blast once or running one ad will rarely generate business. Our role as business owners is to maintain regular contact with our prospects and customers. Frequency can be an effective follow-up method of building relationships with those we want to do more business with.

Maintenance – It costs up to 15 times as much to get new customers as it does to keep the ones we’ve got. Maintenance marketing is a great way to stay connected to the customers you love. This can be done through thank-you cards, lunches, emails, special offers and follow-up phone calls. The number of ways to follow up with our customers is endless. If your company does not have a maintenance marketing plan in place then it is at risk of losing exponential business opportunities.

When was the last time you asked your customers what else you could help them with? Or sent them a promotional postcard informing them about a specific service you offer? The truth is that your customers may not be aware of the depth of products and/or services your organization can provide them with. It is your responsibility to keep them informed.

The number one reason why customers stop doing business with a particular organization is because they don’t think that organization cares. What is your organization doing to show that it cares?

I have had numerous conversations with business owners who worry about “bothering” their customers. This is definitely a valid concern if you are inundating your customers with phone calls, emails, faxes, postcards, thank-you cards, text messages, articles, enewsletters, gifts and in-person visits, especially if it is happening every week. Not likely, right?

Surprisingly enough, you’ll find that your customers can handle a lot more regular contact than you would think. The question now becomes: how do you communicate relevant information to your customers?

Before you take this concept and run with it, you need to think about what types of information would be valuable to your clients and then determine the best and most cost-effective method of circulating this information.

For some of Lift Strategies’ clients, we have found Send Out Cards to be a fast and cost-effective method of sending out small runs of promotional postcards and holiday cards. If you are interested in knowing more about this easy-to-use online tool for printed mail campaigns, you can contact us at info@liftstrategies.com.

Last week, I was speaking to a prospect who explained to me that his preferred method of receiving information was via email. Although most of us receive more email than we would like, it is one of the best ways to get information in the hands of our clients quickly and at a very low cost.

These days, there are thousands of online tools for sending out emails and enewsletters. These tools are designed to reduce the number of emails that aren’t successfully delivered due to spam filters and security software applications.

The best way to find out what type of information your clients would benefit from the most is to simply ask them. After distributing Vancouver Gas Fireplaces’ Quarterly Report for a full year, we emailed an online survey asking subscribers what content in the existing enewsletter they like the best. We also wanted to know what type of content they would be interested in hearing more about. As a result, we learned how popular the frequently-asked-questions (FAQ) section was. The survey also showed how keen clients were to learn more about product trends.

The results of this survey helped us to shape the new and improved VGF Quarterly Report to best meet the client’s interests. For the past three years, we have been giving existing and prospective customers what they asked for.

Your organization’s industry will likely indicate how much information your clients will tolerate. Since most people have busy work lives, their time and attention is limited in reviewing new information or promotional materials.

This is why postcards or short email blasts can be a very effective method of quickly communicating high-impact messages to busy people, directing them to the website for further details. Incorporate the link from a particular website page within the postcard or enewsletter copy. This gives your customers the choice of getting more information without much effort.

The frequency and mix of promotional materials you distribute to your clients will depend on your marketing budget, what your clients want and what types of communication is best suited to them.

To learn more about how we can help your organization maintain exceptional client relations, resulting in more business more often, contact us at info@liftstrategies.com.

This article was written by Jen DeTracey. www.liftstrategies.com

Jen DeTracey runs Lift Strategies Inc., a strategic marketing firm that works with companies wanting to accelerate their growth, and manage that growth, without overextending their resources and their people.

© Jennifer DeTracey 2008. All rights reserved.

Setting up a business means facing the unknown every day. Your skills and talents will determine the type of tasks on which you prefer to spend your time. The problem is that there are so many other responsibilities waiting to be dealt with.

Susan, a woman who owns a company that makes websites and does online marketing for small businesses, was struggling with her fears. She particularly feared writing content for her clients’ websites. Although she recognized her personal obstacle, she still had difficulty getting past it. Each week Susan would set goals for completing a certain amount of writing, and every week she would fall short of her objective. Susan’s biggest fear was that the client wouldn’t be happy with what she wrote. Ironically, the content most of her clients wrote was not very good.

As deadlines loomed, she realized that getting beyond her fear was the only way to handle the situation. When she presented clients with copy, the feedback came back positive every time. That improved Susan’s level of confidence, but didn’t solve her procrastination problem. She continued to complete other tasks first, even though it meant working long hours and late nights to get the content written. Finally, the backlog got to the point where things had to change. Susan came up with two strategies. One was to make a priority list for the day and commit to writing content before moving on to other tasks. The other was to schedule specific times to complete the writing. By using both these methods to do what was difficult for her, she was able to achieve her copywriting goals more often.

Ray Hill, a professional speaker who specializes in energy management, talks about how we all have peak energy times during the day. That’s the best time to do our most challenging tasks, the ones we put off until the last minute. I have found this strategy to work well for me. Since my peak time of the day is first thing in the morning, I use these early hours to focus on tasks that require more brain power. For me, that includes writing reports, reading, and writing copy or marketing plans.

Another strategy both Susan and I use is setting deadlines. A marketing plan can take me up to forty hours to research and write. By setting a deadline for myself, then telling the client, I am able to establish a target and deliver on time. When deadlines are not required, it is easy to put off difficult things. Even setting self-imposed deadlines is better than operating with no deadline at all. When you tell someone your projected completion date, you are more likely to finish it on time.

Doing what’s hard is not about doing what is completely out of your realm of abilities. Subcontract the latter to more qualified individuals. Doing what’s hard is more about tackling what you are avoiding due to fear. It’s too easy to apply your attention to tasks you enjoy, or that come easily to you.

As Andrew Barber-Starkey would say, “When you do what’s hard, you will discover that everything starts to get easier.”

Jen DeTracey, founder of Lift Strategies Inc., helps organizations accelerate their growth and manage that growth without overextending their resources or their people. To find more articles, tips and information about Jen DeTracey, visit www.liftstrategies.com.

In the past eight years I have been running my business, I have always received payment from my clients. Of course, there have been a few bounced cheques along the way, but no financial losses. One of the most valuable lessons I learned while training for my business was to get every client to sign a contract before working with them. My classmates and I were given a sample contract to review. This particular contract was specific for consulting services – perfect for my business.

From that day onward I used that contract as a template after customizing it slightly for my own purposes. The contract was general enough that I could use most of its content. When a client signs a contract, the project then becomes official. Without a contract or a deposit up-front, you put yourself in a vulnerable position. And yet, when I first work with a client, I don’t always get a contract, especially if I am conducting a marketing assessment. Why? Because this project starts as an initial meeting, which is as far as the relationship might go. Under these circumstances, the client pays the entire cost of the assessment on that day. If there is no cheque cut, then I do not write the marketing assessment report.

It is after this assessment that I have a clear idea of what the client needs. Then it is easy to draft both the proposal and a contract. Although I would like to paint a perfect picture of myself for you, I have to admit that there are times when I don’t take the contract route. This is merely a personal decision in the moment, and I would not recommend it. Most of my clients get billed up-front every month in the form of a retainer payment. I then proceed to work with them by creating, implementing and testing marketing initiatives. Conversely, I have other clients who use my services on an as-needed basis. These are often clients who received a marketing assessment, and now want to hire me to work on a small project.

An example of this would be project-managing a new website for a client. Under these circumstances, the client does not sign a contract; we have a verbal agreement that each month they pay me upon invoicing. I work a specific amount of hours and then bill accordingly. These clients are usually micro businesses (less than four employees) as opposed to small businesses, so I am more flexible with them. Am I taking a risk? Most of the time I don’t feel that I am, because they have a good track record of paying me within a reasonable time frame. I minimize my risk by working with only one or two micro businesses under this payment structure at any given time.

The other exception to signed contracts is for my long-term clients. Once they have signed a contract for twelve months, I may work on a verbal arrangement after the first year. I call it trust; some might call it lazy. If I have a good long-term relationship with a client and they are paying their monthly retainer consistently, then for me, a written contract becomes less necessary.

What I suggest for those of you just starting up your business, is put systems in place from day one, so you can be really clear with your clients how you would like to get paid and what terms apply. The clearer you are with your clients from the beginning, the less likely you will run into difficulties with getting paid. Getting paid is one thing, and getting paid on time is another. The last thing you want to do is spend your valuable time chasing down money owed to you. It is emotional and exhausting. I would rather let go of a client that does not respect my payment schedule than sit around praying for the money to show up.

When it comes to money, eliminate as much stress around getting paid as possible. I find that in order to give my clients 100 percent, I can’t be worrying about when they are going to pay me next. I get money issues out of the way first, and then I can put my focus into providing clients with the best service possible.

Find out what billing and payment standards are common in your industry. Either go with that or create a new system that works for you. The less time you spend thinking about getting paid, the more energy you have to invest in a great relationship with your clients.

Jen DeTracey, founder of Lift Strategies Inc., helps organizations accelerate their growth and manage that growth without overextending their resources or their people. To find more articles, tips and information about Jen DeTracey, visit www.liftstrategies.com.

If your organization is determined to use its website as a major touch point or promotional tool to support the sales team’s efforts, then before reinvesting time and resources your organization doesn’t have into making changes, get the brand message right. Use the redevelopment of your website as an opportunity to step forward and complete the due diligence necessary to truly define and integrate your brand wholeheartedly into the organization.

In the past three months, I have witnessed a number of companies, across a number of sectors including IT, who have updated or changed their websites without giving much thought to brand development. It’s become commonplace for organizations to modify their websites, yet neglect to determine if their brand message is powerful and relevant. (When I speak about the brand message, I’m mainly talking about the customer’s impression of an organization, why they buy from this organization and how working with this organization benefits the customer.)

Is your organization planning on updating its site in the near future? Have you asked customers why they value doing business with your organization? If not, then you are missing the most critical step in the entire process. Although companies speak with their customers all the time, conducting a brand conversation to find out what motivates them to buy from you may bring some surprises. For one thing, customers rarely state price as their primary reason for buying from an organization.

From my seven years’ experience as a marketing alchemist and consultant, these conversations are more effective when conducted by a third party or at least through a methodical process. A brand conversation can happen in person, on the phone, or in some type of written/online survey process.

It is equally critical to conduct a similar brand conversation within the organization because defining your corporation’s brand means aligning the inside world with the outside world. If these two worlds are at different ends of the spectrum, then the brand and its message are weak and both need to be strengthened.

There are many benefits to conducting a brand conversation:

1. Customers tell you what they value most
2. You see your business through the eyes of your customer
3. You discover how others within the organization see things
4. You find out how those in your organization are communicating their perceptions to others
5. This process gives you an advantage over your competitors
6. You have valuable information that can be crafted into a powerful message
7. The look, feel and message your website communicates will change for the better
8. How your organization markets itself will have a greater impact on producing top line results

Going through this process allows your company to develop a strong and compelling message, increases your connections with customers and prospects, and lastly, ensures the message on your website is congruent with the culture of your organization. The integration of these two worlds is an important part of the entire Brand Attachment Process, a process I developed and walk my clients through prior to them investing time and money into revamping their websites.

Once this part of the branding process is complete, an organization can retrofit its core messages into all aspects of its sales and marketing initiatives, including a website redesign.

Jen DeTracey, founder of Lift Strategies Inc., helps organizations accelerate their growth and manage that growth without overextending their resources or their people. To find more articles, tips and information about Jen DeTracey, visit www.liftstrategies.com.

In response to that challenge, I developed the LIFFT™ Process over a seven-year period. LIFFT™ is a five-step strategic marketing process that helps companies accelerate their growth – and manage that growth – without overextending their resources and their people.

In this article, I will take you through the Reader’s Digest version of the LIFFT™ Process.

Step One: LAYER. Here’s an example. Let’s say you want to promote a new service to your existing client database. You decide that the first layer of promotion is to conduct an e-mail campaign that targets all your clients and prospects. You schedule these e-mails to go out three times over the course of a two-month period. Once this layer is set in place and running smoothly, you add the second layer. This would be in the form of a printed flyer or package, which you mail out to your clients and prospects to reinforce the e-mail campaign.

The process of layering involves determining each layer of promotion (i.e. e-mail, flyers, print ads, etc.), planning each step and most importantly, following through with the implementation. As you successfully execute each layer, you can proceed with the next. Always take into consideration whether you have the resources to pay for and manage additional layers.

Step Two: INFORM. Inform is all about the core message you want to communicate to your suitable prospects and your ideal customers. How do you know what your core message should be? It depends on who your ideal customers are. When I work with business owners, we first focus on identifying their ideal clients before creating the message. When you craft a compelling message, you will attract more ideal customers with greater ease.

Step Three: FREQUENCY. Do you find that your advertising strategies during the past year are not as effective as you hoped? Other than not advertising in the right place, which is the most common cause for its failure, there are two reasons why your strategy may not be generating results: First, not having the right message, and second, not running the ad with enough frequency.

If you are going to advertise, you must commit to a regular and consistent strategy for a minimum of 9 – 12 months. If you advertise in a shorter period of time, you are wasting your money. The prospective buyer must be reminded over and over again how you can help them. The reality is that your product or service may not generate a sizeable demand until nearly a year from the time you first started advertising. Frequency applies to all layers of your marketing action plan. Keep in mind this cardinal rule: More frequency leads to more awareness, resulting in more impact.

Step Four: FOLLOW UP. When clients work with our company, they establish a stronger presence in the marketplace, gain more traction over their competitors, and gain more ideal prospects. Yet, this means nothing if there isn’t a proper follow-up strategy. Based on my experience in advising business owners over the past eight years, I discovered that 75% or more of business is lost based on the lack of follow-up.

It is management’s responsibility to assign follow-up duties to his or her team on leads, proposals and opportunities with clients to build on an already existing relationship. This is a critical step in the LIFFT™ Process. When follow-up is missing, the first three steps become irrelevant.

Step Five: TRACK. Once you have successfully layered your marketing initiatives, determined your core message, applied frequency, and put a system in place for follow-up – how do you determine which promotional activities are working and which aren’t? This is where tracking comes into play. By tracking each marketing initiative, you can pinpoint which activities need to be dropped, which ones need to be built upon, and ultimately where to most effectively invest your time, money and resources.

Recently, I had a client ask me if it was wise to continue spending $10,000 per year on Internet marketing. I encouraged that client to continue investing this amount and suggested an increase of 25%. My recommendation was based on the results I saw in the client’s end-of-year tracking report. The report showed that the client had received the greatest number of inquiries and conversions to sales in the following areas:

1. Website contact form
2. E-mails to the website’s central e-mail address
3. Visits to the website prior to any direct contact

So, it is essential to track all of your marketing initiatives throughout the entire year. You may be surprised by what’s working and what’s not. The truth is found in the tracking.

Now that you understand the fundamentals of the LIFFT™ Process, are you ready to get over the hump and take your company to the next level? If you are, then the LIFFT™ Process will develop a structure for you in which you will be able to invest more wisely in your promotional endeavours. Isn’t it time you got the biggest bang for your marketing buck?

Jen DeTracey, founder of Lift Strategies Inc., helps organizations accelerate their growth and manage that growth without overextending their resources or their people. To find more articles, tips and information about Jen DeTracey, visit www.liftstrategies.com.

The British media grabbed hold of this comment and hung it out to dry, like dirty laundry on a public clothesline at Buckingham Palace. Within two weeks, the news made its way around the globe and landed in the lap of the US media.

Talk about a wake-up call for the Dixie Chicks! What they thought was a casual statement became headline news and it changed the course of their music career from that day onwards.

One of the first issues the Dixie Chicks dealt with was the loss of their North American tour sponsor, Lipton Tea, followed by country music radio stations boycotting the group’s single. Country radio stations received threats from many listeners, and in order to maintain their advertising revenue, they stopped playing Dixie Chicks music altogether.

By the time the Dixie Chicks released their next CD in 2006, they realized the need to rebuild a portion of their fan base in order to continue performing in stadium-sized venues for their worldwide tour.

Looking back to 2002, the band could have allowed this incident to destroy their future in the music business, but they fought to keep a presence in the marketplace and continued to produce great music that was consumed by their loyal fan base.

From a marketing standpoint, building a foundation of loyal fans, or in our case, loyal customers, is critical. Just like the Dixie Chicks, it only takes one thing to change the course of history.

As business owners, we often negate the importance of marketing when our business is booming. We think, “Why bother? I can’t take on any more business anyway. Spending money on marketing would be a waste and I don’t have time to make it a priority.” Meanwhile, the newcomer to the marketplace is aggressively fighting its way to the top, investing in developing its brand, setting up a marketing infrastructure and telling every customer how much they are loved. These newcomers are not nickel and diming on price; they are building a strong and clearly defined position in the market. They are willing to take risks and work with a marketing expert to get them to the next level.

They understand that out of nowhere, something could happen tomorrow that will impact the future of their business and they will not let the “good times” get in the way of building their marketing foundation. They are continuing to strengthen their brand and make the customers they love feel ultra special.

Is your marketing infrastructure solid? Are you confident that when the economy changes overnight, you will have established the “ultimate” value with your loyal customer base so they will return time and time again? If not, start now! Take as little as 15 minutes every day or a few hours a week to figure out how to achieve this. By committing to this process now, you will be able to quickly change paths, should it become necessary. Remember, having a loyal customer base will help you sustain your business even during the most difficult of circumstances.

Jen DeTracey, founder of LIFT Strategies Inc., helps organizations accelerate their growth and manage that growth without overextending their resources or their people. To find more articles, tips and information about Jen DeTracey, visit www.liftstrategies.com.