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SMART Goals Review

By Bill Thom – IT Project Management

Have you ever been on a team that has a goal but the team never gets off the ground? Have you ever been assigned a goal without knowing what you really need to accomplish by when? I will admit that in years long ago, I had been assigned to a team that had a goal that was not getting anywhere. In those years long ago, I had also been assigned goals that were unclear in nature. These types of goals can be frustrating for all parties involved. In order to avoid this frustration I have found that the implementation of SMART Goals seems to help.

Many of us in Project Management have heard the term SMART Goals but a quick review may be beneficial from time to time. The word SMART is an acronym that is broken down into …

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Realistic

T – Timely

Please note that there are other variations of the SMART acronym but I find this version best suites me personally and professionally. With that in mind, I would like to break this down a bit further. Read more

Live by a Marketing Calendar

“A good plan is like a road map: It shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there.”

H. Stanley Judd

One of the core principles I preach to the business owners I work with is the necessity of operating their business by implementing a Marketing Calendar. Simply put, a Marketing Calendar is a written road map for your marketing activities for a period of time. And, what better time to plan your Marketing Calendar for 2008 than in December of 2007.

If this sounds like a daunting task, it doesn’t need to be if you follow these simple steps for creating your Marketing Calendar:

1. Your calendar must be in writing. If it’s not in writing you won’t commit to it.
2. Keep it simple. Your Marketing Calender can be stated effectively in 1 or 2 pages.
3. Develop a “marketing wish list”. Include all marketing objectives that you would like to accomplish in a given period of time, even if the objective may not be realistic for your budget .
4. Develop a realistic marketing budget. Choose those strategies that you can afford.
5. Implement an Objective and Strategy to Achieve the Objective approach. State what your marketing objectives are and then the strategies required to achieve your objectives.

Finally, understand that your Marketing Calendar is a dynamic, living document that will change over time. Remember, plans are useless, but planning is essential for the success of your business.

9 Critical Tips For Growing and Marketing Your Small Entrepreneurial Business

Most new entrepreneurial small businesses rely entirely too much on word of mouth and referral marketing. It’s an easy trap to fall into because many small businesses get their start using word of mouth and referral marketing as friends, family and associates fuel growth motivated by the excitement of the new business entity’s birth.

Unfortunately, the new entrepreneur will most often get caught up the excitement of doing the business as opposed to running the business. Reality sets in with the realization that prospects and customers are not knocking the door down or making the telephone ring.

The entrepreneur recognizing the dilemma switches to marketing mode or at least they think their in marketing mode. Experience reveals they know little about marketing and will pour generous amounts of time and money down the drain before seeking help.

With a full blown recession in progress and people pulling back on expenditures it’s critical that you have a well planned marketing plan. Because you are not only competing with your competitors, you’re competing with everyone looking for a share of your customer’s wallet. Read more

Applying Lean Marketing Through Duct Tape Marketing Principles

What if your marketing was based on these principles?

1. Delivering what the customer really needs or wants?
2. Creating marketing that creates value and minimizes waste?
3. Making your marketing flow with little interruptions?
4. Achieving balance in your marketing?
5. Discovering processes that will achieve future state?

Now think about this, what is your customer looking for?

1. Solving their problem.
2. Not wasting their time.
3. Simple Solutions Read more

Small Business Lead Generation Made Easy Online

By TJ Kazunga

With people giving Yellow Pages and directory inquiries a miss and going straight to the internet to search for local businesses, it is essential for small businesses to both have an online presence and a small business lead generation system in place. There are two roads to go down to get more business prospects – SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (Pay Per Click).

SEO is more of a long term goal, as it can take months to get high up on the search engines for the keywords people are typing in to find your type of small business. Of course, if you do know some tricks of the trade you can get more exposure faster and your small business marketing will pay off a lot quicker than that. The major search engines do cater for the local small business.

Google offers a free local listing, which all small businesses should take advantage of. Google ‘Google Local Business Center’ and you will find where to sign up. You will need a free Google account to set up this listing, and then you can enter in your business details and your business classification. Google will then mail you a postcard with a confirmation pin number on, which you will need to enter to activate the local listing. Once you are live, people performing searches in your local area for your type of business are likely to see your business listing and a map at the top of the Google search page. It’s a great start to online lead generation, as people find your business quickly and easily.

Yahoo offers a similar service. Do a search for ‘Yahoo Local Listing’ and take a look at what they have to offer. They do have a free basic listing, but the monthly paid “enhanced listing” option is worth considering, as you can enter in a detailed business description, more photos and offer online coupons to encourage your visitors to pick you over your competitors. These online coupons are great for both B2B and B2C lead generation.

Having these listings in place give you a good head start in getting your website found when people search online for your business type. They are just a small fraction of the many ways that SEO can get your website noticed by your business prospects. Other ways include finding sites with high PR (page ranking) and getting backlinks from them, as well as entering your business details on online directories. Your customers need to be able to find you for small business lead generation to be successful.

Now, if you are looking for a quick and worthwhile use of your business resources to generate leads, then the way forward is to use PPC. Unlike using SEO, you can often see results and traffic on your first day using this method of B2C and B2B lead generation. Google AdWords is the most popular and most effective PPC program used.

As small business marketing using PPC is fairly new and local keywords still relatively cheap, it is an ideal method for small business lead generation. You sign up for an Adwords account, enter the local keywords that you would like to bid on, and depending on the competition and how much you bid, you are on the first page of Google straight away and people can find you. You only get charged when people click on your ad, and you can track and test what keywords are most effective.

In conclusion, you can see that SEO is important in the long term for getting your site ranked high in the organic listings, but in the meantime, while you are achieving those high rankings you should use PPC for your small business lead generation.

Click Here To Claim Your FREE small business lead generation consultation. Discover How You Can Make Your Business Website Become A 24/7 Lead Generator.

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