Does that seem right? Does that mean we should be a fourth of the way toward our yearly goals? Does that mean we should have a fourth of our new clients, a fourth of our revenue, and a fourth of our leads?

Well, if you are like us and asking yourself these questions (and quite possibly more), then here is some advice: if you are NOT on track, it’s NOT to late. Here is some practical thoughts that may help you make the turn.

Do what YOU do best

With that, I don’t mean your company, I mean YOU. Do what YOU do best. If you are like most business people I know, you are all trying to be everything to everyone and do everything yourself. But that is exactly how we get off course from our goals. Stop and assess what you should be doing for your company – quite possibly they are things only you can do for the company. Focus on those things and find others to do the rest.

Oh wait, that reminds me about my next point….

Find other resources / partners to help take the load off you

Can’t afford it? I know, we say that here all the time as well. But the fact of the matter is you CAN’T afford not to. If your business model is truly as strong as you believe it is, then you have to let go of some of the things that are holding you back from reaching your goals. You have to let others do the things they can do to help your company succeed and allow you to focus on the things only you can.

Now this doesn’t necessarily mean hiring. It could mean outsourcing some work to a virtual employee or company (I know a good one when it comes to marketing), or it may mean partnering with some companies to trade services or resources. Be creative and make every dollar you spend count toward reaching your goal.

Break the goals up in manageable pieces

We see many companies only make yearly goals and the numbers they stare at each day are so large they become paralyzed. Break them up. What do you want to accomplish by this time next quarter – or maybe next time this month? Keep your eye focused on a goal that is reachable (with a stretch) within a shorter period of time.

I hope these thoughts help trigger your mind to think of other things you need to consider as well. If you have other ideas to share, add them to the post by using the comment box below.

If you are struggling with your goals, your message, or your plan. Give us a call and let’s see what we can do to help you now.

But as a business owner or executive, you probably are starting to see more and more business opportunities present themselves every month – and being “lean and mean” is hurting you. It’s common in today’s economy that businesses don’t have the resources in-house to respond as quickly and effectively as they need to.

So what are your options? Do you always have to hire extra employees to be ready to respond? How do you know what abilities do you need?

One of the services Three Hats Marketing offers is virtual marketing employees. Simply put, what this can bring your business is the flexibility, resources, and the experience your business needs, when you need them. It alleviates the need to hire full time, in-house personnel and incur the on-going expense. It is the smart answer to the peaks and valleys all our businesses have.

To learn more about how a Three Hats Marketing virtual marketing employee can help your business, give us a call.

Correct or not, it has presented an anology that has been used in business over the years and I would like to make the point we see many businesses doing this with their marketing as well.

Here is a common conversation we have with business owners.

3hats: “So tell us what marketing activities you have done in the last 6 months.”
owner: “Well I had an ad in the local coupon pack.”
3hats: “Did it work for you? What was your goal for doing it?”
owner: “I don’t know….”
3hats: “What was your reason for doing it?”
owner: “I don’t know… I guess because my competitor did it.”

Often times business owners take actions with their marketing efforts solely based upon the actions of their competitors. Why is that wrong? Well, even though you are competitors and may offer customers similar products or services, there are many more things different between your businesses. Potentially your budget, your ideal customer, your geographic target area, your capacity, your services, your profit margin on certain products or services, your business model, your business goals, your vision, etc.

Instead, we advise companies to stick to the following for their marketing activities:

Follow your goals

Understand what you are trying to accomplish with your business (as well as your marketing) and stick to it! Set goals for yourself and determine the best ways to accomplish them in the most cost effective way. Know what your competitors are doing, but try not to let that influence the decisions you are making for your business – because as we pointed out above, you may not understand why they are making those decisions and as a result, may not be the right ones for you.

Follow your audience

Make sure you know where your ideal client is looking for the type of products and services you offer, and how they like to be communicated to – then go it ‘em. Be creative in how you reach out to them. Understand under what circumstance do they have a pain you can fix with your product or service and reach them then.

Follow your plan

Almost weekly businesses are presented with new marketing opportunities and new ways to spend their money. Develop a plan and weigh each marketing tactic against that plan. Is this the best way to spend these dollars? Do I know what I can expect as a result of spending this money? Does what I expect align with my business goals?

A little bit of thought and a little bit of discipline with your marketing can go a long way to help you reach your business goals. If you would like to discuss marketing planning or evaluate some of your marketing tactics further, please give us a call.

Even though your focus is to find a resource for one of the above roles, honestly a business’s overall marketing needs cross over into all three areas: strategy, management and execution. But most companies are hard pressed to make that kind of investment on full-time in-house employees

If you are looking to hire a new full-time marketing resource, then more than likely you have defined a list of needs you hope that an individual can fulfill for you and your business. If you are looking for a director-level role you probably need help with your overall strategy, if you are looking for a manager-level role you need help with getting the initiatives done on time and on budget and if you are looking for a designer, coordinator, or assistant-level role, you need someone to help you execute.

Even though your focus is to find a resource for one of the above roles, honestly a business’s overall marketing needs cross over into all three areas: strategy, management and execution. But most companies are hard pressed to make that kind of investment on full-time in-house employees

If you are looking to hire a new full-time marketing resource, then more than likely you have defined a list of needs you hope that an individual can fulfill for you and your business. If you are looking for a director-level role you probably need help with your overall strategy, if you are looking for a manager-level role you need help with getting the initiatives done on time and on budget and if you are looking for a designer, coordinator, or assistant-level role, you need someone to help you execute.

Even though your focus is to find a resource for one of the above roles, honestly a business’s overall marketing needs cross over into all three areas: strategy, management and execution. But most companies are hard pressed to make that kind of investment on full-time in-house employees

Outsourced marketing enables you to add leadership, experience, and expertise to the marketing and advertising needs of your company without the typical associated costs of adding full-time staff.

You can add these integral pieces of the puzzle to your business while maintaining the flexibility to only pay for what you need when you need it. There are typically several financial models to best suite your budgetary situation – from a monthly retainer to project-based fixed fees.

In addition to the financial benefits of outsourcing your marketing, below is a list of a few additional:

1. Additional expertise in marketing strategy, management and implementation – as well as the creativity of an ad agency
2. Draw from general business expertise of what works and doesn’t
3. Provide a fresh, outside perspective on your business and industry
4. Offset the impact of marketing staff reductions
5. Hire only when you need resources
6. Maintain a sense of priority and focus with critical projects by knowing your need will never fall by the wayside

Outsourcing is less expensive than an in-house marketing position

When you hire a full-time marketing employee, not only are you committing to pay for their salary, but you are also committing to paying for benefits, operating expenses, training, vacation and personal time. Often times this overall cost can add as much as 50-75% to the overall cost of the employee above their salary. And none of this cost is based on results.
With outsourcing, you are paying for nothing but results – period.

Outsourcing offers the skills and experience of an entire marketing department

Hiring a marketing director gives you strategy, hiring a marketing manager gives you management, and graphic designer or copywriter gives you execution. But outsourcing your marketing gives you the power of an entire marketing department.

Outsourcing offers more flexibility than a full-time marketing employee

Hiring a full-time in-house marketing employee is a 40 hour per week financial commitment. If your marketing needs are less for a period of time, you still are paying for that full-time resource. If your marketing needs grow for a period of time, there is a real limit to what you can get done, unless you are willing to hire another in-house resource.

Outsourcing offers real flexibility. Not only can resources with the needed skill set be used for each task, but the resources can grow as much as needed to fill the busy time, and shrink as much as needed when marketing is not needed. Pay for what you really need, both in skills AND in time needed. That’s real flexibility.