Does your retail store, restaurant or non-internet based service business have web presence and a customer list you market to and interact with? Did you know that over 40% of businesses do not have any website. Of the 60% of those companies that do have a web presence, it consists mainly of a basic homepage, an about us page, a contact us page and maybe a page about the products or services they sell. If that is the extent of your web presence in 2009, you are wasting a huge and cost effective opportunity to promote your business, build and manage a following of loyal customers and survive and prosper in the future.
The last few weeks I have made a point to ask questions of business owners that I frequent locally about how they market themselves, what works and if they are cutting back on marketing and advertising in 2009. The feedback has been mixed, but a few clear trends arise.
- Business in general is off for most.
- They are concerned about their future.
- They are looking for ways to reduce expenses and not expand.
- They have cut back on their traditional marketing efforts.
These feeling are not isolated to small business owners on Cape Cod in the winter, as we all read every day the impact the economy is having on businesses big and small. What concerns me is that anyone who owns a small business should not be cutting back on how they market themselves, but re-think how they market themselves and develop an effective Web 2.0 marketing strategy that reaches out to existing and potential customers in a cost effective way and begins to build an interactive community of loyal followers, not hit or miss customers.
Below are two markets and two local businesses who I think “Get It” and have diferientated themselves to me as a regular customer. They do not follow what I call the “YAMETO Marketing Strategy” (not Japanese, it stands for “Ya, me to”), which is how most businesses spend their marketing dollars following what their competition does, with no real handle on that value of that investment, because they feel they have to in order to compete.
To read the complete post on Bssential Solutions click….here
Bill Sifflard - With over thirty years experience as an entrepreneur, an executive, an author and as a business consultant, Bill Sifflard has a long history of experience bringing innovation, efficiency and success to large and small businesses adapting to evolving markets.
As a premiere Sales and Marketing Innovator, Bill is changing how business integrates traditional marketing strategy with the power and potential of the internet utilizing his "Velocity for Success" matrix.
To learn more about Bill and Bssential Small Business Solutions you can visit http://www.bssentials.com and register for his Free eNewsletter or follow all of his blog posts by clicking on the RSS feed button above. 
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