Your marketing mix is the combination of promotions,
products, places (distribution channels), and prices you
chose for your business. Including both short term and long
term strategies improves profitability.
Long term strategies build brand/company awareness and give
sales revenue a permanent, gradual boost. Short term
strategies create a temporary, immediate revenue boost by
giving buyers an incentive to purchase.
By implementing both long and short term strategies, you can
attend to immediate sales goals while building your business
reputation and goodwill. Some examples of both types of
strategies are below.
Long Term Marketing Strategies
Branding. General advertisements and other high profile
activities contribute to your company's image. These points
of contact with your target customer help mold your image,
which in turn can create loyalty from your customers.
Philanthropy. Donating money, services, and/or time can
build trust and a positive image for your business.
Philanthropy contributes both toward your branding efforts
and your company's internal well being.
New Product Pipeline. New products in development represent
your future sales. If you get feedback from your customers
or potential target market then design new products (or
change existing ones) to meet their needs, you are ensuring
a demand for your products in the future.
Short Term Marketing Strategies
Reduced Price Sales. Limited time sales encourage customers
to act. You likely have customers intending to buy but have
not "gotten around to it". Holding a sale will give them
incentive to purchase.
Group Discounts and Offers. Discounts or other offers to a
specific group can help exposure your business to new
customers, resulting in a sales surge.
Pay-Per-Click Search Engines. Pay per click search engines
are another way to become visible to new customers. Use them
carefully, however. Do not bid more per click than the
profit you expect to make from that click.
Search Engines
High search engine placement can produce both short term and
long term results. Short term, you can gain immediate sales.
Long term, results come as potential business partners find
your site.
Do not, however, become obsessed with search engine
optimization to the detriment of your other marketing
strategies. Search engine marketing should be one part of a
more comprehensive plan. Include other marketing strategies
in your plan to reach additional customers.
I do not put a lot of time into search engine optimization -
two or three hours a month at the most. Instead, I focus on
quality content, which in turn creates strong rankings for
my site. This approach has gotten me results with Google -
close to 1,000 visitors a week through their free search
engine.
Help Creating an Effective Marketing Mix
More ideas for creating an effective marketing mix are in my
planning guide. Go here to learn more:
http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/bookinformation.htm
About the Author
Bobette Kyle is author of the Marketing Plan Guide "How Much
For Just the Spider? Strategic Web Site Marketing for Small
Budget Businesses", named one of the top 15 books of 2002 by
NonFictionReviews.com. Read more about the guide here:
http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/bookinformation.htm