Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com June 15, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 21 BIZ BOOKS Tips for building a one-week marketing campaign "T he One Week Marketing Plan" by Mark Satterfield (BenBella Books, $24.95). Many small business owners don't capi- talize on marketing's brand-building oppor- tunities. Why not? Some are consumed with other aspects of their business. Some believe marketing campaigns require research- backed analytics and lack the time and deep pockets to do the research. Some confuse sales with market- ing. Regardless of their rea- sons, entrepreneurs need to understand that marketing coordinates four P's (product, place, promotion, and price) needed to build and strengthen customer relationships. A mar- keting system helps a business create the fifth P — profit. Satterfield's one-week plan simplifies the process for busi- nesses and uses the Internet to maximize results: Day 1 — Create differentiation and cred- ibility by focusing on a niche market. When prospects believe you understand their prob- lems and provide solutions, they'll check you out. You can choose a niche by industry or end user. Factors to consider include market size, competition, growth potential and abil- ity to reach decision makers. Develop a story about why you're in the niche. Most often, the story relates to the experience of the business owner; a been-there-experienced-that message garners attention. Day 2 — Create a free report offer that piques a prospect's interest. Put your- self in their position. Think about their headaches and information of value to them. Satterfield provides a fill-in-the-blanks exercise that helps define prospects and their hot buttons. Once you identify the hot buttons, create a benefits offer that pushes them. Satterfield's favorite format is the "Steps" model — Take these steps to … Ideas: Talk about the consequences of ignoring a problem and introduce options for addressing it. Provide information on your approach to solving problems; include some case studies. Day 3 — Work with a website designer to develop a one-page website add-on spe- cifically for your free offer. The link to the offer should be prominently featured on your home page; the copy should highlight the offer's relevance to prospects. Check out Satterfield's website, gentlerainmar- keting.com, to see how he teases prospects to provide their contact information in return for the report. An alternative option involves showing prospects a few excerpts of the report before asking them to opt in. Once a prospect opts in by providing contact information, the one-page web- site comes up. It should affirm their opt-in choice. Its content should contain a head- line and bullet points, which connect to the benefits in the report. It should close with a thank you and information on when they'll receive the information. Day 4 — Develop "drip" marketing mes- sages that follow the freebie at regular inter- vals. Satterfield uses a seven-message follow- up and provides templates for each message. The messages aren't a boldface sales pitch; they continue building credibility by being helpful and having a point of view. While you may be writing to one person, it's likely that your email will be forwarded to others in the firm involved with the problem. You need an autoresponder system to send out the emails to prospects. It's essentially a database of contact information that allows you to personalize and send bulk email. Most contact management software packages have an autorespond feature. A $297 online source is autorespondermadness.com. Day 5 — Attract prospects to your web- site with pay-per-click (PPC) sponsored ads on search engines. Google, the 800-pound gorilla of Internet advertising, commands higher prices than Bing and Yahoo. All the sites use templates to walk you through the process creating ads using keywords; Satterfield uses Google's screen shots to explain each step of the process. He cites LinkedIn ads as a good source for B2B prospects. All sites involve bidding for ad placement. Valuable freebies: Register your book at theoneweekmarketingplan.com and receive the companion video series, ongoing tips, tactics and ideas. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT Seven myths about startup survival By Andy Singer Y ou have probably heard the many hor- ror stories of new business failures. While the first year is certainly tough for new companies to survive, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, 75 percent of new businesses make it through the first year, and 50 percent make it to five years. While you may not be thrilled to hear that your chance of surviving five years is only 50-50, there are actions you can take to remain a viable business. Here are seven myths about startup survival: 1. You must have a business plan: When I started Singer Executive Development, one of the first things friends said I needed to do was write a business plan. While this may be true if you are looking to raise funds, it's simply not necessary for a small self-funded company and can take time away from doing what matters. You should have a clear vision of what you are trying to do, begin with the end in mind, understand your customers, and have a strong plan of action. 2. You need to spend money to make money: When friends call me for advice on starting a new business, the first thing I tell them to consider is the required cash flow. You need to either have or know where you are going to get the cash to support your busi- ness for the first year, as well as your personal living expenses. The biggest reason new busi- nesses fail is because they run out of money. Keep your costs as low as possible when starting your business. Spend money on the things you need, not the things you think a company should have. 3. You should make a profit in the first year: The odds are high you will not make a profit in the first year. When going from a sal- aried job to entrepreneurship, it's hard to give up the stability of a paycheck. But the first money you make will need to be reinvested back into the company. 4. All activity is good activity: You need to be very selective in how you spend your time and resources. Too many entre- preneurs burn the candles at both ends, yet only move sideways. Don't say yes to every request that comes your way and especially requests to work for free. When considering each opportunity, think about how it fits into your overall game plan and priorities. 5. It's all about the product: Your goal should be to help your customer, not focus on a product. You might have developed the best product since the wheel, but if customers are not excited by it, if they don't need it, your chances of success become much diluted. 6. Customers will find you: One of the most critical issues facing a startup is how to get the word out cost effectively. Customers won't just find you, especially at first. The methods that are most cost effective to successfully market your company will depend on the industry. You should always be networking. Some of the best opportunities find you because of the people you know and friends telling friends about you. 7. Success is yours if you want it: Want- ing to be successful is not enough. It takes drive and tenacity to be successful with a startup, but it takes so much more. You have to be willing to put in the hours and become a jack of all trades, so to speak. It's not for everyone, but for those willing to take the risks, the rewards are many. Launching a business is an uncertain, stress-inducing venture, but more small businesses actually succeed than fail in their first year. If you are ready, don't be afraid to take the plunge, but be conservative in your spending, aggressive in your marketing, and willing to adapt. n Andy Singer is the president of Singer Exec- utive Development, a professional training and development company that helps opti- mize business performance of employees and executives. Andy Singer ▶ ▶ Create differentiation and credibility by focusing on a niche market. When prospects believe you understand their problems and provide solutions, they'll check you out. ▶ ▶ The odds are high you will not make a profit in the first year. When going from a salaried job to entrepreneurship, it's hard to give up the stability of a paycheck. But the first money you make will need to be reinvested back into the company.

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