Through my large network of business connections and the Creative Marketing Services (CMS) strategic business partners, I consistently come across a number of great workshops and networking events for small business owners and entrepreneurs which I'll be sharing with our readers throughout the year.  The events range from email marketing and social media workshops, to networking events and business planning seminars.

The first event that I'd like to share with you this year is the Dream Big event hosted by Lorenda Phillips with The Essential Entrepreneur.  She is a successful business coach to thousand of entrepreneurs and business owners.  It's a great way to start 2012 by spending an evening networking with entrepreneurs, discover winning strategies for business growth and take away tools to master your business plan!

With any networking event, I recommend that you set goals for yourself so that you can make the most out of each opportunity.  For example, set a goal that you will meet 5 new people, share contact information and ask if they can be added to your email newsletter list.  Don't forget to always bring plenty of business cards and have your thirty second elevator pitch down pat.  Keep in mind that people don't want to be "sold to", include who you are what you do and most importantly, what makes your product or service unique compared to the competition.

DreamBIG is the event to attend in 2012. You will leave with clarity, focus and a renewed motivation to excel in your business, plus great ideas to implement immediately.

When: January 25, 2012

Time:  5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Where: The Olympic Collection, L.A.

www.dreambigevent.com

The last few weeks of 2010 has suddenly arrived catching most of us off guard, utterly unprepared and at a loss for an acceptable explanation as to why our annual “Be Prepared, Plan Ahead” and the proverbial “Let’s Do Something that will shock everybody by developing a strategic marketing plan and then finish what we started by actually launching the plan to Kick Start 2011 and Re-Energize ourselves, our current customers and appeal to potential new customer’s as well.

Do yourself, your business and your clients a favor by taking a few private moments to reflect and grade yourself on the marketing agenda you planned when 2010 started, the successes or failures that were directly related to following or not following your own marketing roadmap and what “action items” and cost effective marketing methods are most likely to expand your sphere of influence, increase your brand visibility as well as grow your customer base and sales volume.

Businesses and business owners don’t start each year by planning to fail, they’re just not aware of the overwhelming historical and statistical data showing higher levels of success, increased profitability and enlarged sustainable asset/growth potential for businesses that market consistently, plan in advance, give their customers what they want and take advantage of any and all marketing opportunities that fit their business model.

With that being said, there’s still time to make, and keep, a 2011 New Year’s Marketing Resolution that’s should keep you smiling all year long.  I’ve taken the liberty of listing five of my 2011 Hot Marketing Tips that should help get you pointed in the right direction; Good Luck and Happy New Year!

5 Hot Tips to Kick Start Your Marketing for 2011

Today there are a tremendous amount of powerful and cost-effective marketing methods to choose from and the list just keeps growing.  This is great news for small business owners and entrepreneurs looking for new and innovative methods to stretch their marketing budgets, but the challenge has always been determining which combination or proper blend of marketing programs offers the most consistent potential for their particular industry, geographic location and their target demographic market.

1. Sign up for a FREE One Hour Marketing Consultation* from CMS.

Speak with a marketing specialist and receive expert tips and advice by maximizing your annual marketing budget by incorporating the latest marketing trends and innovations to increase your brand visibility and grow your business.

What are you waiting for?  Sign up Today!

2.  Create an Integrated Marketing Plan
Consistency is one of the main ingredients to an effective marketing plan, but it also has to be comprehensive and fully integrated across all aspects of your marketing program.

The branding, messaging and positioning of your company should be consistent across all marketing vehicles (i.e. website, email, ads, etc...) in order to increase brand awareness and better recognition with your target audience.  After all, on average, it takes a total of 6-7 impressions (or touch points of your company) for a prospect to convert to a client.  Other key aspects of a successful marketing plan include:

a. A well-defined position in your market.  How well are you differentiating your business from the competition?  What are your strengths and what makes your products or services unique?

b. How well have you defined your target market?  The more you’ve defined your target audience and conduct targeted marketing, the more you increase your chances for success.  No single product or service will meet the needs of everyone.

c. Prioritize your marketing methods.  Determine which methods will give you the greatest opportunity to grow your business and give you the most bang for your buck.  Don’t be afraid to add new marketing methods into your overall mix.  With that being said, I suggest testing any new method on a small scale and tracking results to determine the effectiveness before you make large commitments.

d. Market your business as much as you can and find creative ways to stretch your budget.

Questions you need to ask yourself:

Is your marketing fully integrated?  Do you have consistency across all aspects of your marketing?  If not, you're missing out on the opportunity to maximize your potential.  A comprehensive, fully integrated, strategic marketing plan is KEY to obtaining max potential.

3.  Create a 12 Month Marketing Calendar
Creating a twelve month marketing calendar allows you to make the most from your marketing initiatives.  This provides the advanced visibility to plan for upcoming events and time to develop the necessary marketing materials required to insure success of your event or promotion.  Waiting to promote Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day specials until the last minute will limit your sales potential and add to your stress.  Additionally, keeping a schedule of the frequency of your email, newsletters, blog posts, Facebook posts, etc… helps keep track of all your marketing initiatives.

4. Automate Your Email Marketing
Automation not only saves time, it also saves you money.  Streamline your email marketing efforts by utilizing auto-responder email campaigns and automating targeted marketing as well as posts to your social media.  A great example of an auto-responder email is a “welcome” campaign that is targeted towards new prospects that sign up to receive your emails.  Simply create a series of 3-5 emails templates that are developed specifically for prospects and can be scheduled in advance to automatically go out over a scheduled period of time.  Include any value-added benefits, promote your business, how your products or services can fill a need or benefit them and even consider adding an incentive for doing business with you (i.e. 20% off their first treatment).  Here’s the beauty of these types of campaigns…once they are set up they automatically run on their own.  Plus, you can check the statics along the way to monitor the results.   Another way to help streamline your marketing efforts is to set your emails newsletter or blog posts to automatically post on your social networking sites like Facebook or LinkedIn.  Many email services providers such as Constant Contact offer auto-responder campaigns and the ability to post emails to social media sites at no additional charge.

5. Write a Blog
If you’re not already writing a blog, 2011 is the time to get started.  Not only is a great way to showcase your expertise, differentiate yourself from the competition and provide value-added benefits to your readers; it’s also a key technique to increase search results and provide higher rankings for your website.  Plus, more than likely your competition is already writing a blog so don’t be left behind.  Search engines, like Google place a high value on websites that update relevant content on regular basis.  When it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization), you’ll want to follow the same strategy for your blog as your website.  Be sure to use the best practiced SEO techniques when your web developer is creating your blog and don’t forget to include your top keywords and phrases within articles.

First of all, you’ll want to make sure and integrate a blog into your website as opposed to having them separate from one another.  When they are separate from one another it’s like having two separate websites; therefore the SEO efforts have to be duplicated.  Another evolving trend for blogs is to incorporate video clips which can be a very powerful and engaging way to reach your target audience.  Creating and uploading videos is easier than ever and very cost effective.  Here are video content ideas to make the most of your blog.

• Video testimonials
• Video tour of your facility
• How to Videos
• Before and after photos