How to Choose the Best Marketing Strategies for You

So, youre thinking about doing some marketing. If youre a small business owner, chances are youve already discovered that your options are practically endless.

You could place ads in local or national publicationsbuild a new Websitecreate a brochurestart an e-zinehold a competitionput on an eventget publishedhave your name printed on pensput out a press releaseand well, you get the idea.

For some entrepreneurs, all these options result in total paralysisYou dont do anything because you cant decide what to do.

Or, you end up choosing your marketing strategies for the wrong reasons so you dont get good results. Just because something is cheap, or the timing is right, or the opportunity comes from someone you know doesnt mean it s going to help you grow your business.

I once had a client who was addicted to cheap marketing like a woman gets addicted to sales. It didnt matter if she needed it or not, or if the opportunity was a good fit, as long as the price was right she was going to buy. Boy did she waste a ton of money on free or cheap marketing tactics that didnt get results.

I also have a client who wants to jump on every opportunity that comes her way. Someone calls with a new shopping cart system and shes ready to buy. A networking organization wants her to join and get published in their directory. Of course she has to decide in the next few days to get in this years edition. So she feels compelled by this to not let the opportunity go by.

Can you say salespersons dream???

So how do you choose the best marketing strategies for your business?

Instead of making your marketing decision based on price, convenience, or familiarity, you need to look at your goals, the results you are likely to get, the true costs and the potential gains.

Not sure how? Try using the quick list of questions below to help you make better choices. Whenever you are presented with a new marketing opportunity ask yourself:

1) Will this strategy get me in front of my ideal client or target market?

2) Will this strategy help me achieve my end goals or desired result?

If you answer no to either of these, stop right there and pass on the opportunity. If you answered yes to both, then it is time to calculate true cost.

3) What is the initial, up front cost?

4) How much time will it take to put everything together?

Now add on 1/3 more time than you think you will need, then multiply the number of hours by your hourly rate to calculate your time cost.

5) Will I need any professional services like printing, graphic design or copywriting to complete the project?

6) If so, how much will it cost to get my project done by the due date? Not sure? Call around and get estimates.

7) Do I have time to do this right, or will I have to pull an all-nighter to get everything done? If you have to work late, count it as time and a half and multiply by your hourly rate.

Now add up all these costs and ask yourself

8) Does this fit my budget?

9) How many new clients would I need to get to break even on the investment (Divide the total cost by the average revenue generated by one new client)?

10) Is that even possible, let alone probable?

If youve answered all of these questions, you should now have a reasonable idea of the true costs of your opportunity, as well as the potential Return on Investment (ROI). And it should be crystal clear whether or not the opportunity is a good fit for you.

The bottom line isnever make a marketing decision based solely on cost or convenience. After all which is more expensive: A $5000 campaign that brings in 20 new clients who each spend $300 (net profit of $1000), or a free ad that really costs you $800 to create but does not bring in any new business at all? You decide

With more than 20 years experience running small businesses, author Stacy Karacostas has developed a variety of proven tools, tips and tricks that take the struggle out of growing your small business. Discover all kinds of powerful resources, free for the taking, at http://www.success-stream.com