Are you in the majority?  Did you let your marketing sit quietly on a shelf all summer while you went to the beach, took a vacation, or otherwise took a business siesta?  Well, you’re not alone.  Most business owners let their marketing slide during the summer, thinking that people aren’t paying attention…it’s a slow season…people will be back in the routine once fall hits.  I’m not saying this is the right thing to do…I’m just saying this is what happens.

Snap Out of It!  Fall is coming fast and you need to get your head back in the game!  Don’t know where to begin?  Well, I’m going to give you some tips to get you started.

Make sure your marketing plans are in place:

• Is your website in need of changes or updates?
• Do you need to make any changes in your branding or extend that branding?
• Do you have business cards, brochures, postcards, and other marketing materials on hand–0r at least on order?
• Is your email list up and running?  If not, be sure to get a sign-up form on your site ASAP!
• Do you need to invest in any local advertising?

Plan for success:

• Are you working part-time and expecting a full-time pay?  Time to re-think your strategy!  Hard work pays off, especially for the small business owner or solopreneur.  So put in your time and make that success happen!
• Are you doing the things you know you should be doing?
1. blogging at least once a week?
2. marketing your business in some way every day?
3. building valuable connections on social media?
4. getting involved with local business networking groups?
5. continuing your education/training to make you a better business person and better at what you offer your customers?

Reconnect with your past customers:

• Offer them an incentive to come back and do business with you (exclusive sale, sneak preview of new items, etc.)
• Ask them to give you an endorsement that you can use in your marketing (website, promotional items, etc.)
• Send them a token of appreciation or thank you note
• Send out a newsletter, telling them about your plans for the upcoming fall or holiday season

Find new customers:

• Ask your customers to introduce you to people who may be interested in your product or service
• Host an open house of gathering where people can meet you in an informal setting
• Interact with your community, whether that’s a local community or a community of online people with similar interests

The key is to keep juggling!  It’s not easy, but it’s very important to keep building your business–even when it doesn’t seem like you have the time to do so.  Yes, the things you are busy with may be making you money, but if you don’t keep up your marketing, things will eventually slow down and you end up in a cycle of busy/slow/busy/slow.  Wouldn’t it be much nicer to have steady…and better yet, steadily increasing business?

Now, I realize there are a lot of other ways to gear up for your fall marketing campaign than I’ve mentioned here.  I’d love to hear some feedback from my readers.  What techniques have you successfully used to get back into the swing of things after a “vacation” time like “summer break”?  Let me know…that’s what the comment section is for!

Branding is a vital aspect to every business.  It is responsible for how the world perceives you and your business and it’s very important that we pay attention to this aspect of marketing.  If your business branding is sloppy or unprofessional, your potential customers will probably assume that you, also, are sloppy and unprofessional, which is hardly how you want to be seen!

Your marketing materials and all related promotional items should match in style, colors, and design.  By keeping uniformity, you give the customer comfort and a feeling of security, which may be subconscious, but is nevertheless very real.  That feeling of security helps to eliminate the confusion of who you are and how you handle business.  Remember, a confused customer will ALWAYS say no!

Uniformity in your branding leads to brand recognition.  Brand recognition builds confidence and awareness about your business.  People are less hesitant to trust businesses that have this image of credibility.  There is a feeling portrayed that the company will be around for a while–not a fly-by-night operation that will disappear with their money.

Some things to think about when branding your business and buying marketing materials:

• Your business cards are the single most, cost-effective marketing piece that you can invest in for your business.  Make sure to have them professionally designed and printed.  Make sure they are printed on a heavy grade, quality cardstock, as flimsy business cards give the impression of a flimsy company.  If you cut corners on your most important marketing tool, you give the impression that you may cut corners on something that matters to your customer.  NOT the first impression you want to leave!
• Your letterhead should match your website.  Your website should match your promotional materials.  Your promotional materials should match your advertising.  And so on.  I think you can get the idea–uniformity is important!

It is also important to keep your brand current with the culture, which brings up the aspect of re-branding.  Re-branding is when you update the look of your branding. There are times when you just need to freshen things up — shake them up a bit.  This is a process that I’m currently working through with Dramatic Design.  As you can see, the website has changed, well…dramatically!  (I’m still in the process of updating other aspects of my branding.)

While I still liked the branding to the left, it was starting to look very dated.  It was starting to get boring–and if I thought it was boring, what must my prospective clients thought!  It wasn’t right anymore, as my business is a constant state of transition and growth.  I needed to punch it up…take it to the next level.  So, I have upgraded the colors to something more “2011,” created a new design, and came up with a more creative tagline.  These things helped me to get excited about my business branding–and about my business.

If you haven’t considered your branding, I would challenge you to think about it!  If you have had the same branding materials for a while, it might be time to update your brand!  Either way, I’m here to help!  Please ask your questions below, in the comments, or send me an email.  Let’s see how Dramatic Design can help you shake it up!