SMALL BUSINESS CHECKLIST: 25 Inspirational Marketing Tips

By any standard, growing a small business is a balancing act. The clearer you are about your goals and the more organized you become with your marketing and sales efforts, the greater your chance for success.

I hope this checklist will serve to inspire and support your efforts.

1) Never let a day pass without engaging in at least one marketing activity.

2) Keep an “inspiration” file where you can easily drop in clippings or ideas for later reference.

3) Carry business cards with you every day, ALL day. (They don’t any good in the box!)

4) If you attend meetings, create a personal name tag or pin w/your company logo to wear.

5) Keep up with trends that might impact your target market, products or promotions.

6) Know your competition. Focus on what you can do to differentiate yourself from the “pack.”

7) Create an incentive or recognition program to reward clients for referring new business to you.

8) Join an established association or organization related to your profession to add credibility and provide networking opportunities.

9) Create a signature file for all e-mail messages. It should contain contact details including your web site address & key information about your company that will make the reader want to contact you.

10) Solicit positive testimonials from customers; reward your loyal customers with visibility in a “preferred customer” program.

11) Develop an article marketing program to increase your visibility, attract new business.

12) Organize your email accounts – 1 for business/client communication, 1 for business news subscriptions, 1 for personal, etc.

13) If you regularly communicate with customers by email, you should take advantage of a quality autoresponder service such as Aweber to organize and automate your messages. This is a cost effective way to save time and increase productivity and looks far more professional.

14) Sponsor or promote a periodic contest or sweepstakes. A great way to interact with current client base, gain public relations and attract new clients.

15) Volunteer your time to a charity or non-profit organization – good community relations and PR – especially important if your business is focused on local clientele.

16) Appear on a panel at a professional seminar; look for opportunities to submit articles and guest blog posts.

17) Write a "How to" report or eBook for visibility, promotions and establish expertise.

18) Develop your “30-second pitch” … Typically you have 6 seconds to make a first impression, so make it count!

19) Allow readers to use your articles on their own web sites and in newsletters as long as they agree not to change the text and retain the author link back to you.

20) Include a current photo of yourself on your website and in marketing materials.

21) Include in your bio or resource materials any positive reviews, awards, articles, etc., that have been written about you.

22) If you market to other businesses, consider including on your site the latest industry news, market trends, stock, business flux, press releases, etc.

23) Dead links kill ... periodically run an audit of the links on your site.

24) Check your site’s load time, the slower the load time the more visitors you lose.

25) Consider mentoring new graduates in your field. This type of service is fulfilling and it can also serve to spread the word about your expertise.