8 Rules For Successfully Hiring Marketing Suppliers
by Eric Gilboord A2E

1. Be Clear About Your Needs.  Determine your needs either on your own or with the help of a professional. When I meet a new prospect for the first time, I ask, ‘‘How can I help you get what you want?’’ Make sure you know what you want to achieve. Be open to new ideas for reaching this goal.

2. Be Open and Honest.  Open your business to a supplier. Don’t keep him or her in the dark about your business. People can’t help you if they do not have the whole picture.

11 (Marketing) Tips For Reviving Your Business
by Eric Gilboord A2E

1. Seek Outside Help.  Seek objective, outside professional help. If you do the marketing yourself, you will likely take your eye off the day-to-day running of the business, cause unnecessary anxiety, and either keep your business where it is or hurt it further.

2. Rethink Your Business.  Think again about current customers, competition, industry changes, and technology. Even rethink the type of business you are in. Many successful businesses have      managed to stay successful by moving with the times. They saw that the needs of their customers were changing and acted accordingly.

3. Assess Your Company’s Current Status.  Put everything on the table, both the good and the bad. Include areas of the business you are proud of and problems you wish would just go away. Address issues relating to staff, products and services, location, profitability, and new business development.

4. Keep Some, Change Some.  Determine what your customers like about you and what they would like to see changed. Be honest with yourself.

5. Maintain Objectivity.  Emotion has no place in this process. To achieve a successful marketing turnaround, you must do what is best for your company. This may mean letting long-term employees go or finding new suppliers.

6. Review The Past.  Look carefully at your past marketing efforts, successes, and failures. If you are running a marketing program but cannot justify its expense with increased sales, consider cancelling it or placing it on hold. Successful marketing turnarounds stop the bleeding quickly.

7. Review Competitive Activity.  Often, a new entry in a market will use new marketing techniques and follow new thinking to achieve sales that you didn’t know were possible.

8. Look At The Staff.  Take time to review existing staff in light of the plans you are preparing and the growth you are seeking. Many companies that have set out on a path for success have been thwarted by staff members who didn’t agree with the new ways or were actually afraid that the company would succeed. The last person you expect to come forward will be the first to say goodbye. People can be resistant to change. They like things to stay the way they are. If you need new people, clearly identify the skills required and begin the hiring process immediately.

9. Be Flexible.  Be flexible and prepared to adjust your marketing plan as new opportunities and challenges arise.

10. Persevere.  Perseverance is an absolute must. If you give up too early, you may fall short of the great success your business was destined for.

11. Be Quick.  Speed is essential in turning a company around. While you were planning and executing the marketing efforts, your competitors may have been taking advantage of the opportunity to move in on your customers.

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11 Tips For Continued Marketing Success
by Eric Gilboord A2E

1. Know Your Target Audience.  Understand members of your target group thoroughly, including their attitudes toward the services you offer (e.g., is the purchase of your product or service important, fun, or a necessary evil?). What motivates them, excites them, and makes them want to come back? Be honest and clear about your target group. It is not all adults or all females or all females with blue eyes. Get as close as possible to the core of your target audience and know who is really buying your product or service. Create a mental picture of your customers. See them clearly and make sure that anyone involved with your business has the same picture.

2. Be Up-To-Date On Your Competition.  Be completely up-to-date on your competition. How are your competitors marketing? Are they spending more on marketing than you are? Are they spending less? What kind of results are they getting? Know what your competition is going to do before they do it and prepare yourself. Learn from their mistakes and their successes.