The #2 Reason Why Your Marketing Isn't Working

The #2 reason however is lack of having a plan; a big picture plan and vision that is. Planning is quite different these days when you're dealing with much more online or global business prospects and promotions.

By Katrina Sawa

Last month I wrote about the #1 reason your marketing isn’t working and I thought I’d continue on with that trend to see what else I could come up with...the #1 reason was ‘the marketing doesn’t matter without the right mindset’.

The #2 reason however is lack of having a plan; a big picture plan and vision that is. Planning is quite different these days when you’re dealing with much more online or global business prospects and promotions.

Just because it’s easier to reach your prospects and clients faster with email, social media and video doesn’t mean you want to stop planning and just record something and send it out when you feel like it.

This is what I see business owners doing however more and more and frankly it’s not getting most of them anywhere; they’re not seeing results running this type of hap hazard marketing strategy.

As the CEO of your small business (even home based or online business owner, yes you too), you need a big picture plan on ‘what’s next’. You always want to be thinking “what’s next” or you’ll stay stagnant and won’t grow as fast because you aren’t thinking far enough and planning far enough in advance.

If you are serious about building a 6 or 7+ figure business then you seriously need to sit down and develop a clear marketing action plan, big picture business vision, business operating systems and then figure out (ahead of time) how you (or your team) is going to implement that plan...because implementation is the KEY.

Here are a few examples of things you’ll want to be planning for if you’re serious about building your business next year:

- How are you going to attract more clients
- How are you following up with the ones you have
- What do you need to learn more about
- What kind of support team do you need to put in place
- What opportunities are available to you now
- What are your BIG IDEAS and how do you plan to implement/launch/sell them
- Is your web presence currently able to support all that you need to do
- Do you have enough streams of income in place or which to start
- What is your system for getting support
- How will you stay motivated
- How will you invest in yourself; in which coach or mentor
-What is your plan for self care and sooooo much more....

I hate to see it when small business owners have to go back and get a J.O.B. or struggle basically to survive trying to do what they love..yet they really have no idea what they’re doing to grow their business. It’s a shame that most entrepreneurs like this won’t invest in their own learning or coaching so that they can learn what it takes to run a smooth-running, money-making business that they’re passionate about. We spend money to go to school, college or trade school to learn what it is we’re supposed to ‘do’ for our life yet we won’t invest in ourselves as entrepreneurs to learn what we need to do to more effectively run and grow our businesses.

That seems kind of silly to me??

My parents spent a ton of money on my formal business education and I had jobs that stemmed from that...but I was meant to be an entrepreneur not an employee. And everything I learned about running my business and being an entrepreneur I learned from other people in my field who were doing what I was doing and who were ahead of me and who taught me what to do specifically to accelerate my learning curve.

So, as the CEO of your business, I say it’s time to take your business seriously and:

- set up a big picture plan (get help if you need to to see what’s possible)
- set up systems and implementation strategy to put that plan into action
- invest back in yourself and your business for continued learning and coaching
- always think about ‘what’s next’ I hope this gives you some things to think about but just don’t sit there and THINK about them, do something about them!

Remember, to get a plan in order to get a more specific and targeted approach to your marketing and business growth. It’s often times hard to see what’s possible for yourself however, we can only think as big as our minds have been conditioned to think.

(c) Copyright 2009 K. Sawa Marketing International. Katrina Sawa is an Award-Winning Author & Speaker who's helped hundreds of small business owners take dramatic steps in their businesses to get them to the next level in business, revenues & their personal life. Get her Free Entrepreneur's Success Kit at http://www.JumpStartYourMarketing.com !