Are you caught in the “IN” trap?

“I’m caught in a trap…I can’t walk out…”

When Mark James aka Francis Zambon wrote those lyrics in 1968 as part of Suspicious Minds, I doubt he had us in mind. I’m sure Elvis didn’t.

But those words ring true for many business owners struggling today trying to maintain margins. 

They are mired working IN their business leaving little time to work ON their business.

But are they really trapped?

Or are they just more comfortable with the devil they know (12 hour days) than the devil they don’t (finding more efficient ways to generate profits and freeing them up to do other things)?

Let’s face it…learning new things takes us out of our comfort zone. But in order to maintain our success in today’s noisy and crowded marketplace – complete with economic downturns and new competitors springing up all over the place – we need to keep up with times.

And that means a willingness to venture into the unknown.

Otherwise, we`ll be left behind. Maybe not today. But eventually. The days of reaction are over. As business owners, we need to be out in front if we want to making sure our businesses continue to thrive.

Especially when it comes to marketing.

For many business owners, marketing is a mysterious, money and time sucking black hole that is to be avoided at every opportunity.

Why? Because for some, the few, unconnected marketing tactics they’ve used have produced little in the way of profitable results. 

And that’s the problem. Marketing is not series of one-shot deals. It should be an organized system that constantly being monitored for effectiveness.

At the end of the day, as a business owner, you are really in the marketing business – not the business of delivering the product or service that delivers benfits to your clients and customers.

Perhaps  you`ve never thought of it that way.

Although the reasons for making marketing a priority are many, here’s one that supercedes all the others.

Without a focused effort on creating a marketing system now – many business owners won`t be working one-hour days – forget 12 – as they find themselves losing ground to competitors who embrace the need for a marketing system

These savvy marketers understand the importance of implementing strategies and processes that automate their marketing efforts and equip them with the modern marketing weapons they they need to attract the attention of prospects, keep them “warm” until they’re ready to buy.

Many business owners are leaving tons of money on the table by not addressing three common marketing leverage points:

• They are trying to one-step prospects into buying. This is probably responsible for more lost selling opportunities than any other marketing mistake.
• They lack an automated, easy-to-implement and manage follow up system. The fortune is in the follow-up. Very few people buy friom us the first time they come across our offering. It’s the back end where the profit lies.
• They have no organized system in place for upselling or cross selling. This is a win-win situation and yet very few business owners do it. Clients who have already indicated they WANT the value the business owner can offer want to know more ways they can  benefit. It’s up to us to tell them.

And a marketing system isn`t simply for attracting new clients. You can use it to inform, educate and manage your current stable of clients and customers thereby reducing the time you spend on the phone or writing emails.   

If you`re tired of hacking your way through the marketplace jungle with a dull butter knife, try implementing some simple, inexpensive systems that will address the three leverage points above.

You`ll probably be able to cut your 12-hour day in half – and have plenty more profit to show for your efforts.

Gerry Black is a marketing writer based in Toronto, Canada who works with clients in the U.S. and Canada.