Not all business owners like to have the spotlight shined on them, but they do know that in today’s competitive market your business depends on having creative marketing that gets you noticed in a positive way.  If you were the person in high school who rarely raised your hand in class and always wanted to blend in with the crowd, you will have to hire a top marketing specialist or work with a consultant to help your business get noticed in a positive way that leads to exceptional sales.   You will also need to be ready to listen to their ideas and empower them to take actions on behalf of your business.  “Original” marketing is called that because it is not something that your competitors are currently doing so it requires stepping outside your comfort zone and trying new ideas that may feel strange and awkward.   The key to success is to do something extraordinary and if you never try anything new with your business you will not discover what real potential your business has.

Beyond hiring specialists in the field of marketing, another tip to help you on your way to having effective marketing and advertising is to spend an hour a day reading marketing books, articles,  and blogs and attending seminars that will help you to stay current on what the trends are now and what forecasters are seeing for the future in your field.  Knowledge has always been key and one of the many reasons why the most successful companies require employees to attend educational trainings every year in their field so that they remain current in the tools and technology available to them.  Start the New Year off with a great marketing team that will help you create the most original marketing campaigns  and achieve the success you need right now!

All my best to your success~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

The first road block was me! When you are used to seeing a paycheck and being financially independent, it is a humbling experience to ask for help from others until you have a steady cash flow.  I was a single mom paying for my 2 kids in college before I started Purple Diamond so my paycheck was that life preserver that kept me knowing I wouldn’t sink.  Just a piece of paper with some numbers on it, but I allowed it to define me and hold so much power over me. If the numbers were high I felt I was a success and if I had a week where the numbers were smaller, then I would beat myself up for not doing my best and making the money I needed to provide for my two kids.  So, how did I let go of my fear long enough to realize my dream of owning my own business?  I met someone who dared me to put a blindfold on while he drove the car home from the Boston airport!  My new husband who saw that though I was hugely successful at my job in advertising, I was a control freak who seldom trusted anyone and that I believed it was always up to me to do everything on my own.  And, to be a success in business it requires you to let go of fear and your controlling ways to allow people close enough to help you when you need the help.  And, since I have always been one for facing challenges, I put that blindfold on and allowed my husband to drive the car and I saw first hand that even when you own your own business you are dependent on others for their support…support financially til your business is making a steady income and support emotionally when you have days that make you question your own abilities and self-worth.

The second road block was the economy in 2008 and 2009 and how the media loved to post stories of doom and gloom so that business owners were afraid to make the important decisions that they needed to survive and thrive.  During most slow economies you would see businesses choosing to advertise more so that they would end up with a significant market share when the recession was over, but this was unlike other recessions and the broadcasting of how bad everything was had smart business owners questioning their own marketing strategy and leaving them paralyzed and doing nothing.  This was not something I anticipated for Purple Diamond since my business plan was based on creating affordable TV and radio advertising campaigns for local businesses in the Boston market.  Thankfully, I had left TV advertising to work for an internet company before starting my own business so I knew ways that people could position on-line social networking, blogs and answering questions as an expert in their field on-line as a no cost or low cost alternative to traditional advertising. So, I created the marketing coaching services and taught CEO’s one on one how to remain leaders in their fields without needing enormous marketing budgets to do so.

Finally, my third and last road block to my amazing 2 years of being a successful new business was to never give up.  Thanks go out to my family and friends and clients who constantly remind me of the positive impact my business has had for those around me, but even when you are doing a good job there are times when you scratch your head and wonder if life would be better for everyone if you were doing something else.  Long hours and doing without many of the extras you had in your life when you had that steady paycheck can catch you on your low days and make you question your own sanity.  That is when you need a support group to help you see that this is all part of owning a business or taking any risks in your life.  You need to trust that you are exactly where you are suppose to be and to continue on!

Thanks for listening to my ramblings about starting my own business. As a marketing coach I hear many similar stories from my clients and each have recognized that you might own the business by yourself, but you still need a team of people who help you to build the business and remain strong in your decision to continue!

All my best to your success!

~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

Marketing is not something that you choose one day and then forget about for a year or two. Marketing is an ongoing process that includes market research, customer service, targeting, packaging, pricing, advertising and on-line marketing. Since you work and sell your products in a fast paced changing world, your marketing must reflect the understanding of those changes and be able to anticipate and deliver what the consumer wants in a way that satisfies your own company needs. In short, you are able to turn a profit by marketing your product or service to the consumer with a strategy that works.

So how do you know if you need help with your marketing? Most businesses do, but the clear sign is when you are not reaching your conservative sales goals or you are a new business without a marketing plan. The businesses that grow during tough economic times do not sit by and wait til the economy improves, they hire marketing professionals that save them time and money and get the results they need to remain a leader in their field.

All my best to your success!
~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

First, because I am a marketing coach, I will tell you that you save money and time by working with a professional in this field who can help you to jump ahead of your competition and still remain within your budget! A great marketing coach will share with you that there is so many resources at your fingertips that do not cost you money. The most obvious one is to enlist family and friends to help you with marketing projects and to brainstorm on creative ideas to sell your products or services. If you haven’t considered asking for your family and friends’ help, recognize that most people know about 200 people. If you enlist 10 people to help build your dream by asking for their support you quickly reach about 2000 people with just their contacts. If they are on your Facebook or Linkedin page it makes connecting with them a lot easier.

Some of you might feel overwhelmed with all of these on-line networking sites and having a strong internet presence. Is it really worth the efforts? YES! However, you have to know how to determine exactly how much time to devote to building this and understand that it does not produce immediate results so patience is needed. That works great if you have time for this, but chances are you are lacking the staff you need to allow you the time to set-up all the accounts and to maintain them. Can you afford to put it off? A marketing coach or PR firm can easily do this for you as part of their assistance to your business, but you can also consider contacting the local colleges to see if they have students who are marketing or communication majors and want to do an internship as part of their senior credits. These energetic and tech savy students can help you get started. Today I chatted with a business that I had given this idea to last year and they have seen great results with their on-line networking because of the work this college student has done for their business for free.

Local networking groups like your Chamber of Commerce, BNI, Le Tip, Business Forums, and non-profit volunteer organizations can also help you to market your business with just being a member and connecting with other members. They are also a key part of your marketing team. However, look at your budget and choose the active groups with the members you are looking to connect with first since these organizations do require membership fees. Expand to adding a few more groups when your annual budget allows for this and you can make time to get to some of the events that they offer. Staying in your office and waiting for a phone to ring just because you have a website is not the best way to connect locally. Often we need to get out and about and let others know we are in business.

Finally, consider your clients as part of that marketing team! They are the people who REALLY know the great work you do and can share actual stories about the benefits of being your client. Do not be afraid to ask for their referrals and to write you a recommendation that you can use on a Testimonial page or in your marketing material. Be sure to give back when you can to help their business, too. We really need to help each other so that all of our businesses have the growth they need to be strong in the years ahead.

Purple Diamond is a marketing coach who is committed to seeing businesses gain the success they desire within the budget they can afford. If you do nothing, your results reflect just that. But, if you step boldly in to seeing that there are options within any budget and you just need to build your marketing team, you will feel energized and close more business.

All my best to your success,
~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”