Do you make your marketing action-oriented?

So many small business owners and professional service providers believe that the purpose of marketing is to 'get your name out there.'

That's a huge waste of time, energy and money. When you're a small business and every penny counts you want your marketing to result in a steady supply of good leads. Getting your name out there or creating brand awareness is a welcome by-product, but it shouldn't be the main focus of your marketing efforts.

This is an important distinction because most small business marketing efforts are focusing on the later, and therefore, are not action-oriented.

Making your marketing action-oriented doesn't mean creating tools (e.g., an ad, flyer, brochure, post card, etc.) that get the sale. Sorry, it doesn't usually work that way. Marketing and selling typically involves a multi-step process because people still buy from those they know, like and trust.

Making your marketing action-oriented means getting those who might have an interest in what you offer to reveal themselves to you by taking action to find out more. The first step is attracting those who have a genuine interest in what you have to offer. Then you follow up with those interested to provide them with more details, information, and education about what you can do for them. As someone continues to show interest you can then make special offers to help them become a client.

So as you're creating any marketing piece, start by being clear what specific action you want a prospect to take when they see your marketing piece. This is called your most desired response.

Make it crystal clear what the one simple action is that you want someone to immediately take when they receive your message. Merely trying to promote a product or service in your marketing piece will get you very little action and rarely any good quality leads that you can begin converting into a client.

What action do you want them to take immediately?

contact you for a catalog or brochure to learn more

send in a reply card to receive your free information pack

go to your web site to learn more and download a copy of your free report

sign up for your free presentation

If you get a prospect to take immediate action, you can let your follow-up systems kick in and you're one step closer to converting a client.

Kevin P. Dervin

Kevin Dervin is the founder of KPD Marketing in Kansas City and creator of the ABCD Growth Marketing System. His focus is on helping small, service-based businesses who would like to grow to the next level, but struggle with how to consistently attract more clients.

"I've found that most service providers love what they do and are very happy with the clients they have," says Kevin. "But, if they don't know how to keep going out and getting more of those clients, then they don't get to focus as much time as they like doing what they love."

Kevin helps these service businesses put in place their very own Marketing and Sales System to consistently generate high-quality leads, convert them into more clients, and increase profits.

To learn more, check out each of his web sites and see what information he's sharing. There are lots of freebies and other marketing resources that you can put to use immediately to start taking your business to the next level.