I’ve been waiting to see when this would start, and today it happened.
I saw my first advertisement for Black Friday deals.
I don’t see a lot of mainstream advertising and it’s quite possible that you have seen Black Friday ads already and my news is old news to you.
Most people groan when the first ads come out and think that it’s too early, I mean Halloween isn’t even here, yet.
It may, in fact, be too early to advertise.
Much of the advertising for Black Friday deals at this point is about grabbing market share. And, by the way, this only works for huge corporations with deep pockets.
Woe to the small business that follows the path of the big corporations.
The fitness industry has its share of big corporations, but most of the industry, and the people on this email distribution list, are smaller businesses.
Now is the time we need to plan for our holiday specials.
Every advertising dollar is precious and we need not invest in anything until we have a clear plan. And now is the time to create that plan.
There are several essentials for a good plan.
First, we need to get our messaging straight. Don’t fall into the trap of using whatever you used in the past. Times have changed, and we need to change to stay relevant to our ideal market.
Second, we need to decide how we are going to measure results. At the end of the day, we need to track our income against our expenses. Likes and impressions don’t count. The only thing that matters are sales generated from our marketing.
This thinking is hard work. Woe to the business owner who skips this step with the belief that it will all work out. Nothing could be further from the truth.
If you don’t know how you will measure real results on a daily basis during your campaign, go back to the drawing boards and figure it out, or don’t spend any money on a program at all. Spending money creating market awareness is for big businesses with deep pockets.
Third, with answers from the first two, you can now go ahead and prepare a budget. Only now your budget will have an expense and an income section.
Fourth, put some dates to your plan and execute according to your schedule.
Don’t forget that with a little creativity, you can turn your tribe into promoters for you with a very minimal cash expense.
What if every customer brought in another customer? Now that’s a great return on your time.
Want some free ideas for your unique situation? Let’s talk.
Get on my schedule and we’ll take 30 minutes to explore some possibilities, free to you!
Remember, you only get results when you take immediate action on your ideas.
Schedule a time to talk while there are still openings.
