Archives for January 2013

What one thing if you did it consistently will have a major impact on your business this year?

The challenge is simple:  Focus on what matters most and do it with unwavering consistency.

This may seem like one challenge – but there are two essential components to it.

#1 – Doing What’s Right

Our society has conditioned us to do more in order to achieve our goals, and this especially applies to business. Create more marketing impressions and make more sales calls to close more business, right?

Anyone that has followed this advice ends up overwhelmed, tired, and unhappy.

Consider instead examining your business for the one right thing that if accomplished consistently will have the most impact.  This could be as simple as showing up to work an hour early to brainstorm new ideas.

In fact, that was how I started my first business.  After nearly 200 hours of focused effort (that’s the equivalent of five work-weeks) I found my way.

In my current business, that practice turned out to be blogging – the cornerstone of The Social Marketing Process.

How about you?

What is the one thing that if you focus on it with unwavering consistency will make a major difference in your business?

#2 – Doing it Consistently

When it comes to business, consistency will always win the game when it is coupled with doing the right things well.

However, you don’t even have to be doing things well at the start. Just show up and consistently get the work done and the day will come when you indeed are doing them better – much better.

In many ways, this is how I am now making a difference for my clients – believing in what I am doing and endeavoring to do it well.

How many of us turn around to retreat right when we have just primed the pump? In working with small businesses, I have found this to be especially true with their social media marketing.

Results from social media happen on their own time, but they do occur more frequently when you do one thing consistently.

For me that one thing has been blogging. While the frequency has declined over the years – and for specific reasons – the practice has consistently endured since late 2006, and probably will forever.

Blogging is my marketing anchor.  It keeps me centered, helps me to focus on my customers, and (consistently) attracts new business.

What one thing is most right for you?

Is is Facebook?

Is it email marketing?

Is it Pinterest?

Is it LinkedIn?

What is the singular practice will make your online marketing sing? You may not immediately come up with the answer, but that is all the more reason to keep asking the question – and then committing to the practice when you find it.

The key is to choose a rate of consistency you can stick to and make a commitment to it.  It’s really that easy.

If you think about it, probably every major accomplishment in your life has been the result of this simple practice – doing one thing consistently well.

The fact that you remember those experiences is sufficient evidence that repeating the practice will make your business memorable for the customers you serve.

Are you ready for one more success?

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, helps mainstream small businesses create exceptional customer experiences that accelerate business growth. Get more from Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.

Jeff is also the author of Built-In Social:  Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business – Published by Wiley, April 15, 2013

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