The Business Vitality Scale

Where does your company fall on this scale? Your number is your score.

10 – Not only do we have more customers than we can handle, we can pick and choose the most ideal customers, and refer the rest to a strategic partner.

9 – We have more customers than we can handle, and we can turn our lead generation campaigns on and off at will, guaranteeing our ability to get new customers on demand.

8 – We are generally growing and we sometimes get new leads from our marketing efforts, but it’s not as dependable as we’d like.

7 – Our annual growth has been trending upwards, but it’s not always consistent.

6 – Very small annual growth but barely keeps up with the consumer price index and inflation. Our marketing efforts are not always showing a clear ROI.

5 – Growth is flat to non-existent. Our marketing efforts are barely keeping us afloat, and we don’t know what’s working and what’s not.

4 – Business is steadily declining. Our marketing efforts are definitely wasting money.

3 – Not only is business declining, but the outlook is getting bleaker month to month. Our marketing is a disaster.

2 – We are taking emergency steps to “stop the bleeding” of declining business, and we have begun to shut down all spending and investment beyond fixed costs.

1 – The business is dying or dead. We are likely going out of business in the next year.

                                                                                             © 2016 Growth Shop, LLC

As business owners and stakeholders, we believe in our businesses. For some of us, there is nothing closer to our hearts than the businesses and companies we work so hard to create and run. We created our companies because we want to make a difference in this world. Growth Shop thinks this is a noble pursuit.

And, as Peter Drucker said, “Marketing and innovation make money; all the rest are costs.”

But what is “marketing”?

Our definition of “marketing” is the actions a business takes which bring in customers or clients, increase transaction frequency, or increase average transaction size (or the profits from these transactions). Here’s what marketing isn’t: Yesterday’s dusty old (often ineffective) advertising strategies. Not just “creative”. Not just “design”. Not just “ads”. Not just “storytelling“. Powerful marketing is what makes a real connection with and adds value to the people you want to become your customers and clients. Your marketing should also keep your existing clients coming back for more and eagerly telling their friends and family about your business. Effective marketing triggers these behaviors.

The wrong way to do this is to emulate and model your competitors, who are very likely making major marketing mistakes. The correct way to do this is to set and follow a marketing master plan. I built Growth Shop because I’m dedicated to showing you how this is done. I also love doing it for you so you can focus on making a difference.

Here’s what an ideal Marketing Master Plan looks like for any business, whether I’m involved or not. Take this information and use it to get results in your own company as soon as possible.

FAQ #1: “What does a Virtual Director of Marketing do, if I were to take my business through your process?”

Answer:

As a consultant, I would work with you on the following process:

A 10 Point Plan for Perfect Marketing Every Time

1. Define how many leads your business is currently generating. Also determine which marketing factors are currently generating sales (and which ones are not.)

2. Define the profit per lead and the lifetime value of a customer.

3. Define company-wide revenue goals, and calculate the number of new leads/repeat customers/customer frequency necessary to reach those goals.

4. Design a master plan for your company-wide marketing system, including the resolving the primary problems and missed opportunities that currently exist.

5. Identify the top 20% of your clients/customers with the highest ROI and the lowest hassle or headache factor, and devote the majority of marketing resources to focusing on this 20%.

6. Determine how to reach this top 20% of your ideal clients/customers.

7. Implement an automated follow-up system to maximize the value you add to your clients/customers and to entice them to do more business with your company.

8. Set up Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure things are actually improving with your marketing results based on your goals from #3 above.

9. Provide you with a dashboard to access information and data about your Marketing Master Plan, aka your new marketing system for your business.

10. Periodically adjust course based on results and evolving business goals.

Could your business use some guidance or advice in some of these areas? Here’s what you can do about it:

CONTACT ME: Hit me up at seth [@] growthshop.co for a free chat. I’ll ask you some questions so I can get a clear picture of your business, your situation, and your goals. You’ll ask me some question too. It’ll be fun.

Or, if you’d prefer, send me a message on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sethholdren

Have a good one,

Seth Holdren