2010 has been a wonderful year for Pinpoint Tactics.  Among all the services we provide, we have had the privilege of helping a number of companies with their marketing strategies during the year and in turn have seen them grow.  There are a few important ideas that business owners should remember about their marketing.

Marketing is an ongoing process. It can take between six to eight months or more of constant work and adjustment for any business to see its investment fully develop. Just because sales have not picked up right away, it doesn’t mean the strategy isn’t suited for your company. It is important to stay on course and give your marketing program time to grow and develop. 

Continuous tracking and monitoring of your marketing tactics are also a must. Marketing is not rocket science. There are many internal and external factors at play when executing a marketing strategy. Your market will respond differently pending on a number of factors. It is imperative to track the responses, evaluate your efforts, and adjust your tactics accordingly. Your marketing program should be a living organism that evolves with your customers. From time to time, it is advised to bring in an outside expert to evaluate your current efforts for that third party and objective view to ensure your marketing stays relevant and strategic.

From our conversations with business owners, we understand that there is never lack of good marketing ideas. Where most businesses struggle is the lack of an overarching strategy that weaves all these ideas together in an intentional manner in order to create a snowball effect. Many businesses also stumble on not having an implementation plan that incorporates into their daily business operations. Over time, marketing simply drops off and stays on the back burner.

Marketing requires diligence and consistency. We encourage all business owners to take stock of their marketing programs at the end of the year and set new goals for 2011.