How to Decide Which Marketing Tools Your Business Needs

When you are an entrepreneur it is imperative that you have the systems and tools to make your marketing tasks easier. However, there are so many marketing tools available to an entrepreneur that it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the options.  It really is enough to make your head spin.  So how do you decide which marketing tools are right for your business?

Here are a few guidelines to assist you in making the right choices.

1. What marketing tools are you currently using? This is important to consider because a lot of marketing tools do the same, or similar, tasks. I have found many solopreneurs duplicate tools unnecessarily. For example, they currently use a tool like 1ShoppingCart for e-commerce but they also have Constant Contact for email marketing. They don’t realize that 1ShoppingCart will handle both tasks easily. You should not only take inventory of the tools you are using but be certain you know all the functions they are capable of performing.
2. What are your goals for your business? For example, if you want to increase sales by 10% that’s very different than wanting to increase your opt-in list and will require different marketing tools and strategies.  It’s important to apply this question to now and five years in the future. Changing tools mid-stream in your business can be a tedious and expensive process. Make the correct decision now to avoid this headache in the future.
3. What tools have been successful in the past? This is important. The objective of any marketing initiative is to have a positive return on investment, even if that ROI is $1 that is the sign of a successful strategy. Rather than look for a new or different marketing tool. optimize the tool you just used successfully so that your ROI continues to improve. It doesn’t make sense to mess with success.
4. 
   What does your budget tell you? Some marketing tools can be quite expensive to implement into your strategy.  That isn’t a barrier to entry, just a consideration.  If it’s a new marketing tool you’ve never used before, say the use of a large viral e-book giveaway, then it pays to do your research and make sure your audience will be receptive to that particular tool. For example, your ideal client may not be interested in e-books. However, you may find that an audio book, email series or webinar does peak their interest.  Time budgets are just as important as monetary budgets; some tools have a very high learning curve.  Of course,  you can overcome this by outsourcing some technical tasks.
5. What tools is your competition using successfully? This doesn’t mean you should jump on the bandwagon and use the same tools, however, it’s important to stay on top of what your competition is using and how it’s working for them. It’ll also help you stay one step ahead of the game.

Look to complimentary industries or businesses to see what tools they’re using.  Often times when you can piggyback on the efforts of a complimentary business your efforts really pay off.  For example, if you own a natural pet supplement business and you see a pet grooming website using a newsletter with great success, you can create an advertisement or promotion specifically for their audience and buy space in their newsletter.

6. Finally, what marketing tools appeal to you? If you’re engaged and enjoying what you’re doing you just do it better than if you’re frustrated or irritated by a particular tool or strategy.

Choosing the right marketing tool for your business is a little bit guesswork, a little bit art and a bit of science and research.

Examine what you’ve done in the past and then look to the future. Many entrepreneurs will ask colleagues what tools they use. This is a good start but I recommend going a step further. If you have a virtual assistant or other team members, ask them what they recommend. A well-seasoned virtual assistant will have worked with a myriad of tools and he/she is knowledgeable of your business. She can base her recommendation on what will work for you. There are countless possibilities and opportunities to grow your business.  Focus on what works rather than what’s available.