With the New Year just passed, the season for making resolutions is still upon us. You’ll have made personal resolutions, of course, but what about resolutions for your business? If you want to be as successful as possible this year, setting goals and making changes can only help. Virginia Bridges, a reporter for the Charlotte Observer of North Carolina, did some research and came up with the best marketing advice for small-business owners who want to make a change in 2014. Here are some of the highlights: Follow your audience Some companies try to find their audiences in all the wrong places. It’s important to go where your customers are, rather than advertise to the world in general. Jim Toban is president of Ignite Social Media, a marketing agency. He said, “Too often, business owners jump to tactics, like creating a brochure or starting a Twitter account.” Instead, Toban said, “It’s better to take a step back and consider how people buy your product or service, how they find you and why they choose you.” Thus, analyzing the buying practices and habits of your main demographic should be a high priority of your marketing team so you can decide where you should focus your advertisements. Don’t over-emphasize social media Social media has become ubiquitous and some firms assume having a Facebook page or Twitter account is necessary for them to be considered modern. However, if your customers don’t use social media or your product doesn’t sell well in such a setting, the time and money you spend on your social media site will be wasted. David Gwyn, the president of French/West/Vaughn, a public relations and integrated marketing firm, said, “Don’t just use social media as a ‘necessary add-on’ to your marketing efforts. Understand how your consumers engage, in which social media platforms they participate, and then come up with creative content that educates them, incentivized them, and/or amuses them.” Narrow your focus Instead of spreading your resources too thin trying to hit all the bases, choose a few strategies that work and stick with them. Do your customers flock to your Facebook giveaways but ignore your coupons? Focus on your Facebook strategies and redirect your coupon funds. Another option for online shoppers is pay per call marketing which gets customers directly connected with the good or service they’re looking for. David Chapman, CEO of 919 Marketing, said, “My advice would be to deploy a fewer, bigger, better approach, meaning apply your limited marketing dollars to two or three programs with enough intensity to make a big impact.” Marketing News brought to you by PayPerCallMarket.com Source: charlotteobserver.com/2014/01/09/4599277/marketing-experts-offer-tips.html#.UtBlifRDsok