Recently our family took a trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It was a great trip that was both fun and educational for the entire family. Did you know that the Falcon and the Cheetah are the two fastest animals in the air and on the ground? I also found it interesting just how effective the Park was at marketing. Everywhere you went in the Park, whether it was to watch the “African Birds Take Flight” show, the “Journey into Africa tour” or the local café, they never missed an opportunity to educate you on the benefits of membership. This got me thinking about how Smart Women never miss an opportunity to get the word out about their Big Idea or entrepreneurial dreams.
Are you a woman with a Big Idea? Do you take every opportunity to market your business? 
Let me ask you a question: How are you getting your message out to your ideal client? Are you sitting in your office waiting for the phone to ring or watching your inbox to see if you receive any emails from people needing your product or service? In my work, I often notice there are one or two marketing tools that women use to build their business. Usually they have a business card ready to give away to anyone who would like one. And sometimes they will have a web site listed on the business card so that their ideal client can take a look online at their services. It’s possible that they may occasionally attend some networking events.
When I first started out in business over 20 years ago, I relied heavily on referrals and networking events to market my business. In today’s world, with so many messages being sent to us 24 hours day through the media (internet, television, radio), you need to explore and discover innovative and creative ways to communicate your message to your ideal client in a way that will attract them to you.
In my Women’s Success Circles, I share 10 Marketing Strategies to support women in taking their business to the next level. These are strategies that I’ve used over the years to begin, grow and double my profits time and time again. I’ll share several with you so that you can think about how to never miss an opportunity to get your message out:
1. Publish a newsletter. This is a very effective way to share your product or service with your ideal client. You are reading my e-newsletter (ezine) right now. I send this every week to 1,000’s of women across the country. It’s important that you offer some great content like an informative article, some valuable tips and of course, information about your product or service.
2. Attend events where your ideal client will be. Tomorrow I will be attending the Manhattan Beach Women in Business Conference. There will be a fantastic group of 400 or so, positive women entrepreneurs at this event.
3. Social Networking. This is a tool that all Smart Women entrepreneurs should be using. It’s free and you can make some excellent connections using this tool. I’m currently active on Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In, which are in the top 3 of all Social Networking venues. I made a connection on Facebook that gave me the opportunity to host a teleseminar for women entrepreneurs and I’ve also had several ideal clients show up from all 3 groups.
“Word of mouth” referrals from satisfied clients and colleagues are still the optimum way to attract your ideal client. However, to stay in front of your ideal client and keep them remembering who you are and what benefits you offer, it’s essential that you use many forms of marketing in different places to retain their loyalty and interest.
At the end of the day, we were tired and hungry from our day at the Animal Park. Everyone in our family was looking forward to the pool, spa (and wine for the parents!). However, we made sure to do one important thing before we left the Wild Animal Park: We joined their membership program and began to plan our next trip back to enjoy all the benefits that membership has to offer.
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Copyright 2009 Joy Chudacoff
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Joy Chudacoff is the founder of Smart Women Smart Solutions(tm), a Certified Professional Coach to 1000’s of women, Motivational Speaker, and Entrepreneur. She publishes a weekly buzz generating ezine, Reflections On Life and Business for Women Entrepreneurs. If you’re ready take your your coaching business to the next level, get your FREE Tips, FREE Report, FREE MP3 and be the first to hear about my exciting new program for coaches and consultants at http://www.SmartWomenSmartSolutionsCoaching.com.
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