Here are three things that you can do to make your hard earned marketing dollars work for you:

Find the Right Target- Do the research to see who your right customer is! By taking the time to do a little research, you can save a lot of money. Many people make the mistake of doing a mass mailer instead of choosing which specific target customer they want to go after. Don’t do a mass mailing to everyone in Orange County, if you are looking for cat owners in only Costa Mesa. You can find the right people by doing a little research through attending a trade show, researching at your competition’s clients and doing a survey of your current clients.

Join A Group- There are many networking groups in Orange County that can help you run your business through generating leads, giving you immediate feedback on a new promotion and giving you business advice. Some of these groups include BNI, RBN and your local chamber of commerce. By creating these partnerships and marketing to them, you increase your brand awareness.

Referrals- Always, always, always ask for referrals. They can come from friends, family, existing customers and every people who say they don’t need your services. For instance, not everyone needs a mobile pet groomer, but most people know someone with a pet. Many business owners do not ask their best clients for referrals, if your customer is happy with your service  they will be more than happy to refer you to their friends. Once you are given a referral, you must follow up – with the potential customer AND the referral source. Give a gift of appreciation to the referral source: your gift card, book of coupons or a small gift of your best selling products.

Remember Marketing is consistantly doing "Something".

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As economic times are hitting many small businesses very hard, they are struggling to keep employees and meet their sales goals. Where can you go for help?

During this difficult economic time sales, marketing and advertising should be top priorities for those companies wanted to stay at the top of consumers minds. If hiring another employee is too difficult, business owners should consider outsourcing their needs to a local agency. You have the benefits of an ‘on call’ marketing manager without the overhead and stress of another employee.

Two women are trying to beat the odds by providing these services and starting a company in this rough economic time. During their first six months in business, South Coast Marketing & Events has taken advantage of the local community services, networking opportunities and help from other small business owners.

 “We have received enormous assistance from SCORE and the OCSBDC”, stated South Coast Marketing & Events co-founder Tamara Bush, and “They provided excellent classes and great counseling services every small business should use”.

According to SCORE here in Orange County, “Nearly 100 thousand small businesses - from agriculture, to finance, to utilities - employ roughly 1.4 million people.” With such a large number of small businesses, it makes sense to outsource the departments that the owners can’t productively manage.

“We understand the needs of small businesses”, states South Coast Marketing & Events Co-Founder Shannon Pollacchi, “Because we are a small business.”