As I continue to present what I consider to be the essential rules for business owners who want to market themselves effectively, based on The 16 Monumental Secrets of Guerilla Marketing presented by Jay Conrad Levinson in his national bestseller Guerilla Marketing, the next principle is AUGMENT.

This principle dictates that after you have a full-fledged marketing program designed, implemented, and producing your desired results, it’s essential that you work to augment it rather than resting on your laurels.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; far too many times I’ve seen businesses and organizations build effective campaigns, and then once they’ve reached what they consider success to be, they forego their marketing and lose all of the momentum and top-of-mind recognition that they’ve worked so hard to build. This is a loss of investment in time, money and other valuable resources that could have been avoided by staying the course and augmenting what’s already been established as the foundation of the campaign. It’s meant to be the core of any future marketing efforts, not the means to an end of all marketing efforts.

Levinson takes the words right out of my mouth in his book, explaining his final concept as a call to action to never abandon your marketing, but rather, to always find ways to make it better.

“And finally, the sixteenth secret nudges you in the ribs with its elbow when you’re sitting back thinking that your job is all over. Keep in mind that your competitors are getting smarter every single day. So your real job is to augment your marketing attack. Strengthen your plan. Beef up your website. Add a few more weapons to your arsenal. Add more fusion-marketing partners. Try to earn more profits from your marketing investment. Marketing is changing daily. What tactics and techniques might you use to get a louder bang for a smaller buck?

Your constant and never-ending task: to augment your marketing arsenal, understanding, and prowess, leaving your competitors shuddering at the very mention of your name.”

As we’ve discussed in during past concepts, it’s easy to give up on your marketing efforts or to let things go to the wayside. As business owners, especially those who are entrepreneurs or small business owners working hard to maximize all of our resources, we wear many hats and time is a limited resource that is very precious to us. However, once you’ve established your campaign if you simply set aside time each month to evaluate it or do one thing each month to augment it, you will no doubt see the benefits of your efforts by way of increased recognition of your brand and therefore, increased profits.

I can promise you this: If you’re not working towards growing your company and furthering your reach, you’re likely to find yourself at a standstill at some point – and it will be tough to recover the ground you’ve lost. And remember, it’s just as crucial to remain in constant contact with your customer base as it is to market your business to any future prospects in your target audience or the general public as a whole. If you don’t give people a reason to remember you, they will forget you and go right on to the next company that catches their eye.

For those of you who are familiar with Guerilla Marketing or who have been following my presentation of Jay Conrad Levinson’s principles over the past year, you may have noticed that I skipped over the 15th Monumental Secret: CONTENT. As this topic is well deserving of a more in-depth examination, stay tuned for the forward in our next few issues covering the importance of content in your marketing strategy!

— Paige Zutavern, presidemt

Paige@StrictlyBusinessOmaha.com | 402-730-0096