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FROM THE BLOG >

Track this Marketing Metric
Marketing success hinges not
just on how we spend dollars,
but also on how we invest our
time, intellect, and creativity.
So if you want to improve the
success of your marketing programs — we recommend
two things:
1) Track your time. Are you spending it on stuff
that really matters? That’s mission critical? Or do you lose
30 minutes (or more) each day on activities that keep
you busy, but aren’t driving growth or improving perfor-
mance.
2) Commit 8 hours a week to marketing and
growth strategies. Invest not just dollars, but time and
effort on long-range goals and strategy. Maximize your
ROE (return on effort), not just your ROI. There’s plenty
to do – fine-tuning the sales process, building visibility in
the community, becoming a resource for the media, im-
proving sales tools, sharpening the value proposition, lis-
tening to customers, building partnerships…
And there’s also the big picture — who are we?
what are our strategic goals? how do we communicate
value? nurture customers until they are ready to buy? An-
swering these questions may not cost money, but it does
take effort. And time.
To maximize the return on your marketing dol-
lars — beef up the amount of time and energy you spend
on marketing. Make the commitment. If it’s not 8 hours,
make it 6 or 12. But set the bar high, so you can create mo-
mentum. Track your time and capture the moments that Ten Ways to Beef Up
Your Marketing
are wasted. Squeeze it out of your week. And you’ll see
the results!
(Without spending more money.)

Some of the smartest, most practical things you can do to drive growth require
creativity and effort — not dollars. Check out our list of ten things you and
your team can do with your time and energy to beer up your marketing results.
When you see something you know you should be doing, make it a priority.

1 Your Company 2.0 2 Listen to Customers

Leaders often get caught up in day-to-day stuff.
Managing people. Putting out fires. Finance and opera-
tions. Customer Service.
(Without spending more money.)
Ten Ways to Beef Up Your Marketing
Inside: Thinking big, setting goals, mapping out the fu-
ture, exploring new opportunities – these are the things
BUSINESS INSIGHT FROM BUNGALO GROUP that are often neglected. Put off for the end of the year
“brainstorming” or “strategic planning” session.
Want to grow your business? Build strategic
thinking into your routine. Set aside time to read, learn,
talk with other business leaders, sketch out ideas, fo-
Minneapolis, MN 55419
P.O. Box 19071
Bungalo Group
cus your team, and envision the future. Make gener-
ating and exploring new ideas a priority. If you don’t,
your competition will.
How well do you know your customers? Do
you understand why they do or don’t buy from you?
Get them on the phone. Invite them to lunch and show
some interest. Ask open-ended questions and listen to
their stories: How
H did you hear about us? W Was there
a reason you chose our stuff (product/service)?. How
did we measure up to your expectations? What could
we do better? Would you buy from us again? One-on-
ter? W
one conversations provide raw material for improving
your customer experience, and strengthening your po-
sition in the marketplace. Surveys and anecdotes from
front-line staff are a start. But nothing beats going right
to the source for sparking creativity and improvement.

3 Refine the experience
Positive word-of-mouth is the best, most powerful
way to attract new business. Work with your team to map
out the details of the ultimate customer experience. What
will make your clients crazy with excitement about your
company? Examine your business process step-by-step.
What should be better? Can you respond more quickly?
Or more thoughtfully? Go through the customer’s ex-
perience from the moment they call, to the moment the
transaction is complete and beyond. Get the whole team
involved in creating a customer experience that will get
people talking.
4 Sharpen Your Value Proposition
A value proposition is not what you do. It’s what
people get from your product or service. It’s not an eleva-
tor speech. It’s outcomes. It’s results. It’s how they feel
when they use your stuff. If you want to get people excit-
ed about your buying from you, communicate value – not
features and benefits. Can everyone in your company (not
just your sales team) communicate your value to a friend,
neighbor, or prospect?
5 Update Your Sales Tools
Are your sales tools dull, dated, or incomplete? Do
they make it easy for people to buy from you? Or are they
ugly and hard to understand? What information do dif-
ferent types of folks need in order to feel positive about
their decision to buy from you? Invest time and effort
communicating value to clients and prospects. Make sure
it’s brain-dead simple to see how you are the best choice
for them.
6 Scrub and Mine Your Data
Are you keeping information about prospects, cus-
tomers, business partners, and “friends” in a database,
so you can communicate with them consistently? Is the
information complete, accurate and up-to-date? Owners
and leaders set the tone when it comes to maintaining ac-
curate data and managing relationships. Is your database
helping you manage the business, make decisions, and
build relationships? Or is important information scattered
all over the place on pcs and mobile devices? Businesses
are built on relationships. How are you managing yours?
Bungalo Group helps companies in the building industry grow faster and stronger.
7 Volunteer
Volunteering for a cause or organization that you
care about is its own reward. But you may also find that
volunteering has beneficial side effects. Connecting with
people from other walks of life offers opportunities to see
the world from a different point of view. You might meet
a prospective customer. Discover new resources for the
business. Connect with a peer or mentor. Or trip over a
new idea.
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8 Learn Something New
Search engine optimization, writing a press re-
lease, setting up a blog, social media. These and many
other marketing tactics cost little or nothing. They only
take time. And a little know-how. Luckily, there are vast
resources that are cheap or free! Books, libraries, blogs,
podcasts, professional organizations, roundtables -- when
dollars are limited, invest your time learning how to be-
come a better marketer.
Create Partnerships
9 The home building and remodeling industry is
populated by lots of small and mid-size companies, each
struggling to maximize profitability and attract customers
on their own. Strategic partnerships provide substantial
opportunities to expand your reach, and stretch your re-
sources — especially time, talent and dollars. Spend time
talking with upstream and downstream business part-
ners. Get to know them and learn about their business
challenges. Look for ways you can help one another suc-
ceed. (By the way: putting your logo on someone else’s ad
isn’t a partnership. We’re talking creativity here.)
10
Build a Dashboard
You have goals. But do you know the score right
now? Or do you rely on quarterly or annual reports? How
often do we set goals, without creating a mechanism for
monitoring them in real-time? By the time we realize
we’re falling short of our goals, it’s too late to make criti-
cal adjustments in strategy or operations. Dashboards
make it easier to recognize and respond quickly to shifts
and trends in company performance.
Call us for help building your business. (612) 208-3213 • (970) 315-2675
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Ready to take your business to the next level?
Bungalo Group’s business and marketing expertise will help get you there.
Focus Effort and Energy
Strategic planning – including setting goals, and mea-
suring progress – provides focus for the organiza-
tion. Bungalo Group helps companies keep the “main
thing” the “main thing”. So you don’t waste effort or
energy.
Maximize Resources
Are you using your internal and external resources
to full advantage? Or are you missing opportunities
to get more out of your time, talent and financial re-
sources? Bungalo Group helps you see and discover
creative ways to manage the business and make the
most of what you’ve got.
Build Marketing Systems
Are you having trouble communicating your value
proposition? Maybe you’re getting lost in a crowd of
competitors. Would you like to improve closing rates,
generate more leads, or increase referrals and reve-
nue per customer? Bungalo Group will help you build
and fine-tune your marketing sytems.
Build your business.
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Execute Programs and Tactics
You’ve got a strategy and a budget. But maybe you’re
short on staff and time, or you don’t have the exper-
tise in-house to do-it-yourself. Bungalo can design
and execute creative marketing programs that will
attract, nurture and engage customers.
Guidance
Make us part of your leadership team. Regular meet-
ings will Bungalo advisors will help you and your
team focus your effort and energy, maximize resourc-
es, build marketing systems, and execute programs
and tactics that drive business growth.
Implementation
Bungalo Group offers the skills and expertise to man-
age and implement both business-to-business and
business-to-consumer growth strategies from con-
cept to delivery. Scale us up, or scale us down. Ask
us to lend a hand, or run with it. We fill in the gaps
where you may lack the time, knowledge, talent, or
skills to get the job done.