Keeping Myself Organized

By Jeff Lindblom

I like to keep myself organized. When I am not, I notice it becomes increasingly hard to focus on much of anything. My efforts are then not very productive and things take much longer to accomplish. When it comes to my marketing plans, I like to stay organized as well and I have used some basic techniques that I would like to share with others.

The most effective step in my marketing plans is to keep that plan in front of me as much as possible. I like to use large white boards and different colored dry erase markers to draw out the entire plan on that board. At my office I use a 6 ft. by 4 ft. white board and I hung it right in front of my desk so that I look at it all day long. The only thing on this board is my marketing plans and nothing else. Actually that is not true, I also write important goals on my board as well, but nothing else. I have the same at my home office, not quite as large but still substantial and located where I see it as I work. The purpose of  the large white boards is to have that marketing plan very visible, right in my face at all times. I tend not to lose focus of things when I am constantly seeing and visualizing it. The use of colored markers and ability to easily erase and rewrite things make it easier for me to visualize. On the board, I keep track of the systems that I am currently using, those I have tried, and ones I have yet to implement. As I discover new and different systems, I then write them down on the board and look for ways to implement them. I try not to erase too much. If a system is not working as effective as I would like, I move on and cross it out on the board with a single line through it. By doing so, without erasing, it gives me a visual record of where I have been.

I like to keep track of our marketing efforts in four distinct areas.

• How to attract new customers.
• How to retain existing customers.
• How to improve our revenue per sale.
• How to improve referrals from our existing customers.

Usually as I am making a marketing plan, I will see lots of overlap between these four areas. One system might work to improve two, three or if I am really lucky, all four areas. If you can find systems that flow through into several of these marketing areas, it tends to greatly reduce your marketing costs.

I would suggest that you try these techniques and see if they work to keep you organized, and visually focused on your marketing.