By now you've probably heard me say a thousand times that each and every business is different. Why do I keep emphasizing on something this obvious? As a consultant of marketing services, the initial phase of any business study is to determine expectations. Here are some of my discoveries.

60% of the 282 people I've met are eager to explore the possibilities of how e-mail marketing can give their business a boost. Unfortunately, 80% of this group thinks that it's all at the push of a button. Till today, only 20% of my clients actively engage their audiences in e-mail marketing on a regular basis.  The others are still waiting for the miracle.

Marketing is extremely broad. The first investment you have to make is time. Here are some of the things you can do to spend it on;

Solo Planning
Make the time to plan. Write down every idea, no matter how insane or out of reach they may seem. Begin with the end in mind. What sorts of results do you want to achieve. How do you think you can get there.

Divide And Conquer
Send the list of goals only to your employees and business partners. Have them come up with their own ideas on how these can be achieved.

Bring It All To The Table
Get everyone together for a series of meetings. If your employees are not the kind that just nod their heads whenever you suggest something, you should be able to see a variety of strong opinions forming. Give everyone a chance to sell their ideas and why they are better. Together, convert these ideas into strategies.

What's great about starting out this way is you just need 1 to 2 weeks are it won't cost you a cent (Other than the sandwiches for the meeting). At the end of it, you'll have very clear visions about what you can do. If you don't, repeat the process. Until next time ...