If you aren’t spending any money on marketing, you should be. How much? The Small Business Administration recommends you allocate 7-8% of your budget for marketing expenses. But some consumer products might require up to 20%.

So how do you know if you’re “doing it right”? Don’t depend on media salespeople to reassure you, find out for yourself.

Here’s how:

1. Train your staff to ask your customers “How Did you Hear About Us?” Then, write down the answers. Use that information to plan your future marketing budget.
2. Use social media to collect consumer information. On Facebook, ask a question, take a survey, or post a fill-in-the-blank statement and pay attention to the results. On your blog, look closely at the comments section. Survey the “Insights” section of your Facebook Page for gender, age, and other data.
3. Take a brief survey of your client e-mail database using Survey Monkey. Keep it short and focus your questions to meet your goals in gathering information. Offer a premium/gift/coupon for those who respond.

If you want to know more about your target customer, don’t overlook FREE resources like The U.S. Census Bureau, regional homeseller websites, and industry marketing sources for your particular business.

And as you make your marketing decisions, remember: you worked hard to earn those dollars, don’t give them away to just anyone. Keep making better decisions to squeeze the most out of your marketing budget.

Who doesn’t love a good deal? Services like Groupon, Living Social, and now Google make it easy to find a cut-rate meal, manicure, or  massage. But should retailers be using these Daily Deal offers? Or are they setting themselves up for eventual disaster? There is plenty of material out there to convince you of both arguments.

Just like any marketing decision, you must do your homework. Ask questions, interview other business owners who have used Daily Deals, and take your time. You worked hard for your marketing dollars and you should NOT give them away easily.

Consider these questions first:

1. What do you want to accomplish by offering this deal? Fast cash? Long-term relationships with new customers? Increased traffic? More Facebook fans and Twitter followers?

2. How will this discount affect your regular customers? Will they have access to the deal? Will you be training them to always expect a discount?

3. How many of these deals can you HONESTLY handle if you get heavy traffic? Can you afford to hire extra staff? Be open longer hours? Open another station? Do you have the technology to track each purchase?

4. Can you really afford to offer this deal or do you just need a fast infusion of revenue? Be honest with yourself.

5. Do you have a way to convert this deal into future success?

And while you are thinking about all of that, let me point you to some success stories and some “kicking myself” tales that will give you both sides of the Daily Deal debate.

Portland-based business writer Ricky Agrawal has written a great series of articles about the ethics of Daily Deals. I urge you to read them. They are concise and REAL and they present this trend for what it really is: short-term lending for small businesses. Honestly, I had never thought of it this way.

The most powerful case study he provides is Jessica Burke, owner of Portland, OR’s “Posie’s Cafe.” Jessie calls using Groupon “the single worst decision I have made as a small business owner.” Yikes!

In Seattle, KUOW radio (local NPR affiliate) interviewed two business owners with vastly different experiences through Daily Deals. One enjoyed tremendous growth and the other is struggling to fulfill the demand of an ill-considered promotion. You can listen to that story on their website.

Back in February, NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” held a conversation about Daily Deals. I especially enjoyed the comments of a Bed and Breakfast owner who did her homework and was very pleased with the results.

Certainly, Daily Deals will bring you new customers. But will they stick around? Research done at FREEDyourmind.com shows who the target customer is for these services and what the response rate is.

OK…that’s a pretty exhaustive list of resources for you to make the best decision for your business. Don’t be pressured by manipulative sales people. Know what you want before you offer the deal and make it work for you in the long run. And be sure to measure the results so you know if the deal succeeded for you and your business. Good luck!

Just got done listening to an amazing Teleconference from TCG (the Theater Communications Group) about using Twitter for theater groups. The speaker was Callie Kimball (@calindrome). She was great!

I’m going to have to listen to the teleconference again to get it all, but so far, here are the top 5 ideas I will use today when I Twitter.

1. Be “super authentic.” Even if you posted a photo, your followers are still dealing with an entity. Stay away from anything phony, pushy, or fake. Good example of an authentic voice(s): @backstage5thAve

Do me a favor. Start with “NO.”

There are too many newsletters out there and I just finished reading one of the WORST ever. It looked great (they used one of those neat-o professional templates), but when I started reading, I became appalled — and then angry. The copy was poorly written, unclear, cluttered, and just plain BORING. They took me from interested to embarrassed for them to pissed that my time was being wasted in five seconds.

It had “we have to do this cuz everyone else has a newsletter” written all over it.

Newsletters can be a great way to build a stronger relationship with your customers/audience/donors, but is it really right for you now?

PLEASE, ask some questions first:

1) Who will you speak to? And do they really want to hear from you? Why?

2) Do you have a good writer who will create the content? (I mean good. Not just your sister-in-law who writes a great Christmas letter or the summer intern).

3) Who are you sending it to and how often?

4) Could an e-coupon be more effective to meet your goal? How about a blog?

5) Do you have enough interesting content? (including photos, graphics, topics, and links)

A newsletter tells your STORY. If you don’t have a story yet, don’t waste your time. If you do, be very careful how you tell it. We love stories, but they must be compelling. And short! (It’s no coincidence that an American author — Edgar Allen Poe — invented the genre of the short story).

Time is the new money these days and your readers don’t have it to burn. If you waste their time, they will resent you for it. You probably won’t get a second chance to reach them.

If you INSIST on a newsletter, at least get some advice on how to do it well. Start here:

Nonprofit Expert.com: Nonprofit Newsletters
Bring Your E-Newsletter from Snoring to Soaring
Does Your E-Newsletter Need a Makeover?
How to Write Inspirational Articles for Nonprofit Newsletters
How Effective is Your E-Newsletter?
How to Compose an Effective Newsletter

And finally, if you do create a newsletter, USE all the analytic tools available to track how many folks open it, delete it, spam it, forward it, click-thru, etc. This is where you get to be a scientist again.

Do the work and you’ll make it powerful. Otherwise, I’d rather nap.

You hear it all the time (I hope). Some marketing expert tells you to KNOW YOUR TARGET CUSTOMER. Honestly, that target moves about as fast as the latest iPod model becomes obsolete. The best thing you can do is keep up with the latest demographic research so you can make informed decisions about your business for now.

Today’s big news? We now have the largest generation gap since the 1960s.

From cell phones and texting to religion and manners, younger and older Americans see the world differently, creating the largest generation gap since the tumultuous years of the 1960s and the culture clashes over Vietnam, civil rights and women’s liberation.

A new study released Monday by the Pew Research Center found Americans of different ages increasingly at odds over a range of social and technological issues. It also highlights a widening age divide after last November’s election, when 18- to 29-year-olds voted for Democrat Barack Obama by a 2-to-1 ratio.

Almost eight in 10 people believe there is a major difference in the point of view of younger people and older people today, according to the independent public opinion research group. That is the highest spread since 1969, when about 74 percent reported major differences in an era of generational conflicts over the Vietnam War and civil and women’s rights. In contrast, just 60 percent in 1979 saw a generation gap…read more

The Pew Research Center is an amazing FREE resource for you. They continuously produce up-to-date reports that are easy to understand. You can search the archives, skim the executive summary, and study graphs to get a bead on your moving target.

Now, back to the generation gap. As you read about this new social divide, ask yourself some questions:

1) Where does my target customer fit in this generation gap?
2) What are the current perceptions about aging among my young, middle-aged, and older customers?
3) How can I increase demand for my product/service using this information?

Some examples:

• Maybe you should stop assuming your over-60 customers aren’t interested in outdoor activities and sports. This survey shows they are healthier than we all expected.

• Maybe your female customers define old age at a much higher age than you thought. Instead of treating them as “seniors,” offer the same services you would for a middle-aged client.

• The idea of travelling and doing volunteer work is more fantasy than reality for retirees. This kind of appeal will work better with middle-aged clients than with seniors themselves.

You get the idea…use this research to more effectively position your business with clients of all ages. Your potential for your success with this information is limited only by your imagination.