When you think about how to build your business, don’t look at “marketing" as just a choice between email, direct mail, print ads, networking, and other tactics. All of these tools are just ways of reaching an audience with a specific, targeted marketing message, and they are only as effective as the message itself.

It’s too easy to get excited about new or alternative ways to reach prospects. For example, email marketing was adopted by many self-employed professionals who had already been having difficulty attracting clients using more traditional methods like sales letters and advertising. Unfortunately, the results of their email campaigns were just as disappointing. They assumed that a cheaper or faster delivery method would save an ineffective strategy. As a result, millions of emails reached the wrong people at the wrong time with the wrong messages and for the wrong reasons.

Before you decide on any tactic in particular, answer the following questions:

1.What is the problem that my service solves?

The only reason your service exists, at least in the eyes of your prospects and clients, is to solve a problem. Before you can communicate a specific solution, you must first know what that problem is and be able to express it in one or two simple sentences: “We solve the problem of companies losing customers by hiring the wrong personality types for their front line service positions" is a clearly stated problem from which a clear solution can be developed and communicated.

This is rarely as easy as it appears. The tendency is to answer with a description of the company: “We work with small to midsized businesses to help integrate better customer service in a cost effective way." This is not as much a defined problem so much as it is a vague description of a solution.

2.What types of customers suffer from that problem and will be willing and able to pay for a solution? How do I reach them?

These questions are the basis of your marketing and media targeting strategy. A target market is only as good as your ability to reach them. The question of “Is email better than sales letters?" depends on your targeted market and the availability of lists of decision makers in that target market. If there are no email lists available, but many sources of physical addresses, then direct mail is the winner by default.

Also, the personal preferences and behaviors of your target market will give you clues to the best tactics to use. What medium will best get their attention or even get through? A postcard might work well for reaching small business owners, but might not even make it through the mailrooms and executive assistants of Fortune 500 CEOs.

3.What will my primary offer be?

“Give us a call to discuss your needs" is not an offer. It is a weak call to action that will attract very few, if any, responses compared to a tangible, clear offer that relates to the problem that you solve. Offers include white papers, webinars, audio/video informational programs, live seminars and consultations. In order to attract the highest numbers of leads possible, the offer itself must provide a benefit to the prospect. The white paper, event or consultation must promise and deliver at least part of the solution to the specific problem that you solve, not just information about your company.

4.What’s my budget?

A national advertising campaign might reach the largest number of prospects, but if the cost is seven times your entire annual marketing budget, you’ll need to try a different approach. On the other hand, if your budget is large, then you’ll be able to try a range of approaches at once and test responses from each as you refine your program.

The profit margin of your product or service is also critical. Selling a low-margin, high-volume consumer product by direct mail might not make sense regardless of the quality of available lists, simply because the cost of postage and printing might be higher than the projected profit. On the other hand, if you’re selling consulting services worth thousands of dollars per client, then a more elaborate direct mail package may make perfect sense.

5.What am I good at?

Are you an excellent public speaker? Do you enjoy meeting lots of new people at networking events? Does the thought of picking up the phone and “dialing for dollars" excite you? On the other hand, do you hate the thought of any of these, but feel comfortable writing a monthly newsletter?

It makes sense to focus on what you can do well. The more that you enjoy the process of marketing your services, the more likely it will be that you do so consistently. Of course, if you have limited options, you may have to simply suck it up and make the calls or go to the events anyway.

6.Do the numbers add up? Am I reaching enough prospects?

Even the best marketing tactics will pull only a relatively small percentage response. That means that you have to start with a large enough market size if you hope to attract the number of sales that you need. Don’t send out 50 mailers and expect 10 calls. Selling, whether in print or in person, is still a numbers game. Whatever mix of tactics you choose, you have to start with a high enough number for it to have a reasonable chance of working.

7.What’s the long-term potential of each of my options?

Any tactic you choose should have long-term opportunities to refine and improve your results. A one-off marketing opportunity will be difficult to leverage simply because you won’t have another chance to figure out how to get the most out of it. You’ll have just one opportunity to get it right. What then?

Marketing is all about testing. If you decide to use sales letters, for example, you may find that your first version fails to attract a decent response. Does this mean to quit? No. It means to try another approach, to test something else and see if you can improve your results. The only way you will have a hope of building a successful marketing strategy is to commit to the long haul. This doesn’t mean that you ignore results and keep sending out the same thing over and over again. It means testing different variations to learn what will work and why.