Marketing a small business takes some guts. It’s not necessarily rocket science, more like showing up and doing a lot of the same things over and over again, but one of those things is the ability to stick with a plan, even if you are bit uncomfortable with some aspect of the plan.

A good marketing plan will have the following 5 elements:

• Strategy – Think long term about what you want your company or your brand to stand for and focus every tactic on supporting that unique point of difference. Resist the urge to follow the heard and blaze a meaningful, but unique trail.
• Simplicity – Keep your marketing simple so that the tactical aspects actually get done and so that your message doesn’t get confused.
• Consistency – You will be bored with your marketing long before it has the desired impact. Keep at it, send the same thing to the same people over and over again.
• Multiple facets – People gather information and learn in many different ways. Make sure that your message is presented in those different ways. A prospect that hears your ad on the radio and then reads about your firm in the local press may feel an uncontrollable urge to pick up the phone and call you.
• Self-promotion – This one is hard for many business owners. You’ve got to be your companies’ biggest raving fan. Sure, there are ways to be obnoxious in this regard, but there are many ways to self promote that are powerful brand builders. Look for opportunities to use self promotion in conjunction with other facets of marketing and advertising for full impact.