Ponoka and District Chamber of Commerce members were treated to a dinner at the Peppered Elk followed by a presentation by marketing expert Peter DeWit on May 25.
DeWit is the owner and account manager of EDGE Marketing and Design in Lacombe. He’s a certified marketing consultant and teaches courses at Red Deer Polytechnic and Burman University.
DeWit said while no entrepreneur goes into business to do marketing, you can’t have a business without it.
He said one of the biggest mistakes business owners make with their advertising budgets is to start spending before they have a real strategy, in what he calls “random acts of marketing.”
To gain clarity, control and confidence over your marketing strategy, he recommends the following steps:
1. Identify who your ideal clients are. These are the customers that are the most profitable, are more likely to give referrals, and who you enjoy working with and other factors depending on your business.
“Never ever think that you have to work with everybody because that is definitely a losing strategy,” said DeWit.
2. Your core marketing message should be about what problems you solve for customers, and how you do it.
3. Identify how to reach your ideal customers.
He added that to measure your results, you must first set clear goals of what you want to achieve.
Chamber business
The chamber’s second annual golf tournament will be held at the Ponoka Golf Club on July 8.
Teams of four can sign up for nine holes of golf.
There will be games and prizes. Spots are limited so sign up soon.
The next chamber board meeting will be June 14 and the next member meeting is not until September.
