Increase Your Marketing Expertise – Take Up a New Hobby

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At one time I considered going back to University to get my MBA, however at this time I was also flying around the country and overseas for business.

I enjoyed the buzz you get when an aircraft takes off and thought it would be even better if you were flying a light plane.

As I could not afford to do both I considered what I get out of the MBA versus a Pilot’s licence. Apart from the fun of learning to flying  it was the challenge of learning new skills and gaining knowledge in a totally new area that that made the decision for me.

What I learnt from gaining the pilot’s licence, apart from the fact that landing the plane safely is much better than taking off are these simple marketing tips:

1. If you do not prepare a flight plan before you take off you can easily go off course with rather drastic results. The same can be said if you do not create a marketing plan for your business each year.
2. When you fly a plane with passengers on board you need to be aware of their needs during the flight. One tip is not to take up anyone who does not like heights and is likely to feel nauseated. For a small business, if we do not have a focus on keeping our key current customers they can easily go to a competitor.
3. Learning any new skill requires gaining knowledge even in those areas that you may not be particularly fond of. In the case of flying it was having to learn about how the engine of a plane works. With small business marketing, not all elements excite everyone such conducting market or competitor analysis, but they need to be done.
4. Small business marketing involves thinking strategically as well as tactically to ensure you meet your business and marketing objectives. I learnt when flying a plane that unless you do both of these things you will not reach your destination as successfully.
5. After each flight whether you are with an instructor or flying solo you conduct a post flight review to see want went well and why and what could have been done better. If you review each marketing tactic that you implement then you are more likely to achieve even better results with future activities.

If you have a hobby that has helped with your small business marketing tell us your marketing tips.