One of the biggest perceived obstacles to marketing is ‘lack of time’.  Today’s pace of life is crazy– balancing demands of work, family and personal time contributes to feelings of being overwhelmed and unable to add on anything.  Often marketing responsibilities fall to the bottom of the list because people feel like self promotion and business development is a huge undertaking that is difficult to achieve.  I would argue it’s quite the opposite.  Stop thinking of business development as a chore.  Rather, start thinking of it as a chance to build friendships and business relationships. With that frame of mind, it somehow feels easier to carve out fifteen minutes everyday to connect with someone.  If you think about it, we easily waste 15 minutes a day on a myriad of things– running out for coffee, chatting at the reception desk or checking in on Facebook. What if you took those 15 minutes every business day to do one marketing or relationship-building task?  That adds up to an hour and 15 minutes during a 5-day business week!  Here are a few marketing activities you can accomplish in that timeframe.

• Send an Email.  Followup on a conversation with a colleague, business acquaintance or client via email.  Let them know you are thinking about the topic that is on their radar.
• Communicate via Facebook, Linked In, Google +.  Post a status update, share an article, ‘like’ a post from someone in your network, ‘follow’ a company page, send a direct message or find people in your network to connect with.
• Tweet. Share a thought, article or retweet something interesting.  Find others to follow, ‘favorite’ someone’s tweet or create a list on a specific topic.
• Make a Phone Call.  Call a client, colleague or referral source to check in.  Let them know you are thinking of them in connection with a particular topic.
• Blog.  OK, I know this takes more than 15 minutes, but if you work on one post for 15 minutes over 2 days, you have a completed post.
• Update Your Website. Review your content, add new material, load a new photo. Keeping your website fresh is important for search engine optimization.
• Thank Someone. Send a written note or pop an email to thank someone who has done something nice for you or helped you to promote your services.
• Ask for Work. Follow-up with your referral sources or clients and ask them if there is anything else you can assist them with.
• Make a Lunch or Coffee Date. Choose a client, referral source or reporter to catch up with.
• Update Your Marketing Plan. Review your progress to date and create a quick plan of action to further your goals.

There are a multitude of activities you can undertake to forward your marketing goals.  In reality, you don’t have to take on something complex that takes lots of time. Marketing and business development has to be part of your daily and weekly routine.  Most importantly, it must be sincere.  Schedule your fifteen minutes each day now for the next month.  You will see results over the long haul.