Small businesses are some of the most creative marketers in the world. Celebrate being small by focusing on the inherent advantages of small business—such as quick decision making, grassroots marketing and a personal sales approach. By using these attributes to your advantage, your business can thrive when competing with a much larger organization. Here are a few recommendations that small businesses should follow to make their marketing efforts more effective:
1. Know what you do and do it well.
The days of the general store have long since gone. Even large retailers have learned that you cannot be everything to everyone. Every business has a specialty, the challenge is finding that specialty or unique aspect and building your business around it. When a large retailer like Wal-mart or Costco moves into town, small retailers often quiver at the thought of having to compete to with these large box stores. The reality is that smaller retailers can thrive by offering goods and services that these box stores simply do not provide.
2. When it comes to marketing, think outside the box.
Look for different ways to reach your target audience. Larger businesses often have the budget to market themselves using traditional means like TV, radio and print. Smaller businesses often don't have the budget to advertise in these media so they have to find other ways to reach their target audience. A tour company that targets cruise ship passengers might consider hiring someone to wait outside the cruise ship port with brochures, handing them out to passengers as they disembark. A small retailer that sells vitamins and other supplements might offer a discount to members of the community center. Guerrilla marketing—as it is often called—is one of the most effective grassroots marketing techniques and can have a positive impact on a small business' bottom line.
3. Give your customers an experience to remember.
The common conception is that the larger businesses don't really care about their customers. Big banks, big retailers and airlines are often viewed as profit driven entities that only care about their bottom line. Small businesses can use this to their advantage by providing exceptional customer service and focusing on providing personal service. Take the time to learn your customers' names and make them feel welcome whenever they do business with you.
4. Keep customers happy and they'll come back for more.
Once you have attracted your customer to your business, consider the costs of keeping them versus the cost of attracting a new customer. In most cases attracting a new customer can cost three times more than the cost of keeping an existing one. Communicate with your customers through a newsletter or regular mailing. If you have the ability to target your customer's particular needs, then a personalized message can be even more effective
.5. Mixing businesses is a recipe for success.
Look for other local businesses that offer complimentary but non-competing products or services. A tour company that provides city tours, for example, might consider partnering with some select local restaurants to provide a meal option to their daily tours. The restaurant may negotiate a commission in exchange for the regular business and the tour company can provide a service that is different from their competitors
.6. Will that be cash or plastic?
Are you a cash only business? If you are, you may want to consider accepting credit cards or debit cards. Many small businesses believe that the process of accepting credit and debit cards is a difficult and expensive proposition. In most cases this is not true. There are many providers now who can provide solutions that are relatively inexpensive.
7. When it comes to business, first impressions count.
Your brand and identity are your customers' first impression of you. Encourage a high level of professionalism and deportment in your business. Set standards of dress and encourage a tidy, well organized work environment. A store that is well stocked, clean, and organized will give a customer a sense of calm and comfort knowing that the business is well managed and professional.
8. Business relationships are based on trust.
It seems that everywhere you turn there is an news story about corporate corruption, scandal, or fraud. Small companies are just as likely to fall victim to these types of ethical issues as large companies. The reason why we don't hear about it is because small businesses generally don't make the news the way large business does. Consider creating a code of ethics for your company and promote it both internally and externally. Put your ethical beliefs in writing and post them on the wall. Remember that ethical business is good business.
9. Everyone loves a party.
Like you, your company is unique. If your company provides a unique experience or product, you have the opportunity to provide your customers with a sense of community. Consider setting up a program where your customers can learn more about your industry or products. If possible, hold an open house or an information session. The more your customers identify you as a source of truthful information, the more trust they will have for you and the products you sell.
10. Be good to your community and the community will be good to you.
All small businesses are an important part of their community. Small businesses hire, buy, and sell locally. In many cases, especially is smaller communities, family owned businesses are the life blood and economic drivers in their towns and villages. As more and more people move to urban centres, the convenience of local shopping is becoming more important. This shift from suburban to urban living is revitalizing the growth of specialty small businesses. Look to your community for inspiration and growth opportunities. As your community grows, its needs will change and so to will your business.In many regions small businesses make up a large majority—in some cases over 90 percent of the total number of businesses. Small businesses have a huge impact on the economy and employ more people than big businesses. Take a moment to celebrate the impact your business has on the economy and keep working on making your small business the best business it can be.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Most Important Aspect of Marketing
One of my colleagues recently asked me, out of all the aspects of marketing including online marketing, marketing strategy, Web 2.0, market research, etc., what was the most important? Without hesitation I replied, "Testing".
Many of my marketing friends might argue and profess that if you don't have the right message, reach the right audience, the right timing, or the right offer, you won't succeed. And to that I say ABSOLUTELY! In fact, those are the very elements of a successful campaign that can be identified through proper testing. So how do you know that your messaging is optimized or that you're reaching your target audience in the most effective way possible? Only proper testing can give you that information.
When someone on my team says that a particular campaign was a success I ask, "how do you know?" The answer often has something to do with metrics around campaign performance. But this information is merely releative. If your click through rate was 20% and your conversion rate was 0.35% for an online campaign, it may have generated a positive return, but is 0.35% the best we could have done? Did we test the campaign to set expectations before full launch?
By testing multiple landing pages, post cards, direct mail packages, keyword campaigns, and other marketing campaigns, you can find what resonates best with your audience and set proper expectations for performance. Once you've established a baseline, continue to test and experiment with different messaging, timing, and offers and compare your results against your baseline. Then, when someone asks you how well your campaign performed, you can say good, bad, or indifferent based on real data.
A great example of this was a recent email marketing campaign completed by my team. They tested 3 subject lines - everything else remainded the same (the list, the email creative, the price, the timing, etc.). During our test, one subject line outperformed the others 3 to 1. Wow! What a difference this made in our overall campaign performance when we sent the email to tens of thousands of potential customers.
Ongoing measurement and testing is essential for marketing success. If you're not testing your marketing campaigns on a continuous basis, you're missing out. Of course, once you establish a solid control (baseline), you'll have a hard time out performing it. In general, you'll only improve your success rate about 10% of the time. But continue to test, test, and test some more and you'll see your knowledge and results increase.
Many of my marketing friends might argue and profess that if you don't have the right message, reach the right audience, the right timing, or the right offer, you won't succeed. And to that I say ABSOLUTELY! In fact, those are the very elements of a successful campaign that can be identified through proper testing. So how do you know that your messaging is optimized or that you're reaching your target audience in the most effective way possible? Only proper testing can give you that information.
When someone on my team says that a particular campaign was a success I ask, "how do you know?" The answer often has something to do with metrics around campaign performance. But this information is merely releative. If your click through rate was 20% and your conversion rate was 0.35% for an online campaign, it may have generated a positive return, but is 0.35% the best we could have done? Did we test the campaign to set expectations before full launch?
By testing multiple landing pages, post cards, direct mail packages, keyword campaigns, and other marketing campaigns, you can find what resonates best with your audience and set proper expectations for performance. Once you've established a baseline, continue to test and experiment with different messaging, timing, and offers and compare your results against your baseline. Then, when someone asks you how well your campaign performed, you can say good, bad, or indifferent based on real data.
A great example of this was a recent email marketing campaign completed by my team. They tested 3 subject lines - everything else remainded the same (the list, the email creative, the price, the timing, etc.). During our test, one subject line outperformed the others 3 to 1. Wow! What a difference this made in our overall campaign performance when we sent the email to tens of thousands of potential customers.
Ongoing measurement and testing is essential for marketing success. If you're not testing your marketing campaigns on a continuous basis, you're missing out. Of course, once you establish a solid control (baseline), you'll have a hard time out performing it. In general, you'll only improve your success rate about 10% of the time. But continue to test, test, and test some more and you'll see your knowledge and results increase.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Business Marketing Mistakes
Who hasn’t let a typo slip by or misspelled the CEO’s name or printed the wrong phone number somewhere? Those marketing mistakes don’t warrant an article. In fact, just one word of how-to-fix-it advice is sufficient: proofread!
Here are a few more important marketing mistakes that just about every business manager out there makes, along with a recommended fix that will help you attract more business and get better results from your marketing, regardless of how big or small your marketing budget is.
Mistake #1: We think that marketing is something we “do.”
“We need to do some marketing.” It’s the first thing you think when you need to boost business. Problem is, when you think of marketing as something you “do,” you’re usually thinking about publicity, direct mail, flyers, email, ads and promotion. Marketing is much more than merely promotion, and it’s rarely a quick fix.
The real fix is to expand your definition of marketing. Instead of thinking of it as something you “do,” think of marketing as anything that helps or hinders the sale or use of your product or service. This includes: your location, the attitudes of the person who answers the phone, your name, pricing, policies, proposals, personality and more.
Before you write a promotional word, do a “help or hinder” once-over. Make a list of what’s helping you attract business and what’s getting in the way. Figure out what obstacles you can quickly fix or remove? What “helps” can you enhance or spotlight? Until the help-or-hinder homework is done, working on promotion is premature.
Mistake #2: We breathe too much of our own exhaust.
We are such big believers in our businesses that we can’t wait to show it off. We admire our attributes and inhale our excellence. Then we exhale it all into our marketing communications. The problem is, when you do that, your marketing is all about you. And people don’t care about you. They care about themselves.
If your marketing is going to get any response at all, the first thing it must do is connect to something prospects care about. Connect before you convince. Try this four-step exercise:
Describe your products and services. Get the exhaust fumes out.
Identify one or two attributes or “attraction factors”
What is the benefit, the need or the want, that is satisfied by those attributes?
Why is that benefit important, personally, to the target audience?
For example, Joy dishwashing liquid (descprition) has real lemon (attribute) that cuts grease and leaves dishes shinier (benefit). “What a nice reflection on you!” (Connects to what she cares about.) Connect to what people want. Not to what you do.
Mistake #3: We all look alike.
A bank is a bank is a bank. Realtors, lawyers and consultants are a dime a dozen. The list goes on. But here’s the good news: the more two businesses look alike, the more important each difference becomes, and the more impact even the tiniest difference will have on setting you apart. Why?
Consider identical twins. What’s the first thing you do when you meet a pair? You try to find a little something to tell them apart. The same is true for your business. Your prospects are looking for a point of difference—just about anything—they can use to set you apart from your competition.
To find your points of difference, start with your points of contact, or “touch points” in your company. Make a list. Business card, fax cover sheet, invoice, phone greeting, front door, home page, etc. Then look at what the competition does and ask yourself how you can do it differently. Just a little bit will make a big difference, because your prospects are looking for them.
For now, try the Help or Hinder, Connect Before You Convince and Find Your Points of Difference tools to make your marketing more meaningful and effective. Be wary, too, of unrealistic expectations, faulty research, deadly bullet points and lack of follow through-- four other common marketing mistakes.
Here are a few more important marketing mistakes that just about every business manager out there makes, along with a recommended fix that will help you attract more business and get better results from your marketing, regardless of how big or small your marketing budget is.
Mistake #1: We think that marketing is something we “do.”
“We need to do some marketing.” It’s the first thing you think when you need to boost business. Problem is, when you think of marketing as something you “do,” you’re usually thinking about publicity, direct mail, flyers, email, ads and promotion. Marketing is much more than merely promotion, and it’s rarely a quick fix.
The real fix is to expand your definition of marketing. Instead of thinking of it as something you “do,” think of marketing as anything that helps or hinders the sale or use of your product or service. This includes: your location, the attitudes of the person who answers the phone, your name, pricing, policies, proposals, personality and more.
Before you write a promotional word, do a “help or hinder” once-over. Make a list of what’s helping you attract business and what’s getting in the way. Figure out what obstacles you can quickly fix or remove? What “helps” can you enhance or spotlight? Until the help-or-hinder homework is done, working on promotion is premature.
Mistake #2: We breathe too much of our own exhaust.
We are such big believers in our businesses that we can’t wait to show it off. We admire our attributes and inhale our excellence. Then we exhale it all into our marketing communications. The problem is, when you do that, your marketing is all about you. And people don’t care about you. They care about themselves.
If your marketing is going to get any response at all, the first thing it must do is connect to something prospects care about. Connect before you convince. Try this four-step exercise:
Describe your products and services. Get the exhaust fumes out.
Identify one or two attributes or “attraction factors”
What is the benefit, the need or the want, that is satisfied by those attributes?
Why is that benefit important, personally, to the target audience?
For example, Joy dishwashing liquid (descprition) has real lemon (attribute) that cuts grease and leaves dishes shinier (benefit). “What a nice reflection on you!” (Connects to what she cares about.) Connect to what people want. Not to what you do.
Mistake #3: We all look alike.
A bank is a bank is a bank. Realtors, lawyers and consultants are a dime a dozen. The list goes on. But here’s the good news: the more two businesses look alike, the more important each difference becomes, and the more impact even the tiniest difference will have on setting you apart. Why?
Consider identical twins. What’s the first thing you do when you meet a pair? You try to find a little something to tell them apart. The same is true for your business. Your prospects are looking for a point of difference—just about anything—they can use to set you apart from your competition.
To find your points of difference, start with your points of contact, or “touch points” in your company. Make a list. Business card, fax cover sheet, invoice, phone greeting, front door, home page, etc. Then look at what the competition does and ask yourself how you can do it differently. Just a little bit will make a big difference, because your prospects are looking for them.
For now, try the Help or Hinder, Connect Before You Convince and Find Your Points of Difference tools to make your marketing more meaningful and effective. Be wary, too, of unrealistic expectations, faulty research, deadly bullet points and lack of follow through-- four other common marketing mistakes.
Monday, August 25, 2008
14 Effective Niche Marketing Strategies (B)
8. Eliminating Debt
Most individuals want to manage or eliminate their debts. You could target product niches about money control, debt consolidation, stopping debt collectors from calling, etc.
9. Having outstanding Credit
individuals want to maintain excellent credit. You could target product niches about improving their credit reports, financial management, how to increase their credit rating, etc.
10. Finding A Bargain
Most people like to find bargains. You could target product niches about being thrifty, negotiating lower prices, where to find fair bargains, etc.
11. Retiring Early
Most people want to retire beforehand or at least have money for their retirement. You could target product niches about planning for early retirement, investing for the long designation, goal setting, etc.
12. Being Educated
Many want to new their education. You could target product niches about college grants, college ratings, college loans, college living, etc.
13. Save Money
Most people want to save money. You could target product niches about starting a budget, lower bills, stretching their money further, shopping smarter, etc.
14. Being Successful
Most people want to be successful. You could target product niches about advancing and reaching goals, motivational techniques, getting into the right mind set, etc.
Most individuals want to manage or eliminate their debts. You could target product niches about money control, debt consolidation, stopping debt collectors from calling, etc.
9. Having outstanding Credit
individuals want to maintain excellent credit. You could target product niches about improving their credit reports, financial management, how to increase their credit rating, etc.
10. Finding A Bargain
Most people like to find bargains. You could target product niches about being thrifty, negotiating lower prices, where to find fair bargains, etc.
11. Retiring Early
Most people want to retire beforehand or at least have money for their retirement. You could target product niches about planning for early retirement, investing for the long designation, goal setting, etc.
12. Being Educated
Many want to new their education. You could target product niches about college grants, college ratings, college loans, college living, etc.
13. Save Money
Most people want to save money. You could target product niches about starting a budget, lower bills, stretching their money further, shopping smarter, etc.
14. Being Successful
Most people want to be successful. You could target product niches about advancing and reaching goals, motivational techniques, getting into the right mind set, etc.
14 Effective Niche Marketing Strategies (A)
This article was written to reply numerous of the most regularly asked questions on this topic. I wish you find out all of this knowledge helpful.
1. Making More cash
Most individuals desire to make more money. They want to keep off not being able to buy all their needs and wants. You could object product niches for employment, home businesses, networking marketing, affiliate programs, employment advancement, etc.
2. Increasing Profits And Sales
Most businesses want to increase their profits and sales. You could goal product niches about marketing, copywriting, advertising, cutting costs, publicity tips, etc.
3. Making fair Investments
Most individuals want to get high returns on their investments. You could object product niches about investing in the stock market, bonds, futures trading, etc.
4. Getting A elevate
Employees want to avoid being on a low pay scales at their place of effort and losing their job. You could aim product niches about communicating at work such as asking for a raise, promotions at work, etc.
5. Getting A Promotion
Most employees want to succeed and offer their employer their best. You could target product niches about moving up the ladder at work, career advancement, above or underachieving at work with the consequences of each, etc.
6. Working From home
Many individuals would somewhat work at home. You could target product niches about home business start-up, home business opportunities, affiliate programs, network marketing, etc.
7. Working Less
Most individuals want to work less but smarter. You could target product niches about businesses that require little or no work, automated income streams, part-time jobs that pay the same as 40 hour a week jobs, etc.
1. Making More cash
Most individuals desire to make more money. They want to keep off not being able to buy all their needs and wants. You could object product niches for employment, home businesses, networking marketing, affiliate programs, employment advancement, etc.
2. Increasing Profits And Sales
Most businesses want to increase their profits and sales. You could goal product niches about marketing, copywriting, advertising, cutting costs, publicity tips, etc.
3. Making fair Investments
Most individuals want to get high returns on their investments. You could object product niches about investing in the stock market, bonds, futures trading, etc.
4. Getting A elevate
Employees want to avoid being on a low pay scales at their place of effort and losing their job. You could aim product niches about communicating at work such as asking for a raise, promotions at work, etc.
5. Getting A Promotion
Most employees want to succeed and offer their employer their best. You could target product niches about moving up the ladder at work, career advancement, above or underachieving at work with the consequences of each, etc.
6. Working From home
Many individuals would somewhat work at home. You could target product niches about home business start-up, home business opportunities, affiliate programs, network marketing, etc.
7. Working Less
Most individuals want to work less but smarter. You could target product niches about businesses that require little or no work, automated income streams, part-time jobs that pay the same as 40 hour a week jobs, etc.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
How to Market Your Small Business Online
Internet Marketing is a now a must do marketing activity for any small business wanting to prosper in the so called Information age. However, with this being said, marketing your small business on the Internet does not need to be expensive, nor does it need to be complicated.
And, just like in the real world, there are many small business marketing options available to you.
As a small business owner you just need to choose from the variety of Internet marketing options available to you, and then consistently apply these systems and strategies to get measurable results. In fact, small business Internet marketing can be a very cost-effective way of promoting your bricks and mortar business locally and/ or to the world.
So, what are these strategies and how does one apply them?
For the average small business there are only THREE approaches to Internet marketing that one needs to consider, being…
1. Paid search marketing (Pay per click marketing, and its numerous variations), and… 2. In-context link marketing (being commercial links within content on a specific topic), and… 3. Natural search marketing (SEO, content marketing, blogs and its numerous variations).
And, what are the benefits/ costs (pros and cons) of these approaches?
1. PPC SEARCH MARKETING:
The effectiveness of your paid search marketing campaign is directly related to the keyterms you chose to use. The other key factor here is your landing page for you PPC advertisement. In essence, Paid search marketing works a little like the marketing you (as a bricks and mortar business owner) already know and use in the real world. The main difference here is that you pay per click.
The PROS: If correctly targeted, you get prospects looking at what you want to sell and/ or promote quickly.
The CONS: A) Hire a specialist or do it yourself. If you DIY you can lose a lot of money, fast! B) Skilled specialists are expensive. C) You continually pay to play with this model. D) High demand keyterms are very costly (thus eliminating most small businesses).
2. IN-CONTEXT LINK MARKETING:
This approach uses other people’s web site content as the platform for your advertising. The links are embedded inside the content on their web pages. This content is usually keyword focused. For example, let’s say that you sell wood heaters. When you engage in in-context link marketing your hyperlinks are placed within content on specific web site articles and/ or web pages about wood heaters.
The PROS: Embedded hyperlinks that are within topic-focused content are not (generally) regarded by the reader as commercial links. They are viewed as links to additional information on the topic. Thus, if you hyperlink from topic-focused content to more topic focused content that gently moves the prospect into your marketing funnel these links can be an extremely effective way to advertise your small business.
The CONS: A) Competition for commercial keyterms is fierce. This continually drives your costs up. And, you only get to play as long as you continue to pay. B) You have limited control over where these hyperlinks are placed, because it’s the In-Context advertising system that places these links in the participating publisher’s content for you. C) To get best results here one needs to utilize specific landing pages for the clickthroughs from your different ads. This is called the search path, and again it’s a specialist skill that’s needed to set up good search path landing pages.
3. MIMICKING NATURAL SEARCH MARKETING:
Think about this. How do YOU use the web? I’ll guarantee you that if you’re looking for a solution to a problem that you do what millions of other people do everyday. You go to your favorite search engine (usually Google) and type in your problem (a.k.a. keyphrase). Then, your search engine presents you will likely answers. When a small business interfaces with the fundamental reality of the way people use the Internet THEY win.
Note: SEO is a term used to describe the optimization of web pages. Search marketing is different (though related). Search marketing integrates SEO and information search paths to better interface with the web user searching for specific information.
The PROS: With natural search marketing, if your business is the creator of the keyword-focused content, you have a distinct marketing advantage on the web. Long term, these advantages will far out weight both the PPC and In-context marketing strategies, because you are building a web business or traffic portal which belongs to you. Your results with natural search marketing are in direct relationship to your own efforts. And, here’s an interesting twist, small businesses wanting to primarily market themselves locally or regionally have a distinct advantage using this natural search marketing methodology.
The CONS: A) Search marketing strategies take longer to mature than the other methods discussed, however the cost-effectiveness and long-term results are better. C) The commitment must be to the continual addition of fresh content to the keyword-focused, theme-related content systems developed. However, for any business owner who knows their business and loves it this is never an onerous task.
To summarize… Marketing on the Internet for small businesses no longer needs to be seen as a mysterious event. There is still be a great divide between those businesses who are using the web properly, and those who don’t. However, armed with this information, you now have a choice.
And, just like in the real world, there are many small business marketing options available to you.
As a small business owner you just need to choose from the variety of Internet marketing options available to you, and then consistently apply these systems and strategies to get measurable results. In fact, small business Internet marketing can be a very cost-effective way of promoting your bricks and mortar business locally and/ or to the world.
So, what are these strategies and how does one apply them?
For the average small business there are only THREE approaches to Internet marketing that one needs to consider, being…
1. Paid search marketing (Pay per click marketing, and its numerous variations), and… 2. In-context link marketing (being commercial links within content on a specific topic), and… 3. Natural search marketing (SEO, content marketing, blogs and its numerous variations).
And, what are the benefits/ costs (pros and cons) of these approaches?
1. PPC SEARCH MARKETING:
The effectiveness of your paid search marketing campaign is directly related to the keyterms you chose to use. The other key factor here is your landing page for you PPC advertisement. In essence, Paid search marketing works a little like the marketing you (as a bricks and mortar business owner) already know and use in the real world. The main difference here is that you pay per click.
The PROS: If correctly targeted, you get prospects looking at what you want to sell and/ or promote quickly.
The CONS: A) Hire a specialist or do it yourself. If you DIY you can lose a lot of money, fast! B) Skilled specialists are expensive. C) You continually pay to play with this model. D) High demand keyterms are very costly (thus eliminating most small businesses).
2. IN-CONTEXT LINK MARKETING:
This approach uses other people’s web site content as the platform for your advertising. The links are embedded inside the content on their web pages. This content is usually keyword focused. For example, let’s say that you sell wood heaters. When you engage in in-context link marketing your hyperlinks are placed within content on specific web site articles and/ or web pages about wood heaters.
The PROS: Embedded hyperlinks that are within topic-focused content are not (generally) regarded by the reader as commercial links. They are viewed as links to additional information on the topic. Thus, if you hyperlink from topic-focused content to more topic focused content that gently moves the prospect into your marketing funnel these links can be an extremely effective way to advertise your small business.
The CONS: A) Competition for commercial keyterms is fierce. This continually drives your costs up. And, you only get to play as long as you continue to pay. B) You have limited control over where these hyperlinks are placed, because it’s the In-Context advertising system that places these links in the participating publisher’s content for you. C) To get best results here one needs to utilize specific landing pages for the clickthroughs from your different ads. This is called the search path, and again it’s a specialist skill that’s needed to set up good search path landing pages.
3. MIMICKING NATURAL SEARCH MARKETING:
Think about this. How do YOU use the web? I’ll guarantee you that if you’re looking for a solution to a problem that you do what millions of other people do everyday. You go to your favorite search engine (usually Google) and type in your problem (a.k.a. keyphrase). Then, your search engine presents you will likely answers. When a small business interfaces with the fundamental reality of the way people use the Internet THEY win.
Note: SEO is a term used to describe the optimization of web pages. Search marketing is different (though related). Search marketing integrates SEO and information search paths to better interface with the web user searching for specific information.
The PROS: With natural search marketing, if your business is the creator of the keyword-focused content, you have a distinct marketing advantage on the web. Long term, these advantages will far out weight both the PPC and In-context marketing strategies, because you are building a web business or traffic portal which belongs to you. Your results with natural search marketing are in direct relationship to your own efforts. And, here’s an interesting twist, small businesses wanting to primarily market themselves locally or regionally have a distinct advantage using this natural search marketing methodology.
The CONS: A) Search marketing strategies take longer to mature than the other methods discussed, however the cost-effectiveness and long-term results are better. C) The commitment must be to the continual addition of fresh content to the keyword-focused, theme-related content systems developed. However, for any business owner who knows their business and loves it this is never an onerous task.
To summarize… Marketing on the Internet for small businesses no longer needs to be seen as a mysterious event. There is still be a great divide between those businesses who are using the web properly, and those who don’t. However, armed with this information, you now have a choice.
Does Small Business Marketing Need Much Planning?
Small business marketing is small, as noted by the name, but too many times business owners think that small business marketing is too small for planning, budgets, or strategies. Since small businesses usually have little or no marketing budget and are concentrating on just keeping the doors open, owners, more times than not, neglect their marketing planning. No business should exist without marketing planning and strategies!
Actually, small business marketing requires planning and strategy more than major companies.
When the marketing manager of a large corporation has a $20 million marketing budget just for print ads, they have room to make mistakes, produce the wrong ads, and even scrap the marketing plan half-way through completion. Small businesses don't have such freedom and liberty. Small business marketing should contain a plan before anything else happens in the company in the area of sales and marketing. There should be budgets and strategies created as early as possible and reviewed as often as possible.
Create a marketing plan as soon as you decide to start a business.
My company specializes in helping small businesses with marketing and design, and we encounter many of the same problems, and they all stem from lack of early planning. Once you decide to start a business, start creating a marketing plan.
Who are your customers?
What are their needs and wants?
How will you acquire new customers?
What kind of customer relationship management systems will you use?
What do your customers expect from you?
What are your products' benefits?
What are your strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
How will you advertise?
How much will you budget for marketing?
This list is actually very small when it comes to creating a marketing plan, but you must answer all of these questions and more. Small business marketing must be precise, have a defined strategy, and contain at least a rough budget. Figure out who your customer is, how you will reach them, and why they will buy from you. Starting with these three areas will give you a plethora of other questions to answer in figuring out the maze of small business marketing.
Actually, small business marketing requires planning and strategy more than major companies.
When the marketing manager of a large corporation has a $20 million marketing budget just for print ads, they have room to make mistakes, produce the wrong ads, and even scrap the marketing plan half-way through completion. Small businesses don't have such freedom and liberty. Small business marketing should contain a plan before anything else happens in the company in the area of sales and marketing. There should be budgets and strategies created as early as possible and reviewed as often as possible.
Create a marketing plan as soon as you decide to start a business.
My company specializes in helping small businesses with marketing and design, and we encounter many of the same problems, and they all stem from lack of early planning. Once you decide to start a business, start creating a marketing plan.
Who are your customers?
What are their needs and wants?
How will you acquire new customers?
What kind of customer relationship management systems will you use?
What do your customers expect from you?
What are your products' benefits?
What are your strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
How will you advertise?
How much will you budget for marketing?
This list is actually very small when it comes to creating a marketing plan, but you must answer all of these questions and more. Small business marketing must be precise, have a defined strategy, and contain at least a rough budget. Figure out who your customer is, how you will reach them, and why they will buy from you. Starting with these three areas will give you a plethora of other questions to answer in figuring out the maze of small business marketing.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Do You Really Know Your Customer...
All profitable marketing strategies are based off a complete and thorough knowledge of the customer. There's no doubt that I have seen my share of products that sell like crazy from companies that don't know a lick about their customers and have no marketing plan at all. Successful small businesses know their customer extremely well.
Knowing Your Customer
How does knowing your customer help you sell more products and services? Having consumer research information allows you to tailor your marketing tactics to meet the needs and wants of your target customers. For example, suppose I knew that my target market was a 55 year old making over $70k a year and has back problems.
You could create a direct mail campaign to people who live in zip codes with income over $70k, have had back pain medical treatment and that are over 55 years old. Pretty simple, right? Well, it IS that simple and, yes, there are mailings lists that will give me that information. Now, there won't be many people on the mailing list but at least you are zeroing in on your target market and not wasting ad dollars.
This type of information can help you in a myriad of ways when planning your marketing campaigns with radio, website advertising, periodical advertising, postcard direct mail campaigns etc.
Where to Get Consumer Research Statistics For Your Small Business
Your primary resource for acquiring consumer research in your small business industry with your trade association. If they are doing their job right, they should have some type of consumer and business research statistics that they generate on an annual basis on your specific industry.
This research may contain information about consumer preferences, purchasing criteria, level of satisfaction, and other useful data upon which to based your marketing strategies. Contact the association or organization that serves your small business industry and ask them for access to their research statistics.
You may be able to find your association at www.associationcentral.com or www.associationfinder.com. You may also be able to locate valuable research statistics from suppliers that serve your industry. Call a few of your suppliers that provide direct goods and ask them if they have any such research and if you can have access to the findings. It always helps if you're a current customer.
Using Consumer Research to Increase Sales
Consumer research is an often ignored marketing tool that is rarely used by small businesses. The reason its ignored is usually because small businesses don't know how to use it. Many owners will see a statistic and log it into the back of their brains but never use that statistic to their advantage. The pot of gold is not necessarily in having the consumer research, but knowing HOW to use it to sell more products and services.
Let's take a look at some consumer research in the spa and pool industry and try to develop some marketing tactics that would take advantage of our knowledge to sell more units. The following statistics that I will quote is available from the National Spa and Pool Institute by calling (703) 838-0083, ext 153.
I highly recommend that every small business contact their own industry association to get a copy of their own industry's statistics as you will soon see how valuable they can be to you and your business.
Developing Marketing Strategies Based on Consumer Research
Statistic #1:According to ICI Acrylics, the profile for an average spa consumer is a person who is married with an above average income with most earning between $40k to $75K. Most do not have children under 18 living at home and they have lived in their home an average of seven years. The Male member of the household comes up with the idea to get a spa or pool and initiates the buying process.
Marketing Strategy:Knowing this information, you might plan a direct mail campaign to zip codes where the average income is around $60k and to married couples with empty nests who have been at the same address for five years or more. You would address the letter to the male member of the home by name if possible. You might perform a test mail campaign in several zip codes and measure response rates before launching a full-scale campaign.
Statistic #2:Two-thirds of all new spa owners say they have friends who own spas and 90% of current spa owners would recommend one to a friend.
Marketing Strategy:You might consider launching a strong referral program with my current customers since two-thirds of the people who have purchased a spa know other people who already own one. This statistic tells you that the spa and pool industry has a tight demographic audience that has similar tastes and spending habits.
Additionally, it is uncommon for 90% of a customer group to recommend a product so strongly. This indicates a very high level of customer satisfaction. This makes it ripe for a referral program as compared to an industry that has customers in a very wide range of demographics, which makes for a poor referral program.
Statistic #3:The top three reasons that non-owners don't plan to purchase a spa were, (1) 27% never gave it much thought, (2) 13% thought is was a poor investment, and (3) 12% preferred a different recreational item over a spa. Consumers would rather do exterior renovation, add a room, buy new appliances, or buy new furniture instead.
Marketing Strategy:First of all, the fact that 27% of the people never even considered buying a spa means that manufacturers have not been doing their marketing jobs. It is the manufacturers job to provide mass marketing support for their brand. You should ask for coop dollars from your manufacturer using this statistic as a basis for your argument.
Secondly, You might partner with home improvement stores and furniture stores do some joint promotions. Perhaps these may be good places to display some of your spas (if they don't carry a line themselves) or leave some Special Reports and give the stores a commission for generating leads.
Statistic #4:Consumers get the same warm feelings from activities such as (1) riding in a convertible car with the top down, (2) riding on a Harley Davidson, (3) using a warm electric blanket, (4) dinner by candlelight, (5) fire in hearth, drinking wine and listening to music, and (6) getting a massage.
Marketing Strategy:Businesses that provide these experiences have customer lists too and would make excellent joint venture partners for doing endorsement offerings. By endorsement offerings I mean that you could talk to the owner of the local Harley Davidson store and ask him if he would be interested in doing a direct mailer to his customers endorsing your spas and store. You could also do a direct mailer to your customers endorsing Harley Davidson's and his store. You could do the same for expensive restaurants and massage clinics in the same zip codes as your customers.
Statistic #5:65% of all spa owners said that they thought spas were a great way to relax and 23% mentioned that they received medical or therapeutic benefits. 24% of spa owners said that their spas were difficult to clean and maintain and 6% said that they didn't think the chemicals were safe.
Marketing Strategy:If 65% of spa owners said they like the relaxation they received most from their spa then that needs to be a key marketing message to your customers. As a matter of fact you should contact your customers and get their testimonials testifying to that fact as well as the therapeutic benefits they receive.
In all my marketing messages you should also try to portray a man getting home from work exhausted and jumping into his soothing spa to relax from his high stress job. Remember, the man is who comes up with the idea to get a spa.
You might also craft a message and probably even a script that your sales people would have to memorize to counteract the objections that they may get as a result of spas being hard to maintain.
Statistic #6:Statistics say that there are more skeptics than believers when it came to spas. Over 51% aren't convinced a spa could benefit their lives. The statistics also revealed that those skeptics tended to be older people.
Marketing Strategy:The only way to overcome skepticism is to educate your consumer. Conisder developing Special Reports that talk to and prove the fact that spas not only will improve your health but your happiness too. Include lots of testimonials from older people attesting to that fact to provide social proof.
You might also dig up some statistics of older people whose health has improved as a result of spa hydrotherapy. You might be able to find this information with associations for the physical therapist industry and the medical industry in general.
Statistic # 7:Forty five percent of potential spa buyers used the Internet to gather information about spa products and services before they purchased. This statistic was drawn from a 1998 study so it most assuredly is higher now.
Marketing Strategy:If you knew that potentially half of your customers went to the Internet to get information before they ever walked into your store you should, first of all, make sure you had a website, and second, make sure you had a lot of consumer information on it that your prospect would find interesting. You might also consider giving away your hottest free reports only after your prospect gave you their email address.
Statistic # 8:Consumer's top three rational reasons for purchasing a spa were relaxation, therapeutic benefits, and year-round pleasure. The top three emotional reasons were conversations, relationships with loved ones and to unwind and regroup their thoughts.
Marketing Strategy:Of all the statistics in this study perhaps the most important is to understand why your customer's purchase spas. After all, consumers purchase as a result of their emotional response. They react to primary obvious benefits and they also react to hidden emotional benefits.
With the information from this statistic you should consider writing a press release with the headline, "Rescue Your Marriage Using This Little Known Secret." The article would go on to talk about how marriages are breaking up right and left and the number one reason from a women's point of view is lack of conversation. Then you should talk about how little husband and wives communicate.
Consider finishing the article telling the readers how regular spa users have quintupled the amount of conversation in their marriage and that purchasing a spa has dramatically improved their relationship and literally saved their marriage in some cases.
Lastly, you should consider offering the reader a free Special Report about how spas can save their marriage. The number one selling book of the 1990's was, "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." Do you think there is a lot of interest in this subject? YOU BET!
Consumer Research Really Can Help You Sell More Spas and Pools if You Know What to Do With It!
You just received eight concrete examples how you can use consumer research to develop solid, practical marketing strategies. Some of the strategies may be more practical and successful than others and some strategies may be easier to pull off than others but the fact is that you can gleam some very important information from these statistics and use them to your advantage.
Making Yellow Page Advertising
Yellow page ads can bring you a pot of gold…if done correctly. It's often the first place that buyers go before they decide from whom to buy. Eighty-four percent of the people who go to yellow pages contact a business listed there and 49% of them actually go on to purchase something from that business. That is why yellow pages are so important!
People go to the yellow pages with intent to buy. You don't have to create demand for your product; it's already there. All you have to do is convince the buyer that you should be the business that they call first.
The only downside to yellow page advertising is the cost of the ad placement. It's not a one-shot deal. It is a commitment for a full 12-month ad run. It is essentially the same as going down to your local paper and making a deal to run an ad every day for the next year without the opportunity to stop or change the ad throughout the year. That's a huge risk. I don't know any businesses that do that except for car dealerships, but they get to change their newspaper ads as often as they like.
95% of All Yellow Page Ads Are Weak!
As you can see, yellow pages have a potentially big payoff but also have a big risk factor. That's why you need to be very careful about the ad that you place. It needs to be a winner. If it isn't, you'll be flushing your money right down the tube every month and there's nothing you'll be able to do about it. If you're going to advertise in the yellow pages, make it pay off.
The good news is that 95% of all yellow page ads are WEAK.
Why?
Usually, because small businesses worry more about how much they are going to spend rather than the ad itself. Far too many businesses let the yellow page company do the ad design and layout. Big mistake!
This is the advice you'll typically get from a yellow page rep:
Use a big ad
Use a heavy border around your ad
Add color to it
Use a bigger ad
Make your name and logo really big, and have a lot of "white space" in your ad Use an even bigger ad
Give your hours of operation, phone number, address, as well as the MasterCard and Visa logos (if you accept them)
Use more than one really, really big ad under multiple listings!
The yellow page companies have no incentive to make your ad work. They only care about how much they will make from the ad. That is why I always recommend having a professional marketer do the design or at least do an assessment on the ad. Listen, it costs the same to run an ineffective small business yellow page ad, as it does to run a super-responsive one. Why not make it responsive and get your moneys worth?
Your Primary Yellow Page Objective
It's critical to know what your primary yellow page objective is before you begin to design your ad. I'll cut to the chase right now. Your primary objective is to get your prospect to call you. Not to sell them on your product, not to get them to come into your store, but to call you. Besides, that's why they grabbed the yellow pages anyway, to make a phone call.
Knowing this now, you should design everything in your ad to get them to not only give you a phone call, but to be the first and only one they will call. That is the first step. Once you get the phone call, your primary objective is to get them to visit your store.
Before Designing Your Ad, Answer this One Question
What is your prospect looking for when they look in the Yellow Pages? The answer is slightly different for businesses selling products versus businesses selling services.
People looking in the yellow pages for a small business selling products are looking for:
Something that differentiates you from your competitors and matches their wants
An indication of price affordability and high quality
Specific brands of products or services
Location of store and store hours
Contact information
A warm, fun feeling
People looking in the yellow pages for a business selling services are looking for:
Something that differentiates you from your competitors that match their wants
An indication of price affordability
Quality of your service
Experience and credibility
An indication of trust and honesty
Location of office and office hours
Contact information
A warm, fun feeling
Notice the slight differences between consumers who are looking for businesses selling products versus businesses selling services. The consumers looking for services want to know about the quality of their work, their experience and credibility, and an indication that they can be trusted. This information makes a BIG impact on how you will develop your yellow page advertisement.
It's important to remember that people do NOT look in the yellow pages to determine whether or not they should buy a product or service. They have usually already thought that through. That was phase one of their buying process. Now they are moving into phase two: the gathering of pertinent information that will help them make their decision.
Something that Differentiates You from Your Competitors
Notice the first item on both lists indicates that people who use yellow page ads are looking for something that catches their eye that differentiates you from all the other "look alike" ads in your section. Most ads in a given category say the basic same thing.
Why?
Well, usually when the deadline to put in the ad is fast approaching the business owner will often look at what other competitors are doing and create their own, based on what other competitors have done. Now, who do you think has produced many of the other ads in that section? Right, the yellow page ad company, probably the same guy (or gal) who is selling you the ad!
This is a big mistake. People desperately want to pick out something different about your ad that will make them call you. They don't want to shop all day and make a bunch of calls. They want to find a business that advertises benefits that match their wants and then move on with the buying process.
You must be different! You must design your ad so that it stands out and provides the right information for your customer, which forces him to call YOU instead of your competition. With this in mind we are ready to talk about the key elements of your winning yellow page ad.
Your Attention Getting Headline
All good ads start with a dynamic, attention getting headline…NOT your company name or logo. I repeat, don't start your yellow page ad with your company name or logo! Your heading area is the most important real estate in your entire yellow page ad, don't blow it by splashing your company name. Remember, people don't care who you are; they care about what you can do for them!
The headline is the lure that instantly communicates your primary advantage over all others. Up to 75% of the impact of your ad is determined by the headline. And a strong benefit-oriented headline can increase the pull of your ad by up to 20 times. You may also want to put a sub-headline to support the main headline.
Here are a few examples of headlines and sub-headlines from the spa and pool industry to get your juices flowing. Don't get hung up on the spa and pool stuff. Apply the style to your own small business:
Headline #1:
FREE Report Reveals 10 Important Ways to Save Money on Your Custom Gunite Pool
"Learn the Insider Secrets to Getting a Great Pool at a Great Price Without All the Hassles"
Comment:
Who says that your headline has to be about the product you offer or about you in general? Remember, your headline must be eye-catching and must invite your prospect to call you. This headline does both! It will also give you a chance to tackle the price issue right up front.
Headline #2:
Discover the World's First Surround Sound Entertainment Packed Spa
"Relax to Your Favorite Music While Enjoying a Warm, Soothing Rest in Your Own Jacuzzi-Equipped Concert Hall"
Comment: This headline calls out a package option that provides a unique selling proposition; in addition to, summoning up comfortable and relaxing mental images.
Headline #3:Take a Vacation Every Day Without Ever Leaving Your Home!
"Imagine Being on Vacation 365 Days a Year with Your Own Fly Away 'Virtual Vacation' Spa"
Comment: Who wouldn't want to have a life of luxury and fun in their own home. This headline provides a strong benefit and psychologically combats the competition (RV's, travel agencies, or Disneyland).
Headline #4:
Warning: Don't Call Any Pool Business Until You Read This!
"Local Pool Company Reveals the Hidden Truth to Making the Right Pool Decision"
Comment: This headline usually stops people right in their tracks. It is a powerful headline that almost forces your reader to look at your ad. This headline would support an editorial style yellow page ad. People almost always read editorial matter over advertising (by a six-to-one margin). They also tend to believe editorial much more than advertising.
Headline #5:
"With 15 Years of Custom Pool Design and Construction Experience and 1,000's of Happy Customers…
…You Can Be Assured that You Will Get Exactly What You Ask For (and a whole lot more…its our promise!)"
Comment: This headline calls out your extensive experience in providing high quality services and that you have a high rate of customer satisfaction. Providing guarantees in your headlines is also a good strategy. If your guarantee is strong and you are proud of it, why not use it in your opening headline. Customers will perceive it to be a unique advantage over your competitors.
These are just a few sample headlines that are benefit laden and call out for your customer's attention. Again, the most common mistake that small businesses make is to slap their company name in the headlines and think that it is going to persuade someone to call them.
Give Your Prospect a Reason to Call You
When your prospect finds your ad and reads it, he is determining whether or not to call you. Give him a good excuse or strong reason to pick up the phone and call you. I can't think of a better reason to call a business than to received free, valuable information.
This form of marketing is commonly referred to as Education-Based Marketing and is in my opinion, the most effective marketing that a business can engage in. If you do it right, you'll have customers running to your doorsteps.
Your first step is to create a report that you think would be valuable from your prospect's point of view. "Five Things You Must Know Before You Buy a XXXXX" or "How to Shave Thousands of Dollars off the Price of Your XXXXX." Your prospects desperately need this information and will want to contact you to get the information.
You can ask them to call you directly, go to your website, dial a local 24-hour voice recording to give their name and address, or come down for a personal store visit to pick up the information.
This may be the single most effective element of your entire yellow page ad. I strongly urge you to include this component in every one of your yellow page ads. (See, "Education-Based Marketing" section for more information)
Add Action Pictures
Nothing can turn a mediocre yellow page ad into a great one faster than the right picture. It can be, in some instances, even more of a grabber than the headline. If you decide to include a photo in your small business yellow page ad, ensure that it depicts the benefits of you are selling. You want your prospect to see themselves receiving the same benefits that they see in the photo.
With that said, don't go overboard with the size of your picture. Remember, the bigger the picture the smaller the selling space you have to work with. Your photo should support the ad copy and not overpower it. In fact, big pictures attract attention but do little to get your reader to actually call you.
The whole reason you want to use a photo is to obtain some kind of emotional response from your reader and to catch their eye. Make the picture an eye-grabber and make sure that it shows people using and enjoying the benefits of your product or service.
On the other hand, an effective use of photos could also be a "before" picture of someone (or something) before they've received the benefit of your product or service. Over dramatize the picture so it catches people's eyes. For instance, a "before" picture for a drycleaner would be a man in a suit that has thousands of crumples and crinkles.
Another good example for a house cleaning service would be a picture of a business woman with here hair going in a thousand directions (like she just put here fingers in a light socket) while she's crying and her makeup is streaking. Your headline could say, "Help! My House is a Freak'in Mess!" Okay, you might want to leave out the word, "Freak'in" but you get the idea.
Don't include drawings and sketches. They reek with cheapness. If you are going to use illustrations always use photos.
Include Benefits, Benefits, Benefits
Leave room for your biggest customer-centered benefits. Ask yourself why people would want to do business with you and not anybody else's. Don't tell me its because you or your business has won a bunch of awards. Your customers don't care about that, they care about what THEY get out of the deal.
For example:
"100% No-Questions-Money-Back-Guarantee"
"Houston's ONLY Board Certified Specialist"
"We'll Do It Right, Or You'll Get It FREE"
"FREE Checkup, FREE Cleaning, FREE Treatment"
"Nation's Only Chip Free, Crack Free, Rip Free Surface"
"Delivered Same Day . . . Guaranteed!"
Give your reader your strongest selling points - or the single biggest benefit they're likely to care about most. The benefits you list should clearly separate you from your competition. Readers should be able to look at your ad and say to themselves, "I'd be a fool not to call this business."
Make a Specific Call to Action
Don't be vague. End your ad with a firm "call for action." In other words, you want your reader to do something, don't you? Well, you've got to tell him or her exactly what your want them to do.
Tell the reader to pick up the phone and call now or tell them how they'll benefit from calling you right now. People need to be led. If you ran two yellow page ads that were identical in every way, but one had just a phone number, while the other one instructed the reader to "pick up the phone and call now," the one with the "call for action" would out pull the other by a large margin.
Consider Including Some Customer Testimonials
Testimonials are a powerful tool for creating trust and believability. We as humans have an internal urge to follow what other people do; we have an internal resistance to venture out on our own and be a guinea pig. If we see someone else do it then something triggers inside of us and tells us it's okay for us to do it too.
Why do you think people put a few dollar bills in their tip jars at the beginning of the night to simulate tips left by prior customers? Or why do you think some Evangelical preachers have been known to seed their audience with "ringers" who come forward at a specific time to give witness and donations? It's the same reason we label some of our products, "best sellers." You don't have to convince your customer that it is a good product because so many other buyers can't be wrong, which is proof enough.
Be Easy to Contact
Nothing is worse from a customer's perspective than not being able to contact you. Include your email address, phone number, fax number, address and if you're the owner, you might even consider leaving your personal number! Take customer calls at home…eeee gad no!
What stronger statement can you make about customer service than to give your personal home number. The fact is that most people won't call you. They will respect your privacy and admire you for being courageous enough to include your personal phone number.
You might even consider, no you should strongly consider, including a small map to your store location. Your store location might be the only reason they are looking in the Yellow Pages anyway. If you speak Spanish and that is important, make sure you tell your reader, "Si, se habla espanol."
Insist on a Proof
Even the best phone directories aren't always accurate. But there are so many things you can get wrong on a yellow page ad that it would be suicide not to get a proof before it gets printed. Barry Maher, a yellow page expert, shares several stories where a mistake in just a letter or two in an ad has meant disaster.
One plumbing company had their non-local address printed in their ad three years running, which dropped calls from 40 per day to only four. A dental ad went south when his slogan ran, "Where Caring Treatment Costs More" when it should have been "Where Caring Treatment Costs No More." He had people calling in asking how much more. Another ad for a therapist read, "Dan Hadley, the rapist" but was supposed to read, "Dan Hadley, therapist."
Are Bigger Ads Better?
Yes, ad size definitely matters but you can waste a small fortune buying more than you should. All things being equal a bigger ad does get a greater response. They also get the best placement, which is at the front of your category. Sometimes placement can be even more important than size. The good news is that all things are seldom equal. Your ad, which may not be the biggest, or sitting right up front, can be just as effective, or even more effective than a gigantic ad at the front of the heading.
The first thing to do is have your rep show you where you would be placed based on the size of the ad you're considering. This should give you a good idea about your relative position. Determine if you can move up a little by making your ad the next size bigger without a big jump in cost or move back a little by reducing your ad size without a significant shift in placement but a reduction in cost.
Here Are Some Yellow Page Ad Statistics to Help You Determine the Best Size of Your Ad
Remember, all things being equal, a larger ad will increase its pulling power by a larger percentage than its added cost. Suppose you currently run a simple listing and get X responses. If you went to the smallest available "display" ad (usually a 1/16th page), you should get 13X responses for only a few times the cost.
If you further increase its size to a 1/8th of a page, your cost will less than double (because of volume discounts), but you'll pull another 5X the response. If you go from a 1/8th page to a 1/4th page, your cost less than doubles again, and your response should jump by another 3X. Increasing a 1/4 page ad to a 1/2 page ad brings in another 3X response, again for less than twice the cost.
So going from a 1/16 page all the way to a 1/2 page results in less than a 8 times increase in cost compared to a 45X increase in response. Frankly, that sounds like quite a bargain.
Again, these numbers are based on merely increasing the size of the ad, not changing it in any other way. I rarely recommend using a full-page ad; it's just not worth it. You'll get close to the same response with a 3/4 page ad.
Should I Use Color?
This question is always one of the first asked of me by small business people. My response is always, "Maybe." Red, blue, green, and white are all eye-catching but is it worth paying 50%-60% more?
Unfortunately, color ads usually cost at least two times (or more) the normal price. I am a believer that a color ad will most likely have a decent pull. However, I am also convinced that a well-developed black and white yellow page ad can have the same or even stronger pull.
As a matter of fact, I would recommend changing the size or placement of your ad before I considered using color. Remember, people will call you based on the content of the yellow page advertisement. The photo and color of the ad only supports the content. If you get the content right, even if its not in color, you are going to enjoy an advantage over all your yellow page competitors.
However, with all that said, if you have the budget for a color ad, and you've designed a strong pulling ad using yellow page ad best practices, then why not use color. For a well-established business with the cash flow this might be a smart choice. For the up and comer, I suggest being conservative and a smart advertiser before being a flashy advertiser.
Tracking the Success of Your Yellow Page Ad
Do you know what percentage of your business currently comes in through the Yellow Pages? If you know how well your current ads and listings are working, you can make informed decisions about next year's program.
Track your ads. Ask your customers if they found you in the yellow pages. If you have multiple ads under different headings or listings or even in different directories you may want to ask them, "What page of the phone book did you find our number on?" The book will probably be right in front of them. The page number will tell you which directory and which listing section.
If you advertise in multiple yellow pages consider using separate phone numbers. Develop a call log to keep track of the calls that come from the different ads. This will allow you to have empirical data from which to decide whether it's advantageous to be in more than one yellow page book.
Here's a Little Secret that Will Ensure that Your Yellow Page Ad is a Success!
If you use these concepts and techniques when you create your Yellow Page ad, you'll be able to easily adapt it to work in your local newspaper. Suppose you came up with two or three (or more) Yellow Page ads and tested them individually by running them in the local paper. By carefully tracking the ads you will immediately find out which ones are more effective and pull the best.
Put your best pulling ad in your Yellow Pages! If you really get serious about this you may want to try more than two or three ads in your test. Test different headlines, appeals, rationales, offers, etc. Find the combinations that work the best. This information will be valuable for years to come.
Conclusion
Yellow page ads are critical to small businesses; however, they present a big risk as well. Make sure that you ad is critiqued by a direct response expert to ensure that it pulls well because once it gets placed, you'll have to live with it for the next year.
Use attention-getting headlines and offer an information product to entice readers to call you. Use eye-catching pictures sparingly and include your biggest unique benefits. Consider using customer testimonials to build trust and make sure you tell the reader to call you now!
The bigger the ad the better but always remember to get a proof before the ad is placed. Mistakes can be deadly.
Use color if you can afford it, but make it a low priority. Before placing your ad, test it in the newspaper to see how well it pulls and then track it's effectiveness throughout the year on a month-to-month basis.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Small business marketing
Small Business Marketing
can be addressed in many different ways, giving those who with a start up venture viable options when advertising funds are low. And, there are alternatives to newspaper and radio advertising for companies that have been around a few years, as well. The traditional means of getting a shop or service agency promoted may not be working, even if there is ample budget for hard copy advertising. Retailers and service providers are always looking for a new angle or a cutting edge to get their products in the view of the public and to get the consumer excited about what is being offered. Promotional marketing products and creative advertising methods can both be used to get a name and a product into the minds of consumers. It just takes a little time to study up on other's successes, brain storm with what is already working, and getting excited about the new possibilities in promoting. The Internet is full of advertising agencies that can offer professional help and also with tips and suggestions for beginners who cannot afford to pay for expertise. The following also offers a few of the alternative ideas that have worked for some, but seekers should further explore the Internet to discover an entire host of ideas and methods available.Advertising and promoting goods and services is part of every good business plan. Products rarely sell themselves and today's healthy climate of business has allowed competitions in most markets to expand. Retail stores and agencies must address small business marketing in order to make their presence known. To attract consumers into a store, office, or online website, the owner must convince the potential buyer that he or she wants something that is offered. Name recognition is also very important, searing a name or product offered onto the sub-conscience of the consumer. When the consumer wants a specific product, or needs a certain service, retailers want to be the place that the consumer comes to buy. Getting the name and product infront of the potential buyer takes money. The saying that it takes money to make money is absolutely true, but it does not have to take a fortune to have an effective advertising campaign.There are many different proven strategies that can be utilized when looking for creative ways to make a new, or established, venture known. Promotional marketing products can be used to get a name out into the hands of the public. These items can include pens to hand out as a small give-away. Also T-shirts with a company name and logo printed on them can be used as door prizes or gifts with purchases. Coffee mugs, coin purses, portfolio binders, and ball caps make great promotional marketing products that continuously put a name before consumers. These items can be found from a variety of sources that specialize in printing names and logos onto items for the purpose of advertising. The Internet is a great place to begin researching these agencies and the fun items that they have to offer.Other creative ideas for small business marketing can include games and contests that get the consumers excited and involved. If a contest is exciting, local media may cover the event and that equates to free advertising! Drawings for free prizes is another good idea that can be utilized. People love the opportunity to get something for free. Coupons and gifts with purchases are also campaigns that have met with great success in the past. The idea is to tap into what consumers may want or what could get them into a store or place of business to shop. And, information is important to consumers today. Buyers are savvy about more than a good price. Any informative outlet will draw a crowd. A wonderful example of this is in home improvement stores where consumers can take classes on different home repairs processes for no charge. But, once the do-it-yourselfer is in the store taking the class, they are sure to purchase the goods to accomplish the job where the class takes place. There are many ideas that can be utilized, and suggestions can be found online when browsing for small business marketing plans or promotional marketing products. Write several good ideas down, then brain-storm with employees or partners about how to adapt the idea to the uniqueness of individual businesses.When looking for clever methods to promote a retail store or service center, Christians will want to ultimately depend upon God as the One who will oversee not only life, but all aspects of businesses, as well. God's Word dictates that He be trusted to provide for all needs, but not necessarily all wants. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
6) Trusting in Him takes the pressure off of us and puts our faith into Christ.
can be addressed in many different ways, giving those who with a start up venture viable options when advertising funds are low. And, there are alternatives to newspaper and radio advertising for companies that have been around a few years, as well. The traditional means of getting a shop or service agency promoted may not be working, even if there is ample budget for hard copy advertising. Retailers and service providers are always looking for a new angle or a cutting edge to get their products in the view of the public and to get the consumer excited about what is being offered. Promotional marketing products and creative advertising methods can both be used to get a name and a product into the minds of consumers. It just takes a little time to study up on other's successes, brain storm with what is already working, and getting excited about the new possibilities in promoting. The Internet is full of advertising agencies that can offer professional help and also with tips and suggestions for beginners who cannot afford to pay for expertise. The following also offers a few of the alternative ideas that have worked for some, but seekers should further explore the Internet to discover an entire host of ideas and methods available.Advertising and promoting goods and services is part of every good business plan. Products rarely sell themselves and today's healthy climate of business has allowed competitions in most markets to expand. Retail stores and agencies must address small business marketing in order to make their presence known. To attract consumers into a store, office, or online website, the owner must convince the potential buyer that he or she wants something that is offered. Name recognition is also very important, searing a name or product offered onto the sub-conscience of the consumer. When the consumer wants a specific product, or needs a certain service, retailers want to be the place that the consumer comes to buy. Getting the name and product infront of the potential buyer takes money. The saying that it takes money to make money is absolutely true, but it does not have to take a fortune to have an effective advertising campaign.There are many different proven strategies that can be utilized when looking for creative ways to make a new, or established, venture known. Promotional marketing products can be used to get a name out into the hands of the public. These items can include pens to hand out as a small give-away. Also T-shirts with a company name and logo printed on them can be used as door prizes or gifts with purchases. Coffee mugs, coin purses, portfolio binders, and ball caps make great promotional marketing products that continuously put a name before consumers. These items can be found from a variety of sources that specialize in printing names and logos onto items for the purpose of advertising. The Internet is a great place to begin researching these agencies and the fun items that they have to offer.Other creative ideas for small business marketing can include games and contests that get the consumers excited and involved. If a contest is exciting, local media may cover the event and that equates to free advertising! Drawings for free prizes is another good idea that can be utilized. People love the opportunity to get something for free. Coupons and gifts with purchases are also campaigns that have met with great success in the past. The idea is to tap into what consumers may want or what could get them into a store or place of business to shop. And, information is important to consumers today. Buyers are savvy about more than a good price. Any informative outlet will draw a crowd. A wonderful example of this is in home improvement stores where consumers can take classes on different home repairs processes for no charge. But, once the do-it-yourselfer is in the store taking the class, they are sure to purchase the goods to accomplish the job where the class takes place. There are many ideas that can be utilized, and suggestions can be found online when browsing for small business marketing plans or promotional marketing products. Write several good ideas down, then brain-storm with employees or partners about how to adapt the idea to the uniqueness of individual businesses.When looking for clever methods to promote a retail store or service center, Christians will want to ultimately depend upon God as the One who will oversee not only life, but all aspects of businesses, as well. God's Word dictates that He be trusted to provide for all needs, but not necessarily all wants. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
6) Trusting in Him takes the pressure off of us and puts our faith into Christ.
You need effective marketing, Not huge budgets (2)
Use a short press release to get local or trade press coverage
Aside from the obituaries, we all like the idea of seeing our names in print. While a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal is a long shot when you're first starting out, there are other places where you can get press coverage. Your first press release—a simple announcement that goes to reporters—should announce that you've started a business in a certain location to sell particular products or services.
Once you've completed the press release, get in touch with local and neighborhood newspapers to find out which editors or reporters might be interested in your announcement. And if your business is in an industry that has its own specialized trade magazines, get in touch with those publications, too. While press coverage isn't guaranteed like advertising, getting your business mentioned by a newspaper or magazine can be very effective in attracting customers.
Have information readily available with a brochure and Web site—Online Internet Marketing
What kind of information do you want people to know about your business? Advertising and public relations provide the basics, but you'll probably also want customers to understand a little more about what makes your business unique. A simple two- or four-page brochure can nicely explain things like services, products, and prices
with both pictures and text. Your local printer may be able to help you create an effective brochure.
Keep in mind, though, that a good brochure is straightforward and explains the benefits of what you have to offer, rather than going into exhausting detail about the products or services you provide. That's where your Web site can come into play. On your site, you can start where the brochure ends and provide as many details as you think your customers will find interesting. Also keep in mind that just having a Web site doesn't mean people will find you. So unless you want to feel like you're running a lemonade stand by the side of an abandoned road, talk to your Web hosting company about how to get the most out of search engines.
Keep marketing to your existing customers
One of the exciting things about running a business is happy customers—particularly those who keep coming back because they find value in what you have to offer. Make sure you stay in touch with these people! Ask customers if they'd like to be on your mailing list so you can keep them up-to-date with special offers. Remember: a direct mailing campaign has a higher success rate when it goes to existing customers who agree that you can contact them.
You'll want to keep track of these people in a database or spreadsheet. Sound like a chore? Hardly. It will be proof that the world is beating a path to your doorstep.
Aside from the obituaries, we all like the idea of seeing our names in print. While a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal is a long shot when you're first starting out, there are other places where you can get press coverage. Your first press release—a simple announcement that goes to reporters—should announce that you've started a business in a certain location to sell particular products or services.
Once you've completed the press release, get in touch with local and neighborhood newspapers to find out which editors or reporters might be interested in your announcement. And if your business is in an industry that has its own specialized trade magazines, get in touch with those publications, too. While press coverage isn't guaranteed like advertising, getting your business mentioned by a newspaper or magazine can be very effective in attracting customers.
Have information readily available with a brochure and Web site—Online Internet Marketing
What kind of information do you want people to know about your business? Advertising and public relations provide the basics, but you'll probably also want customers to understand a little more about what makes your business unique. A simple two- or four-page brochure can nicely explain things like services, products, and prices
with both pictures and text. Your local printer may be able to help you create an effective brochure.
Keep in mind, though, that a good brochure is straightforward and explains the benefits of what you have to offer, rather than going into exhausting detail about the products or services you provide. That's where your Web site can come into play. On your site, you can start where the brochure ends and provide as many details as you think your customers will find interesting. Also keep in mind that just having a Web site doesn't mean people will find you. So unless you want to feel like you're running a lemonade stand by the side of an abandoned road, talk to your Web hosting company about how to get the most out of search engines.
Keep marketing to your existing customers
One of the exciting things about running a business is happy customers—particularly those who keep coming back because they find value in what you have to offer. Make sure you stay in touch with these people! Ask customers if they'd like to be on your mailing list so you can keep them up-to-date with special offers. Remember: a direct mailing campaign has a higher success rate when it goes to existing customers who agree that you can contact them.
You'll want to keep track of these people in a database or spreadsheet. Sound like a chore? Hardly. It will be proof that the world is beating a path to your doorstep.
You need effective marketing, Not huge budgets
Getting the world to beat a path to your door requires more than just a great idea. You need to let potential customers know about your services or products—and why they should buy. But the whole idea of marketing can give you heartburn. How can you compete with all the slick ads on TV, billboards, and in glossy magazines?
Relax. You don't need to worry about the high-profile marketing that comes from big corporations. These companies probably aren't your competition, and there are lots of ways to attract customers without breaking the bank.
Put a marketing plan together and find your USP
Like much of business, marketing requires planning, and putting a marketing plan together is the best place to start when you're thinking about attracting customers. Even if your plan is just an outline, it will give you a profile of the people who are most likely to buy your products or services: who they are, where they're located, what they like, and how much they're likely to spend on the products or services you offer.
That's why a basic marketing plan includes:
The things that make your business different—and better—than the competition
How you'll get customers to notice what you have to offer
But it's the first point—what makes your business different and better—that you need to start with. Why? There's a reason John Jantsch, a leading marketing expert, drills new business owners in the importance of USP. No, not the University of Southern Palookaville, but your unique selling proposition. This means having a very clear idea why your product or service is better than the competition. Once you figure this out, the rest of your marketing plan will become easier to outline. Plus, you'll be able to recite what is often called "the elevator speech," which is a quick 30-second summary of what makes your company great.
Your USP should be simple and to the point—and something you can use as a tag line that follows your business name in advertisements, listings, and on your business cards. Perhaps affordability is what differentiates you from other plumbers, which is why you use the phrase, "plumbing fit for a king and priced for the rest of us." Or if your creativity is what's most important, you might add "one-of-a-kind weddings designed just for you."
Getting people in the door takes advertising—and more
Once you have your USP, you'll want think about advertising—and getting the most bang for the buck. This means things like buying a listing in the Yellow Pages, printing coupons, and advertising in local newspapers.
There are other advertising opportunities out there, too. If you've put some thought into who your customers are, you'll probably know whether they read trade or special interest publications. If ad rates seem too high in these magazines, you can often get great exposure by listing in the classified sections of the very same publications.
While an ad can make people interested in your business, don't forget the power of word-of-mouth marketing. If you have happy customers, use these people as a way to get more happy customers. There's absolutely nothing wrong with asking satisfied customers to mention your products and services to their friends. And if you have a Web site or brochure, see if you can include a quote or two from your customers that sing your praises.
To Be Continued
Relax. You don't need to worry about the high-profile marketing that comes from big corporations. These companies probably aren't your competition, and there are lots of ways to attract customers without breaking the bank.
Put a marketing plan together and find your USP
Like much of business, marketing requires planning, and putting a marketing plan together is the best place to start when you're thinking about attracting customers. Even if your plan is just an outline, it will give you a profile of the people who are most likely to buy your products or services: who they are, where they're located, what they like, and how much they're likely to spend on the products or services you offer.
That's why a basic marketing plan includes:
The things that make your business different—and better—than the competition
How you'll get customers to notice what you have to offer
But it's the first point—what makes your business different and better—that you need to start with. Why? There's a reason John Jantsch, a leading marketing expert, drills new business owners in the importance of USP. No, not the University of Southern Palookaville, but your unique selling proposition. This means having a very clear idea why your product or service is better than the competition. Once you figure this out, the rest of your marketing plan will become easier to outline. Plus, you'll be able to recite what is often called "the elevator speech," which is a quick 30-second summary of what makes your company great.
Your USP should be simple and to the point—and something you can use as a tag line that follows your business name in advertisements, listings, and on your business cards. Perhaps affordability is what differentiates you from other plumbers, which is why you use the phrase, "plumbing fit for a king and priced for the rest of us." Or if your creativity is what's most important, you might add "one-of-a-kind weddings designed just for you."
Getting people in the door takes advertising—and more
Once you have your USP, you'll want think about advertising—and getting the most bang for the buck. This means things like buying a listing in the Yellow Pages, printing coupons, and advertising in local newspapers.
There are other advertising opportunities out there, too. If you've put some thought into who your customers are, you'll probably know whether they read trade or special interest publications. If ad rates seem too high in these magazines, you can often get great exposure by listing in the classified sections of the very same publications.
While an ad can make people interested in your business, don't forget the power of word-of-mouth marketing. If you have happy customers, use these people as a way to get more happy customers. There's absolutely nothing wrong with asking satisfied customers to mention your products and services to their friends. And if you have a Web site or brochure, see if you can include a quote or two from your customers that sing your praises.
To Be Continued
Monday, August 18, 2008
E-books are a powerful tool
E-books are a new medium for sharing marketing information, techniques, and expert knowledge. Each day the number of people accessing the Internet grows, causing the exposure of an e-book to increase incrementally.
E-books have certain abilities and qualities that other mediums don´t possess.For example, e-books are fairly easy to produce and their production cost in terms of money is zero. Just think about it: you don't need a publisher, a printing press, offset film, ink, paper, or even a distributor. You just need a great concept, the ability to write it or to hire a writer, and the right software to make it.
Also, e-books have the possibility of an easy and rapid online distribution. They are also easily updated; they don´t require a reprint. All you need is to go into your first creation and make the opportune modifications. Because of this flexibility, e-books can change and increase the size as fast as you can type.
E-books are also immediately obtainable. You don't have to go to a bookstore. All you have to do is download it from a website, and save in your computer.
E-books can be interactive. This is one of the most unique and specific qualities that e-books offer. You can add surveys, order forms for customers to purchase your products, sound and video, even direct links to relevant sites that will expand your e-book outward. The potential is virtually limitless.
There are a lot of ways to use e-books to promote your business and drive qualified visitors to your website. You can use them as a free gift for making a purchase or for filling out a subscription to your newsletter. You can put your e-book on a CD, and you will have an innovative brochure. Blow your competition away by inserting the CD into your sales packages.
The most effective marketing products are those that are unique. Copyright your e-book, and immediately, you have a powerful tool that you can offer to the public. People will have to visit your site to get your e-book, which increases the flow of quality traffic (and the potential of sales and affiliate contacts).
You can extend the value of one e-book by breaking the book down into chapters for a serial e-course, into special reports available only on your website, or into audio or visual tapes. E-books can be broken down into several different promotional materials by excepting some of the articles and using them to promote your product. You can include a catalog in your e-book to promote all the products or services you sell. You can include a “thank you note” for reading your book and an invitation to download a trial version of your product. Or you can include a form for your audience to contact you for further information or with questions, thereby building your business relationships and your mailing list.
No other medium has this kind of flexibility and ability for expansion. Think of your e-book like a spider spinning a beautiful and intricate web.Now go and create that web, and see how many customers and prospects you can catch!
E-books have certain abilities and qualities that other mediums don´t possess.For example, e-books are fairly easy to produce and their production cost in terms of money is zero. Just think about it: you don't need a publisher, a printing press, offset film, ink, paper, or even a distributor. You just need a great concept, the ability to write it or to hire a writer, and the right software to make it.
Also, e-books have the possibility of an easy and rapid online distribution. They are also easily updated; they don´t require a reprint. All you need is to go into your first creation and make the opportune modifications. Because of this flexibility, e-books can change and increase the size as fast as you can type.
E-books are also immediately obtainable. You don't have to go to a bookstore. All you have to do is download it from a website, and save in your computer.
E-books can be interactive. This is one of the most unique and specific qualities that e-books offer. You can add surveys, order forms for customers to purchase your products, sound and video, even direct links to relevant sites that will expand your e-book outward. The potential is virtually limitless.
There are a lot of ways to use e-books to promote your business and drive qualified visitors to your website. You can use them as a free gift for making a purchase or for filling out a subscription to your newsletter. You can put your e-book on a CD, and you will have an innovative brochure. Blow your competition away by inserting the CD into your sales packages.
The most effective marketing products are those that are unique. Copyright your e-book, and immediately, you have a powerful tool that you can offer to the public. People will have to visit your site to get your e-book, which increases the flow of quality traffic (and the potential of sales and affiliate contacts).
You can extend the value of one e-book by breaking the book down into chapters for a serial e-course, into special reports available only on your website, or into audio or visual tapes. E-books can be broken down into several different promotional materials by excepting some of the articles and using them to promote your product. You can include a catalog in your e-book to promote all the products or services you sell. You can include a “thank you note” for reading your book and an invitation to download a trial version of your product. Or you can include a form for your audience to contact you for further information or with questions, thereby building your business relationships and your mailing list.
No other medium has this kind of flexibility and ability for expansion. Think of your e-book like a spider spinning a beautiful and intricate web.Now go and create that web, and see how many customers and prospects you can catch!
7 un-expensive ideas for Advertising
Advertising is the most important part of Marketing. Over here i am mentioning 7 easy methods of Advertising
1. The Yellow Pages.
2. Newspaper advertising.
3. Direct mail.
4. Magazine advertising.
5. Business cards.
6.Vehicle advertising.
7.Cable TV advertising.
1. The Yellow Pages.
2. Newspaper advertising.
3. Direct mail.
4. Magazine advertising.
5. Business cards.
6.Vehicle advertising.
7.Cable TV advertising.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Design Marketing Strategies with Your Target Market in Mind
The reason we're concerned with identifying a target market is because it makes strategies for pricing, designing, promoting, distributing, positioning, and improving your product, service, or idea easier, more effective, and more cost-effective.For example, if research shows that a sturdy recyclable package with red lettering appeals to your target market and if you're focused on that target market, you should choose that type of packaging. If, however, you're profit or product oriented - rather than people oriented - you might simply make the package out of Styrofoam because it protects the product (product oriented) or because it's cheap (profit oriented).Here's another example: If you know your target market is 24- to 49-year-old men who like rhythm & blues, are frequent CD buyers, and live in urban neighborhoods, you can create an advertising message to appeal to those types of buyers. Additionally, you could buy spots on a specific radio station or TV show that appeals to this type of buyer, rather than buying general media time to "kinda cover all the bases." Make sense?In summary, when you're making marketing decisions and you say "kinda," it's costing you money. Know who you are aiming for (your target market) and create a strategy for a direct hit.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Creative Marketing Ideas for Your Business
If you need to market your company, you know that marketing is getting more competitive everyday. It seems each new day brings a different batch of marketing techniques, making it hard to keep up. If you want to make your product stand out in the crowd, it is important to find marketing techniques that will do just that. Get your team together now to start coming up with ways to make your marketing unique. Here are some tips to help get your brain jump started.One of the best ways to sell a product is to get it into the eye of the media. Try looking up world records and find something related to your product. Make an attempt to break this record in some sort of public arena. This will bring out the media to cover this interesting story. Also, try sponsoring a local event or sports team. The coverage given to the even or team will benefit you as your company name and product will be publicized. Besides supporting local events, use your business' profits to support a local charity that applies to your business and customers. This doesn't mean giving away large amounts of cash: instead try giving a percentage of customer purchases to this charity. This will give customers incentive to buy your product. Advertise your generosity by placing information about the charity on your product if possible.Another way to get your product known is to send out a bi-monthly or monthly newsletter dealing with your business. Write about recent happenings and include coupons for discounts. Add some humor to articles written by employees or comic strips to make it more interesting. Finally, add a section focusing on customers such as "the question of the month" or "the customer of the month." For the latter you can pick a customer each month to interview and feature in the newsletter. Just make sure your newsletter is "opt-in" to avoid junk mail. You can make your company more desirable to customers by creating a referral only business. This is not a good tactic for a business just starting, but once you've made a name for yourself you can become more exclusive. Being referral only will give your business an alluring nature and make potential customers interested in what they are missing out on. Another way to give your company some credibility is to start creating articles and submitting them to article distributing sites. Write about topics that interest your customers and become an expert on the subject. Try to create "Top 10s", "How Tos" and "Tips" as these articles are more appealing to readers. Another way to gain credibility is to create an award sponsored by your business. Publicize this annual award and make it something local businesses aspire to win.You can use your website to your advantage by creating an area specifically for customer feedback and comments. This should be a type of forum where customers can ask you questions as well as interact with each other. Not only will this make your more credible to your customers but it will give great feedback about your product. In this section of your site, offer discounts as incentives for repeat purchases and offers or free trials.One of the best ways to get your product and business name known is to create something free to give away to customers. Such items range from a pen to a t-shirt-anything is good as long as your company name and information is printed on it. Just make sure the item you give away will be useful to your customer. Also, try to make the object something relevant to your company. For example, it you own a massage parlor, give away stress balls or small samples of massage lotion to your customers.Lastly, always give serious thought to ever marketing idea you receive. Some may seem crazy, but it doesn't hurt to try them out. If the idea flops, you'll know not to do it again. If the idea is a success, you'll be happy you tried it. Try as many as you can to find what works right for your business.
Hiring A Word Of Mouth Marketing Company
There is a lot of buzz today around word of mouth marketing. Many companies offering many different types of what they consider word of mouth. This article is my opinion of what to do and what not to do.Let us this at the different forms you can choose from. There is company blogging. Here you can decide on whether to blog or not for your company. Be careful here what you decide and who you listen to. There are companies like Brains on Fire who are pushing developing what they call movements. They do not really explain what they mean by a movement but focus on not developing a project or campaign. This is unnerving as they are in a very hard to explain area of return on investment. My opinion is to avoid hiring a company like this. Sales are obviously important and make pretend land is something a company can not risk.Ultimately you want to build your brand and the best way to do that is working with a branding agency or marketing company. But if word of mouth marketing is something you think you must have consider some more things. You can use YouTube, twitter, social networking like Facebook and many other marketing tactics. You really need to choose the one that is right for you. Remember the biggest investment in most of these marketing tactics is time. Do you have the time to dedicate to any of these?Viral marketing is also something that many individuals and large corporations are really developing. This means you develop a video in hopes that it will be placed throughout the Internet on blogs and websites. The more people that put your video on their site the better you do. Then there are some companies that have many users signed up and you send them a product. They then tell their friends about your product and report back to the buzz company. Be careful on the motives of the buzz people on this one. Most of these buzz people are in it for the free stuff and will say and do almost anything to remain a buzz person.In conclusion hiring a branding company or marketing company I believe is your safe bet. They will be able to show return on investment easily and you will be building your brand at the same time. Keep in mind that sales are an important factor when you decide on whom to hire.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Boosting your Page Rank
If you run an online business, you will, undoubtedly, be interested in website promotion. Even the best-designed website will fail if it is not well publicized and is only found by direct searches. Accordingly, it is imperative that either your potential customers know about your website, or that it appears high enough on a search engine's listing to stand any chance of being clicked. There are a number of ways that you can promote your website; banner advertisements and pay per click systems are two very popular choices. However, there are a growing number of other solutions that you may also wish to consider. Page ranking is the method by which a search engine, such as Google, measures the popularity of any given website. In very simple terms, search engines will rank the web page based on how many links there are to the website. This is because the more sites that link to your website, the more credible it is likely to be. As such, links are very important to improve the rank of your website. However, before you rush off to set-up thousands of inbound links, there is much more to consider. In order to maximize the value of each link, you should also concentrate on attaining quality links from other high-ranking websites. In simple terms, a high quality link is more valuable than a normal link. By improving your website's ranking, your site will stand a much better chance of appearing in the top results on Google for any given search that matches your site's keywords. This rule holds fast for all widely used search engine. Promoting your website is a relatively simple task. The following are a few simple tips to help you: - Offer to trade links with other similar websites. Many website owners are willing to exchange links. Make sure you are selective when choosing websites from which to get links. You are unlikely to receive links from your direct competitors, and you should concentrate on targeting websites related to your business. - You can also use articles related to your business to promote your site. There are literally hundreds of article submission sites on the internet, and each of these have hundreds of articles written on a vast array of different subjects. If you do not have the time or writing ability to compose these articles, you can engage a ghostwriter or freelance writer to create these articles for you. - When you are putting together your website or any other marketing media, you must always ensure that you are producing good quality content, as this will reflect on the quality of your enterprise. Again, if you are not particularly adept at writing, you can always engage a professional to do it for you. The higher quality your text is, the more links you should be able to generate. - Do not sign up with link farms. Many beginners are tempted by this idea, but search engines are designed in such a manner as to be able to detect them and will automatically exclude them, and their links, from any search. You can download a free checker from Google to determine your page rank. This useful tool will help you to monitor the effect of your promotional work and enable you to target future efforts accordingly.
Marketing a Local Business
I've had way too many small business owners say "but Andreas, I don't need the Internet because my market is local." To me that's ludicrous. That's even a better reason to market online.
More and more people are going to the Internet to find the resources they require instead of picking up the yellow pages. This is the perfect opportunity to market a local business online.
Imagine the marketing challenges large global sites have? If a customer types in "widgets" in a Search Engine, then they have to compete with the whole world to be near the top of the search results.
Now, a local company, on the other hand, has a much easier task as there is less competition. Searchers are very educated these days, and most people looking for widgets in their area would now search for "Springfield widgets" or "Widgets in Springfield".
Let me assure you that it's MUCH easier to come out near the top of the search results for "Springfield widgets" than it is for just the generic "widgets".
More and more people are going to the Internet to find the resources they require instead of picking up the yellow pages. This is the perfect opportunity to market a local business online.
Imagine the marketing challenges large global sites have? If a customer types in "widgets" in a Search Engine, then they have to compete with the whole world to be near the top of the search results.
Now, a local company, on the other hand, has a much easier task as there is less competition. Searchers are very educated these days, and most people looking for widgets in their area would now search for "Springfield widgets" or "Widgets in Springfield".
Let me assure you that it's MUCH easier to come out near the top of the search results for "Springfield widgets" than it is for just the generic "widgets".
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Your Website! A tool of Marketing
It is not just a website. It is where the bricks-and-mortar world meets the clicks-and-mortar world, and your website has an impact on your company’s image. Because your online market presence is viewed by individual-defined norms, you must ensure the site meets the expectations of your site visitors. In fact, a visit to your site must not only meet the visitor’s needs, but also delight her to promote subsequent returns. After all, what good is your site if you only get someone to stop by once and never return again? Although there are many different objectives and strategies for various websites, one fundamental objective is to have visitors bookmark the site and return again and again and again.
So how can you satisfy your visitors’ needs and increase the frequency of visits from the same visitors? There is no magic formula or secret java scripting that will do it. However, laying the foundation of your site by answering five basic questions prior to building your site will allow you to develop an online presence that meets your business goals and encourages visitors to return to your site time after time. The five questions to be answered are: 1) Who is your target audience, 2) What are the objectives of your website, 3) What does a visitor expect from your site, 4) What do you want the visitor to leave with, and 5) Why should a visitor return to your site?
Defining the Target Audience
The web gives people access to, and control of, information at their convenience. Knowing who your target audience is a crucial step that needs to be clearly defined prior to developing site content or design. By knowing who your audience is you can answer the five questions that lay the foundation for your website with greater accuracy. In fact, the better you know who your audience is and what they expect to get from a visit to your site, the more relevant you can make your site.
Many websites are designed to cater to the needs of a nondescript mass audience. Take a quick look at most websites and you will find the standard out-of-the-box website package with six pages – including “Who we are,” What we do,” and “Our favorite links.” In order to satisfy the dramatically different needs of a wide variety of people, web developers create a generic site that provides no real value for the visitor or the company. The visitor does not find relevant information, and decides that the website is not adequate for his needs. No bookmarks are made and the visitor never returns. The company (site owner) gets some level of activity as measured by hits and page views, but never builds any loyalty to the site so nearly all visitors are first-time, last-time surfers.
Who is your target audience?
Defining the target audience and their needs is an important first step in building your website and a critical element to increasing the loyalty on your site. Who are the people that will use your website? Engineers that require technical data or students looking for specific information for a term paper project? How do they like to receive and use the information they collect on the Internet? Is the visual impact more important or less important to effectively delivering your message? How can your site help satisfy the needs of your target audience? You can see that knowing your target audience is much more than figuring out the demographics like gender, age, education level and income. Knowing your audience is the only true way to provide relevant content the way your audience wants to receive it. Define your target audience and get to know them better than your competitors. After all, the only sustainable competitive advantage is the understanding you have of your customers that your competitors do not have.
What are the objectives of your website?
Is it already obvious to you why you need a website? For many companies it is not so much a clear strategy as it is wanting to keep up with the Jones'. “Our biggest competitor has a website and we don’t want to seem like they can do something we can’t.” If this is your reasoning for embarking on an e-commerce initiative, you need to take a step back and consider what a website could offer your customers that is of true value – rather than to forge ahead with no direction.
There are many reasons for building an online presence that compliments or enhances your existing offline presence. For many companies, the primary justification for launching a website is because everybody else has one. Although this thinking is somewhat myopic and inward looking, because everyone else does have a website may mean that without a web presence your company is led out to pasture in the future.
One of the most basic reasons for building an online presence is that a website serves as one more tool for communicating with your internal and external audiences cost-effectively and conveniently. Cost-effective in the sense that the Internet has allowed small, capital-limited businesses the chance to look a lot bigger than they really are – opening the door to an expanded marketplace. Small businesses are no longer restricted by their location and ability to touch the customer personally. Now, with an online presence that delivers targeted communications you can drive in traffic and connect with customers that would have been cost-prohibitive to reach using traditional marketing tools.
There are many reasons why your company should have a presence on the web. However, the only ones that matter are those that are customer-focused. This alternative channel of communication saves time for the visitor and permits her to access the information at her convenience. It also provides the ability for your company to capture information on your site visitors to build customer profiles and better serve your customers.
What does a visitor expect from your site?
If you have already developed a visceral understanding of your target audience, realizing the expectations of your site visitors becomes second nature. However, it is important to take the customer’s perspective to adequately define what your visitors expect from your site. Most Internet users will expect ease-of-use (referring to the navigation ease) of your site as well as relevant information that makes their lives easier. These expectations go hand-in-hand with the assumption that your site will download quickly. The average Internet user will wait no more than eight seconds before jumping to another page or stopping the transmission if the page is too slow to open.
Beyond this, depending on your business and target audience, some users will want to be entertained and be dissatisfied if the entertainment value does not meet their expectations. Others will look for ordering information, pre-sales services, and company information. The expectations will vary from person to person, but if you have defined your target audience into the smallest homogenous segment possible (with the goal of a market segment of one), you will be able to meet your visitors’ expectations in both content and design of your website.
What do you want the visitor to leave with?
Once you have a solid understanding of what your site visitors expect from your site, you need to determine what it is that you want the visitor to leave with after visiting your website. Are you attempting to reduce the sales cycle time and want to ensure that your customer’s questions about your product’s performance and specifications are answered? Or are you looking to improve your brand image and need to find ways to enhance your offline brand online? Depending on your goals, you will want to develop different strategies for different goals.
Ask yourself what it is that you want your visitors to leave with and then consider whether you can address those needs with a focus on content or on design of the site. Most likely you will want to provide a combination of rich content that helps satisfy customer needs complemented by a good website design that allows the user to find the information or conduct the transaction quickly and easily.
Why should someone return to your site?
Is there any good reason that a visitor should bookmark your site so that he will return again? If not, what needs to be improved within your site plan that will encourage repeat visits? Although this question is last in this article, it is equally important to targeting the right audience. Whatever the objectives and reasons are for creating an online presence for your company, if you are not driving people back to your site, your website efforts are in vain. After all, why spend the time and money on developing a site if its only purpose is to keep your competition up to speed on what you are doing and how you market your business?
By asking yourself, “Why should someone return to my site?” you are forcing yourself to take a hard look at your website initiative and the justification for the investment. Developing loyalty from your customers through your online activities will be seen in your offline revenues and profits. Providing relevant information, making it easier for your customer to do her job, and creating a compelling site are some basic tactics that will encourage people to return to your website. Determining what it is that is of value to your target audience will be the cornerstone of your web activities.
Five Questions, Five Answers
There are many excellent books, magazines, and e-zines available that describe in great detail the points presented in this article. However, for those of you who are considering building a website, the questions posed here will help to layout the roadmap for your site. Laying the foundation of your site by answering these five basic questions prior to building your site will allow you to develop an online presence that meets your business goals and encourages visitors to return to your site. The key to getting off on the right foot is to complete your homework prior to launching your web initiatives. Because the Internet is in a constant state of change, those of you who have already created your site can easily take a step back and apply these five areas to your existing site strategy to ensure a solid foundation that meets your customers’ expectations
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
10 Mistakes of Entrepreneurs
Mistake # 1 - Addicted to Being Right
This behavior happens to ultra competitive people. People who are addicted to being right will argue and argue and argue whether they are right or wrong. Even if it hurts them, they'll still insist on being right.
Mistake # 2 - Becoming a Control Freak
Entrepreneurs and workaholics are usually control freaks. It's one of the reasons that entrepreneurs make poor managers. They find it very hard to delegate. Control freaks insist on having everything their own way...regardless of the consequences.
Mistake # 3 - Having a "Captious" Personality
People who have a "captious personality" are quick to point out the faults in other people and never give compliments. They are very negative and focus on pointing out problems and avoid complimenting others on their accomplishments.
Mistake # 4 - Blaming Other People
People who blame others have a very difficult time with personal accountability and always blame problems on outside forces or other people. And people who blame are always looking to blame someone rather than accepting the fact that problems are a normal part of doing business.
Mistake # 5 - Thinking You're Better than Others
Some entrepreneurs think they are better than other humans for the simple fact that they own their own business. They believe that they are entitled to privileges beyond what the normal person should receive.
Mistake # 6 - Possessing a Careless Tongue
People who have a careless tongue have a difficult time keeping private things confidential. And they gossip at times and are addicted to using sarcasm. They even lie and cheat. But mostly they simply can't seem to hold back inappropriate comments that are better left unsaid.
Mistake # 7 - Having a Lack of Balance In Your Life
Entrepreneurs who have a lack of balance in their lives are usually workaholics. They are addicted to their work. They have a driving desire to succeed, not matter what the consequences. These people can't even sit down at night and watch television without feeling as though they should be doing something.
(see my comments below on this topic)
Mistake # 8 - Expressing Uncontrolled Anger
This person has no sense of self-control and often allows their anger to get the better of them. They can't seem to take a time out or think about their words between the time they get upset and the time it takes them to say something.
Their emotions rule their tongue and actions. They leave a trail of hurt feelings and animosity in their wake.
Mistake # 9 - Taking Yourself Too Seriously
This type of person can't seem to loosen up. They are always "turned on" and they take every little thing seriously. They have a hard time laughing and finding humor in life.
People are intimidated by this person because they are always thinking of the consequences of their actions while they're around them. They are always on guard around this type of person.
Mistake # 10 - Looking for a Secret to Success
Dr. Helms called this the "slot machine" syndrome (pulling a handle and having money fall out of the machine).
Because of the all the hype in marketing, this person is always looking for an easy way to succeed rather than just applying consistent hard work and patience.
This person skips from opportunity to opportunity without giving anything a chance to succeed.
This behavior happens to ultra competitive people. People who are addicted to being right will argue and argue and argue whether they are right or wrong. Even if it hurts them, they'll still insist on being right.
Mistake # 2 - Becoming a Control Freak
Entrepreneurs and workaholics are usually control freaks. It's one of the reasons that entrepreneurs make poor managers. They find it very hard to delegate. Control freaks insist on having everything their own way...regardless of the consequences.
Mistake # 3 - Having a "Captious" Personality
People who have a "captious personality" are quick to point out the faults in other people and never give compliments. They are very negative and focus on pointing out problems and avoid complimenting others on their accomplishments.
Mistake # 4 - Blaming Other People
People who blame others have a very difficult time with personal accountability and always blame problems on outside forces or other people. And people who blame are always looking to blame someone rather than accepting the fact that problems are a normal part of doing business.
Mistake # 5 - Thinking You're Better than Others
Some entrepreneurs think they are better than other humans for the simple fact that they own their own business. They believe that they are entitled to privileges beyond what the normal person should receive.
Mistake # 6 - Possessing a Careless Tongue
People who have a careless tongue have a difficult time keeping private things confidential. And they gossip at times and are addicted to using sarcasm. They even lie and cheat. But mostly they simply can't seem to hold back inappropriate comments that are better left unsaid.
Mistake # 7 - Having a Lack of Balance In Your Life
Entrepreneurs who have a lack of balance in their lives are usually workaholics. They are addicted to their work. They have a driving desire to succeed, not matter what the consequences. These people can't even sit down at night and watch television without feeling as though they should be doing something.
(see my comments below on this topic)
Mistake # 8 - Expressing Uncontrolled Anger
This person has no sense of self-control and often allows their anger to get the better of them. They can't seem to take a time out or think about their words between the time they get upset and the time it takes them to say something.
Their emotions rule their tongue and actions. They leave a trail of hurt feelings and animosity in their wake.
Mistake # 9 - Taking Yourself Too Seriously
This type of person can't seem to loosen up. They are always "turned on" and they take every little thing seriously. They have a hard time laughing and finding humor in life.
People are intimidated by this person because they are always thinking of the consequences of their actions while they're around them. They are always on guard around this type of person.
Mistake # 10 - Looking for a Secret to Success
Dr. Helms called this the "slot machine" syndrome (pulling a handle and having money fall out of the machine).
Because of the all the hype in marketing, this person is always looking for an easy way to succeed rather than just applying consistent hard work and patience.
This person skips from opportunity to opportunity without giving anything a chance to succeed.
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