The biggest problem I see in most businesses today is that they try to be everything to everyone. This just isn't effective in the long term. You know the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Business is the same way. Too many businesses keep adding more and more products or services to their business that are related but not based around their core business and the next thing you know they are a generalist. To really succeed in your business and effectively use your marketing to target the right prospects, you need to specialize.
Specializing allows you to not only target your marketing better but it also allows you to charge more for your services. A general family doctor doesn't charge as much as a brain surgeon. This model works in pretty much any business and if you can specialize your business marketing and image, you can target your perfect client much easier.
Showing posts with label small business marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label small business marketing. Show all posts
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
4 Tips To Be Creative With Your Business Cards
Every business owner should have business cards for their business. It amazes me how many people show up to a Chamber mixer or other networking event and don't have business cards. Business cards are a critical piece of your marketing mix and should never be overlooked.
Your business card is one of the most cost effective marketing you can do in your business yet too many people either don't have business cards or have a business card that is plain and boring. You need to make your business card stand out from the stack of business cards that everyone collects every day in their own networking.
Your business card is one of the most cost effective marketing you can do in your business yet too many people either don't have business cards or have a business card that is plain and boring. You need to make your business card stand out from the stack of business cards that everyone collects every day in their own networking.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Using Secret Sales To Build Customer Value And Market Your Small Business
One of the most overlooked assets any business has to boost sales in their small business is their existing customer base. How many businesses do you buy from that you never hear from again until you actually contact them to reorder that product again?
As a small business owner, it's your responsibility to keep in touch with your customers and prospects in order to make sure that they don't forget about you and end up buying from your competitor the next time they have a need.
One of the best ways to keep in touch with those customers is to have a secret closed door sale just for them. It makes them feel special and it gives you extra kudos for going out of your way just for them. This type of customer appreciation will go a long way to building your relationship and loyalty with your customers.
Remember that that there are only three ways to increase sales in any small business.
Instead of always focusing on just getting new customers like the rest of the other businesses out there, spend a little time working on the existing customers you have. They are much easier to sell to again as long as you are consistent on providing a great service.
What if you could hold a secret sale just for your existing customers? You could offer larger than usual discounts just for those people. Not only will you get them to come back but you are building the additional loyalty because of the special offer that is exclusive to just them.
People like to be part of an exclusive club or community. It makes them feel like they are part of something. It ties to basic human emotion. People want to be part of a special group. Your special sale will promote that and cater to their personal needs.
When thinking about your special secret sale, there are a couple of things that you should keep in mind when setting it up.
First off, don't be cheap. Obviously, you need to make a profit in order to stay successful but make the discounts on this sale much larger than you would normally offer. You are still going to make a profit that you might not have got without the sale at all and you are building your relationship with your customer at the same time. Keep in mind that your existing customers will be your best marketing tool for both repeat business and for referrals to their friends and family that might need your services too. You want to make sure that you keep them happy.
The second thing you should do is make your sale an event. Don't just send out an email or a single flyer about the event. Promote it like a big event. Send your customers VIP Pass promotional postcards or even design something for your email that they need to print out as an exclusive VIP pass. This enhances the experience for them and lets them know that this is something you did just to tell them that you appreciate their business and want to keep them happy. Happy customers talk more about your products than indifferent ones do.
You don't have to run a secret sale only once a year either. You can do it a couple of times a year. Just be sure to theme your sale to something special and you'll get better results from the event. Most businesses will do a sale during the holidays because it's such a popular time and everyone is looking for a sales during that time of year. You could do something different and get a large group of people that will remember you for it.
I've done Halloween sales before that were a huge hit. Why? Because that's my favorite holiday and it really stood out since no one else in our industry ever does a Halloween sale. Other small businesses marketing in my industry missed the boat since I had my sale a month before they even thought about theirs.
Be creative. Find odd holidays that you can use to help promote your sale and give it a reason why other than “just because”. Just be sure to keep it exclusive to your customers and make it a big deal that is reserved just for them because of your loyalty to them. Show them how much you appreciate them as customers and build that relationship. When you are looking at marketing your small business, you need to be ahead of the competition and look for new ideas and strategies to add to to your marketing mix.
As a small business owner, it's your responsibility to keep in touch with your customers and prospects in order to make sure that they don't forget about you and end up buying from your competitor the next time they have a need.
One of the best ways to keep in touch with those customers is to have a secret closed door sale just for them. It makes them feel special and it gives you extra kudos for going out of your way just for them. This type of customer appreciation will go a long way to building your relationship and loyalty with your customers.
Remember that that there are only three ways to increase sales in any small business.
- Increase your customer list.
- Increase the dollar amount your customer spends each time with you
- Or increase the number of times that customer buys from you
Instead of always focusing on just getting new customers like the rest of the other businesses out there, spend a little time working on the existing customers you have. They are much easier to sell to again as long as you are consistent on providing a great service.
What if you could hold a secret sale just for your existing customers? You could offer larger than usual discounts just for those people. Not only will you get them to come back but you are building the additional loyalty because of the special offer that is exclusive to just them.
People like to be part of an exclusive club or community. It makes them feel like they are part of something. It ties to basic human emotion. People want to be part of a special group. Your special sale will promote that and cater to their personal needs.
When thinking about your special secret sale, there are a couple of things that you should keep in mind when setting it up.
First off, don't be cheap. Obviously, you need to make a profit in order to stay successful but make the discounts on this sale much larger than you would normally offer. You are still going to make a profit that you might not have got without the sale at all and you are building your relationship with your customer at the same time. Keep in mind that your existing customers will be your best marketing tool for both repeat business and for referrals to their friends and family that might need your services too. You want to make sure that you keep them happy.
The second thing you should do is make your sale an event. Don't just send out an email or a single flyer about the event. Promote it like a big event. Send your customers VIP Pass promotional postcards or even design something for your email that they need to print out as an exclusive VIP pass. This enhances the experience for them and lets them know that this is something you did just to tell them that you appreciate their business and want to keep them happy. Happy customers talk more about your products than indifferent ones do.
You don't have to run a secret sale only once a year either. You can do it a couple of times a year. Just be sure to theme your sale to something special and you'll get better results from the event. Most businesses will do a sale during the holidays because it's such a popular time and everyone is looking for a sales during that time of year. You could do something different and get a large group of people that will remember you for it.
I've done Halloween sales before that were a huge hit. Why? Because that's my favorite holiday and it really stood out since no one else in our industry ever does a Halloween sale. Other small businesses marketing in my industry missed the boat since I had my sale a month before they even thought about theirs.
Be creative. Find odd holidays that you can use to help promote your sale and give it a reason why other than “just because”. Just be sure to keep it exclusive to your customers and make it a big deal that is reserved just for them because of your loyalty to them. Show them how much you appreciate them as customers and build that relationship. When you are looking at marketing your small business, you need to be ahead of the competition and look for new ideas and strategies to add to to your marketing mix.
Monday, March 2, 2009
5 Tips To Using Circulars In Your Small Business Marketing
Circulars, along the same lines as flyers, are a great way to market your business as a small business owner in any community. This marketing ideas works for both consumer or business markets and can help establish your company in your local community as the Go To business for the products and services you sell.
You can distribute your circulars to areas in your local community. Churches, coffee shops, community boards, Chambers of Commerce, and even maybe your local library are all great places to see if you can place your circulars.
The design of your circular should basically be like other flyers you might create and here are a few things to keep in mind for your circular.
1. Design of your circular
Keep the design simple and clean. Don't go crazy with your fonts and colors. You can't want it to look like a bad piece of art. You want to have a direct message that clearly explains who you are, what you do and what the benefits of using your company are.
2. Customize the circular to the group
If you are distributing your circulars to your local church, be sure to customize the message and offer (more on the offer below) to that group. Make them feel like you are giving them a deal because they are also part of that group. Add the group name to the headline so when they see it they know it was designed just for them and it will make them feel more special.
3. Focus on one product or service
Don't try to fit everything you do on a one page flyer. Chances are you do more than what can fit on one page. Focus your message on the one thing that you think will benefit the group your are promoting to the most. You can still include a small list of other services too but keep the majority focused on your main product.
4. Offer a special discount or coupon
Your coupon or discount will serve two purposes. For any form of advertising you do to promote your business products or services.
First off, it gives the prospect a special and people love to get discounts and free stuff. Any time there is a coupon or discount, they will be more likely to pay attention and take advantage of the special. Be sure to customize the discount just for that group. You'll increase response just because it's just for their group. If you are offering a 10% off discount for your local Church group, then they will feel more loyal because you are doing this for them.
5. Include a direct Call To Action
You have to tell people what to do next. Do you want them to come in to your store with their coupon? How about calling you and mentioning a specific code. We have used this with our Chamber Of Commerce membership. We tell them to mention they are Chamber Members to get special discounts and offers when they call us.
As you can see, circulars are a great addition to your small business marketing ideas as long as you keep a couple of things in mind. Using circulars can increase your business presence in your local community and get clients that know, like and trust you very quickly.
You can distribute your circulars to areas in your local community. Churches, coffee shops, community boards, Chambers of Commerce, and even maybe your local library are all great places to see if you can place your circulars.
The design of your circular should basically be like other flyers you might create and here are a few things to keep in mind for your circular.
1. Design of your circular
Keep the design simple and clean. Don't go crazy with your fonts and colors. You can't want it to look like a bad piece of art. You want to have a direct message that clearly explains who you are, what you do and what the benefits of using your company are.
2. Customize the circular to the group
If you are distributing your circulars to your local church, be sure to customize the message and offer (more on the offer below) to that group. Make them feel like you are giving them a deal because they are also part of that group. Add the group name to the headline so when they see it they know it was designed just for them and it will make them feel more special.
3. Focus on one product or service
Don't try to fit everything you do on a one page flyer. Chances are you do more than what can fit on one page. Focus your message on the one thing that you think will benefit the group your are promoting to the most. You can still include a small list of other services too but keep the majority focused on your main product.
4. Offer a special discount or coupon
Your coupon or discount will serve two purposes. For any form of advertising you do to promote your business products or services.
First off, it gives the prospect a special and people love to get discounts and free stuff. Any time there is a coupon or discount, they will be more likely to pay attention and take advantage of the special. Be sure to customize the discount just for that group. You'll increase response just because it's just for their group. If you are offering a 10% off discount for your local Church group, then they will feel more loyal because you are doing this for them.
5. Include a direct Call To Action
You have to tell people what to do next. Do you want them to come in to your store with their coupon? How about calling you and mentioning a specific code. We have used this with our Chamber Of Commerce membership. We tell them to mention they are Chamber Members to get special discounts and offers when they call us.
As you can see, circulars are a great addition to your small business marketing ideas as long as you keep a couple of things in mind. Using circulars can increase your business presence in your local community and get clients that know, like and trust you very quickly.
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