3 Reasons Why Blogs Are Important To Drive Traffic To Your Website

Are you blogging yet? If not you need to be. Whether you have a large corporation or a small business ran out of your home, blogs are the easiest way to set up a web presence if you don't have one and are even more powerful as an addition to an existing website.

I still hear it from most business owners... "I don't get it. I don't have that much to say. I don't want to do that. It's just too much work"

Well, if you want to get your name out there more. Get more prospects. Get more customers and provide better customer service to your existing customers, then a blog is the easiest way to do all these and more.

So, why is it that blogs are so powerful and why should you have one? Let me count the ways!

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Even Great Products Don't Sell Themselves

Maybe you've heard the term: Build a better mousetrap and they will come.

Well, as great as it sounds, even the best mousetrap still won't sell if people don't know it exists. They still won't buy it if they don't see the value in it.

In today's age where people are swamped with advertising messages all the time, you need a better message than everyone else to stand out and be noticed.

1. Do whatever it takes to 'shock' your audience
What are you doing to stand out from the crowd? You need to stand out like a sore thumb and make sure you are remembered.

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Why Use Networking To Market Your Business

With everyone cutting back costs in networking is, now more than ever, one of the best and most cost effective ways to market your business and keep your name in front of your prospects and clients.

This has always been one of my favorite ways to market any business while keeping costs down. It not only gets you out there but also builds relationships faster than any other advertising or marketing you can do.

Here's some of the benefits of using networking to promote your business:

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How Customer Follow-up Can Increase Sales In Any Business

When was the last time you followed up with your existing customers? Last month? Last week? Or was it the last time they actually bought from you?

I can pretty much tell you that no matter how often you follow up with your customers, it's not enough.

In today's world, people have less and less of an attention span and forget very easily about you and what you have to offer them. If you want an easy way to increase sales in your business, you need to increase the amount of contacts you have with each and every customer you have.

So how can you do this?

First, thank them for the sale.
Emails, thank you cards and letters are a great way to make one more touch with a customer right after the sale. If someone comes in to your store and buys something from you, send them a a thank you a couple of days after the sale. This will make them feel special and make you stand out from everyone else out there.

Also, educate them on the best ways to use the product they just bought from you. Remind them of additional benefits that they might not have known about or remembered before they bought the product.

Second, remind them of complimentary products that work well with the product they bought.
This is huge. Remember that people usually don't know your product anywhere near what you know about it. They are looking to you to help them and educate them.

If you have another product that works great with the product they bought already or that will enhance the product they bought, share that with them. Let them know the additional benefits to using that products also. Offer a special discount because they bought the first product.

Most business owners don't think about the fact that as long as what you have is of great value, your customers will want to buy your additional products as long as they make sense for them. Too many small businesses could easily increase sales just by letting people know about some of the products that they tend to forget to share with their customers.

Third, remind your customers of maintenance or renewable products.
What do I mean by this? Let's say you sell a nutrition product that is usually a month's supply. Many customers will still forget to purchase more when they run out. We're all busy. I do it all the time.

If you can call them or email them and give them an easy way to re-order, you've just saved them from running out of your product and you've made and easy sale at the same time.

Put your customers on a calendar so you know to email, call or mail out a direct mail piece in plenty of time to remind them to place their order before they run out.

Remember that as long as you provide great value and your customers are happy with your products, it's easy to sell them on additional products as long as it helps them save time, use the product better or most importantly, solves a problem they have. It's your responsibility to educate them on what you have to offer. They will never buy from you if they don't know you offer that product of service.

Making The Most Of Local Networking To Market Your Business

As a Small Business, networking with other businesses should be one of the top ideas in your marketing mix. Networking is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to get your company's name out in front of your community.

Networking events like your Chamber Of Commerce and local networking or leads groups are a great way to find prospects, partners and potentially even a built in sales force very quickly if you keep just a few basic rules in mind.

1. Build Your Image - Look the Part
First impressions do count. Your first impression will last for years to come and can either work in your favor or against you. Shorts and flip flops aren't the best dress to impress new people on your professionalism and skills (unless you work for a travel agency specializing in Bahama cruises, then it might just be perfect)

2. Be Proactive
Be proactive and find people to come up and introduce yourself to. Other people there are doing the same thing you are...Trying to get new business and meet new people.

Don't be afraid to walk up and say hi.

3. Ask, Don't Just Tell
Remember this is a two way street. If someone asks what you do, go ahead and tell them about your products and services.  Then... Ask about what they do. What's their business? Let them talk about their business and educate you about who their perfect customer is.

I see it all the time where someone shows up to an event and all they want to do is talk about themselves and how you NEED their product. They never seem to care about anyone else. Once they are done talking about their product, they just want to move on to someone else and repeat the same pitch.

This doesn't give you a good impression to others.

4. Business Cards - The Must Haves!
Be sure to get your business cards printed before you go to any networking event. Make sure that you bring plenty of cards. Business cards are cheap. You don't want to be embarrassed when someone asks for a business card you have to say "Sorry I just ran out."

Also, be sure to get cards from everyone you meet. It doesn't matter if you are just starting your business or have been in business for years, you need to always be building your rolodex of contacts.

5. Wear a Name Badge
Many people hate name badges but this is one of the most important items you can have for your networking. First off, people will feel more comfortable with you if they see your name. Second, as you go to more events, people will forget your name. It's just a fact of life. BUT, they will feel more at ease when they come up and see your name on your badge. This will encourage them to come back over to you and talk to you. Nothing is more embarrassing than forgetting someone's name and trying to have a conversation with them. Help others feel at ease and encourage them to come back and talk to again. This is what builds the relationship.

6. Follow Up Is The Key
So what do you do with all those cards after the event?

Get them in a Contact Management System and follow up!

It doesn't matter if you use Outlook, ACT or any other system out there. You just want to get them in the system so you have a quick way to access all those contacts quickly in the future.

The important thing is to follow up quickly with them.

You should follow up via email, or phone call within the next 1-3 days at most. Make it a priority.

7. Show Up Early, Stay Late
Show up early to any event that you going to. This gives you the most chance of getting to know a few people before the crowds get there.

Stay late. Some of the best connections are made at the very end of an event. You get the people that are more dedicated (like yourself) and you can build strong relationships in a first meeting with someone this way.

8. Be Consistent
Don't just got to an event or group once and expect to make a difference. You need to show up more than once. Show people you are dedicated. Show them that you aren't a fly by night. Some groups will take a few meetings for them to even feel that they can trust you. Schedule it like any other appointment you might have and dedicate yourself to it.

In Conclusion

Using Networking can be one of the most important parts of your marketing mix. I've seen my own company grow from 15 clients to over 300 clients mostly directly because of networking. It's the best way a new business can get involved and get exposure without spending a lot of money.

Just keep these guides in mind as you are making your way to each event in order to get the most out of every event you go. Remember, you'll get out of it what you put in to it.

3 Reasons Why Being Known As The Authority Will Grow Your Business

One of the
most overlooked ways of marketing a small business owner in the
traditional world is to build yourself as the authority in your
industry. In the online world this is very common but most small
business owners don't realize how easy this is or how much this can
impact their business.

 What I'm talking about here is writing articles and publishing them.
Most of the time when I talk to small groups I ask the question if
they think they are writers. Almost no one says yes. Most of them
actually look scared when they even think about this.

 So why are articles so great to use to market your business?

Reason #1
Articles are actually one of the easiest and fasted ways to build your
reputation online and offline in your marketing. They are actually
much easier to write than you might think. All you have to do is think
of the most frequently asked questions you get from your customers on
how to use a product or what they they should know about a product or
service before they but it and then answer that question.

 They don't have to be very long either. Some people think that they
need to write a 20 page report and then they start having flashbacks
from high school. These articles can be anywhere from 300-800 words
long. I personally try to keep them at the 500 word mark when I am
writing.

 It might take a bit at first but the more you do it, the easier it will get.

 If you really have a hard time you can also hire a journalism student
form college to ghostwrite them for you.

 Reason #2
Articles make great website content. Search engines love new content.
That's what they are all about. Your fresh new articles can be added
to your website or posted to your blog easily and this will give you
more content for Google to index. More content = more listings on the
Search Engines.

 You can also publish your articles to online directories for free in a
lot of places. This is a great way to get additional exposure for your
name and your business.

 Reason #3
Local media is always looking for more fresh content. You can take
these same articles and get them published in your local newspapers
and other publications.

 Try getting published in your smaller local papers first. All you have
to do is call and find out who to submit the articles to. Asking never
hurt anyone. They may not need them but if they do, you might be able
to get published very easy and your new articles might even get turned
in to a regular column in the that paper.

 This is a huge credibility piece and really can make a difference for
any business if it is done right.

 The more you are known as the authority in your industry, the more
your business will thrive. Remember that this isn't complicated. Keep
it simple and just answer questions that you get form people all the
time.

3 Ideas To Make Your Business Stand Out From The Crowd

In today's economy, businesses are failing each and every day. Are we to blame the recession or Hard Times? The answer is no we can't. As business owners, we are responsible for our own actions.

The problem is that in almost every industry, everyone seems to think that they can be just like like everyone else and still do fine. That just isn't the case any more.

To make your business survive in these tough times, you have to stand out from the crowd. You can't be just like everyone else. If you are, then the only thing you have going for you in your price. Price wars are never a good thing and devalues your products or services.

So what can you do to overcome this issue? You need to differentiate yourself from your competition. The following ideas will help you stand out from the crowd and gain more business, helping your prospects know that your are the only logical choice.

1. What are your competitors doing? Do the opposite!
If they are all promoting on price, you should be promoting on extra value. What can you add to your products or services instead of dropping your prices?

If you sell a $100 product and your competitor is selling the same basic product for $90, then look at what you can add to your product that will give the value of $150 or $200 instead.

Anything from gift cards, an extra room of cleaning, to free chair massages at a hair salon can make a huge difference to your customers perception of your company and they will be willing to pay the extra price for the additional services.

2. Be unique
Add personality to your business. Let's look at an example. If you have a security company, your company uniforms could be different than the standard boring "Rent-a-cop" look by having camo-wearing guards or secret service style uniforms. Something to make you stand out from the norm.

This will not only get attention but other potential prospects will take more notice and be sure that all your employees have business cards to hand out if someone asks about your service.

3. Offer special services
How often do you find that it would be easier to get to the bank on a Sunday or later at night? How many banks do you know that are open 7 days a week? I can't count the number of times that I wished they were open because that's the only day I have a chance to get over there.

Stay open off hours, offer pickup and delivery (free or paid), Think about what the biggest complaints people have about your industry and look at creative ways to overcome these complaint. Market specifically to those special added benefits

Ok, so there you have it, 3 ideas that you can implement right away to make your business stand out form the crowd and market your business as the ONLY choice in your area or industry. Don't be afraid to experiment and be creative. The businesses that stand out the most get the most attention are more likely to be remembered in the long run.