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.
Showing posts with label local marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label local marketing. Show all posts
Monday, March 2, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
4 Keys to Using Trade Shows In Your Marketing Mix
Trade Shows are a great way to capture leads for your business. Remember that getting the lead is the most important part of any marketing plan. You are building a list of hot prospects that are interested in your product. The best kind of lead out there.
1. Don't sit behind the booth!
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see people at trade shows do. You spent a lot of money to be there. Don't waste it by sitting behind your booth like a bump on a log. Stand in front of your booth and be interactive with the people walking by. Catch their attention. Talk to them and invite them over to look at your materials. Answer questions related to your products. Don't just let them look and walk away.
Ask people that do come up to your booth if they have any questions. Ask them if they are familiar with your services or products. Engage the audience. Think about the carnies at the fair midway. You are similar to them. You don't get paid if people don't play. Now you don't have to as annoying or pushy as them but you do need to stand out and engage people so they don't just walk past your booth without talking to you. They may not even know they need your product but after you talk to them they might see a whole new light and really be interested in talking more. Guess what... That's a lead!
2. Get their name and phone number!
So what are you really at the trade show for? To get leads. If anyone tells you trade shows are just great name awareness, walk away and try not to laugh at them. Yes, that is one reason to be there but it's not the main reason. Just because they saw your booth, doesn't mean they will remember you once they've gone through two more rows of booths. You need to collect their information. If it's a Business to Business trade show, collect business cards from everyone you meet. If it's Business to consumer, have a simple form to fill out so you can follow up with them after the show.
One of the best things you can do it have a Free Report or Consumer Awareness Guide that you can mail or email to them after the show. Offer to send it to them the next day if they give you their name, email address and physical address. Now you are building your list. You now have someone specific to market to!
Offer a free giveaway item. Everyone has seen the fishbowl drawings at trade show booths. They don't do this just to get you to stop by their booth. They do it because you now have given them your contact information so they can follow up and market to you in the future. You should be doing the same. It doesn't have to be something big like a free vacation if that's not in your budget. It can be for a gift basket of your products or even as simple as a gift card to your local coffee shop. People always like the opportunity to get something for free. They will go out of their way and fill out your registration form in order to get something for free!
3. Stay to the end
It always amazes me how many vendors at trade shows stay for an hour or so and then pack up because they're bored or tired. Guess what! You paid to be there. Stick it out to the end. I've personally made more connections in the last 30 minutes of trade shows I've attended than in the entire three or four hours I've been there. This is especially important if you are in a Business to Business trade show. You can make more connections with the other vendors than the walk through traffic so don't discard the value of visiting the other vendors there also. It might be the best connection you make. You will never know if you leave after the first hour.
4. Follow up after the show
So many people I see at trade shows collect business cards or names on a list and never do anything with them. They expect that just because someone saw them at the trade show that they will call the vendor to buy something. It's your responsibility to follow up and get the sale. Not their's. This is your chance to make a great impression on them and follow up as soon as you can to set up a meeting, send them more information about you or just to ask them if they are ready to buy. Offer them a free estimate.
You just need to follow up as soon as you can and keep them in your database for future promotions.
This is how you can build a list quickly and use trade shows to build your list of prospects quickly and get the most out of any trade show you are part of.
1. Don't sit behind the booth!
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see people at trade shows do. You spent a lot of money to be there. Don't waste it by sitting behind your booth like a bump on a log. Stand in front of your booth and be interactive with the people walking by. Catch their attention. Talk to them and invite them over to look at your materials. Answer questions related to your products. Don't just let them look and walk away.
Ask people that do come up to your booth if they have any questions. Ask them if they are familiar with your services or products. Engage the audience. Think about the carnies at the fair midway. You are similar to them. You don't get paid if people don't play. Now you don't have to as annoying or pushy as them but you do need to stand out and engage people so they don't just walk past your booth without talking to you. They may not even know they need your product but after you talk to them they might see a whole new light and really be interested in talking more. Guess what... That's a lead!
2. Get their name and phone number!
So what are you really at the trade show for? To get leads. If anyone tells you trade shows are just great name awareness, walk away and try not to laugh at them. Yes, that is one reason to be there but it's not the main reason. Just because they saw your booth, doesn't mean they will remember you once they've gone through two more rows of booths. You need to collect their information. If it's a Business to Business trade show, collect business cards from everyone you meet. If it's Business to consumer, have a simple form to fill out so you can follow up with them after the show.
One of the best things you can do it have a Free Report or Consumer Awareness Guide that you can mail or email to them after the show. Offer to send it to them the next day if they give you their name, email address and physical address. Now you are building your list. You now have someone specific to market to!
Offer a free giveaway item. Everyone has seen the fishbowl drawings at trade show booths. They don't do this just to get you to stop by their booth. They do it because you now have given them your contact information so they can follow up and market to you in the future. You should be doing the same. It doesn't have to be something big like a free vacation if that's not in your budget. It can be for a gift basket of your products or even as simple as a gift card to your local coffee shop. People always like the opportunity to get something for free. They will go out of their way and fill out your registration form in order to get something for free!
3. Stay to the end
It always amazes me how many vendors at trade shows stay for an hour or so and then pack up because they're bored or tired. Guess what! You paid to be there. Stick it out to the end. I've personally made more connections in the last 30 minutes of trade shows I've attended than in the entire three or four hours I've been there. This is especially important if you are in a Business to Business trade show. You can make more connections with the other vendors than the walk through traffic so don't discard the value of visiting the other vendors there also. It might be the best connection you make. You will never know if you leave after the first hour.
4. Follow up after the show
So many people I see at trade shows collect business cards or names on a list and never do anything with them. They expect that just because someone saw them at the trade show that they will call the vendor to buy something. It's your responsibility to follow up and get the sale. Not their's. This is your chance to make a great impression on them and follow up as soon as you can to set up a meeting, send them more information about you or just to ask them if they are ready to buy. Offer them a free estimate.
You just need to follow up as soon as you can and keep them in your database for future promotions.
This is how you can build a list quickly and use trade shows to build your list of prospects quickly and get the most out of any trade show you are part of.
Small Business Marketing Ideas – Using Door Hangers To Market Your Local Businesses
If you own or operate a retail business, door hangers are a great way to get your name out and get customers in your local area in the door. Most of the time, people only think about door hanger for the local pizza delivery place down the street but why do you think they use this method of marketing? Because it works very well and is usually where most of their business comes from. Adding door hangers to your marketing mix can be very effective and drive people from your local community in your door just as well a it does for the local pizza joint.
There are many companies that specialize in delivering door hangers to local neighborhoods for a very affordable price. You could also hire students from a local high school to do this for you and help out a couple of local kids in the process.
This works best with anyone in the food industry but almost any business that has a retail location targeting consumers can benefit from this type of marketing. If you own a massage spa you can promote a grand opening or a neighborhood special event to get people in the door to see who you are and the services your business offers. This is a great way to bring awareness that you are in their area. People love to find services that are in their local area. This is convenient for them and also gives them a sense of community when they spend their money with the business down the street instead of driving across town.
More and more, people are aware of the community and want to spend their money locally to build their community instead of buying somewhere else. Many times, they will even be willing to spend more to help out a local business instead of the cheaper guy online or that is further away from them.
So, find local neighborhood communities in your area that are your target market. You may need to do a little research to make sure that these areas are your target market. Be sure you are catering to people that are your target market. If you offer physical therapy for the elderly but your office is surrounded by communities of young couples, then you need to look a little further. You'll be wasting your money to market to these neighborhoods.
Find out as much information as you can about these neighborhoods. Income levels, are they married, do they have kids, etc. These all will tell you if this neighborhood is a good fit for your marketing. It will also tell you more about how to craft your door hangeras well as what offer to put on the door hangers.
Your offer is going to be the most important part of the door hanger. This is how you track how effective this marketing piece is for you. You want to know exactly how effective it is so you can evaluate if it is the right market. If it's not as effective as you think it should be, what's wrong? Is it the neighborhood you are promoting to or is it your marketing message? Is it the offer? These are all things you need to test in order to make your advertising dollar as effective as possible.
Here's a couple of things to keep in mind for your door hanger design.
Make it easy to read. No hard to read or script fonts. Make it simple for them to know exactly who you are and what you are offering them.
Be sure to include every way that they can contact you if they are interested. Phone number, website address, and physical address are all important. Be sure to include a detailed map if you want them to come in to your store. This makes it much easier for them to find you and also helps them realize that you are right down the street from them.
Always include an offer. Let's say you own a coffee shop. Offer a free drink coupon on a specific day with the coupon on the door hanger People love something for free and most of the time, people will come in with someone else so they will end up spending more money anyway. Plus, if they like your products, they will likely come back again and next time they will also tell their friends about it too.
Be sure to include at least one coupon on every door hanger. Discounts and freebies always get people to take action. Be sure they know they need to bring in the coupon when they come so you can track it and see the response.
Also include an expiration date. Any discount or offer you have should always have an expiration date. This encourages customers to come in sooner rather than later. They don't want to miss out on their free drink or even two for one offer. Not having an expiration date will let them think they can hold off and then they may end up forgetting completely.
Make the coupon stand out. Make it look like a coupon. Design your coupon to have a dashed line around it like they should cut it out. Also try to include a photo of your product. This also will increase response as they will see what it is they are getting.
Door hangers are a great way to get in front of local customers for any local retail location. From coffee shop and pizza joints to day spas and gyms, door hangers are a great way to promote locally and get the community aware of your business.
There are many companies that specialize in delivering door hangers to local neighborhoods for a very affordable price. You could also hire students from a local high school to do this for you and help out a couple of local kids in the process.
This works best with anyone in the food industry but almost any business that has a retail location targeting consumers can benefit from this type of marketing. If you own a massage spa you can promote a grand opening or a neighborhood special event to get people in the door to see who you are and the services your business offers. This is a great way to bring awareness that you are in their area. People love to find services that are in their local area. This is convenient for them and also gives them a sense of community when they spend their money with the business down the street instead of driving across town.
More and more, people are aware of the community and want to spend their money locally to build their community instead of buying somewhere else. Many times, they will even be willing to spend more to help out a local business instead of the cheaper guy online or that is further away from them.
So, find local neighborhood communities in your area that are your target market. You may need to do a little research to make sure that these areas are your target market. Be sure you are catering to people that are your target market. If you offer physical therapy for the elderly but your office is surrounded by communities of young couples, then you need to look a little further. You'll be wasting your money to market to these neighborhoods.
Find out as much information as you can about these neighborhoods. Income levels, are they married, do they have kids, etc. These all will tell you if this neighborhood is a good fit for your marketing. It will also tell you more about how to craft your door hangeras well as what offer to put on the door hangers.
Your offer is going to be the most important part of the door hanger. This is how you track how effective this marketing piece is for you. You want to know exactly how effective it is so you can evaluate if it is the right market. If it's not as effective as you think it should be, what's wrong? Is it the neighborhood you are promoting to or is it your marketing message? Is it the offer? These are all things you need to test in order to make your advertising dollar as effective as possible.
Here's a couple of things to keep in mind for your door hanger design.
Make it easy to read. No hard to read or script fonts. Make it simple for them to know exactly who you are and what you are offering them.
Be sure to include every way that they can contact you if they are interested. Phone number, website address, and physical address are all important. Be sure to include a detailed map if you want them to come in to your store. This makes it much easier for them to find you and also helps them realize that you are right down the street from them.
Always include an offer. Let's say you own a coffee shop. Offer a free drink coupon on a specific day with the coupon on the door hanger People love something for free and most of the time, people will come in with someone else so they will end up spending more money anyway. Plus, if they like your products, they will likely come back again and next time they will also tell their friends about it too.
Be sure to include at least one coupon on every door hanger. Discounts and freebies always get people to take action. Be sure they know they need to bring in the coupon when they come so you can track it and see the response.
Also include an expiration date. Any discount or offer you have should always have an expiration date. This encourages customers to come in sooner rather than later. They don't want to miss out on their free drink or even two for one offer. Not having an expiration date will let them think they can hold off and then they may end up forgetting completely.
Make the coupon stand out. Make it look like a coupon. Design your coupon to have a dashed line around it like they should cut it out. Also try to include a photo of your product. This also will increase response as they will see what it is they are getting.
Door hangers are a great way to get in front of local customers for any local retail location. From coffee shop and pizza joints to day spas and gyms, door hangers are a great way to promote locally and get the community aware of your business.
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