3 Tips to Marketing Yourself At Other Special Events

How often do you actually attend special events in your local community? As a small business owner, you never know where your next client will come from. Be part of your community. By attending events in your local community, you are giving your company and yourself extra exposure you would not have otherwise.

If your company focuses on consumers, local expos and community fairs might be a great way to get involved.

Be sure to bring plenty of business cards.

Your business cards are the most cost effective way for you to market your business. It always amazes me how many business people I run in to at all types of events that don't carry their business cards with them. I've even met people in line at a coffee shop and made a connection with them. There is no excuse for not carrying a few cards with you at all times.

Be sure your business cards not only contain your contact information so it's easy for someone to contact you later, but be sure to include what you do on them. Too many times I've met someone while I'm out at an event and got their business card but once I got back to the office I couldn't remember what they really did. Make it simple for them to remember who you are AND what you do.

Don't just go to hang out and eat.

It doesn't do any good to go to any event if you don't stop by and make conversation with the other businesses that are at the event. Make new connections. These are business relationships that you should have so you can keep involved with the area and other businesses around you.

Your relationships aren't about the sale. They are about the relationships you can build with other people and how you can come together to help each other. If you keep this in mind, the sales will come by default and be much better and more qualified in the long run.

If an event had expo booths at it, be sure to talk to each of the exhibitors. Get to know what they do more. What can you do to help them out? Maybe you'll find someone that has the same type of customer that you do and you'll be able to work out a cross promotion with that business. You'll never know where your next great lead source may come from.

Follow up with the people you meet.

Just because you talked to someone at an event and gave them your card doesn't mean that they will call you. They are busy too. You need to be proactive and take action yourself. Pick up the phone and give them a call. Email them a quick note telling them it was great meeting them and invite them to meet for coffee or lunch some time. Build the relationship quickly. You'll impress them by your quick action and you'll speed up the relationship building quite a bit.

There is gold in your own community. Too often we think about the bigger picture and how we can get in front of thousands of people when we are missing the smaller more targeted crowds in our local community. You will never know where you might find your next big clients. Just get out there and be part of your community.

Steps To Building Your Business Awareness As An Expert

Most industries have specific people that are considered the experts in their industry. Do you have any competitors that you keep seeing everywhere? They are published in newspapers, are guests on TV spots, etc?

It's not because they actually know more than you. It's because they know how to get media exposure. It's not actually that hard and you can skyrocket your small business by marketing this way and it isn't actually going to cost you a dime!

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.

1. Increase your customer list.


2. Increase the dollar amount your customer spends each time with you


3. 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.

Small Business Marketing Ideas – Preselling From Your Office Lobby

Do you have a brick and mortar office location or retail location that you customers come in to? Then you could be pre-selling your customers on your products and services before they actually even meet with you.

Your first impressions are critical in any business. Just like your first image of how you dress, your office should have the same image when a client comes in your door. A clean and professional look and feel will really make a difference in your customer's eyes.

Small Business Marketing Ideas To Expand Your Client Base Quickly

Businesses close up shop every day. There are a dozen reasons that your competition might be closing their doors. Economic changes, bad business operations, bad location or just a lack of a marketing plan (not you though, right?!)

As hard as it is for these businesses and their owners, most of them will still want to make sure that their customers are taken care of after they close their doors. This makes a great opportunity for you to not only get a new list of potential clients but make sure that those people are taken care of once the old business is long gone.

Marketing Ideas – Volunteering Does Good And Helps Build Your Small Business

One very overlooked way that a small business owner can help to market their business is to volunteer in a community organization. As a volunteer with a local organization, you not only are helping out the community and making a difference for others in your community, but you also get to network with other business owners and prospects, building your relationships with them.

Community organizations are always looking for people to volunteer to help their organization. Many do look for donations for their fund raising events and such but many times, most of them really need people that would be willing to donate a few hours of their time to help with their events and causes.

Donating a little bit of your time can really help their cause and help you contribute to your community. At the same time, you will have the opportunity to be part of your community and help develop better relationships with the other volunteers. Many of these volunteers are also business owners and managers just like you. Networking with other people that are all working for a similar cause can really help you as a business owner build trust with your community and the side effect of this is more people that would be happy to refer your business to anyone that might need the services or products you supply.

Great businesses are built from great people and the relationships you and your employees have with your community can position your business as more than just a company providing a service but a company with high ethics and a real purpose in your area.

Remember that everything you do has a cause and effect in the image and promotion of your business.

Let's look at a few great ways you can contribute to your community.

1. Be active in Your Chamber Of Commerce - Chambers Of Commerce are a great way to help contribute. They are filled with businesses. Most are small businesses just like yours. The great thing about Chambers is that they not only work with business owners for promoting their businesses, but most of them are part of several charities that they help contribute to. Talk to them about the organizations they work with and volunteer to help out with their next fund raising event.

Many times, there are sponsorship opportunities available for donating a set dollar amount to the event. This is great to do if it's in your budget but remember it's not about just giving them money to place your logo on a flyer or a banner at the event. It's about really giving. Ask them how you can participate in the event itself.

Can you help stuff bags that are being handed out at the event?

How about helping check people in at the next Charity golf outing?

This is more about building relationships and really helping out, not just getting your name out there.

2. Join a local service organization - Local service organizations are a great way you can get involved. Kiwanis International, Lions Club, and Rotary Club are just a few places to start. These groups meet on a regular basis and their entire purpose is to work on ideas and events to help raise money for local community charities. This is like a networking group with the purpose to help your community. Be active, look at one group that you see would be a great fit for your beliefs and ideals and you will make a great contribution to their cause.

Again, this is hands on stuff, your involvement with these groups is about being involved and helping the community, not about promoting your business. The relationships you build will give you the side effect of more business and more sales.

3. What cause is close to your heart? - Most people have at least one thing that is near and dear to them and there are always charities based around those causes. Maybe it's a Cancer Research Group, or an Animal No Kill Shelter. What is important to you? See what groups are available in your area that you can volunteer with and help them out.

Again, many of these organizations have other business owners just like you that are there to help because of their own personal interest in that cause. You have something in common with those people right away and that's the start of a relationship.

The biggest thing to remember is that you should not be joining any type of charity organization or community organization for the soul reason of getting more business. The business your get is a byproduct of your involvement and giving to your community for the greater good. Trust me on this one. If you give from your heart and really contribute to your community and society in general, the return you get from it will be tenfold.

Are You REALLY Promoting Word of Mouth In Your Marketing?

When most small businesses are asked where the majority of their business comes from, the answer is Word of Mouth. Anyone that is a small business owner knows that Word of Mouth marketing can be the lifeblood of any business you have, but most business owners don't really think about HOW to promote Word Of Mouth as a conscious marketing tool for their business.

• Yes, you provide a great service.


• Yes, you provide great products.


• Yes, you have exceptional Customer Service.

But, what do you do to actually create Buzz around your business?

Word of mouth isn't just about doing a great job and expecting you customers to tell someone else about the job you did.

Word of mouth can become much more than that. It should become Viral. Let's take your basic Word of Mouth marketing and boost it in to a full on conscious Viral Marketing piece of your entire Marketing Mix.

What makes you stand out?
Providing exceptional services and products should be a given. Enough said there!

What you need to do is find the thing that makes you stand out from everyone else in your industry and create buzz about your business.

What can you do that will become viral?
Can you give away something that everyone that gets one will want to tell all of their friends about?

We have a business course that we give way for free to create buzz about our business. We're helping small business owners with their marketing and at the same time it helps promote our business. We encourage anyone that registers for the course to forward the email to their friends to download too. Since we are business to business, this really helps as many small business have good networks of other small business owners that they know. Most of the time, they all want to help each other out when they can, and this is a way for them to help out their friends.

This has become viral in just a matter of weeks because people have been excited about the free course that they get and they keep telling others about it because of the great information they get out of it.

Can you give something like this away for your business?

Have you ever seen a retail store that has an anniversary sale with big ticket items like TVs or DVD players for $10 for the first XX number of people? This is the same type of viral marketing. People will tell their friends about these types of sales. They even make it an event and groups of people will come together to make sure they all get to take advantage of the sale.

You might be thinking that you can't afford to do something like this but you need to think about the long term value of a customer. Once they come in and buy something from you the first time, how much will they spend with you in the future? Even on the day of the sale, will they come in and JUST buy the sale item. Most likely not. Many times, they spend so much more on additional products that they more than pay the cost of the sale item before they even leave.

But now you've added a new customer to your list that you can build a long term relationship with resulting in future sales for maybe years down the road. It's 10 times easier to sell to an existing customer than to find a new customer. Take advantage of your new relationship and nurture it just getting a new customer to building a raving fan.

Word of Mouth or Viral Marketing should be more than a passing thought. If your business relies on Word of Mouth Marketing to keep you going strong like so many other businesses, you need to bring it to the forefront of your marketing mix and actually devise a plan around what you do to make it more effective. Spending a little time planning this in your marketing plan will boost your sales and marketing efforts allowing you to spend less of your hard earned cash on other more expensive advertising and marketing ideas.

Your existing customers are your best asset and with a little work you can turn them from the occasional word of mouth fan to a full on raving fan and create your own mini sales force. Encourage them to talk about you. Stand out from the crowd and keep on top of their minds.

With the proper Word of Mouth marketing planning added to your marketing mix, you can see an exponential explosion in your customers and sales for your business.

How Can Marketing CD or DVD Salesletters Explode Your Sales?

People generally wouldn't even consider reading 90 minutes of sales copy but they will listen to it or better yet, watch it. If you send someone a 16 page sales letter, they may read it IF you've done an excellent job of writing it but most will just skim over the main points. A CD or DVD on the other hand, has a higher perceived value and is more likely to be watched.

With Video becoming so powerful both online and offline, you can take your sales presentation to a whole new level and make a lasting impression on your new prospective clients.

Which do you think would make a better impact, a printed sales pitch talking about your product or a video that shows a demonstration of the product? What it is, how it works, how to use it. And, what if you added testimonials to the video? Instead of a bunch of written testimonials from faceless people, your new prospect can see the reactions on their faces and the true excitement they have about your product or service.

So let's talk about a few key things that you can use in your CD or DVD Salesletter that will really make an impact on your prospects.

1. A Good Introduction -
Make your prospects connect with you and the leader of your company. If you are the owner of the company, you should do a short introduction video with an overview of who you are, why you started the company and what your vision is for you and your customers. Help them make a connection with you. This will help them feel like they know you and this will help them trust you even more.

Remember, people buy from people that they know, like and trust. Even if this isn't professionally done video, just be genuine and your prospects will feel more at ease with you and your company.

2. Demonstrate The Product -
Nothing can sell a product or service better than seeing it in action. Show the prospect how the product works. How does it save them time? How does it save them money? How does it make their family happier? Show the step by step process. A real demonstration of the product will really give them the nuts and bolts of your product or service. You can tell people about your product and what it can do but if you show them, you'll see the WOW in their eyes and really make a lasting impression.

If you can show a sample of another customer of yours using your product, that's even better. If your prospect sees another person “just like them” using your product easily and having a good time doing it, you've made your sale even easier. One of the biggest hold backs many people have with buying a product is the fear of not knowing how to use it correctly. Set their mind at ease and show your other customers or clients using the same product with a big smile on their faces.

3. Be Sure To Include Happy Customer Testimonials
- No one can sell your product better than a happy, excited existing customer. You should be using testimonials on all of your marketing no matter what it is. Video is no different and is even more powerful that anything else out there. Video not only says what your happy customers are thinking already but your prospects can see the excitement in their expressions. It puts a real face to a name and adds credibility to your testimonials. The more excited your customers are, the more believable they will be. No matter how good the testimonial is, you'll never get the same impact from a text only testimonial as you would from a video with your customer talking about how great your product really is.

The great thing about a CD or DVD salesletter is that you don't have to spend a fortune to create them. If it's in your budget, I would recommend hiring a professional but if you don't have a budget for it, you can create your own CD or DVD with software you might already have on your computer and a basic camera that shoots video or an inexpensive camcorder like a Flip Video.

Cameras and Video editing software have come down on price so much that you can could start creating your own DVD salesletter for under $200 for everything anymore.

Don't forget that you can also use the same videos you created for your CD or DVD on your website too. Adding Video to your website can make a huge impression on your prospects and do most of the selling for you. You could have them learn about your product, watch a demonstration video and watch a ton of testimonials... All before you even talk to them!

You don't have to have a big budget or a big fancy Video Production team to make use of video on your CD or DVD salesletter to really make an impact on your new prospects and impress them with your products and services. Your CD or DVD salesletter is sure to make a big impact on your prospects and make your job easier when it comes to selling your product to them. Your CD or DVD salesletter could easily be the most productive piece of your marketing mix.

Using Thank You Letters In Your Marketing Mix For Repeat Business

How many times have you actually received a Thank You letter from someone that you bought something from? I'm betting, not very many times. Your existing client list is over 10 times more likely to spend more money with you than someone that never has purchased form you before.

Whether you send a gift certificate, a 2 for 1 special, a free gift or even just a simple Thank You letter appreciating them for choosing you over the other businesses they could have picked, these types of letters are always memorable and encourages your customers to return to you before looking elsewhere. It also helps them feel good about you and they will be more likely to refer you to their friends and business associates.

Let's look at a few ideas that can make Thank You letters more effective for your marketing mix.

Immediately after the sale, send the customer a simple thank you letter.

This should be a personalized thank you letter or card telling them how much you appreciate their business. If this is a service business where there is a project in phases, you can even explain to them what they can expect over the duration of the project.

This not only educates them on the process and attention to detail your company has but also reassures them of their purchase. Some people can get buyer's remorse after making a purchase. Especially if this is a large investment. This simple follow up Thank You letter will put their mind at ease and make them feel much more comfortable about their decision of choosing you to work with.

Monthly Thank You follow ups
Remind your customers about the great service and experience they received with you.

A simple reminder Thank You can remind customers about the wonderful experience they received from you. Remember that people are busy and it's your responsibility to remind them of your products and services. You want to keep on the top of their minds and build the relationship with them. Let them know how you you value them as a customer.

Not only should you remind them of their value to you as a client but show them you mean it. You can include discount coupons or gift certificates to invite them to come back again. You could include a 2 for 1 discount and invite them to bring a friend with them. This will really encourage them to bring in referrals and show other people how great your products or services are.

Send them a discount on a new product you have to offer. Just because someone ordered one of your products, doesn't mean they know about the other products or services you offer. This is another way to not only thank them for doing business with you but to also educate them on your other products and encourage them to use your services for those products as well.

Don't loose touch with your existing customers.
They are the lifeblood of any business and using a simple thank you letter or card can really make a difference and keep you in the top of their minds, build the relationship and help them want to give you referrals. This lifetime value can dramatically increase the sales from any one client if done correct.

Are You Using Contests To Add Buzz To Your Marketing Mix?

Contests are a great way to add buzz to any marketing you do for your business. You can use contests to boost your marketing efforts for both getting new prospects or clients and also for adding new buzz and promoting to existing clients. Contests are a proven and very effective way to get leads and generate sales for any business.

Let's look at a few great examples of ideas to use contests in your marketing for both lead generation and also for client promotions and marketing buzz.

If you are looking to use contests as a lead generation tool in your marketing mix, here are 3 ideas to get you going.

The Trade Show Fishbowl
You've seen them before, the fishbowl or box with a sign to drop your business card in for a drawing.
This is a great way to collect leads for your business. You could offer a free dinner for two to a local restaurant, movie tickets, or even better, a product that you offer for free. Let's say, if you are a carpet cleaner, you could offer a free cleaning of the winner's living room.

The kicker here isn't just to collect the names but to give a Second Prize award to everyone that didn't win the first prize drawing. Make it a big deal. Send out an email or better yet, physical letter announcement congratulating the winner to EVERYONE on the list.

Then, you can include a Second Place prize to all the other names on the list that is a nice discount on your products or services. Make it something that looks like a prize though. Include a certificate that id designed nice to look like a real prize and not just a typical coupon of filler. Make the discount something significant. 24-50% off if you can do it. You could offer a free upgrade from your basic package to the deluxe option here also. This is a great way to make the person that receives the letter feel more special and excited about winning the prize.

Guess The Number
Have you seen the jellybean jars that some businesses use at trade shows or events? This is also a great contest you can run at an event or even in your retail store or shop. Find a number that fits in with your business and is a large number that you can have added up in jellybeans. This could be the number of dollars your company has saved your customers of the last year, the number if customers you have, number of people that have downloaded your life changing report, etc. Be creative with this and try to use something that will not only mean more to the customer but also impresses prospective customers by the shear number.

Then, get a jar to hold enough jelly beans for that number and fill up the jar with that number of jelly beans. Seal it up and have people at your event fill out a form guessing the number of jelly beans in the jar. Be sure to have them fill out a complete form containing their full contact information.

Once the event is over, find the person that guessed closest to the correct number and announce them as the winner with their guess and the correct number in the jar. Be sure to include a sales letter explaining the significance of the number of jelly beans and why that is important to them as customers or potential customers.

Again, include a Runner Up prize with the announcement to everyone else that entered with the same type of special offer that you would with the fishbowl. Many of the people that didn't win will still use they're Runner Up certificate as they still will like that they won something and if they were in need of your services already, they'll be excited about the offer.

Best Of the Best Contests
If you run a Business To Business company and your products or services save your clients time, money, etc, you can run a Best Of The Best Contest for your existing clients and not only promote the use of your product and other products they might not have yet, but also built a ton of case studies and testimonials on how great your product is. Send out an announcement to your customers that you are running a Best Of the Best contest and that you are looking for the customer that has had the biggest effect by using your products or services.

Set some guidelines for the contest. If could be an essay, a journal of how they use the product and including before and after results.

If you have enough entries, you can even narrow it down to the top 3-5 entries and then have your other clients vote on the finalize from there. You not only get great testimonials and case studies from the entries but also get other users of your product or service to think about additional ways to use your product and how they can get the same great results that they weren't getting before without your product.

Using contests in your marketing mix is a great way to promote your business to both existing customers and clients but also to help to promote your business and make it more fun for prospective customers also. This can help build a new list of prospects and even fire up your existing customers to help talk about the great results that have had from your products and services. Great testimonials, new clients from trade shows, and great customer case studies from raving fans are just a couple of things you can get from using contests as just piece of your marketing mix.

Small Business Marketing Ideas – Mini Seminars To Establish Yourself As The Authority In Your Area

A great way to not only promote your business but also to increase your position as an authority in your industry is to hold mini-seminars. Many small business owners over think this and think this is too complicated or expensive to do for their business. It really isn't and you can start small with it and grow it as you get the word out more.

It doesn't matter what industry you look at, people are always wanting more information and want to feel that they made an educated decision in their choice of company that they work with. By putting on a small mini-seminar, you can use this method to educate your prospects about the industry so they make a better choice and at the same time establish yourself as the expert.

You don't have to have a room of 100 people in your first mini-seminar. You can start with a room that will only hold ten people. It doesn't have to be huge right away. You can also use this as scarcity in your marketing and promotions for the event. If you can only take 10 people, then they need to register right away.

You can either rent a small conference room at a hotel or look to your local library or Chamber of Commerce to see if they have a room you can use. Depending on the situation, you might be able to get the room for free.

The timing of your mini-seminar can be as small as a two hour presentation. You don't have make it a full day event. Again, start smaller and expand as needed. Especially if you are doing the event at no cost to your attendees. You want to give them a great educational experience but remember that the goal is to also get them to see you as the expert and hire your company for their needs.

You will also need to decide on the price.
There are advantages to both free and paid seminars.

Free Seminars
1. More people will register for something that is free
2. You then get in front of a lot more people that way
3. You can some times get the room for free if you are not charging for the event
4. You can then establish yourself as the expect first and wow them with your knowledge which will make them more likely to trust to buy from you.
5. Can be shorter (2-3 hours)

Paid Seminars
1. Covers any cost of the room
2. You can make a profit on the event itself and make it another source of income
3. People will be more serious about the event since they are invested
4. It's ok to have a smaller group. Attendees will appreciate the more personal attention they will get

If your main goal is to get more prospects, you might even want to charge a small fee (under $25) in order to get still cover any expenses but also be able to get more people to attend. Most people won't think much of spending $25 for an event they are interested in.

Be sure to give a lot of great information in your presentation and really over deliver in what you are teaching about as you want attendees to really be excited about the even. Even if they don't buy your product right away, you left them with a positive experience and they will tell others.

And most importantly, be sure to follow up with the event. Make sure that you have complete information for every person that attended the event. This way you can follow up with them in the future and turn them from prospects into clients.

A Simple Call Can Explode Your Direct Mail Results And Help Your Small Business Marketing

Direct Mail is a great marketing tool for any small business marketing plan. It's the staple for many businesses world wide and has been for years. But, many small businesses don't have the budget for large mailings on a regular basis. One simple way to increase the return on investment on any direct mail campaign that you do, can be to simply pick up the phone and follow up.

Most small businesses just send out one letter, postcard or mailer to a list of prospects and never do anything else. And most don't get the results that they expect from that mailing. The key is follow up.

Here's a great step by step process that will increase the chances of any direct mail marketing piece to be much more successful and explode your sales.

First send your prospects a sales letter designed to look like it was personally mailed to them. Be sure to include their name in the letter with Mail Merge and personalize the letter a bit to sound more personal. You should set up a campaign of 3 letters to be sent out once every 3 weeks.

Be sure to reference the previous letters in the second and third letters.

Now, here's the kicker.

After the third letter, call the prospect. Yes! Actually pick up the phone and call them.

We all hate making cold calls in any sales position but this isn't really a cold call. You've already made a connection with them. When you call then, you're not trying to make a connection. You're actually following up to make sure that they received your letters. That's the purpose of your call. You'll start off by asking if they received your letters.

If they did, did they have any questions?
Who are they currently using for the services you provide?
Why do they use that company?
Would they be willing to sit down and talk with you about your product and how you can improve their business with your product?

Now you can get your foot in the door for a meeting and get in front of them.

Just because someone didn't call you from your direct mail piece, doesn't mean that they weren't interested. We all get busy and if they are a business owner you know they are even more busy. This might be the perfect opportunity to get to the top of their mind. They might have planned on calling you already and just had not had a chance to stop and do it.

I've personally used this several times and ended up with twice as many leads because of the phone calls than I did than by people actually contacting me after our own direct mail campaigns. That's a 50% increase from the mailers by themselves.

If they haven't received your direct mail pieces, here's your opportunity to update their contact information and still ask for the appointment. You could send them to your website and walk them through the benefits and advantages of your products or services and still end up with the sale.

So for small businesses direct mail is a great tool to add to your marketing mix but a simple 5 minute phone call following up to any mailing campaign you do can really explode your results and get that new client in the door that will pay for the entire campaign.

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.

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.

Using The Right Trade Shows In Your Marketing Mix

Using trade shows as part of your marketing mix can be a great way to get in front of a massive number of your ideal prospects in a short amount of time and for a small amount of money if done correctly. If you are planning on using trade show marketing as a piece of your marketing mix, there are a few things to keep in mind when planning your event in order make it as successful as possible.

First off, you need to find out who the audience of the trade show really is. Is it for consumers and the general public or is it actually geared to other businesses like yours?

I see a lot of businesses spending huge amounts of money on trade shows that only cater to other businesses in the same industry. Let's ask a simple question. Are the other businesses in your industry, maybe even your competition, your ideal customer? Though they may be good partners for cross promotion and that's great, they aren't your ideal customer.

If you are in a consumer market and the majority of your business comes from home owners then an Industry trade show that doesn't market to home owners as attendees of the trade show, isn't going to do much to bring you in business. I see a lot of trade shows that cater to others in the industry. If that's not your target market, then it's going to be a waste of time. You want to find trade shows that market to bringing in those home owners that ARE your target market.

Spend a little to make sure your booth looks professional and stands out from the crowd. The great thing about trade show booth presentations is that if you do it right, it can be a one time investment. You might spend a couple hundred dollars to get a great display board and banner to hang on the front of your table but keep in mind to design it so it won't need to change for years. Don't put pricing on your display boards. Be sure that everything you use is evergreen. I've designed presentation displays that I've used for 5 years and never needed to change.

Use bold colors and styles that make you stand out. Many trade show booths are all going to look the same. You can easily stand out from the crowd with the right use of colors and design on your display boards and banners.

Be sure to include plenty of take away materials. You need to have postcards and/or brochures or flyers that people can take with them when they visit your booth. Again, make them stand out. You want people to remember you after they leave. If they have an interest in your products or services, you want to make sure that your materials don't get lost in a back of stuff they picked up from 200 other booths at the event. Use the same bold colors and design that you used for your display board. This helps build your branding and makes everything match.

Trade show marketing can be a great marketing idea for your business as long as you plan ahead. Make sure that the show is geared to your target market and that you are prepared to stand out and make a great impression for the attendees of the trade show and the trade show can pay for itself many times over.

7 Tips To Using Flyers As One Of Your Small Business Marketing Ideas

It doesn't matter if you are a service business like a landscaper or a retail shop selling Pastries and coffee, flyers are one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to get your name out there and market your business. When done right, using flyers can be an easy way to get new customers in the door.

Here are 7 tips to making the most of using flyers as one of your small business marketing ideas.

1. Keep it simple and not cluttered
Many people try to get every product or service that they do on one 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper when they design their flyers. Most of the time, you just can not fit that much on the page and it makes everything look too generic and cluttered. Try to focus on just a couple of your main services and be more detailed about those services.

2. Use customer testimonials on your flyers
This adds credibility to your company and your services or products. You should include testimonials in each of your marketing ideas. Not just flyers. Anywhere you can, include customer testimonials and be sure to include their full name and a photo if at all possible.

3. Don't go crazy with the design
To many colors and fonts can confuse people and they won't be able to focus on what you actually are offering them. Keep it simple and use only 1-2 fonts.

4. Use Full Color if at all possible
Full color flyers stand out from the others. Look at a black and white copy and a color copy together and the color one will stand out and catch your eye much easier. They look much more professional.

If color isn't in your budget, then use a bold color paper with black copy. Bright yellow or pink tend to stand out more than any other color. The goal is to get your flyer to stand out.

5. Don't run cheap photo copies
You should always run copies off the original or use a service that is printing them from your files instead of running photo copies. Photo copies tend to look cheap and your flyer won't look crisp and professional. This will really make an impact for your first impression on potential clients.

6. Be sure to include a coupon or discount
People always love a discount. You'll get much better results just because of the coupon than anything else. Make sure it is a good discount that will impress them. If you do a good job with your first job for them, you'll more than make up for it on future jobs.

Include a photo of the product you are offering a discount on. If it's a service business like a plumber, you could show a photo of you fixing someones water heater. Showing the product or service will increase the number of people that will redeem your coupons.

7. Make it easy for them to find you
I can't count the number of times I've seen flyers that were perfectly designed and had a great compelling message but... I couldn't figure out where they were. They forgot the add their address. Or, they only included a phone number though they were a retail shop I just wanted to drop in.

Make it as easy as possible for them to contact you. Tell them what to do.

Come in today to 123 Somewhere Street on the corner of Somewhere Street and 1st Ave

Include a map if you can. Make it as easy as possible. If you want them to order online, include your website. Make it big and bold. Your call to action items should always be much bigger than the rest of the text on any flyer.

Keeping these 7 tips in mind when you create your next flyer, you'll be sure to get the most out of your time and effort on any flyer you distribute.

Marketing Strategy - Making Your Testimonials As Effective as Possible In Your Marketing Pieces

Testimonials are a a must in marketing or advertising you do. They are one of the best ways to put your prospects at ease to the credibility our company has and will boost the effectiveness of any marketing idea you use. You do need to keep a few things in mind to make your testimonials more believable and have a greater impact on your audience.

1.Use testimonials that are descriptive and and not just basic fluff

Which is more impressive to you?

“I just love the service that XYZ company gave me!”
or...
“My new widow coverings where just what I wanted. Company XYZ came out and asked just the right questions to make sure that they gave me exactly what I wanted. They even suggested a few things I had not thought of to make sure I made the right choice. They came back to install the new coverings and were fast, made sure that I was happy with how they looked and even had a checklist so I made sure that everything was done correctly the first time. They also made sure that everything was put back just like it was before they were there. The only reason you'd know they came to install everything is because of how much more beautiful my living room looks. Thank you so much for such a painless process!”

The second testimonial is much more descriptive and really shows the emotion that the customer had. You can almost see the smile on their face as you read it. This is what you want from your customers. This is what will really impress new prospects and gain their trust to do business with you.

2.Don't use generic names
I can't count the number of times I've seen a testimonial from “John D” in someone's advertising or on their website. Well... Who's “John D”? How do I know that this person actually exists? Don't try to hide your customers from new customers. If they are happy with your products and services, they won't mind if you use their real name. This isn't Witness Protection here. This is proof that you have excited, happy customers that are happy to rave about your wonderful service! Use their full name. Even show what city they are in. People aren't going to stalk them because of a testimonial they did for you. Using a real name makes your testimonial more believable People aren't going to trust a quote form someone that doesn't look real!

3.Use a photo if possible
The testimonial sample we did above is great. It's detailed, happy and shows the emotion and positive image the customer has towards the company. But... a picture is worth a thousand words. Right?! So take a picture of the customer with their new product and a great big smiling face. Not only do you have a great testimonial with a real name but now the prospect has a face to put with the name. Now... This is a REAL person. Just adding a photo of the customer next to the testimonial will increase the trust and believability ten fold!

See, by adding just a few little things in ind you can use your customer testimonials as a great tool in all your marketing and advertising plans. It doesn't take much but just by making a few small changes you can make a huge impact towards the effectiveness of any marketing you do.

Marketing Idea - Making The Most Of Yellow Page Advertising

Now I'm going to start by admitting that I'm not a big fan of Yellow Page advertising. I think its too pricey for many businesses just starting out and with the popularity of online directories, it's not the most effective use of the marketing budget for many businesses. But.. I do know many people do still use the yellow pages and if you plan on marketing your small business via yellow pages, then you want to ensure that your advertisement is as effective as possible.

Most yellow page ads that I see look the same and say the same thing. So how does the user pick the best choice? Usually it's because of the bigger ad or the first one on the list.

With just a few changes to your yellow page ad, you can easily out pull all the other ads on the page. Why, because you're ad won't look just like all the others listed on the page.

1.Your company name isn't a headline!
You need to use an eye catching headline, not your company name or logo at the top of the ad. Everyone else is using their logo or company name as the first thing in their ads. No one cares what the company name is. They want you to solve their problem. Start by asking a question in your headline.

“Did you know that termites can cost valley home owners $1000s every year?”

If I'm looking for a pest control company to get rid of termites, you've got my attention right away.

2.What makes you different? What extra's to your customers get that most companies don't offer? What's your guarantee? State it clearly and bold. Stand out form the rest of the ads on the page.

3.Offer a free report or consumer awareness guide. Educate them on what to look out for in scams in your industry and why they should use you instead of some Fly-By-Night that is using inferior product that will ultimately cost the customer more money in the long run. Be creative, and specific.

4.Include a CLEAR Call To Action
Send them to your website to claim their free report. Make your phone number big and bold. How ever you want them to contact you, make it clear and TELL them what to do. “Pick up the phone right and call right now for your free estimate” or “Visit our website to claim your free consumer awareness guide”. Be specific.

Just making these small changes to your yellow page ads, you can turn your “less than effective advertising expense” in to a lead source that pays for itself month after month and leaves your competition confused as to why their larger ad isn't getting all the calls they used to.

I would like to invite you to claim your FREE Quickstart Guide “Step By Step: Writing Ads That Actually Work!” when you subcribe to learn more about the book Maximum Profits Marketing. Stop struggling to figure out what works and what doesn’t in marketing with this recipe book of marketing ideas. You can claim your free Quickstart Guide at http://www.MaximumProfitsBook.com

Small Business Marketing – Nothing Beats Direct Mail For Results

Direct mail is one of the staples that should be in any small businesses marketing mix. IT is one of the most effective and easiest ways to promote your products or services to your local area quickly and actually see results in a short amount if time.

Most small businesses think of sending a huge mailing when sending direct mail to new prospects and get overwhelmed with the thought and costs involved. Though this is the way that the big boys do it, it isn't the way that a small business needs to market. As a small business owner, you can start with a small list and mail to 10 – 100 prospects a week instead of having to mail to 10,000 all at once. Keep it small if your budget is limited.

There are two main important things to keep in mind with any marketing mailing that will increase the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.

First, mail to a targeted list.

You need to make sure that your list is mailed to people that would be interested in your service. It doesn't do any good to mail to a thousand people when only ten percent of the people would ever be interested in your product. Try to get your lists as targeted as possible.

Next, be consistent.

One mailer isn't likely to get their attention right away. Remember that it takes six to ten times before a prospect actually pays attention to your message and knows who you are.

The first mailing will get the potential customers that need your product right now. But, not everyone will need your product the day that they see your mailer. That's why repetition is important. I've sent postcard campaigns and seen 2-3 times the response on the second or third mailing than the first. Why? Because the first time they didn't need what we offered. The second time, they had been thinking about it and remembered the first mailer we sent them. By the third time, we are now in their mind and they are ready to move forward.

I've also done four letter campaigns to very small lists get 1-2 calls from the first mailing but on the fourth mailer we'd get eight or nine calls. All from the same small list of about 25 people. As long as your list if very targeted, you can easily get higher results form more mailings. Even if your list is small.

So, remember, don't think that you have to have a large list in order to have a successful direct mail campaign in your marketing mix. You can start small and increase the size as your budget allows.

Marketing Tips - Are You Using The “You” Test In Your Marketing?

Any time you are working on an advertisement or marketing idea, there is one simple thing you can do to increase the effectiveness of any marketing you do. Brochures, classified ads, flyers, email marketing, and even your website, it doesn't matter. This test will increase response to any advertisement you are doing.

Most businesses promote what their product does and how great it is. If they are a service, sometimes it's even worse and all they talk about it themselves. Let's be honest here... Your clients don't care about you. They only care about what your product or service can do for them.

I'm sure you've heard this before, but let's ask the question that your prospect is going to ask when they see your ad or go to your website.

“What's in it for me?”

This IS the ultimate question in the mind of your prospect and you need to keep this in mind when you are writing any marketing material. They don't care that it's a family owned business over three generations. They don't care about the awards you've won. They want to know how this benefits them. It goes back to benefits versus features.

So, what is the “You” Test?

As you are writing the copy text for your next marketing piece, glance through it and count up the number of times you see the words “we”, “I”, “us” or “our”. Add them up and see what you get.

Next, glance through the ad one more time. This time, count up the number of times you see the words “you” or “your” and ad those up.

Let's compare the two numbers. If you have more of the “us” words than “you” words, it's time for a re-write. You aren't talking to the reader. You are bragging about yourself.

You need to be talking to the reader. Talk to them like you were right there in front of them and explain the benefits of why your product is the best choice for them.

What do they get out of it that your competition doesn't give them?
Why is this important?
Will it save them money?
Will it save them time?
Will it take risk away?
Will it make them healthier so they can spend more time with their family?

Do you get the point?

Taking a few minutes to run through each marketing piece that you have with this simple test and making changes so you are talking to the reader will almost always increase response to any advertising or marketing materials you have.