Small Business Marketing Ideas - 4 Steps To Position Your Company As The Experts

The hardest thing for small business owners is the want to be everything to everyone. There is a saying that says “You Can't Please All Of The People All Of The Time”. They are right. If you spread yourself out too much and try to market to everyone, you'll never become the expert. You'll be too much of a generalist. You don't want to be a Jack-of-all-trades. You should be focusing your business as a specialist and you'll be able to focus your marketing, find your target market easier and grow your business much faster.

Here's a few tips to help you narrow down your niche and become THE go to company for your specific niche.

3 Tips to Specialize, Become The Expert In Your Industry & Target Your Marketing More Effectively

The biggest problem I see in most businesses today is that they try to be everything to everyone. This just isn't effective in the long term. You know the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Business is the same way. Too many businesses keep adding more and more products or services to their business that are related but not based around their core business and the next thing you know they are a generalist. To really succeed in your business and effectively use your marketing to target the right prospects, you need to specialize.

Specializing allows you to not only target your marketing better but it also allows you to charge more for your services. A general family doctor doesn't charge as much as a brain surgeon. This model works in pretty much any business and if you can specialize your business marketing and image, you can target your perfect client much easier.

Small Business Marketing Ideas – Using Inserts To Sell Your Existing Customers Again

One of the most overlooked small business marketing ideas is the use of package inserts to upsell and continue selling your existing customers. They have already bought from you before and as long as you are providing a great service already, they are likely to buy from you again.

I see it a lot with the big catalog type of companies but most small businesses don't think to use this in their own marketing. Think about the last time you bought something from Amazon or a catalog company. Usually when you get your package in the mail you also get a few inserts or flyers talking about other products that you might be interested in. This is an upsell. They might even promote it at a special discounted price on the insert.

Any business can do this. Are you a service business that provides the clients with their invoice after they job it done? You could give the client an additional insert on a discount on their next job or a special price on another service you offer.

Do you mail customers invoices? You could also do an insert here. If you've looked at your cell phone invoice at all lately they usually stick a couple inserts in with the bill promoting their new phones and service plans.

Let's say you're a printer. You could insert a flyer in your invoices that reminds customers to check their business card stack and order new cards before they run out. Or you could promote a new product you just added to your line.

When designing your inserts, you also want to be creative. Here's a few things to think about before you start.

1. Focus on only one product.
Don't try to fit everything you do on one insert. Keep it simple and focuses on just one service or product.

2. Make it stand out.
Use bright colors and large bold fonts. You want this to catch their attention as soon as they open the package. It doesn't do any good if they don't even look at it.

3. Make sure it's on the top of your package.
Don't let your insert get buried in the bottom of the package. You want them to see the insert BEFORE they see the product they ordered. You want them to open and read it first.

4. What product or service compliments what they ordered?
Depending on the volume and type of business you do, it's best to find complimentary products that might go with the products they ordered. If someone ordered a table, they usually want matching chairs, right? Depending on your product line, they might not even have noticed that this second product would go great with what they ordered. You want to offer it to them as soon as possible so they can complete the collection.

Remember that your existing clients at always ten times more likely to buy from you again than a new client. Don't pass up the opportunity to sell them more of your services and products at every opportunity. If you provide great service, most will be likely to buy additional products from you. Especially right after the first sale. Too many small businesses focus on the new clients and not enough on selling more to existing clients. This is a simple and cost effective way to increase sales with very little work on your part and is a great addition to your small business marketing plan.

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.