|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
Marketing Information
More Articles from Marketing Information: |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Turn Your Marketing Into a Money-Making Machine - Preparing for Marketing That Yields Results The usual complaint from companies is that Marketing simply does not yield as expected. So much effort, time, and money goes into campaigns, and yet the frustrations persist: Why aren't sales up? Why are we not growing? And the truth, sadly enough, is that no one can really pinpoint what is working well, and what simply is not producing anything (and costing the company!). Marketing Worksheet Even the world's best marketing strategy won't work for you if it's not well-planned, and the best way to do that is to develop a customized work sheet for each client. Nice Guys Finish First Volunteering your services can be an excellent way to form new business relationships and raise your business's profile while lending a hand to a good cause. However, unless you take care, it can also become all-consuming, with little return (besides creating good karma). Whats In a Business Card? Over the years as I have attended trade shows, networking meetings, chamber events and more; I have noticed a few things about the successful and the not so successful. First of all, do you have a business card?If you belong to a large corporation, you were probably issued business cards as a matter of course, almost as if it was a company perk. If you are in a small or home-based business, chances are you, personally, made the effort to get business cards, which entailed design, print and distribution. So if you went to all of the trouble of acquiring them, you should use them to your advantage. Here are a few tried and true rules for marketing with your card.1. Never leave home without the cards. I have stopped for coffee already and had someone ask me for a card because they saw my car sign as I pulled into the local coffee shop lot. If you want people to discredit you as a businessperson, all you have to do is say "Oh sorry I forgot my cards today." I have even been to trade shows and fellow exhibitors were walking around without cards. You have not only lost an immediate opportunity to market your business, but you look like an amateur who doesn't deserve the business.2. Is the information correct? The reality is that sometimes we change our contact information. If you know that there will be changes in the near future, then limit the number of cards you have printed. Do not, scribble out and hand write information on your card. Back to "Can anyone say amateur?" I said that to someone once and his reply was, "yes but business cards are expensive." That says two things to me: 1) he didn't shop around for a good price and 2) AMATEUR! The idea is to attract business not scare it away.3. Does the card say what you want it to say? What message are you trying to get across? When designing a business card, think about the placement of information on the card. Is the key information in a prominent place on the card? Does the design work with the rest of your company image? Your business card should be an extension of your company just like your logo, stationery, checks, signage, website and more. They should all get across the same message and design.4. Can prospective clients contact you easily with the information provided on your card? This is a big one!Is your website up to date?Do you check your email at least once a day? (and respond!)Is your email address professional (not mycompany@genericfreeemail.com)Is your voice mail message clear, concise and professional?In this day of technology everyone assumes you must have email and a website for your business to be successful. This is not necessarily true. If you do not conduct business via email or internet then do not put that information on your card. No matter what you use, the key is to be accessible.5. Are you marketing with your business card? Keeping them in your pocket is a waste of time and money. Be clear about who your target client is. When you see an opportunity slip in your business card. Do not be rude and pushy, but confident that the person could benefit from your services.If you are not sure that your business card is getting you where you want, market test it. Give it to some friends and colleagues and ask them for their opinions. If your friends are not going to be honest with you, then try "strangers." At the next event you attend ask some people what they think of your design. Stretch Your Marketing Reach One of the most cost effective marketing strategies you can utilize is an online newsletter, also referred to as an E-Zine. The Use of Bar Code SMS in Mobile Marketing, Advertising, CRM Anybody that frequents shopping malls are familiar with the bar coding systems used by retailers to ease the line at the pay points. No more long lines at the till as the operator just pulls the product past the scanner and voila ? the buyer pays and are on their way. Why You Dont NEED a Marketing Plan If you pick up a copy of the November 2003 issue of Entrepreneur magazine, you'll see my Web site listed on page 10, along with a good amount of promotional copy. Develop Your Curiosity And Increase Profits If anyone was to ask me what my greatest strength was I'd say curiosity. The reason I would say that is because curious people learn a lot. On the internet there is stacks to learn. Curiosity will help you learn what you need to know. How to Use Direct Response Post Card Decks as a Valuable Market Research Tool Market research specialists have discovered a new tool which enables them to quickly identify target market cells, measure buyer acceptance, test new product or service concepts quickly and inexpensively and survey market characteristics...the Direct Response Card Deck. How To Perfect Your Marketing Message! When it comes to your marketing message, the little things count. Trouble is, you'll never come to respect how much, until you make a commitment to science. Direct Marketing ? Brand Identity Guru Tips If your company doesn't have a direct marketing program in place, a direct marketing agency can create one for you. A direct marketing company provides small to very large customizable ranges of business-to-business and business-to-consumer direct marketing options sure to fit your needs. From database creation and maintenance to data analysis and creative program execution, a direct marketing company can take any existing direct marketing program, or a lack of one, and develop a highly efficient direct sales machine for your company. 7 Great Ways to Market Yourself and Your Business to Help Increase Sales Do you own a business and need ideas on how to market your products or services to your customers? Well, the one thing that every business owner needs to know is that in order to survive, you need customers willing to spend their hard earned money for your products or services. The only way to drive customers to your business is to market yourself and your business in a way that customers believe in you and willing to spend money. There are defiantly many ideas about marketing, but I have listed 7 great ways to help you get started. These are all intended to help drive up sales and therefore help make your business successful. Direct Mail Do you have a website? A Web Newsletter? A mailing list of e-mail addresses for customers? Do you track and test everything? You can use the web to get sales in lots of exciting ways which are dependant on technology that's available at the time. Whether you budget is £600 or £6000, I can show you how it's done effectively time after time after time! So here's what I do when I start working with clients and I would like to offer it to you as a gift now. Have a look at this list of ten great ways of marketing. I guarantee, that nearly all web site owners will not have every one of these simple methods in place right now. Please pick at least two that you're either not doing, or not doing that well - and MAKE A DECISION to add them to your marketing mix in the weeks ahead: Direct Mail Internet Marketing Email Marketing Advertising Telephone Marketing Direct Sales Strategic Alliances Referral Systems PR Additional Products/Services We will tackle these in order Direct Mail Direct mail is often overused and badly done. It's got a bad reputation over the years, mainly due to spammers, used instead of the telephone or by con artists seeking their next victim. There are a lot of myths and nonsense about mailings. You may want to print this out, because in my continuing efforts to help you reach success ? I am about to share the secrets of direct mail - I'd be surprised if the contents of this mail does not save you thousands of pounds over the next 12 months. By the way, if you are totally new to Direct Mail - "It's anything sent by post, sales letters, electronic mail or brochures etc" I want to dispel some things about DM to you. "Direct Mail doesn't work" . This ingenious conclusion is arrived at by the fact that most people throw most of the mail we get directly in the bin - therefore the thinking is that it's a waste of money. The truth is that 90 out of 100 people might throw your mailing in the bin, but if 5 people look at it, 5 more read it and one of those 5 buys from you - you may well have a highly profitable mailing. Last week I sent 400 emails to potential clients, and got 37 replies. That's to say that 37 people actually read my mail, and I got exactly 9 new clients as a result. Now what would happen if I doubled my mailings next week? I could expect from 800 mails, about 80 replies and maybe 20 sales! And that's easily doable by the way, because I've done it. But saying that, your mailing may not work ? it depends on what you say, price involved and some products may just not be suited to an email campaign. It's very much a numbers game, but one thing is certain, email is free! You have to enter this knowing that most of your mailings will go unread, but at least it's cheaper than other advertising methods. Large companies like Capital One, know their mailings DO work ? they've spent a fortune fine tuning and testing these campaigns. But just to warn you ? direct mail can fail, and they are the ones, usually, small to medium businesses send out, because they don't understand what they are really doing. If it's done right, it will make your profits increase dramatically, and when it's done badly ? it can eat into a budget, so be very careful! There are 2 types of mailings: Potential Customers Existing Customers If you don't do much mailing ? start doing some now. It's easy to not email out of fear of upsetting clients, scared of bombarding them with too many mails, thus losing a sale. That's crazy and it's to nobodys advantage. Actually, most sales emails are helpful and quite genuine. I was once told "You've got to be mad to not listen to a salesman ? they might have something you need!" So next time you receive a mail or telesales call, consider that it could well be in your favour. And there really is nothing wrong with sending out 2 mails each week.. So don't worry. I have noticed that many clients are sitting with 1000's of email addresses ? yet they aren't contacting these clients. That's like throwing money down the drain. They could say NO, then again they could say YES to your product. Imagine if a further 10 bought your services next week ? how do you feel about not emailing those customers now? Try it today?.. Think of something you can offer these customers, you must have something you can offer! Even something for free. Send them a letter and measure the response. If it works, mail them and measure the results. If it keeps on working, keep on doing it! The best email is a personal communication with a customer you know. It may read as follows: Dear----------- I wanted to follow up after your purchase of (your product) on (date) to see how it's working out for you and to thank you for your continuing business. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know by return email, or feel free to call my private phone number. Many Thanks Regards Mr X Your customer is going to open, read and appreciate an email like this. They may even respond to it, and even if they don't, it doesn't look like spam or bug anyone. And they probably will appreciate that. ------------------------------...Give it a go ? you'll be surprised. Regards Christopher Given www.busigen.com The Truth About The Fallacy Of 7 Ted Nicholas is a marketer with a proven track record. He has started, operated and sold 21 profitable businesses, and is responsible for the direct or indirect publishing of hundreds of books and publications. Ted Nicholas is a well- known and respected leader in the information marketing business. 10 Steps to a Great Newsletter A newsletter can be a wonderful, economical way to communicate with prospects, customers, employees or distributors. Just follow these ten easy steps for newsletter success. Five Most Common Mistaken Beliefs About Joint Venture Marketing Apart from being the fastest, easiest, and most profitable strategy for attracting clients and boosting profits in any small business, there are so many other advantages of joint venture marketing for all parties involved. So, why aren't all small business owners implementing joint ventures? Send Postcards To Save Money and Cut Through E-mail Clutter Use your computer to send personalized color postcards in quantities of 1 to 1,000. Have You Sold Your Internal Customers? You can make the sale. You know your core message. You know your target market inside out, right? Down To The Wire When you want to win and woo new clients with national publicity -- and don't have an enormous budget to distribute your message -- turn to the news wires. But first, be sure you're telling a story that's worth printing. Have You Tried Cause Marketing? To help promote your small business or professional practice, consider tearing a page out of the corporate marketing playbook. For years big companies have partnered with nonprofits to co-promote their brands. And it has worked well because they keep doing it.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
