Archive for December, 2011
When spending your hard earned money on marketing it is really all about how much return you get from each dollar spent, but what drives the return is what many people commonly overlook.
One very frequent mistake is overselling the product or service by adding too much information thus drowning out the important message of what’s in it for the customer. People tend to want to tell every benefit and feature their product has and talk on an on about how long they’ve been in business, their accreditations, client testimonials, price and everything in between. While those subject have their importance they should not all be crammed into a single ad.
The most important thing that should occur the moment someone looks at your ad is that the consumer should instantly know what your product is and exactly how it would benefit them. On the onset no one cares about how long a company has been in business or what ever their bragging rights might be. They only thing they care about what it is that your product can do for them. For example a company that sold burglar alarms would not be well served if their primary focus was on the price because anyone interested in an alarm system has a primary focus of safety. That said the message may be that 9 in 10 homes that are burglarized did not have a home security system.
Though price should not be a focal point, a good marketing message will generally include a special price that is only valid for a short period of time. With today’s busy society a shopper might find an interest in a marketed product and have full intentions of responding but will put the offer away until they feel they have time to act. A deadline motives serious buyers to pick up the phone or respond immediately to the message so they don’t risk losing out on a deal that is soon expiring. The special price makes a prospect believe they are getting a deal that may not be available if they postpone their decision to buy now.
Most businesses now have websites that they draw people to but don’t forget that a website is an advertisement as well and it should also be able to work as a stand alone marketing product as well. In other words when people search for your items online you need to make sure it comes up in the search engines and not rely solely on paid print to drive people to it. Make it a point to research and learn free SEO tips as you can find most of what you need online and at no cost to you.
If you are in an industry that accepts after hours calls consider the reality that people responding to your ad may want to talk with a live person and might just call some other business instead of leaving you a message. Most people are surprised to learn that an outsourced call center answering service or even a flat rate answering service can increase their closing rate of responders by as much as 500%.
Business Marketing Strategy – Social Media, Content, Website (SEO), Search Engines (SEM), E-mail, Video, Mobile, Community
There are several ways small businesses can get an edge these days. Marketing strategy is key to getting things done in a productive manner. You want to make sure that what you invest in marketing shows a return in new prospects and the ability to turn those prospects into clients and customers.
Social Media – First, let’s talk about social media. At this point there is no way to deny that social media is now the fastest growing connection to clients and customers. More and more businesses are realizing that we are living in an age where you have to be connected to your clients/customers via social media. More than 50% of the population will have a profile on a social network. More and more of our customers and clients are coming to us through digital means. Using social media is a great way to promote your business by engaging with customers and prospective customers to deliver information on your business, provide assistance with problems and questions concerning your products or services, and of course a quick and easy way to make your current sales and promotions known to everyone at once. This gives you a direct line to your clients and customers. Be clear, it is all about engaging your prospects and customers these days as opposed to “selling”. Posting on a regular basis to social media sites and updating your blog holds great value to business and even greater value to small business. It also gives a cool new way for the best marketing tool there is to bolster your business (Word of Mouth Marketing). Customers can easily share your information with friends and followers giving you a direct line to new prospects.
Content – What is it that you are trying to engage them with…? Content. Content marketing is what everyone is looking to do. Content marketing is the creating and distributing of relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage your target audience. Consumers are becoming more and more intelligent. They want to be educated on the products and services they receive. If you are a vitamin store, buyers want to be educated on the products you sell and how and why they should use them. If you are a real estate agent, buyers want to know about the neighborhood, the current mortgage rate, and if it is a buyers’ market — while sellers want to know how to calculate the worth of their home and what other homes in the area are going for. If you are a day care, parents want to know the best way to potty train their child, what foods help promote growth and nutrition in young children, and why Johnny keeps sticking things up his nose. My point is, this is information that your business should have and consumers want to know and want to know that you know. It goes to credibility. If you are a reputable and credible business then you should be engaging your customers and prospects with content that is meaningful, educational, and interesting.
Website (SEO) – Search engine optimization is necessary for every website. This allows search engines to “organically” rank your website and helps tremendously in getting your site closer to that top spot. This means that any paid search (SEM) will not make a difference when it comes to SEO. Making sure that your site’s keywords are actively present throughout your site is very important for organic search. It is important that you are using the proper “tags” and your rules must be simple to understand so that the search engines and users can find you quickly and easily. Be wary of SEO companies that offer big results with underhanded practices that manipulate search results. This could cause your site to be removed completely from search engines like Google.
Search Engines (SEM) – Search engine marketing is becoming more and more effective for small business. With over a billion searches every day you can target locally so that more of your target audience will see your ads. The risk is small as you set your budget and only pay when someone clicks on your ad and is directed to your business. Creating an effective campaign strategy to promote the success of your PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign can mean you going from page 23 on a Google search to page 1. SEM runs from a well-developed keyword list for your products or services that is optimized with your with your website landing pages. This will result in a higher quality score and enables you to have a great Click-Through-Rate (CTR). Monitoring the performance of your ads can achieve the optimal ROI (Return on Investment).
E-mail – Reinforce your customer relationships with e-mail marketing. E-mail marketing,social media marketing,event marketing,and online survey tools help small organizations grow their businesses by building stronger customer relationships. Many small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and member associations worldwide rely on e-mail marketing to send personalized, professional communications that engage casual customers, members, prospects, and passionate customers wherever they congregate online – from their email inboxes to their social networks. Send newsletters, current promotions, surveys, etc. on a small budget.
Video – Video marketing is not a new wave thing but it is becoming more and more important to business marketing. Having a unique video on You-Tube or in an advertisement will visually get your product or service across to current and prospective customers as it is a more engaging content format that often results in your audience responding with much greater force. Posting a short commercial spot on your website can decrease website bounce rate. How well the video is made and how long it is could help you hold a website visitor on your website and can really make a difference in converting prospects to actual sales.
Videos on your website and video sharing websites really help optimize your rankings with search engines. Sites like YouTube are only growing in power and strength and many businesses are already leveraging the amazing technology for opportunities that exist in helping to grow their business.
Mobile – The emergence of mobile marketing has been astounding. Now everyone wants to be able to do and see whatever it is they were able to do on the home computer or laptop on a cell phone or tablet. Society in general is on the go and very mobile. You have to change how you are marketing your products and services to be able to deliver your message to more consumers. Everyone you see is on some sort of mobile device whether it is a cell phone or tablet. Most smart phones have the ability to access the internet. Mobile marketing is the advertising of any product or service on a mobile device like a cell phone or tablet. Making sure your website, email marketing, and other web advertising are mobile friendly is of utmost importance since we are such a mobile society.
Community – I stress community involvement to my clients. Don’t just be a part of a community and expect support from that community without giving something back. Being involved in your community as a member of some community association, by offering your space to a community association for meetings or other events, by offering certain free services or special discounts to consumers in your area, or by having charitable events to benefit your community (i.e. clothing and/or food drives) can make all the difference of whether the people around you know you are actually there and what you do. For some businesses it is easier than for others. But, community involvement can help you to stand out against your competition (possibly right down the street from you) and you will find that if you support your community they will support you.
This should all be a part of your plan for 2012.
If you’re looking for a promotional product that has relevance in today’s technology-led world, whilst being cost effective and with broad appeal, then the printed mouse mat may be the perfect solution.
The brand awareness of a promotional mouse mat is vast; it’s an essential office item that is used on a daily basis (usually for extended periods) and the print area is substantial. Typically the whole surface can be printed with a logo and design so every time it’s used, your company name will be on show. If your design is especially compelling, it may even attract the attention of co-workers; thus increasing your brand awareness.
A great idea to further increase the retention value is to include a calendar as part of the design or even a calculator set into the mat itself. This extended usefulness should also mean that it is favoured over any other mouse mat!
Promotional mouse mats are produced in a range of styles and sizes, and as such they can be tailored to the recipient. Both lenticular and liquid-filled mats provide a new quirky angle to the traditional mouse mat; whilst shaped mats are eye catching and can be matched to reflect the nature of the business. Recycled and PVC free versions are ideal for eco-friendly promotions; whereas for health and well being campaigns, mouse mats with an incorporated wrist rest are always a popular choice.
Since many businesses are focused on reducing staff sick days, the Anti-bug mouse mat, with its special coating that kills 99.9% of known germs, is fast becoming a popular choice for B2B promotions.
Another consideration is whether to opt for a soft top of hard top. Most often this depends on the nature of your promotion, but if it’s targeted towards an older audience then a soft top may be more suitable.
Branded mouse mats are often credited with being the most popular promotional desk item, but they are also ideal to include in a goody bag or advertising package. They can form part of a matching desk set with a coaster and pen pot (increasing retention), and are easily slipped into a branded carrier bag along with other giveaways. Very lightweight, they are also perfect to post as part of a direct mailer campaign, and the inclusion of a giveaway will encourage recipients to read the accompanying flier.
Whether you choose a hardtop or soft; shaped or traditionally rectangular, this handy desktop giveaway is a great low cost investment to include in your advertising campaign.
The easy availability of the car finance is one of the major reasons why the car sales have picked up phenomenally. People are willing to spend some income from their monthly earning and buy themselves the convenience in the form of car. Even the government supports the people in meeting this aspiration by way of allowing incentives in taking the finance facility for the car. The logic behind the financing is very simple to understand. Actually, it is a win-win situation for the car manufacturers, finance companies as well as the people who need it.
The car manufacturers are happy since their sales get picked up significantly if the good finance options are provided by them through their dealerships. Picking up of the sales of car is perceived to be a good economy activity indicating that the economy is picking up or the time of boom is there. The finance companies make a good amount of money by offering the finance facility to the owners of the cars. The money earned, in lay man’s terms, is the interest income. The buyers are obviously happy since it does not pinch their pockets to spend some money monthly rather than spending the whole sum in one go.
There could be different models of car finance with different relationships between the buyer and the financer. In some the buyer has the title but there is a charge on the car levied by the financer who gives the car to him on hire-purchase basis, whereas in some others the title remains with the financer. In the latter case, the lease agreement is executed with the financer. The facility of car finance can also be availed by the employee on the purse of his employer. When he or she changes the job, the liability of making the payment can also be shifted from one employer to another. However, it is recommended that when you plan to make a shift of the job and you have already taken this facility of car finance then you shall ask about the same from the next employer during the negotiations for the salary package.
For the people who can afford to pay in lump sum, the question about the full payment being done in one go or financing being availed of for full amount is always there. Still the people prefer to use the car finance way most of the times. The reasons could be that the government might be offering some tax deductions on the finance facility. It could also be that you do not like the car and might like to change the car. The next buyer need not have the financing done in his name again afresh. Rather, the existing one can be transferred to his name. The most ideal situation is that you pay some part as down payment, say 20% of the amount and then get the rest of it financed. Even the finance company might like you to have some commitment being fulfilled by you.
Top quality printing services is an essential tool in every marketing strategy. In the past, business owners paid a significant amount of money for TV and radio ads. Entrepreneurs used to think that those were the only effective ways in promoting their products and services. Because of sudden changes in personal lifestyles, most people don’t have time to watch television anymore.
Even people who watch TV don’t get to see the advertisements because they switch channels whenever commercials are on. Some viewers see TV advertisements as interruptions to the shows they’re watching. This is one of the reasons why professional businessmen prefer excellent printing services in promoting their products and services.
New tools in promoting products and services
Business owners make use of company brochures, catalogues, and leaflets to promote their services and for recruitment purposes as well. These printed materials will help increase your business sales or attract new clients. You will need to find good commercial printing services to give you better results. Effective marketing materials will help attract more people and make them aware of your company, resulting to more profit and sales.
Company brochures are one of the best tools in promoting your products and services. This is a smart way in summarizing what you do and how you can help your customers. These are effective because people love pictures. You can also consider putting maps on your brochures for directions to your store or office.
Some companies also make use of leaflets in promoting their business. You need to distribute these leaflets to as many areas as possible to make them effective marketing tools. The main idea is to make people know and remember your business.
Important things to consider
Excellent printing companies need to have good conceptualization, designing and layouts, and skills in the actual printing of business promotional materials. They work by providing customers general information about your goods and services. Their primary goal is to communicate directly to the customers. If you are considering printing services for your company, make sure they have effective digital printing services. This type of printing has great impact in terms of quality of images and texts. They need to amplify your advertising campaigns and marketing strategies for your products and services offered.
It is important to hire professionals or reputable companies. Do not rely on cheap services. Bear in mind that everything will reflect on your company’s reputation.
Look for professionals who underwent special courses. Examine their portfolio carefully. This will likely tell you if you want their services or not. If you want to save money, look for packages that will benefit you. There are companies that offer several packages. Never hesitate to negotiate with them.
As a business owner, you need to stay on top of the competition by establishing effective marketing strategies. This will help you succeed in your goals. Everyone is aware of the competitiveness in today’s market. It takes more than your good product and excellent service to make a name. Hiring professional service providers may give you instant ideas you can use for your company. They have wide range of methods to help your business soar.