Mar 10
30
The Art of Asking for Referrals
Last week I received an email inquiry from a woman named Donna. She told me she was having miserable luck getting referrals from her clients and ask, “What am I doing wrong?”
After a few email exchanges to determine how she was approaching clients, I was a bit stunned to learn the way Donna was going about it. In a nutshell, she would send her clients thank you notes and include about a dozen of her business cards, asking them to hand them out to others who might need her services.
Yikes!
Now, let me first say that the thank you note is a great idea. But the sincerity of appreciation is kind of kicked to the curb by asking the client for something in return. At the very minimum, when asking for referrals
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Mar 10
20
Quick Tip: Error Incentive
Although a little bit “old school” this marketing tactic is as effective today as it has been in the past. Offer a discount to anyone who can spot an error or specific phrase in your marketing copy (one that you purposely put in). Make sure the error or phrase is very obvious and that it appears towards the end of your message so potential customers have to read through most of your sales message to find it.
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With tougher direct marketing laws for lead generating practices such as telemarketing, door-to-door solicitations, unsolicited email, and broadcast faxing, many small businesses are experiencing a painful, profit-whittling, shut down of their primary methods to generate new business. Even the old standby, direct mail, is being challenged with proposals for “do not mail” lists, similar to the “do not call” telephone lists.
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I get dozens of marketing pieces in both my mailbox and email box on a daily basis. I’m betting that you get more than your share, too. How do you sort through it?
Most of us only read the headline and take a quick glance at the photo on direct mail pieces – using less than five seconds of our attention to decide if we are interested to know more about this product or service. LESS THAN FIVE SECONDS! The same is true for a radio ad and television spot, too. Our ears are finely tuned to discern an ad spot from a news spot. We as consumers are inundated with new offers every day. The novelty of direct mail and other advertising venues has worn off. The sheer volume of promotions being pushed at us is overwhelming.
Use your five seconds wisely by
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Feb 10
22
Quick Tip: Business Card Billboards
Get the most out of handing out your business cards. Convert them into tiny, portable ads by printing on the back side with:
- A discount coupon for your products or services
- A “free with purchase” offer next time they stop in the store
- An invitation to sign up at your website to win a prize in your monthly drawing
You know what your customers want–or you should–so create an offer they won’t want to refuse and print it on your business cards.
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The annual Super Bowl gives football fans more than access to the NFL (National Football League) championship game. “Super Bowl Sunday” has also quickly become the one and only day of the year that many viewers tune in to actually see the commercial ads — ads that cost an average of 2.3 million dollars for one 30-second time spot. And that cost doesn’t include the cost of creating and producing the commercial!
So are these highly creative, high-priced ads effective?
Not if the creativity is all you remember about them.
Most of this year’s new ads were oozing with creative genius. My disappointment is that, for the most part, they were remarkably memorable for creativity alone – not the product or service they were promoting.
Is that money well-spent? Not in my small business-minded opinion.
Especially when you consider that on this ONE day, viewers are actually WILLING and EAGER to see your ad. On any other given day, during any other television program, people would be wielding their remote controls to channel surf once the programs they are watching fade to commercial.
You and I don’t have 2.3 million dollars to spend on a one-shot chance to reach our audiences. We can’t afford the arrogance of assuming people will like us or our products based on a “clever” commercial. The people we market to need to know what good we are to them, their lives, their businesses, etc.
Now, I’m not suggesting you avoid using creativity in your advertising. I’m just asking you to remember that creativity is the icing, not the cake. Creativity enhances an ad; it cannot take its place. Don’t try to frost something that’s only half-baked!
Tired of hearing the word turnkey?
It’s a little overused these days.
It’s an age-old buzzword that has surged back into popularity with the advent of doing business on the Internet. Why? A turnkey business is an automated business. And, on the Internet, this automation is imperative to be successful and serve customers who are fast becoming accustomed to getting products and services in lightning fast time.
Ironically, this concept of automating the business process makes sense to successful online business owners, yet the benefits of an automated, turnkey business often escapes offline business owners – even though the development of a ‘turnkey’ business has been a business-builder for decades. Perhaps it’s because there is an assumption that turnkey directly relates to technology.
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Whether you sell products or services, your offline business can reap huge rewards by marketing online.
Specific marketing techniques are not exclusive to either offline or online businesses … and that’s the GOOD news for those of us who have previously relied on expensive direct mail and advertising campaigns that quickly suck the life out of a marketing budget!
Here are just five profit-building reasons to use online tactics as one of your targeted marketing methods:
Posted in Marketing & Promotion Ideas Online Tactics for Offline Businesses by .
Jan 10
16
How To Get Clients to Pay Up
Independents, sole proprietors, freelancers… anyone who deals with minimum cash flow knows the anxiety that comes with a client or customer who doesn’t pay. You can put “net 10 days” on your invoices, but most of the time it’s ignored by both big business clients and small business clients.
As an independent myself, I face these same challenges. In large companies, the red tape is long and knotted – and if there’s just one little hold up in the approval process, you can be waiting 45-60-90 days for payment. It eats up a lot of follow up time that could be better spent on building your business, not serving as bill collector. Sometimes you can plead your case and get paid quicker, and sometimes you have to resign yourself to their system.
However, a handful of small business clients ignored my “net 10 days” invoices, too. As my Accounts Receivables grew, so did my anger. So, instead of just sending “past due” notices,
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Jan 10
8
Quick Tip: Telephone Tip Off
Tape the word “opportunity” to each telephone in your office. When the phone rings, the word will remind employees to make a good first impression and to present themselves in a positive way.
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29 Ways to Increase Profits & Productivity