Business cards have been around for centuries. In times past, cards were used to introduce visitors to a wealthy residence. In modern times, businesses began using cards to help people remember the company name and representative.
Many businesses do not think of business cards as a marketing tool. They pass them out to customers so they can call the next time. Letters are stuffed with the obligatory business card for the customer to put in his wallet. To me, these examples are lost marketing opportunities.
How much does your business spend on ad campaigns to the business name or product in front of a customer? Once you’ve reeled that customer in, she can become your business’s best friend. Hand her an extra card and ask her to give it to a friend.
Here are some common business card mistakes:
Using one side of the card. Most businesses use the front of the card for company name, phone, address, employee name, and a brief statement about services. Why not use the other side to tell the customer some added benefits about your company?Looking like every other card. You’ve seen a lot of business cards. Why not brainstorm and make your card stick out. You could use a bright color or a wild picture. The possibilities are endless. Some companies have used a dollar bill picture. This will definitely draw attention.
Talking too much about your great company. Let’s face it; your customers don’t really care about your history, your face, your building, etc. They care what you will do for them. Stress what is in it for your customer on your business card.
So what should you do? Design a professional looking business card with the company name, phone number address, and representative name. State in bold action words what your company or product will do for the customer. Tell your employees to hand out business cards to everyone they meet. You never know when those people will become your customers.Depending on your business, consider using a bold color or picture. Just make sure it isn’t tack or offensive. Just think outside the box. It may bring in a lot of customers for a low price.
Now brick and mortar stores have virtual locations on the worldwide web. With consumers spending more time on the internet, business owners need to use new methods to reach out to these 21st century shoppers. Search engine optimization can help. The internet has done wonderful things for businesses and has changed the advertising world completely. There was a day when you spent your advertising dollars on newspaper, television, and radio spots. Google transformed advertising the way typewriters revolutionized printing.It starts when a person needs information on a certain topic. They type a word or phrase into a search engine and up pop multiple results pages with links to the sponsoring websites. If your site piques this person’s interest, he can click on your page and voila, you have a very interested customer, and possibly a repeat buyer.
Most people lose interest in scrolling through search results before they reach the end of the first page, so search engine ranking is very important. To score a higher spot on the results page, a website needs to have keywords in the domain name or in the content of the web page itself.
You can increase traffic to your website by using a series of “mini funnel” websites. These one-page sites address one keyword topic. Call it a landing page. You can put in banners asking people to spread the word to friends by giving a forwarding option or offer membership to your newsletter for lead building.
The keys to making these sites work is using just 1-3 keywords. Some other points to remember include:
Keep the subject as a single issue. Too many topics could make it less relevant.Give an overview of the topic itself. Build links to other sites about the same issue.Keep it simple. Let’s face the facts—people have short attention spans. Add too many pages to these sites and they lose the novelty factor.
Spread the word. Encourage visitors to email a friend or use link banners. Offer surveys, videos, and polls. These tools are designed to generate further interest in the site.
Do your selling somewhere else. No one likes to “be sold.” You want to build leads right now. Once they know you, you can then send out links to your main site.
Everyone knows the statistic: You’ve got three seconds to capture your site visitors’ attention, to mesmerize them, to compel them to part with their money. Fail in this mission, and the next sound you’ll hear is “click.â€
It all comes down to your headline. A pretty tall order for a string of words in bold print.
The bad news is that finding the headline is often the hardest part of writing your sales letter. The good news is that once you’ve got a handle on that, the rest seems to just kind of flow. Nail the headline and you set the tone, angle, and approach you’ll use for the rest of the letter.
It’s like when my kids ask me to tell them a story – a little trick I learned years ago from the movie “Out of Africa†with Meryl Streep. At one point in the movie, she’s been asked to tell a story, which she agrees to… providing that her listeners give her the first line. Of course, they tried to make it as convoluted as possible so she’d struggle to pull the details into a coherent story. But I do the same with my kids – they give me a character, and I go from there.
Same deal (at least for me) when you write a sales letter. Get that first cornerstone in place and it’s good from there. It’s a process of percolation. You steep yourself in the offer, you put yourself in your prospects’ shoes, you anticipate their objections; ohmmmmm, you become one with the copy. Well, sort of.
There’s actually a bit more science than hocus pocus in the process.
Copywriting gurus develop a catalog of power words, lead-ins, and templates they call on to stimulate their creative juices. Nothing wrong with a little boost to get you started.
Here’s a handy list of starters:
1. Are You Working Too Hard to… 2. Unlock…3. Top Secrets the Gurus Use to…
4. Who Else Wants to…
5. 7 Ways to…
6. Learn Step-by-Step How to…
7. 7 Astonishing Tactics to…
8. Mind-Blowing
9. How an Unremarkable Website Generated…
10. Startling Secrets the (Experts) Don’t Want You to Learn…
11. A Handbook to…
12. Why Haven’t You…?
13. Try These Underground…
14. If You Want to Finally…
15. If You’re Not Serious About…
16. Your (Something valuable) Is in Danger
17. Discover How to Triple Your…
Notice how many I included? Seventeen. And in that number, you’ve got a little secret all its own. For some reason, numbers ending in sevens test better than other numbers. This holds true for items in a list, figures included in a headline, and even in product prices.One more benefit of having some handy headline starters at your fingertips: using them for article marketing. If you promote your website by submitting articles to directories, you know the toughest job is getting readers to read, and publishers to republish your articles. Your title and lead-in will determine whether your articles get read. Why not use your best copywriting practices to grab your potential readers by the virtual throat and drive them to read on.
Fill your headlines with powerful words, and watch your readers line up to follow your call to action.
You walk by that billboard every day. Did you know it’s watching you? Embedded behind the board, a small camera sees your every move. A computer shares data with the advertiser and knows if you are male or female. You then see an advertisement tailored to your gender. Again, it watches to see if you turn toward the billboard, and counts the number of seconds you stare. Does this sound a lot like Big Brother?Â
Advertisers have been gathering information about consumers forever. In the 21st century, competition is rife. Trends show consumers need more than just a print ad to draw their interest. They want something bold, fresh. New methods must target consumers in more specific niches. If advertisers can ascertain your interests and habits, they can target an ad just for you.Â
Future ads will gather information about you immediately, generating a specific message targeted at your needs. Imagine a future where you walk down the street and get zapped with a voice ad heard only by you. It’s already happening. What’s next? Â
On the net, they monitor everything you do. Who monitors? Online giants like Yahoo! and Google have understood for years the value of tracking online users. The information they gather becomes a valuable tool for businesses. Do you ever wonder why you get so many e-mails? Viral e-mail campaigns begin with a search for information and end with a click on an ad that draws you in. Isn’t that spamming? No. Fill out a request for information and now a marketer has your email address.Â
Like most of us, you dread commercial interruptions of your favorite television shows. You’ll love the ideas for entertainment that are coming to your pc. Viral video ads already capture the attention of internet surfers. Can you imagine looking forward to an ad because it entertains you? That is the goal.Â
Trends change so fast, advertisers have to stay ahead of the game. Using the blogosphere and social media sites, the ad gamers can now get up-to-the-minute information relevant for forecasting trends. Businesses must keep up with these new trends. The fashion of tomorrow should be anticipated today.Â
How will it all work in the future? Advertisers will continue to use tools that have already worked. They will customize messages to fit your specific habits and interests. Next, ads will have to include a “wow” factor to give people something to talk about, and to ask them to tell their friends.Â
You will interact with ads. As times change, people get bored with commonly used methods. Businesses will generate exciting portable images that draw you in encouraging you to participate in the call to action. Consumers will have the power to influence culture and business in ways never before possible.Â
Where can you get more information about new trends in marketing? Visit doshdosh.com. Maki, the founder of doshdosh.com, wrote the blog summarized by this article. The no nonsense approach will entertain and educate you at the same time.
“Search engine optimization (SEO also search optimization) is the process of editing and organizing the content on a web page or across a website to increase its potential relevance to specific keywords on specific search engines. This is done with the aim of achieving a higher organic search listing and thus increasing the volume of traffic from search engines.”
When you hear the word “identity,” you might be tempted to think of a person, identity theft, or personality. That’s not the identity I’m talking about. Have you ever thought about your business identity? Have you ever thought about your customer’s identities?
What is a Business Identity?
It is the heart of your company. This entails your company brands, logos, mission, names, products, reputation—basically, anything that identifies your business. What does this have to do with marketing? You have to know your business identity before you can market its products. Consider your business identity:
Your company names, brands, and logos are obvious parts of your marketing campaign. They adorn your letterhead, business cards, envelopes, products, and ads. You need to ensure they are protected legally—patents and trademarks. Make sure they are used in everything your company is involved in. You never know where someone will get your company name.Your company reputation is as important as its brands and logos. Actions speak louder than words. When customers think of your company, they will hopefully know of donations for needy causes, top-notch customer service, satisfied employees, reliable products, and honest business practices.
What about Customer Identity?Now that you’ve thought about your corporate identity, it’s time to focus on your consumers. We live in a constantly changing world. Consumer tastes change as rapidly as computer programs. In this environment, you need to know your customer in order to market to them effectively.
Once upon a time, marketing campaigns focused on mass media advertising. While these can still be used, the downside is they are expensive. Narrowing your target can make your marketing more effective.
Find out who your consumers are. Are they Gen X, Gen Y, Baby Boomers, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, teens, tweens, men, or women? Once you’ve found the who, find out the what, when, where, and why. What do they read, buy, do? When do they do it? Why do they do it? Where do they do it? Now target your ad campaign at that specific market.
It’s All About Timing—Your Marketing Calendar One of the most important things in business is getting your timing right.
The right timing is important in marketing campaigns as well. Effective marketing campaigns must be planned years in advance. It is also essential to keep track of your current plans. Think of your marketing calendar as your business black book.
Most people have a day planner. Take away that important tool, and they are lost. Why? It keeps them organized. Having a marketing calendar is just as important to a business as the little black book is to a person.
A marketing calendar will help your business keep track of marketing campaigns during the year. This important tool is more than just a date on a calendar; it is the glue that will keep your marketing programs running smoothly.
Benefits of a Marketing Calendar
1. Budget forecasting—You will be able to track and forecast your marketing expenses in advance. This helps your company stay on budget.
2. Planning—It helps your company stay within the right timelines to ensure each phase of your marketing campaign takes place at the proper time. It also helps to schedule other business activities related to marketing. ou will effectively plan for the future.
3. Organization—A calendar helps keep your attention on the task at hand. It will help your organization stay consistent.
Where Can You Find A Marketing Calendar?
Simply put, anywhere. You can use any calendar for your marketing purposes. An existing calendar function on your current software programs will work as well. If you search the internet, you will find a number of options that you can download. Remember to check out the source of any downloaded software for security purposes.
You Found a Calendar, Now Use It
Now that you have your calendar, make sure everyone in your company uses it. It will not help your organization to have a marketing calendar unless everyone in the organization uses it. This will ensure that everyone is on the same schedule, and it will also make sure that no important marketing steps are missed.
Do You Really Need a Marketing Plan?I could go into great detail about the specific items needed for a marketing plan, but that would be too long. You can search the internet, find a lot of free information, and develop your own specific for a marketing plan. Think it is more advantageous to look at the meat—information– that goes into the plan and the reasons you that information.Having an effective marketing plan is just as important as your business plan. If fact, it should be included in your business plan. Does the thought of spending time on a plan make your eyes glaze over? Never fear, I am here to help. However, it does mean you have to put it in writing.Gather Your InformationLarge, medium, or small, your business has a product, service, or brand to sell. Your first step in creating your plan is to begin with the end in mind. An effective business plan covers your plans from one to five years. Some questions to ask are: What is the mission of your business? Where do you plan to be in five years? Once your goals are defined, you now need an effective strategy to get there. This is where research comes in. You need information to develop your objective. You will need to gather information about your intended customers, about your competitors, about prices for different types of advertising, and about prices for sales and distribution. Some important things to consider in this process are:Customers—What are their needs, attitudes, habits, expectations, and intentions?Competitors—What are their strategies, goals, differences in product, and financial stability?Advertising—What type of advertising will work effectively for your product?Sales/Distribution—What is the most effective means to sell your product and to get your product to the consumer?What are your company/product advantages and disadvantages over competition? What differentiates your product?Defining Your StrategyRemember that 20% of your target consumer usually makes up 80% of your sales. You want to make sure that your plan will target these consumers. Now it is time to review the information you gathered. As you begin to plan your strategy, keep your product, budget, customer, future goals, and staff in mind.At this stage, you can begin to put your plan on paper. You will need to include a way to quantify success. If your message reaches 20% of your intended audience, what does your research suggest the purchase rate will be? Always be ready to change your plan if it does not meet the rate of success you desire. Now put it all on paper.In the end, what does all of this exhaustive research do for you, especially if you own a small business? It gives you a compass point for a destination. A ship without a rudder will not reach a destination. The same can be said for a product without a marketing plan. Once you see a plan on paper, it becomes your roadmap to success.
