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Small Business Marketing Tip #5: Marketing Your Business with Creative Networking and Volunteering

If you’re like me, you’ve just about exhausted the usual channels for networking. While networking groups are good for making contacts, those contacts don’t always translate into sales. Attending too many meetings with different groups can sometimes do nothing more than drain your pocketbook. So how can you meet people in your community that will be interested in your product, and bring you steady sales?

Volunteering as a Marketing Strategy

Think about it. You’re working with a diverse group of go-getters for a cause. While you will all be like-minded in the sense that you want to help a particular organization or non-profit, you all work in different parts of the city and do different things. Without having a specific agenda to sell, you will build relationships with these people, who will then think of you when a need arises that you can fill.

How Will Volunteering Help My Marketing Efforts?

Think about the people you have met at church, at your children’s school, in the community. You probably know where they work, and if anyone mentions needing services or products, you immediately think of the people you know can provide them. Read more

Small Business Marketing Tip #4: Article Writing as a Marketing Strategy

You’ve probably come across websites that have articles on everything under the sun. While you may not have considered this, these sites are great resources for you as a business owner.

By writing and publishing content on sites like this, you can effectively boost your credibility as an expert in your field and get some free advertising for your business! The more eyes that see your article, the more mice will click on the link to your website. The more mice clicks you have, the more potential customers you will see!

What to Write About

Write articles on your area of expertise, including issues you are frequently asked about. The idea is not to write a 400-word advertisement (in fact, this is a good way to get booted off these article sites). It’s to offer information to an audience, who hopefully will visit your website to learn more about what you do.

You’ve probably heard this phrase with regards to marketing online: search engine optimization. This refers to the ability of your website to appear within the first few results in a search online. It’s hard to do on your own, but by posting your articles on established websites, you can get to the top of the search results lists faster and easier.

-Susan

Small Business Marketing Tip #3: Customer Appreciation as a Marketing Strategy

Reach out and market to your clients by calling them just to check in on an order, or stop by their office, if you live locally. By showing that you care enough to make time to speak with them, your clients feel important. And clients who feel important keep buying from you.

Add a Special Touch to Every Order

You don’t have to have a big budget to show you care about your customers. Add a little something extra to an order, anything from adding a simple handwritten “Thanks for your order”  note from you to throwing in a lollipop to get a smile out of the recipient. Little actions like these can keep you at the marketing forefront of for the next order.

Splurge for Holidays

Everyone loves getting presents, as long as they’re not blatant advertisements for your company. Find out your client’s birthday, and surprise them with a flower or cookie bouquet. For holidays, pick out something nice like gourmet sweets or wine.

Giving your customers VIP treatment is key to the success of your company. That little extra something might be the one element that your competitor didn’t have, resulting in you getting more business. Treat every one of your customers like your only customer, and they’ll be sure to spread the word to others about what a great company you run.
-Susan

Small Business Marketing Tip #2: Market Your Business with Little or No Money

It’s a common situation: new business owners need to advertise, but they don’t have the capital to do so early in their company’s operations. The dilemma is difficult. You can’t generate business without marketing and advertising, but you need money for marketing and advertising. Unfortunately, many of the small businesses will fail as a result of not advertising their products or services.

 

These tips will keep you from becoming a statistic:

Take Marketing Risks

You wouldn’t be in business if you weren’t willing to take risks. You may have taken out a second mortgage on your home, raided the nest egg, or scrimped and saved to start your business. It is a complete waste of all of that if you do not advertise.

You Can’t Afford NOT to Advertise

You may have no money coming in during the first few months of your business. So if you have no money, how can you advertise?

First of all, marketing and advertising should be built into your monthly budget (you have a budget, right?), along with electricity, web hosting, inventory, etc. You need marketing just as much as you need electricity. Designate a percentage of the anticipated sales you plan (hope) to earn each month on advertising.

Each month, decide how you’ll spend your allotted marketing money. Some affordable but effective marketing tools include: Read more