A combined marketing strategy that incorporates online and offline methods will maximize your advertising campaign. Without online marketing, your company is missing out on the vast global network available online. Without offline marketing, your company will be unable to reach those who do not use the Internet or who prefer reading print. Both methods together bring a much greater chance for success in your marketing efforts.
It is a well-known fact in business circles that keeping your current customers is a lot less expensive than attracting new ones. Generating customer loyalty starts with good customer service and quality products, but there are also some marketing strategies that will help keep customers returning to your store.
Show Appreciation
If you have a client who buys a big ticket item from you, show your appreciation with a thank you note. Everyone likes to be appreciated. You can even cut costs through postcard printing in the form of a thank you note; 4″x6″ postcards are cheaper to mail than regular mail.
Keep in Touch
Regularly contact your customers. Send out greeting cards around the holidays. Mail birthday cards to clients. Give customers seasonal coupons sent with postcard printing pieces. If your business deals with just a few clients, take them out for coffee or invite them to a cocktail party at your house. Continue reading »
It is true of any business owner that a plan is necessary for success. An overall business plan will guide a business thoughout the year(s), making progress possible. One of the biggest parts of a business plan is your marketing plan. Your marketing plan includes every step you will take to market your business and everything that it will take to do so. Without a plan, you will flounder; with it, you will advance. Consider the following about what makes a successful marketing plan. Continue reading »
The plethora of original masterpieces available in the world of design still amazes me. It seems like it could be easy, especially in the designing world, to simply take from what’s already out there and tweak it a bit to fit the client.
When it comes to brochures, this “cheating” method of design does seem to happen quite often, but maybe only because of the generic, standardized templates available for do-it-yourselfers. For when I peruse the inspirational brochure collections on websites such as GraphicDesign, the variety of unique brochures is stunning. Continue reading »
Marketing materials are only effective when they clearly state the benefits of your business and encourage your customers to take action. Not only that, your marketing materials should appear professional and attractive. Poor quality brochures and business cards will lead customers to believe that you do business poorly. Here are a few tips for creating strong marketing materials for any business venture. Continue reading »
The rhythm of trends can catch anyone off guard. It seems that there is never just one trend-setter. It would appear the design community holds a collective train of thought that shifts together to create new and better design. When you find a new trend in design, you are likely to see it elsewhere at the same time.
In the blog Web Design Trends for 2010 there are examples of new trends being set by several designers. These certainly are not the only ones of their kind. Study these and then take a look around to find others like them. Below are some of the trends discussed in the blog, but with my own thoughts on how they affect print media as well. Continue reading »
Once you find what works, it’s easy to keep using the same marketing ideas over and over again. The only problem is that your marketing can become stale and boring to customers and prospects alike. This is why it is so important to constantly be rethinking and improving your marketing plan. If you are having a hard time coming up with new tactics for marketing your business, here are some creative ideas to get you started.
Partner with Other Companies
Partnering with another firm can double your audience while cutting costs. Think about other businesses that could naturally partner with yours. For instance, a pizza parlor and a video rental go well together; another logical pairing would be a florist and a wedding planner; another combo might be a real estate agent and a small loan company.
Join forces and share your advertising costs. You can put both businesses on everything from radio commercials to posters. You could also give each other coupons to pass out to customers, and offer packages combining your goods or services. This can cut costs on promotional gifts as well; for instance, both include coupons and your logos when brochure printing.
Give Out Calendars
Give out thank you gifts to your customers and put your logo and contact information on them. You could also do a calendar printing and send them out at the end of the year. Use the calendar to make a personal connection between your customers and your business by featuring an employee on each page; tell a short story about that employee and get creative with the photograph.
Submit Articles to the Local Paper
Raise the stature of your business by writing articles related to your industry and submitting them to the local paper or to professional organizations. You are an expert in your field, so make sure others know about it.
Use Promotional Items at Events
Have lots of promotional items made to give out at trade shows, community events, fairs, and meetings. You can have mugs, erasers, key chains, and drink cozies made for little money. You could also do a calendar printing or create promotional stickers. Be sure your items are attractive and have your logo and web address on them.
Offer Free Classes on Your Area of Expertise
Host seminars at your location on subjects related to your industry. This will help people to view you as an expert. It will also give you a chance to announce the event in your local paper and give you a reason to send out direct mail inviting people to the classes.
The most important thing to remember about marketing is always be advertising your company. The best way to make your business popular and known is through consistent marketing. Just don’t get stuck in a rut with your advertisements so that customers remain excited about hearing of your new offers and promotions.
As a small business owner, you may find yourself at a loss when needing photos for brochure or poster printing. You can do a search online for free stock photos, but the only problem is that many of the sites that come up in such a search do not really offer their photos for free if used for corporate or commercial materials. Below are a few of the best sites for free stock photos, along with a brief explanation of the terms of use each site puts forth. Continue reading »
Gaining customers is often the hardest task for a start-up or growing business, but your lawn care business will easily prosper if you use some simple marketing techniques. For instance, using print and word of mouth to distribute your brand will increase the first time customer base for your lawn care business. After this, service and quality will keep the customer satisfied. Want to know more? Here are five marketing tips for successful marketing of a lawn care or landscaping business.
Marketing is tricky. While marketing efforts are supposed to be what turns your small business’s product into a household brand, marketing can also become a money drain if not conducted correctly. If you find yourself quickly sinking down the drain of inefficient marketing, turn your efforts around by following a few steps that will increase results, not increase your costs.
Trade More Expensive for More Effective
Any marketing that isn’t bringing in leads and making an impact on consumers needs to be eliminated. For instance, brochure printing and mailing to your most encouraging prospects or in response to direct inquiries are more promising rather than continuing to air lots of radio commercials that aren’t bringing in leads. Also, look at those areas in which you can increase exposure while cutting costs, for instance, a weekly email newsletter rather than monthly print newsletters.
Go After the Right Consumers
Don’t waste your valuable marketing dollars chasing those consumers who will never be interested in your products or services. Rather than sending your print brochures to everyone in town, reserve them for your target market. Instead of hanging print posters on every street corner, post them in the path of your intended audience.
Prepare a Better Message
Is your sales pitch all it can be? Does it really tell consumers why your product is the best, how it can solve their problems, make their life easier, and then some? If not, then you will need to revamp your message and print brochures and business cards and re-design your website to include this new approach. When making a purchase, customers don’t care about the history of your business and other irrelevant information. They want to know why they should be purchasing this product from you.
Use a Combination Approach
Limiting your marketing to only a few different media and materials will limit your results. Combine print brochures, email blasts, social networking, and more. Get creative and try some new methods of exposure. Accept speaking engagements, attend a trade show or two, hand out your print brochures during carnivals, if your target market will be there. Just remember to choose those marketing efforts that are bringing in new customers, otherwise your marketing will suck your pockets dry rather than increase revenue.
Commit to Daily Marketing Tasks
Write a portion of your newsletter. Send greeting cards to customers with birthdays this month. If you are the only one doing the marketing in your business, you may need to complete several tasks a day. What if you don’t have time to keep up with it all? Instead of hiring a new employee for marketing purposes, divide marketing tasks among current employees. Or, for less than hiring a marketing department, you can outsource your efforts to a marketing firm. You just need to decide which path will give you more for your marketing dollars.
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