Here are basic business marketing tips for small business owners and professionals:
1 Elevator speech - be able to state your business in 20 seconds or less.
Can you clearly say what you offer to prospective clients or customers?
2 Thank you cards - send out thank you cards, birthday cards, anniversary cards, and more
Select your top 20% - 30% of your customer base and mail to them.
Include up to 3 business cards to remind them to give you referrals.
3 Cross-promote - offer coupons to your customers or clients for businesses where the type
of customer you serve also shops.
Ex. A hair salon could offer coupons to a spa and the spa could
return the favor.
4 Have a barbeque - Law firms, car dealers, office supply stores and so many more could
have a Saturday morning - afternoon cook-out and give away free hot
dogs, sodas, chips . . . or have a health food fair in a strategic location.
5 Develop a pitch book - gather testimonials and pictures of clients and customers. Hire a scrap
booker if you don't have the time. Place them neatly in a binder in a style
that represents your industry and the clientele you reach.
Here's a free idea for airline executives: have passenger testimonials in your in-flight magazine and on your web site. More on this in another post.
6 Stick to a consistent marketing plan - ex. Every Tues night, you'll call "x" number of prospective customers to ask for appointments and call "x" number of current or past customers to thank them for their business.
7 Have a customer review your product or service - hand out the reviews at chamber of commerce meetings or post it online. Just like bloggers review each other's blogs.
Peer reviews are highly trusted according to a report on the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. 60% of online buyers trust peer reviews in a study published by Visa and Yahoo! Canada.
Do you have marketing ideas that have worked for you that you would like to share?
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