99 Ways to Raise Awareness of what you offer
February 10, 2010
Welcome back!
1. inserts in your local weekly newspaper
2. submit an article to your local paper
3. Word of mouth - ask for referrals
4. Write a press release - check out prweb.com
5. Get interviewed on local radio
6. Offer to speak at your local chamber…
7. Give a donation to a local charity
8. Use postcards in shop windows
9. Use community notice boards
10. posters / leaflets in local doctors, chiropractors etc
11. Submit an article to local paper/national magazine/forum
12. leaflets, posters at a local hospital
13. conduct a door to door survery in your area
14. conduct a survey on your website
15. Readers offer/lcompetition in your local/national paper
16. Encourage clients to write testimonials
17. Ask for 5 referrals from each client
18. Offer a FREE report, CD or DVD,
19. Give out promos with your name on - mugs, pens, etc
20. Give leaflets to your local paper boy or milkman in your area.
21. Use a search engine to target prospects, then PHONE them
22. Attend a trade show or exhibition
23. Update your answer machine/voice mail message regularly
24. Offer a FREE “clinic”
25. Offer a FREE “Seminar”
26. Get listed in as many trade directories as possible
27. Ask to speak at your local business club
28. Ask a local office supply company to send a letter to their database
29. Set up your own forum, bulletin board, or blog
30. Offer discount vouchers
31. Offer a loss leader
31. Set up a message/telephone line
32. Download and use aol/yahoo/msn messenger or Skype
33. Create Audio/talking emails
34. Try a bumper sticker on your car
35. Give out business cards to everyone you meet
36. Do you Produce a community Newsletter?
37. Offer to give a talk at your local WRI (they’re influencers)
38. Ask other companies to put your leaflet out with their statements
39. Send out postcards offering a free consultation
40. Try parking metre ads/advertising on car parking tickets
41. Launch your own annual award scheme in your industry
42. Apply/submit/enter yourself/your company for an award - you might win
43. Check out www.linkedin.com, www..bni.com
44. Get accredited/approved by an outside organisation and tell the press
45. Get beermats with your logo on and distribute in local/regional pubs
46. Offer to do/share a co-op mail shot with non competitive organisations
47. Offer to do/share a co-op postcard cardeck mailing with non competitives
48. Find celebrity to endorse your product or service give you a testimonial
49. Offer to do a TV interview or a radio interview
50. Advertise on Google ad words, overture.com, ecademy
Marketing: The Future
February 8, 2010
The Future
Many people who contact me are anxious about the future. They are stressed, lack confidence and are uncertain how they will achieve certain results or whether they can make progress in a particular area. A lot of people can be suspicious about new people new ideas, new ways of doing things, and in fact, many people often are afraid of the way things might turn out.
Now the irony here is they tend to do the same as though that can’t let go off the past. They play over and over in their minds all these negative possible outcomes - all these negative “what if” scenarios of things could or might turn out, if they don’t make a particular choice, decision, or take a particular action. Many feel not in control of their own destiny, a feeling of hoplessmess, as they become more and more tense and uneasy about how things might turn out.
Me. Well lets face it, the past is gone. Hopefully I’ve learned from both the good and bad decisions I’ve made in my life. They say we are the sum total of our experiences to date, and I can’t necessarily argue with that.
Dog Food: A lesson in marketing
February 5, 2010
Take Fido.
He’s a consumer - and he eats lots of beefy meaty chunky balls.
He likes it.
But he doesnt buy it.
That’s his owner - Fred.
Fred’s the customer - not the “consumer”.
All the marketing in the supermarket and the dog food manufacturer tends to be targetted at the customer - not the consumer.
Poor Fido has no say over whether he’s going to get beef chunky balls again or not.
He doesnt even get to use the tv remote control to watch all those sexy female dogs appearing in the tv ads he likes.
As for Fred, he doesnt really know that Fido really prefers the Game and Poultry flavour chunky balls, he just responds to the latest marketing offers he sees when he’s down the supermarket.
It’s the Buy Two get one FREE, SPECIAL offer, new TRIAL SIZE that are all targetted at the CUSTOMER
…who makes the buying decision.
Another 4 Reasons why prospects might not be buying from you
February 4, 2010
1. They just don’t believe in you.
Then prove it. Demonstrate it. Give them reason to. Offer a sample, a puppy dog close - a FREE trial. See 3 above. Show them the hundreds of testimonials you have, or all the videos you have on You Tube, links to your previous blogs - so they can sample you, what you know, what you’ve achieved and what you believe in - People buy from people they like. Your prospects want 3 things - Confidence. Progress and Results - so give it to them. Give them the confidence they crave - and that you can help them to achieve the progress and the results you offer. Quite often they simply don’t know what it is they want because they don’t where they’re at, or where they’ve been, and thus they don’t know where they’re heading. So why not help them do that - it starts by building confidence in your prospect’s mind so that they can start to make progress and know that by workign together will lead to even bigger and better results. Allow them to experience the help, guidance and support you offer, and how much you go the extra mile in order to nurture the relationship.
Take a peek at this.
Marketing: The internal process
November 27, 2009
Many people who hold traditional beliefs about marketing will focus all their attention on external stimuli or factors.
They focus they’re attention on various “external” things like:-
• Their website
• Their marketing collateral
• Their sales presentation
• Who their prospective clients are
• How they will reach those clients
• What additional resources they need to manifest the results they crave.
Many become obsessed about the results they want.
However, the mere act of wanting something confirms to their subconscious that they don’t have it already. All their worries, concerns and trepidations about external matters are in fact the outer manifestation of their inner conflict, doubt and guilt in not aligning their thoughts, feelings and actions to create a congruent plan of action.
How often have you:
• heard someone say one thing, but do another.
• done one thing, but thinking it wouldn’t work.
• Felt one thing, and thought something differently.
The same is all true when it comes to your marketing.
marketing mindset
August 21, 2009
Quite often when things don’t go according to plan, it’s often because we are dealing with the symptoms of poor or ineffective marketing. In other words, we end up dealing with the “effects” of poor or ineffective marketing.
Now, on a slightly deeper level, it could be argued that its your thoughts which are the cause of the results that you have experienced previously (and currently) in your marketing. If you were to change your thoughts (or mindset) towards marketing then the chances are, the effects (your experiences) will change accordingly.
Many people have been socially conditioned by their family, peers and others regarding “marketing”. Other’s opinions have moulded and shaped your consciousness and perception towards marketing. Some get to the stage that their ego takes over, and actually think that marketing is beneath them, and end up treating those who are actively involved in the black art, with the contempt they think they deserve. For their thoughts of them performing marketing or selling their wares conjour up images of second hand car sales men, direct insurance types or snake oil salesmen.
Many Small business owners view the art of selling or marketing as something beneath them, or a waste of their invaluable time and superior intellect. Its more common than you think, across many fields and disciplines - the actor who wont go to auditions, the out of job chief executive wont go to interviews, the athlete who wont train or practice, and the consultants who won’t sell, are being held back by their ego. You have to put your ego aside, and start re considering your thoughts, perceptions and views towards marketing, for its actually affecting the reality of your current sales and revenue.
Marketing Frustration. When all else fails, pick up the phone.
June 8, 2009
Paul phoned me this am.
He and Joanne have been married for 6 years. She works for a local Health Authority, he works for himself as a Graphic Designer. Lately, they’ve been arguing a lot about money. Arguing a lot !!!
There appears to be too much month at the end of the money. Joanne wants Paul to get a proper job - Why he gave up a good job in the city, she’ll never know. She’s fed up supplementing his “Hobby” that he calls work. After all, she paid for the Apple equipment he’s using.
He hasn’t generated a new client since January, and she was expecting him to pay for their summer holiday in Australia. He told her yesterday, that it wasn’t looking as though it would happen because “things are very quiet at the moment.” This resulted in the argument from hell last night, and was the “last straw”, Joanne gave him an ultimatum this morning….
“Do something, Anything to start bringing money in, even if that means getting a job stacking shelves in Tesco.”
She told him, that if he doesn’t take positive action to improving their cashflow by the time she arrives home at 7:00pm tonight then she was “off”.
We spoke for about 30 minutes. I was shocked. He was shocked, (and I bet Joanne would have been as well.)
Your Marketing: It’s no coincidence…
June 2, 2009
…or accident you are reading a blog entitled “Your marketing”.
You chose to read the headline, and click the link perhaps out of curiosity, perhaps you’ve got 5 minutes spare due to a lack of sales appointments, or you’re simply enjoying a cup of coffee before you’re back on the prospecting trail to generate more new business to pay the mortgage, the school fees, or secure that 2 week break in the sun…
…Perhaps you are concenred about your marketing. I don’t know, but you might just find this blog interesting.
So give thought for a second as to what are the pains, needs and frustrations of your target market?
What for example, by way of pain or frustration has increased for them or decreased for them, that you can identify as pains, needs, frustrations or areas that they might want to improve, that you could help them with?
Lets put this in a marketing context, by way of example
Have you been experiencing an INCREASE in…
1. cost per sale
2. cost per lead
3. Advertising or mailing costs
4. Number of proposals you’re submitting
5. Deadlines being missed
6. “no thank you”s at appointments
7. customer complaints
8. Lead times between deals
9. Longer delays for decisions whilst prospective clients compare you against your competition
10. Losing customers to the competition
Do you want more Business, or NEED more Business?
May 14, 2009
Quite often, when we want more business or need more business, we can come across as “needy”, “desperate” or “Skint”.
It’s often reflected in our handshake, the way we dress, the way we speak, even in the way we communicate in writing.
When we are in a state of “need”, we tend to focus all our attention on just one person - “ourselves”, often completely forgetting about the intended prospect and their “needs”. We can be so wrapped up in trying to get the appointment, or the sale, and wanting to focus all our attention on telling the prospect how wonderful we are why they should buy from us, we forget to focus our attention on the prospect.
Ever shaken hands with someone at a networking event, and it felt like a bit of lettuce? (and you had a funny feeling that the conversation wasn’t going to lead anywhere.)
Ever shaken hands with someone at a networking event, who starts looking round the room, while you’re talking to them? (and you had a funny feeling that the conversation wasn’t going to lead anywhere.)
Ever shaken hands with someone at a networking event, and thought that they either need a good feed, a good wash or they simply didn’t instill confidence in you? (and you had a funny feeling that the conversation wasn’t going to lead anywhere.)
Marketing Tips - 7 Reasons why prospects aren’t buying from you
March 11, 2009
1. They don’t know you or trust you.
Give them a reason to want to get to know you, and give them a reason to trust you. Testimonials can help. A Money back guarantee can help. Offering a FREE trial or download can help. Start raising your profile, and visibility by blogging, writing articles, networking, attending events, exhibitions, hosting workshops etc. Be different. Offer something different. Stop offering features. Start offering real benefits. Do you empathise with your target audience, do you know the problems they have, and can you genuinely help them? Do you serve to help? Or do you serve to control? What tactics can you use to get people talking about you and referring you to others who need help in the area you specialise in?
Take a peek at this.
2. They don’t want what you are selling.
A toughie. If they don’t want it - Don’t push it. But if they need it, and they don’t just recognise that they need it, think how you can demonstrate or prove the value you offer. Think how you can allow them to come to the conclusion that they have a need for what you offer - for the cost in not acting or choosing one of your solutions will be much more expensive in the long run. You certainly don’t want to waste time and money going to appointments to drink their coffee, waste their time and yours if it could have been decided hours, days or weeks ago whether they were interested in what you have to offer or not, and whether they need what you offer or not.
