Posts filed under 'Business Resource'
Tired of spending all your money on advertising and marketing that just doesn’t work? Here are 10 cheap ideas to grow your business without breaking the bank!
1) Market to Former Customers and Clients. It costs less than marketing to new customers. Make them an offer they can’t refuse, such AS $5 off their next purchase.
2) Join Associations, professional organizations, and civic and charitable clubs. Get involved and become a leader. You’ll make great contacts that can lead to future business. Also, thank new members who join your organization by offering them a coupon or sending them a postcard for a discount or something free.
3) Reward Repeat Customers. Offer a frequent-purchase card to track their spending.
4) Use Coupons to enhance your sales. Give them a reason to TRY your business.
5) Follow the Rule of Three:
*Forget cold calls. Make three warm calls a day to prospects whom others have referred to you.
*Collect at least three business cards a day.
*Send at least three notes each day to people thanking them for their business or something they did to help your business grow.
6) Encourage Word of Mouth from Your Family, Friends and Associates. Your best advocates will be those who already know you and like you. Encourage them to tell others about your products and services. Sometimes they just need the nudge to get started. And then reward them for doing so.
7) Send press releases prior to having an event or a contest or write articles for publications in your industry.
8) Create and send a newsletter or e-zine (newsletter sent via e-mail) to your customers to keep your business at the top of their minds. Include tips on flower care, positive news events, specials, discounts and coupons.
9) Give Stellar Service with a 100-percent, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. It will give your customers a sense of ease in doing business with you and build their trust.
10) Partner with Other Companies to promote your business. Find companies with similar customer demographics that are not in competition with your business and create ways to joint venture with them either on a one-time, long-term or event-by-event basis.
For more tips like these check out Rose Marketing on a Daisy Budget: How to Grow Your Business Without Spending a Fortune by Heidi Richards Mooney
July 27th, 2009
They were all “born” on February 6th!
February 6th is a day of celebration for many. In fact, on this day in history the following people and companies had something to celebrate:
1895 ~ Baseball Sports hero Babe Ruth was born.
The most celebrated player in American baseball history, Ruth’s home run hitting prowess and charismatic personality made him a larger than life figure in the “Roaring Twenties”
1911 ~ Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United Staes was born. During his term in office Reagan implemented bold new political and economic initiatives. His supply-side economic policies, dubbed “Reaganomics,” included deregulation and substantial tax cuts implemented in 1981.
Also in 1911 ~ Rolls-Royce adopts the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ figurine, the silver-winged hood ornament, as the company’s symbol.
1926 ~ First Doughnut Making Machine: In Dubuque, Iowa the first doughnut-making machine was launched by a company called Trausch Bakery.
1935 ~ Monopoly Board Game goes on sale in stores across America (at the height of the Depression).
1935 ~ Waitangi Day celebrated in New Zealand marks the coming together in friendship of the Maori people and the white European settlers
1943 ~ Frank Sinatra makes his singing debut on the popular radio show “Your Hit Parade.” His career takes off after that and he eventually becomes one of the most respected vocalists of all time.
1954 ~ Mercedes introduced the 300SL Coupe, the car is far advanced of anything else with its gull-wing doors a six-cylinder engine and a top speed of 155mph. Only 1,400 300SL coupes are ever produced but many consider it to be the most impressive sports car of the decade.
1971 ~ Golfing on the Moon ~ The first golf ball is hit on the moon by Alan Shepard during a two day walk from Apollo14.
2009 ~ Quirky Marketing Calendar by the Redhead Marketing Maven (me) hits the Internet Book Stores, blogs, forums and more! Filled with more than 365 Ways to Promote Your Business Using Zany and Non-traditional Holidays, this book is a must for your internet library. Get your copy today at www.QuirkyOffer.com (and more than $2,000 worth of bonuses too).
Ps. Today was also my mother’s birthday and the anniversary of my middle child, Alexis Lee Richards death. They are watching over us today and in their own Quirky ways, helping Quirky Marketing get noticed.
February 6th, 2009
Did you know???
December is Bingo’s Birthday Month? - Why not host an online Bingo contest… As part of the promotional campaign, the Women’s Internet Marketing Summit hosted a BINGO Game – ( BINGO stands for Bookmarked Interactive Network Games Online) the Internet based version of BINGO using randomly selected Internet marketing terms (Bingo Lingo) in each of the 25 boxes contained on the card. Check it out at: http://www.womensinternetmarketingsummit.com/ -
It’s also National Write a Business Plan Month – Time to plan for the future – Check out the Business Plan Guide at http://www.bplans.com/dp/ and the tutorial on the SBA Site at http://www.sba.gov/library/pubs/mp-32.pdf . There is no time like the present to write or re-write yours.
December 6th, 2008
Today is my birthday and so I wanted to GIVE my readers some resurces you could use in your businesses as my gift to you. Here are a few of things I came across:
*Design*Sponge has a collection of business tip sheets (PDF) on publicizing your work, dealing with the legal stuff, setting prices, selling wholesale, selling online, manufacturing, packaging, and more geared to small business owners who are independent designers. And best of all ~ they’re free – You simply click and download.
BTW, these tips sheets can be used for any type small business. If you own a small business, I recommend you Check them out now.
In addition, if you don’t currently have a good follow-up process or if yours could use improvement, you are invited to check out SendOutCards. I have been using these for about 2 months now and they are FANTASTIC! They have helped me to create stronger bonds with current customers as well as enlist new clients and customers. Go to www.SendOutCards.com/Heidi. The first card is FREE, on me. And if you’d like a PRIVATE tour of the “back end,” drop me a note to heidi (at) redheadmarketingblog.com or call me at 954-625-6606. I will be happy to show you around.
December 2nd, 2008
Last week Heidi Caswell of Connect Simply, and yours truly Heidi Richards Mooney did a teleseminar on follow up strategies in business.
Remember when you were young and started making friends or dating, you knew instinctively that if someone didn’t “make a move” you’d probably loose the opportunity to get to know that person better. And yet, when it comes to business we may understand the importance of “making a move” (follow up) but many times we simply don’t do it. In this session we talked about that and more.
Here are jsut a few of the ideas Heidi and I shared:
Follow up strategies, what works and what doesn’t
Why “high touch” marketing is so important especially today
When you should follow up with someone
One great strategy that always works ~ that strategy is greeting cards and postcards (I’ll write more later about how I am using it to promote all 3 of my businesses)
Stories of business owners who used that one strategy to really grow their business
And other great tips.
In fact, we are sharing this audio with the readers of Redhead Marketing Blog. Go here and grab your copy: www.redheadmarketingblog.com/audio/FollowUpDivas.mp3.
You can contact Heidi Caswell at www.ConnectSimply.com. Feel free to drop me a line at heidi (at) redheadmarketing.com if you’d like us to give you a personal tour of our Greeting Cards System.
November 12th, 2008
What if there was a system that could help you develop a continuous stream of solid referrals and all you had to do is set it up one time, add contacts as you receive them and few clicks of the mouse start your referral building process?
Continue Reading October 30th, 2008
Excerpt from Promoting Your Business on the WEB Special Report.
Start Podcasting. A “podcast” is a pre-recorded audio program that’s posted to a website and is made available for download so people can listen to them on personal computers or mobile devices (including iPod products and mobile phones). It is a great way to showcase your expertise and create a following of loyal customers.
One resource I recommend is the Podcasting for Business Podcast a ten-episode podcast that sets out to educate sales, marketing, brand and advertising professionals on what PodWorx, Inc. calls the Four P’s of Podcasting®; that is, how do you Plan, Produce, Publish and Promote your business or corporate podcast.
Also visit my friend and podcast expert Penny Haynes. Penny has a brand new product called the Commercial Creation Center. I highly recommend you give it a try! I did and love it. It does everything! Audio, video and automatic posting to all those great sites like YouTube and more!
Want more ideas to promote your business on the WEB? Get a FREE copy of the 8-page Special Report Promoting Your Business on the WEB TODAY!
October 27th, 2008
This past week has been a whirlwind for me! In fact, I was so busy, there was no time to post to Redhead Marketing Blog! So now I am playing catch up with my blog posts. So here’s my tip for today. Enjoy!
HOMETOWN GALS ~ The Perfect Icebreaker
Are you hosting and event? Are “new” faces a part of the guest list? If you want your guests to get to know one another better during your event; then try an great activity for finding out more about everyone using general interview questions. The object of this activity is to encourage guests to talk to one another and “guess” where they are FROM. This works best when your guests don’t know one another very well (if at all) and it is a fun way to connect and start the relationship-building process. The interesting thing is that many people will be from a certain geographic location and find it rewarding to discover others who are also from that same area. The “hometown” can be defined as the city, state, or even country of origin.
You will need a list of interview questions to be handed out to participants during the social (networking) part of your event. The only rule is that participants should ask a series of questions to uncover the “hometown” before either guessing the answer or asking the final question, “Where are you originally from?”
It is also a good idea to ask questions that may be more specific to your guests. Although it is really more fun to just “pop the question,” you may also consider sending this to your guests prior to the event, so they can be prepared. I also suggest you keep the number of questions to around 8 to 10 so that your guests will have time to meet a few people. To help you get started here is list of suggested questions:
1. What type of food is your hometown known for?
2. Do you have a state motto – if so, what is it?
3. What flower is associated with your hometown?
4. What is the weather like?
5. What is the geographic landscape (mountainous, desert, flat, surrounded by water, etc.)?
6. Is it a small town or large city?
7. Is there a certain type music that is preferred by the people from your hometown?
8. Are there any famous people/celebrities from your hometown? If so, who?
9. Do you say tomato or toe-maaaahhhh-toe?
10. What is your hometown best known for (attraction, activity, etc.)
As the hostess, you may also want to include “prizes” for the person who guesses the most hometowns. Once the activity is over, you can also ask how many people are from a certain area, and if anyone wishes to share a story allow time for sharing.
Variation: Instead of the using the topic “where are you from” you can change it to be “what was your previous career (job)” and create a list of questions that would help the audience to guess the answer.
October 24th, 2008
PERKONOMICS: A new breed of perks and privileges, added to brands’ regular offerings, is satisfying consumers’ ever-growing desire for novel forms of status and/or convenience, across all industries. The benefits for brands are equally promising: from escaping commoditization, to showing empathy in turbulent times. One to have firmly on your radar in 2009.
(source: Trendwatching)
October 19th, 2008
October 12-18 is Build Your Business with Business Cards Week
Put a baby photo on your business card and ask people to visit your website to see if the matching photo is featured. If it is, they win a prize. Variations: put pictures of employees or products on your cards and on a special page on your site – put stickers in a variety of shapes on your cards – they win if the image matches the graphics found on your Website.
Put trivia questions about your product or company on your site and the answers on your business cards and give prizes if they answer the question correctly (or vice-versa).
Read “The Business Card: Don’t Leave Your Office Without It!”
October 12th, 2008
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