You may have noticed I have not posted here in quite some time. Since February when Quirky Marketing Calendar ~ 365 Ways to Promote Your Business Using Zany and Non-Traditional Holidays was lauched to be exact. We did that because most of the topics I post on the Redhead Marketing Blog are topics we cover in the book and on the site. So rather than be redundant (and incur the rath of Google) we decided to only post there.

So my team and I decided to also create a blog specifically for new holiday marketing ideas.  You can click on the book title above or visit www.QuirkyMarketingCalendar.com to check out the latest book. When you visit,  click on a date on the calendar to the right of the page you can read about the daily holiday and get some ideas for how to market your business using those ideas. You can read all the blog posts since we started (in February). Many of the posts on the Quirky Marketing Calendar blog and site are new ideas not even in this year’s calendar.

Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think about Quirky Marketing Calendar. 

Wishing you much success with your marketing efforts. And if I can ever be of assistance, be sure to let me know. You can learn more about me and my services at http://speakingwithspirit.com/services/

Wishing you all the best and much success with your marketing and social media results!

Heidi Richards Mooney, The Redhead Marketer

Think of Black Friday as an opportunity to bring in new customers by offering a few good Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Not only will this kick off your holiday season on a positive note (and hopefully add to a healthier bottom line) you can take advantage of the fact that people will be shopping online and therefor traffic will be stronger on these two days.

Since Black Friday is all about promoting your business and selling more, here are several ideas  to help you plan a killer selling day (or days).

Be sure to grab your share of sales

The average Black Friday corresponds to around-the-store lines before the sun rises.  Now, of course, we seem to be in a recession, but that may make November 28th an even more profitable time for every business that has something to sell.

Insane deals tend to get people moving on Black Friday, and folks who would prefer to get some sleep may join the mobs due to their financial situation.  Like major retailers, you can try to draw them in by offering big discounts on a few items, and then see what else they spend while they’re in the store.

Read the rest of the Black Friday Boom Forecast here: http://www.smallbusinessnewz.com/topnews/2008/11/17/black-friday-boom-forecast

Small Business Can Make Big Plays on Black Friday

Black Friday is like the Super Bowl. It’s a huge event that draws millions of people. But only the big boys get to play on the field. People like you and me only get to watch.

At first glance, Rafi Mohammed seems to reinforce that with his advice for retailers to woo customers with steep discounts on Black Friday. He encourages retailers to use loss leaders to welcome people back from discounters.

For anyone tempted to compete with the big boys on price, this is a pretty good reason to abandon that strategy. It also looks like a pretty good reason to stay in bed Friday and let the big retailers deal with all those people.

To read more visit http://mainebusiness.mainetoday.com/blogentry.html?id=16424

Black Friday Bargains for Small Business

Black Friday — and the following Cyber Monday — can also be a great time to go shopping for your small business. Just ask Rhonda Abrams of USA Today. She suggests the following:

Strategies for successful small business Black Friday shopping:

1. Make a list of stuff you really need. Don’t buy just because something’s cheap. It’s tempting, I know.

2. Check to see which version of Windows 7 you need. If you have a server you’ll need at least the Pro or Ultimate edition. Upgrades are very expensive so buy the right one.

Read the rest of the article “Black Friday Bargains for Small Business” at USA Today ~
http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/2009-11-20-black-friday-bargains-for-small-business_N.htm

Over at online betting zone Bookmaker, they’ve put out their oddsmaking team’s predictions. The majority of the team says between 161 million and 180 million of us will hit the stores and websites on Black Friday, and we’ll spend between $300-$400 per shopper. Second-best odds were for 131 million to 161 million shoppers spending $250-$300 apiece.

To read what else they have to say read Black Friday and Cyber Monday…Will They Rock? on the Entrepreneur.com blog here http://blog.entrepreneur.com/2009/11/black-friday-and-cyber-mondaywill-they-rock.php

And if you happen to be out shopping on Black Friday, here’s a few tips for you:

Make list: In any shopping maneuver, a list can help you plan ahead and shop more efficiently. Look through sales fliers and check out www.black-friday.net for information on which stores are offering what deals. Then you can prioritize the items on your list, and plan out a route according to what is most important to you. Also list any coupons you have that can be used to further reduce the prices of desired items.

Visit the store the day before Thanksgiving: After you know what you are looking for, visit the stores ahead of time. Familiarize yourself where the desired items are located in the store. Make friends with a sales associate to find out if there will be additional discounts, or if you can reserve something ahead of time (for most doorbusters, though, associates aren’t allowed to do this).

Read the rest of Holiday Shopping: Tips for Black Friday and Cyber Monday here:  http://www.moolanomy.com/2135/holiday-shopping-tips-for-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-mmarquit01/

While you are at it, read 10 Fascinating Facts about Black Friday http://www.pcworld.com/article/182224/10_fascinating_facts_about_black_friday.html

Do you remember the “WIIFM” formula when designing your promotional tools? You know, the “what’s in it for me?” The “me” in this case is not about you, your company, your product or business, rather it is about the customer, the prospect, the reader, the person you are trying to get to take action regarding your product or service.

How many times have you picked up a brochure about a company to find out what they can do for you only to find it filled with stuff about them? And have little or no idea what they can do for you? Your customers and prospects could be asking the same question.

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is to talk about themselves and their products rather than talking about the CUSTOMER and what he/she will gain by doing business with them. “The traditional business definition of marketing is “identifying and fulfilling customer needs.” There’s no mention of your business. Marketing is all about the customer.”

Identify and focus on the benefits. Prospects want to know how what you offer will benefit them. You MUST make it clear what benefits the prospect will receive from doing business with you, otherwise then there is no reason for that prospect to do so. You MUST focus on what the prospect is going to GAIN by using your product or service.

In order to articulate the “what’s in it for them,” you must first understand the difference between a feature and a benefit. A feature is something that your product does or has (for example, a shirt can be 100% cotton). A benefit to 100% cotton could be durability, easy-care or even wrinkle resistant. Now you’ve given them the WIIFM. Why the prospect might want to purchase the shirt.

Count how many times you refer to you – that includes the “I,” the “WE” and your “company name.” Take a second look and count how many times you refer to the “YOU,” the “prospect/customer” or “she/he.” If your copy has more than 50% “I,” etc. take a look at how you can reword it to tip the scales in favor of the prospect. Good copy should be at least 60-75% prospect focused and only 25-40% focused on who you are, (such as the awards you have, the color of your building, the type of equipment you have, etc.).

To change things around in your marketing message whether it is in your proposal writing, brochures or your website (any advertising), you must identify the goals, objectives and obstacles of your prospect. Then you show your prospects how you can help them reach their goals and overcome their obstacles.

Once you know how your business benefits your customers, and you begin to focus on the how the customer benefits formula, you can write copy that will increase prospect response. You will begin seeing a greater response to your marketing messages and your bottom line!

(There are 42 “You’s” in this article and only 2 “I’s.” Did it get your attention?)

Redhead Marketing specializes in creating copy that makes you stand out. Need a print ad for a publication?   Need a flyer in a hurry? Let Redhead Marketing create it for you.  Special Holiday pricing starts at just $50.  Call 954-625-6606 or email heidi (at) redhead marketing dot com (no spaces) Today!

Quirks Marketing Research Review recently wrote an article about how to increase survey respondents satisfaction. Surveys can help to give the smart marketer a heads up on what your client and prospect really want and need. Surveys can be used to gather all sorts of market data such as customer demographics, likes and dislikes, customer satisfaction and much more.  I highly recommend that if you are not using surveys in some form or another (digital, hand-written or by phone) you are missing out on information that can take your business to a new level fo success.

Here are the 10 tips Quirks shared:
 
1. Make surveys engaging and convenient
2. Avoid complex questions
3. Limit questions to 50 words or less
4. Avoid long lists of rating questions
5, Avoid open-ended questions
6. Avoid repetitive questions
7. Advertise accurate survey times
8. pay incentives (prizes) promptly
10. Pre-test surveys thoroughly
11. Get feedback on surveys

I would only disagree with number 5. Sometimes a person needs the option to expand on a response and having an open ended question makes that possible. You might have an open ended question but make it an option to reply thereby not annoying those really want to offer feedback but who don’t have or want to spend a long time doing so.

About accurate survey times, the article states that respondents don’t mind taking longer surveys as long as they know how much time they will take.  This is good to know when you need more in-depth replies.

You can read this and other articles online at http://www.quirks.com/. While there, you can also request a FREE subscription (if you qualify).

While you’re at it you can grab a FREE copy of eMarketing ~  300 page textbook aimed at tertiary education students, business owners and marketers who want to get ahead in online marketing. It has everything from the facts to case studies and study questions around each eMarketing tactic. Go to http://www.quirk.biz/emarketingtextbook/download.

About Quirks: Quirks brings you the possibility to find market research companies, facilities, jobs, articles and more options. Click on this link to access the site`s directory, articles and reviews. Check out Quirks Today!

For more holiday marketing ideas, see my book, Quirky Marketing ~ 365 Ways to Grow Your Business Using Zany and Non-traditional Holidays at www.QuirkyOffer.com.  Free updates for 2010 when you purchase the current edition

They all mark special ”celebrations” on the calendar. For instance September 13th is National Grandparent’s Day – acknowledge your favorite grandparents with flowers or volunteer for or create an adopt-a-grandparent association.  Honor those who honor children (of all ages) in a special way.  Have a grandparent’s day sale or special offering.  Visit a nursing home or assisted living facility and read to or just talk to some of the residents.

September 13th is also Bald is Beautiful Day – if you are a barber you could host a “bald is beautiful contest” and have prizes for the roundest head, the shiniest head, the most interesting head … – In May 2001 Harrisburg Senators partnered with the American Cancer Society (ACS) for a special fundraiser at Commerce Bank Park.   The Senators raised money for the ACS Hope Lodge in Hershey, a place where cancer patients and their families can stay free of charge while patients are receiving treatment at Hershey Medical Center. Bald is Beautiful Day consisted of players and employees offering to shave their heads if their fundraising goal is met.

September 13th is also Fortune Cookie Day – Give everyone a fortune cookie today – you can buy them at a Chinese restaurant or you can special order them online and include your own messages – go to http://www.fancyfortunecookies.com/ or www.goodfortunes.com to create yours or make your own with this recipe at http://www.redheadmarketingblog.com/fortune-cookie-recipe-for-business-success/. 

September 13th is also International Chocolate Day – another great day to do a chocolate promotion – carry around gold chocolate coins wherever you go and hand them out with your business card (I use those glue dots to attach the chocolate to my business card and use this as another way to spread the word about my company in a delectable way.  A chocolatiere in Florida makes chocolate coins and gives them to prospects wherever he goes, a great way to allow others to offer a sample and promote his business.   

For more Weird Holiday Marketing Ideas check out Quirky Marketing ~ 365 Ways to Promote Your Business Using Zany & Non-traditional Holidays! 

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That’s why I recommend publicity over advertising. Do things like createingan event or a stunt that will get you noticed in your niche. Get busy on social networking sites where your customers and clients hang out, including the top 3 Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Having said that, there are reasons and places to advertise online that will pay off without spending a fortune.

Here are some tips to “advertise”:

List your online business in free directories such as Google (http://www.google.com/local/add), Yahoo (http://www.listings.local.yahoo.com) and Bing (http://ssl.bing.com/listings), DMOZ, The Open Directory Project (http://www.dmoz.org/) and ZoomInfo (http://www.zoominfo.com/). By the way, if you do list your site in these directories be sure and only list once because you could get banned for multiple listings of the same company. You can also show videos and photos which can be added to your listings.

In addition, list your business in LOCAL Directories such as YellowPages http://listings.yellowpages.com, City Search http://myaccount.citiysearch.com, AOL Local Search http://localsearch.aol.com, Local.com at http://register.local.com and Merchant Circle at http://merchantcircle.com.

When you list your business above, use keywords to describe what you do using benefit words (eg. “24 hour turnaround” or “loose weight or you don’t pay”) rather than vanity words (like BEST, AWARD WINNING) – people don’t believe that anymore and they don’t search for businesses that way.

This will take you less than an hour to set up and about 10-15 minutes a month to maintain.

Find sites that sell to your audience that compliment what you do and see if they will either sell you space on their site, list you in their links or if they have a newsletter that goes out to your target audience see if they do ads. Most of the time these ads are innexpensive and you can test for very little money. BTW, one insert is not a test. You need to create a campaign and keep your ad in for a minimum of 5-6 issues to see if it is going to work. Remember that it takes that many impressions before people begin to recongize your company. It also builds credibitly.

And remember to add social networking to your marketing plan. I know so many people who just hang out on SN Sites but don’t really know how to effectively use them to get attention for their businesses. Before you waste a lot time check out what those you admire are doing and model them. Don’t copy them, learn from them. See what they are doing and what is working for them. See how you can adapt to your own situation.

As you can see, I could go on and on about this topic. Let’s just say there are many ways to advertise without breaking the bank and many of them are FREE. The price you pay is TIME which by the way IS NOT FREE. Once its spent you NEVER GET IT BACK. So use it wisely.

August 19th is Lifesavers Day ~ Life Saver mints were formulated in 1912 by Clarence Crane, a producer of chocolates in Cleveland, Ohio. He had the candy manufactured by a pill maker who discovered that his machiner only worked if it punched a hole in the center of each candy which lead to the name Lifesavers.  And on August 19, 1913 the trademark was issued about the same time that  Edward Noble bought the formula, manufactured the sweets and had them sold as Pep-O-Mint Life Savers. He established the Mint Products Company in New York City. With takeovers in the confectionary industry the formula has been resold many times but Life Savers survives as a distinctive product.
 
This advertisement shows an enduring example of good product design: the ring shape of Life Savers represents a miniature ‘life preserver’ (a life buoy, vest or jacket), a safety device that originated in the mid-19th century. The sale of Life Savers in small aluminum-foil rolls contributed to their distinctive branding. Edward Noble encouraged retailers to place them next to their registers to promote them and increase sales, which is still a practice today.

Check out this black and white clip of the Lifesavers factory aimed at a 1920 audience:  http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/lifesavers-advertisement/clip2/  Notice how it has all the elements of typical black and white movies of the time, villain, heroine, secret plot and solution.

Did you know: 54 miles of Life Savers roll candy is produced on an average day? More than 46 billion Life Savers are produced annually, weighing in at 57.5 million pounds. It’s estimated that there are a million locations in the United States where you can buy the famous roll candy.

How about a campaign called “Customers Like You are a Real Lifesaver!”  Send them a mailing with lifesavers custom imprinted with your company name and logo.

Go here to grab a template and Make Your Own Personalized LifeSaver ® Labels http://www.wrapcandy.com/Lifesaver_labels.php

August 10th  is Lego Day ~ Legos were invented by Godfred Kirk Christiansen (1954) in response to a need for toys that would challenge children to think.  Legos comes from the word “Leg godt” which means “play well.”

Over the next 52+ years dozens of organizations have come up with ideas and events to create a world record for using the most legos, creating the largest construction and even the tallest towers. In fact, in 2006 the  World record-smashing LEGO tower measures over 96 feet tall beat the former record by only 7 inches.  The structure, built by hundreds of children in Vienna, created a whopping  tower of LEGO measuring 96.7 feet. In fact,  The new tower is so tall, the children assembled the structure in pieces before adults lifted each section to the pinnacle by a crane.
 ~ Read the whole story here: http://dvice.com/archives/2008/10/world_recordsma.php.

 What records have you attempted to “break” in your company, your community, your circle to gain attention of the media and promote your business?

Here’s some great Lego training ideas http://www.squarewheels.com/content/legotrdev.html

And be sure to check out LEGO SERIOUS PLAY ~ an innovative, experiential process
designed to enhance innovation and business performance here: http://www.seriousplay.com/

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