Search Results for ‘promoting small business’
Surfing the WEB for tips to make your company stand out on Black Friday
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
November 23rd, 2009
Excerpt from Promoting Your Business on the WEB Special Report.
Cross Promote – Share costs and prospect lists with a complementary, non-competing business. For instance, if you are a realtor, you could share the cost of a direct-mail postcard with a mortgage or title company. Or put links to a complementary business site on your Web site, and ask the other business to do the same. For example, if you send out brochures, both partners could include a brochure and/or business card of the other’s business. Nothing is more powerful that a recommendation from a trusted source and if your cross-promotion partner has customers or clients, chances are they trust her or him and will listen when a suggestion to use another company is presented. When you cross-promote with another business you have the opportunity to reach a whole new circle of potential customers. Some of the companies you could consider include to collaborate with a well-known company, competitors (not in your area, but in the same industry that serve a different market) and nonprofits you support.
Cross promoting or partnering reduces a small business marketing and promotion costs and also opens the door to implement techniques you could not previously consider because of the expense of doing so. Read It Takes Two – How to Cultivate Profitable, Strategic Alliances To Increase Your Market Share for more tips on how to find Cross-promotion partners to serve your target niche.
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!
November 13th, 2008
Videos have really taken flight. They are everywhere! Friends send friends links to videos they love. Companies create videos to promote their businesses. Individuals do crazy stunts to become video-lebrities and more! So, what can YOU do with Video to promote your company? You could create an instructional video on a topic related to your product or service; something your prospects would find interesting and even more importantly be searching for. Take the “How Stuff Works” blog. They have created a video on all sorts of things and are getting a reputation as a place to go for information on what else… how stuff works! When producing videos, think about the K.I.S.S theory – keep it short and succinct to keep people’s attention. Think about ways that you can put more content into (short) video segments on your site, and then post them to YouTube, Revver and other video-sharing sites. YouTube is an excellent venue to generate traffic and a buzz. Revver
’s unique technology tracks and monetizes videos as they spread virally across the web, so no matter where your creativity travels, you benefit. You can create a video on how your product works like the folks at Blendtec did with their Will it Blend Videos, or a video presentation of your best salesperson pitching your product. Record video interviews with industry experts… Use Video in your email, on your website instead of a blog post, on your social networking pages, and more’s unique technology tracks and monetizes videos as they spread virally across the web, so no matter where your creativity travels, you benefit. You can create a video on how your product works like the folks at Blendtec did with their Will it Blend Videos, or a video presentation of your best salesperson pitching your product. Record video interviews with industry experts… Use Video in your email, on your website instead of a blog post, on your social networking pages, and more
Check out Internet Video Magazine for the latest on Internet Video Articles, Tutorials, News, Book and Product Reviews – Everything you need to know in order to shoot, create and post your own Internet Video Masterpieces. Talk Fushion is an excellent fee-based platform for recording and uploading video and with Google Video and Flickr you can do it for free.
And read Jessica Kizorek’s book SHOW ME ~ Marketing With Video on the Internet
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!
November 3rd, 2008
Excerpt from Promoting Your Business on the WEB Special Report.
Internet Radio. Internet Talk radio has taken cyberspace by storm.. There are literally thousands of Internet radio stations in the United States in the U.S. alone. And they are looking for experts to interview on their shows. This has created untold opportunities for small business people to promote your expertise to a targeted group of listeners who are there to hear what you have to say. Internet radio, like its counterpart can help increase an individual’s credibility and brand awareness. Every one of those shows need guests. And the best news is that it’s free.
In addition to getting interviewed you can interview others that your prospects would be interested in learning more about. Start your own show using Blog Talk Radio, Ubroadcast.com, Live365, or TalkZone.com, and Growing Bolder to name a few.
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!
Excerpt from Promoting Your Business on the WEB Special Report.
October 28th, 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
How Cause-related marketing can grow your company and do good.
According to a report published by onPhilanthropy, cause marketing sponsorship by American businesses has been steadily rising over the years.
The potential benefits of cause marketing for nonprofit organizations include a wider audience in which to promote the nonprofit organization’s cause, increased accessibility of potential donors and supporters through a company’s customer base.
The potential benefits of cause marketing for businesses big or small include promoting your company in a positive way, improving your relationships with your current customer base, and attract your target audience. Cause-related marketing can make your company stand out from your competitors and heighten your company’s reputation within your target market.
In the ook Brand Spirit: How Cause Related Marketing Builds Brands by Hamish Pringle and Marjorie Thompson the authors say: “Nothing builds brand loyalty among today’s increasingly skeptical, hard-to-please consumers like a proven commitment to a worthy cause on the part of a company.”
Some ways you can implement a cause marketing campaign include giving a portion of the profits of sales of a product to the cause. Companies have created programs to donate a percentage of their sales to a nonprofit organization through the use of auctions. You can align your company with a cause to brand your business as the official (name of industry) of (name of cause). You can adopt a program and get your staff involved to help implement your marketing efforts such as participating in an event hosted by the cause as a TEAM effort, donating time to mentor youth in the schools or community, giving blood, to name a few.
Think BIG ~ The Let’s say Thanks Campaign by Zerox created a way for individuals across the country to recognize U.S. troops stationed overseas. By submitting a message through the LetsSayThanks website you have the opportunity to send a free personalized postcard greeting to deployed servicemen and women.
Arrow, The Authentic American Brand created the “We are Ellis Island” campaign which ito raise money to restore dilapidated buildings on the south side of Ellis Island. Through association with Save Ellis Island, the Arrow brand is committed to preserving Ellis Island with the help of the National Park Service. Arrow launched the website www.WeAreEllisIsland.com for visitors to post their family stories, share inspiring stories of hope, courage and perseverance, all in the name of living out the great American dream. When you visit We Are Ellis Island you can read thes stories and donate money to the causes Arrow has committed to donate 1% of its 2008 wholesale sales to the project. To learn more about Arrow, visit www.arrowshirts.com.
Start small ~ You don’t have to be a BIG company to adopt a cause. Just look around your community to see what the needs are, what is missing, lacking or could use a little (or big) boost in support. Check with non-profits you believe in, with local chambers of commerce, business groups, niche groups, your trade associations, ask your vendors and customers for ideas. Find out who your target audience supports and see if it meshes with your values and your company’s mission. If so, you are on your way to getting out and doing good. And it is a great way to raise your profile in the eyes of the media. A local retailer could run a promotion donating a portion of the sales goes to support a local school project that is underfunded or donating your products to bring joy to less fortunate families in your communities during the holiday season.
One success leads to others and you can build upon those to get more creative and grandiose in your ideas and strategies. After all, America’s economy is fueled by small business and the companies we keep.
September 10th, 2008
Excerpt from Promoting Your Business on the WEB Special Report.
Make the media your friend… press releases are an excellent business promotion tool as long at it contains information that is newsworthy, and interesting enough that people will read it and then visit your site.
What is considered newsworthy? Have you recently expanded your product or services offerings or changed locations? Do you have a new product? Have you recently sponsoring a charity event? Have you or your company recently won an award? All of these are examples of “news” that you can use to get some free promotion for your business. My friend Ponn Sabra wrote an excellent book called “How to Create a Search Engine Optimized Press Release. Effective Use of PRWeb”. It’s a must-read if you want to make the most of your online press releases.
Here are a few other sites to check out for more great media tips: Exubrio, Joan Stewart’s Publicity Hound, and the Women’s Media Summit Blog.
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!
Check out the Women’s Media Summit Audio Program. I interviewed 16 experts over 5 days for a total of more than 15 hours of content! When you order, you will be sent a link to download the workbook, recordings and any other resources shared during the Women’s Media Audio Program. Click here to save $20 on the recordings, workbook and more!
September 4th, 2008
Write Articles for Others to Use in their Newsletters, magazines and on their blogs. Write an article that demonstrates your expertise in your field. Send it to non-competing newspapers, magazines, and Web sites such as Idea Marketers and Business Know-How.
Include your name, business name, reference to your product or service and phone number at the end of the article (resource box). If your article is accepted, you become a published author, establish your brand, and build goodwill. A well written, strategically positioned article can provide free advertising and build positive word-of-mouth for you and your company. Submit your articles to article directories such as Helium and Associated Content (often referred to as The People’s Media Company).
I have written 100′s of articles over the years and the result is that there are more than 300,000 results for the name HEIDI RICHARDS. Are they all referring to me? No, however in Google, I dominate the first 20+ pages (I didn’t go any further). And Redhead Marketing is cited at least a dozen times in those results.
Article writing is one of many ways to promote your small business on the WEB. Want more ideas to Promote your Website on the NET?
Get a FREE copy of the 8-page Special Report Promoting Your Business on the WEB TODAY!
August 31st, 2008
Last week on HER Mastermind Network Dr. Leah Jackman-Wheitner, Ph.D. posted some thought-provoking questions to the group. The responses were interesting and helpful so I thought I’d post my responses here.
Q1. “What do you do to market when holding your head above the water is your primary goal?”
I think that if people are experiencing the negative impacts of the economy as far as their businesses are concerned then “holding your head above water” seems fitting. The most important thing to remember is to ALWAYS BE MARKETING ~ it is the #1 way to recession-proof your business. And #2 is something I was recently reminded of and that is when a marketing program is working well… keep doing it. I for one, will start something, see it through to a certain point and when I get bored with it will stop doing it. Our customers and clients EXPECT us to keep our name in front of them. When we don’t, they often forget about us and go elsewhere.
When times are tough I tend to get more involved locally to reaquaint others with my products and services. I give away samples and I offer incentives (not discounts per se). In February we created the Daisy Dollars program to reward customers who refer others to us. So far, we have invested about 3 hours coming up with and promoting the program and have seen at least a 10% increase in referrals since it’s implementation. And, we have sent the “Daisy Dollars™” to the referring parties and only one out of about 20 have redeemed them so far ($50 worth).
Note: Did you know that only about 5% of all discount offers, gift certificates ever get redeemed? I’m not sure that is good, because that may mean they are not coming back to you ~ so my next suggestion would be that if you keep track of who you send them to, then make it a part of your program to remind your clients of their incentive and ask them if they would like to redeem them? Since people forget they have them, they appreciate the reminder and you see an increase in business ~ and more importantly Referrals!
Q2. How do you pick and choose your marketing and networking commitments when time and energy are tight?
I choose those that have worked in the past as well as find fun new programs to showcase our products (see above answer). When time and energy are tight, it is just as important to market as not. If you are busy because of all your marketing efforts never think that it will last forever. Marketing is an ongoing effort. When times are good some people slack off on marketing and then wonder what happened when times get slow.
Q3. How do you know which activities are going to be best for you?
That is a tough question and the one marketers have asked since the beginning of time (or at least since there was something to be sold to someone who needed to buy…)
That’s why its so important to TEST the waters ~ if you are doubtful of the success of a program, test it on a small basis and see if it workings. If not, it gives you a chance to either modify the direction or plan or to drop it for something else. Before I do anything new I always run it by my mastermind group, my staff, a couple of friends I think will be impartial as well as my husband whom I consider my VOR (voice of reason). Sometimes I am so excited about a new program, I don’t fully analyze the cost versus benefits (ROI). Of course if it’s a very simple campaign that has a small financial investment to get off the ground such as the Daisy Dollars™ Program, I just run it by my staff.
You will read about some of the other contributions over the next few days.
July 28th, 2008
Recently I attended the Florida Direct Marketing Association (FDMA) Luncheon . The topic ~ Catalog Marketing. Leslie Linevsky, Co-Founder of Catalogs.com and Bonnie Levengood, Director of Marketing with 1-800-PetMeds were the speakers.
Leslie spoke about the history of catalogs.com, and their business model which is promoting catalogs online. For over a decade, Catalogs.com has been helping shoppers find and order the perfect catalogs for the products they want – all free of charge.
Their Mission Statement: Imagine a world where the only catalogs you received are the ones you requested. Now imagine one starting place to find and preview the world’s best catalogs and either request the ones you want or shop at their online stores – plus find special savings offers too.
Leslie talked about the challenges, opportunities and pet peeves she has. Some of the challenges were delivery of catalogs until they partnered with DHL to house and deliver every catalog ordered by their visitors. And what makes Catalogs.com unique is their ability to capture the order, transmit it to DHL by midnight of the same day at which time DHL process the order the very next day! Their sign up process is also unique in that they pre-qualify prospects because they only get catalogs they request so catalog companies don’t mail thousands and even millions of catalogs to people who only end up tossing them into the round file. Most of the catalogs featured on Catalogs.com also provide great savings specials which are exclusive to shoppers of Catalogs.com.
Leslie also talked about their newest initiative which is OnlineCatalogs.com which allows visitors to peruse the catalogs online and then purchase on the spot. Leslie also spoke about some of her pet peeves in online marketing which included a. requiring a customer to register before being able to order, b) asking for the credit card or payment information before giving the total and c) not showing an item as “out of stock” before the order process – each of these increase abandonment of orders and decrease the confidence of the consumer.
Bonnie shared 1-800 Pet Meds experience implementing the “Worlds largest 1 to 1 personalization campaign” including the pros and cons of going to such lengths in personalizing 3 million individual catalogs. She talked aobut how they personized each piece with their customers names, the pet’s name and a photo which they put on the cover of each individual magazine at a cost of roughly 3 times that of traditional catalog marketing campaigns. While it garnered them lots of publicity and an endearing rep among customers the bottom line is that it was cost prohibitive in terms of ROI.
Bonnie made a few recommendations regarding 1 to 1 customization including a) testing the campaign on a smaller basis, b) testing variables of each campaign such as placement of personalization – less personalization – use of photos, etc.
Bonnie and Leslie also spoke about how the rising cost of printing and postage and forcing many catalogers to go to a smaller (slim jim) size to offset the rising costs. The USPS (post office) is feeling the results in less revenue as well.
Bonnie ended with her suggestions to get green and lean by:
1. Implementing the slim jim catalog model and driving more sales to purchase online
2. Create email marketing campaigns that drive traffic to your online catalog. And make sure your entire catalog of products is available for customers to peruse and purchase via your website.
3. When you must print, be environmentally conscientious using green materials and processes to lesson your carbon footprint on the planet.
For more green ideas visit Sustainable Life Media, read the article Mailers work to ‘green’ their Marketing and check out the list of Green/Environmental Marketing Resources at Direct Magazine Online.
July 21st, 2008
Previous Posts
