Tag Archives: Marketing and Advertising

9 Unlikely Ways to Drum Up New Customers

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Drumming up new customers is on the minds of every business owner. In fact a Constant Contact survey says that 80% of them stay up at night thinking about this very thing.(as a small business coach, I am definitely a part of that statistic!) Here’s an excerpt from a rocking article about really cool ways to get new clients. I’ve talked about these in one way or another throughout the years so I wanted to share it with you when I saw it all neatly packaged in an article:

1. Visit Popular Conferences

(If can’t afford to attend), stand outside of the conference venues–dressed appropriately–and meet the attendees while they are on lunch break.–Sunil Rajaraman, Scripted.com

2. Investing in Old-Fashioned Relationship-Building

While everyone is busy looking for the next viral campaign, we find old-fashioned relationship-building still trumps all other marketing efforts

3. Stop Selling, Start Asking Questions

Instead of trying to guess the sales triggers with a potential customer, let him tell you why he needs your product or service.

4. Posting Contrarian Articles

Posts such as “The Best Ways to Build up Credit Card Debt” became quite popular with our readers and attracted many new ones. –Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

5. Making Weekly Phone Calls With Customers

To start 2013, our team decided to go back to our roots and chat directly with customers. Every team member now has a weekly call with a different customer. We ask for honest feedback (good and bad) and learn a ton. –Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

6. Giving Away Content for Free

If people read something that’s great, they’re going to want to know where it came from–and follow that source in the future. –Derek Flanzraich, Greatist

7. Using Existing Customers to Gain New Ones

Your best customer is your best marketing tool to acquire new customers. –Brett Farmiloe, Markitors

8. Sampling Services to Non-Member Companies

When your brand is new, it’s important to create these micro-branding experiences for your target market–priming them to be receptive. –Manpreet Singh, Seva Call

9. Experimenting With Odd Ads

We ran an experiment with a blank banner ad to see if users on touchscreens were intending to tap our ads, or if the taps were accidental. The blank white banner ad had the highest click-through rate of all our ads. As a result, we are now less likely to use pay-per-click advertising methods. –Justin Beck, PerBlue

via 9 Unlikely Ways to Drum Up New Customers.

Whether using these 9 ways or other, always remember to keep you target client’s pain top of mind and to always speak from their perspective and in their language.

You can’t go wrong when you do.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk

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Are You A Marketing Slouch?

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If you’re not exactly doing cartwheels about how much your business has been growing then you might be interested in taking this test to see if you’re a dreaded Marketing Slouch or a happy Marketing Superstar. Chances are, if you’re not happy then you can stand to make a few changes in your biz. I’m here to shed some light!

Give yourself 1 point for every YES.

1. When people ask you what you do for a living, do people’s eyebrows go up (interest) versus down (confusion)?

2. After hearing your elevator speech, has anyone asked for your card to call you for a consultation?

3. Are you out networking with your perfect target client at least 1x a week?

4. Do you often get business from the places you network at?

5. Does your website talk more about your client’s problems or you?

If you scored between 0-2 You’re a Dreaded Marketing Slouch- Pick up the slack and you’ll see results right away, I promise!

If you scored between 3-4 You’re on your way to becoming a Marketing Superstar. Fine tune a few of your tactics and you’ll get the clients lining up!

If you scored a perfect 5, you are a certified Marketing Superstar. Congratulations! Your results probably tell you that anyway.

When you’re wondering why you’re not attracting new leads and the only new business you’re getting is from word of mouth, think back to whether you’re a marketing slouch or not.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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Marketing Strategies for the Future

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As a brand marketing coach for small businesses, my number one job is to drag my clients out of the past perception of what marketing was into the future. I’m even writing a book about it called “Gentle Marketing”. It’s all about attraction, gratitude and giving without expecting anything in return.

Here are some other tips to market for the future:

Don’t get crowdsmashed
Attune your business to consumer interests by addressing these three questions:

  • What do customers love about your business and what one change could make them love it even more? Example: Disney is replacing its popular decade-old FastPass, which allows visitors to skip long lines, with an RFID-encoded MagicBand bracelet that unlocks the resort experience with a flick of the wrist.
  • What aspects of your customers’ experience cause annoyance and what one change could eliminate that point of irritation? Example: Starbucks addressed public pressure to reduce trash by rolling out $1 reusable plastic cups, along with the incentive of a 10 percent discount each time the cups get used.
  • What attributes or values make customers choose your business over others and what one change could deepen or reward their commitment?Example: Nearly a million small businesses have started using Square card readers, enabling them to complete purchases on the spot while also responding to customers’ preference

via Marketing Strategies for the Future.

Whether in the shower, on vacation or in bed, I am ALWAYS thinking about marketing. I’m thinking about my clients’ marketing, about my own and about everyone else’s. Marketing is simply the only way to tell people in pain how you can help them. And I want to help a lot of people. So if you’re like me, get on board with the marketing strategies of the future and help more people.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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The New Rules for Marketing

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I am old. These eyes have seen many marketing campaigns in many boardrooms over the years. One thing that doesn’t change about marketing is that it’s based on human emotions and responses. However, a lot else has changed about the world of marketing and how to effectively get your message out to your customers. Here is a look at the old vs. they new way to market.

The Old Rules

Here’s are the rules for marketing that are taught in most business courses, and are common inside most companies (many of whom are struggling):

  • Step 1. Create a product that has a broad appeal to a large number of consumers or buyers.
  • Step 2. Reach as large an audience as possible with a message that appeals to many of those potential buyers.
  • Step 3. Create a recognizable brand name that can be extended into additional product categories.

The New Rules

  • Step 1. Create a product that addresses a very specific type of consumer and buyer.
  • Step 2. Target your initial messaging at that audience in order to “convert” them into your advocates.
  • Step 3. Have those advocates define your brand name and the future of your offerings.

via The New Rules for Marketing.

“Why the change?” you ask. It’s because thanks largely to social media and new media, people are consuming information differently. There are many subsegments of very specialized clusters of consumers you can reach more effectively by becoming laser focused on your niche. So please stop printing thousands of leaflets and blanketing neighbourhoods, stop buying bus shelter ads or newspaper inserts. Get focused and targeted and intercept the world of your specific target customer instead. You’ll get a lot more mileage for it.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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Co-Marketing: Twice as Nice or Double the Trouble?

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Four Weddings and a Funeral

Four Weddings and a Funeral (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I love weddings and the concept of partnership. One is the loneliest number, after all. So just like real life marriages, how come some brand partnerships go bad? Here’s a great article about just that:

Danger arises, though, when partners have very different products, client lists, marketing approaches or reputations. To protect your business, put each cross-promotion proposal through a five-question test:

  • Do the partner businesses complement and not compete with each other?
  • Do they appeal to similar but not identical customers?
  • Will the partnership enhance the reputation of all partners?
  • Are the reputations, marketing styles and promotion goals of all partners a good match?
  • Do all partners agree to a promotion plan, a budget, a timeline and responsibilities?

Then answer one final, all-important question: Can you explain the promotion in a single sentence, and do all partners describe it in exactly the same way? If not, it’s too complicated to succeed.

via Co-Marketing: Twice as Nice or Double the Trouble?.

The whole idea of sharing the spotlight with another business is to enhance success for both of you equally. So remember to keep your brand character, your target group and your values in line with each other, then the rest will hopefully be a match made in heaven.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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