1. Business Cards. RANDYE: This is the most frequently used of all small business marketing tools. First, print on the back of the card. You get 100% more space for just 25% more print cost. Also, use the same font and colors on all your marketing materials. This will give you a consistent business identity and help with brand recognition. CLIFF: "Bullets" describing the goods or services you provide, or five key marketing messages you want your customers to remember, make excellent content for the back of the card.
2. Display Advertising. RANDYE: Frequency is everything. Too many times I hear clients complain that "my ad didn't bring in one new customer." Well, one ad won't do anything. A small ad run six times at two-month intervals is far more effective than a large ad run once or twice.CLIFF: Print publications are losing readership, and even those readers are "skimming" rather than reading, but if you're targeting older people then print will still work. Online display ads are less expensive, but there's tons of competition, so be sure they are graphically eye-catching. Try using dotted lines like a coupon to get more attention.
3. Direct Mail. RANDYE: I live on the sixth floor of a high-rise condo, yet I can't tell you how many direct mail pieces I get for swimming pools, gutter cleaning and other goods and services that I can never use. When buying address lists from commercial brokers you should make sure the list is purged to remove any "unit" indicators so you mail only to single family homes. CLIFF: Also, watch your timing. Soon after I had my house power-washed last year, I got a blizzard of post cards from power-wash companies. Too late! The time to advertise for snow removal services is in September or October, not January.
4. Trade Shows. RANDYE: Trade shows are all about eye appeal. Use professionally designed booth materials and do proper pre-show marketing so your market will know you're there. You should also have some means of collecting attendees' business cards so you can send them a follow-up promotion within two weeks. For example, give someone a free iPod® if you pick their business card from a goldfish bowl. CLIFF: You should try to spend as little time at your booth as possible. Get a couple of extremely attractive young people to manage your booth, hand out giveaway items, and answer basic customer questions (just be sure they can track you down fast on your mobile phone if a journalist or other important person shows up at your booth). You should be walking the floor yourself, looking for potential new business partners and customers, sizing up competitors, schmoozing with industry "players," and learning about some of the new developments that may make your business obsolete. That's what trade shows are all about. The less your "booth people" know about your business, the less likely they will give away sensitive information to someone who seems to be a highly motivated customer but is really a competitor in disguise.
5. Stenciling Your Car or Truck. RANDYE: You would be amazed how many people hire plumbers and other contractors after seeing the stenciling on their trucks in the neighborhood. (I did this not too long ago!) Remember that the stenciling needs to be large enough to see, and graphically interesting so it creates a visual impression. Your company name and telephone number should also be easy to remember: people with both hands on the steering wheel will not be able to write them down for later reference. CLIFF: You should stencil the hood, trunk and both sides of your vehicle. The hood stenciling should be "reverse image" so people ahead of you can read your message in their rear-view mirrors.
6. Brochures. RANDYE: It's best if you create these as "self-mailers" - with space for the recipient's address and postage so you don't have to use a separate envelope. Professionals, especially, should have a brochure describing their services, credentials, testimonials from clients and others, and fee schedule. CLIFF: Brochures are expensive to write, design and print so you will need to spent lots of time getting the details right. Also, proofread them carefully: once you print thousands of brochures, it's embarrassing (and credibility killing) to correct typographical errors and make changes by hand.
7. Stage of Business. RANDYE: It is critical to be aware of what you are trying to accomplish with your marketing, because certain tools work better at different stages. There are three stages in the marketing process. The first stage is Acquisition - done when you are just starting out; the second stage is Retention - done once you've got a list of clients who have already done business with you; and finally is Reactivation - done when you haven't heard from past clients in a while. Each stage has it's own set of best-performing tools. You don't want to use signage for retention, nor would you want to purchase email lists for acquisition. Why? They simply won't work. Signage is better for acquisition, while e-mail lists are better for retention or reactivation. CLIFF: Absolutely. Throughout this process you should also consider "branding" -- marketing that is designed to create "name recognition" so that when you reach out to a prospective new customer or an existing customer, they say to themselves "Oh, yeah, Cliff Ennico, he could help me with this issue I have right now."
Stay tuned for part two next week!
Remember...get started marketing TODAY so that TOMORROW your business will still exist.
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