Using Memberships as a Small Business Marketing Strategy

Some years ago while living in Southern California I was asked to be the guest speaker at an upcoming Chamber of Commerce meeting. Turns out it was the month of January that I was scheduled for.

I remember the President of the Chamber telling me to be sure I had 100 copies of my handouts because January was their most attended meeting of the year. Sure enough, over 100 people showed up that morning to listen to my talk about Small Business Direct Marketing.

Then, a couple of years ago, I was again a guest speaker at a monthly dinner meeting for an association that was my client. Once again, it turns out that it was their January meeting and this time, more than 125 members showed up!

So, given my experiences, it seemed timely to begin 2016 with a post about how to make the most of your memberships.

Many of us belong to great organizations & associations only to find we don't get the business opportunities we thought we would when we joined. Guess what? With just a little bit of effort, you'll find that these opportunities are plentiful & yours for the taking.

Here's how:

1. Be selective about the organizations you join. In order to make the most of anything you must be an active participant & fully engaged. A mistake people make is to join too many groups & spread themselves too thin. It's better to go deep than to skim the surface.

2. Attend regularly. Every association publishes their list of meeting dates/times for the year, usually by January. Be sure to get these in your calendar NOW & schedule them in to your time so they don't get lost in the shuffle of your everyday hectic busyness. Seek out a committee member at your first meeting so they can show you the ropes, make introductions & orient you to the group so you feel comfortable right away.

3. Offer your services. This can be in the form of joining a committee, or offering your product or service as a 'give away' for the organization. You'll get a mention in the marketing collateral materials "....donated by ABC Company" & can use this as opportunity to showcase your goods to your audience.

4. Speak up. Offer to be a speaker. This is an amazingly effective way to share your knowledge, establish your credibility & gain exposure with those who are interested in your company.

5. Link up. All associations have an online membership directory. Be sure your company's listing is correct (check all spelling, email, phone #'s, etc.) & for the online portion, be sure there is a link to your website. This can be immensely helpful to add to your back-linking SEO. For those types of organizations that are consumer-oriented, this link will also serve as advertising for you.

6. Learn, grow, explore. Associations offer many opportunities to stay up to date on new techniques & industry research. Some of these can include webinars, in-person speakers, discounts to industry meetings/trade shows, CEU's, industry magazines/newsletters & even white papers. Don't forget to check out the Membership Benefits section of any association you join so you can begin to make the most of these opportunities from the start.

7. Discounts on items you need to run your business. Some of the larger organizations offer their members access to health insurance, as well the more traditional discounts to office supply stores, car rentals, even equipment & cell phone service.

8. Marketing/Advertising Opportunities. This can work 2 ways: Within the organization such as sponsoring meetings, advertising on their web pages, marketing to their member list & in the annual directory. Outside of the organization there can be opportunities such as discounts on local newspaper or radio advertising, bundled pricing on trade show participation, public relations efforts & more. Ask the membership representative when you join what may be available to you.

9. People sourcing. Being active in an organization is a great way to network your way into a new client's office, hire a new employee, or find about about a new bidding opportunity. Be friendly & bring opportunities to the table to share & they'll come back to you many times over.

10. Ready, set, go! Have your elevator pitch polished along with plenty of business cards each time you attend a meeting. Go prepared to relax & enjoy the company of other professionals. Don't forget to have fun & watch your investment pay off.

Copyright 2016 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC. This blog uses copyscape.com to protect against plagiarism.

Small Business Owners: Stop Giving it all Away!

Groupon, Amazon Local, Val-Pak, Comparison sites, Sunday coupons...discounts are everywhere but are not always a good thing. At least not for the small business owners.

It used to be that only high-priced ticket items were shopped. Now, consumers want to shop everything from toilet tissue all the way up to mortgages. If you're selling to consumers, there's more pressure than ever to discount your prices. While this can work great in limited circumstances, it is not a great long-term strategy to position your business because it diminishes your brand. Keep at this strategy and you'll never again be able to sell your wares full price.

Don't get caught in the endless no-win, price comparison and one-upping cycle. By following these easy-to-implement, affordable steps you'll never have to give it all away:

1. Keep a customer list - By creating marketing around your existing customers, you won't have to continually acquire new ones. Because acquisition can be up to 10x more expensive than retention you'll want to focus on retention marketing. Then, use acquisition to keep your pipeline active as necessary.

2. Strategically offer promotions - There's nothing wrong with using this strategy as a reward, but NEVER use it as a punishment. For example, including the words "for new customers only" anywhere in a promotion is suicidal. Why? How do you think a loyal customer feels when they see your mass-circulation ad that favors a newcomer rather than them? (And, they will see it). Me? I cringe when I see companies make this mistake. If I've been a loyal customer of yours then why aren't you rewarding ME? Try creating a rewards program or create a communication plan to stay in touch with your existing customers.

3. Category exclusivity is the best strategy - Here's what I mean: The other day I open up my daily Amazon Local newsletter and to my horror, I saw a former client of mine giving a deep discount. Even more horrifying was that her ad was just below a direct competitor's ad offering an even deeper discount. Oh my. If you're going to discount your services, then you must ask for category exclusivity. If you don't get it, you risk large-scale digital humiliation.

4. Deliver Killer Service - The best way I know to overcome tire-kickers and price-shoppers is to become the preferred supplier. The best way also happens to also be the easiest and least expensive marketing strategy there is! Have great customer services policies in place, hire friendly employees and train them well, know your customers' names, be flexible and don't act like a bureaucrat because you think that makes you look bigger. When I hear a small, neighborhood business say something ridiculous that includes the words "our policy" I cringe and walk away - for good.

5. Sell off Excess - Used in this way, you can cut losses and make people very happy! Here's what I mean: A former client would sell current inventory on amazon.com at deeply discounted prices. This led to consumer buying from there, rather than his own site, or in his retail store. When you do that, you're undermining your store/site's success so much so that no amount of SEO spend can ever be profitable.

So, before you think that discounting is your only option - keep in mind the long-term repercussions. Then, use basic retention marketing strategies instead. Fore more information on these strategies, ask for our newest whitepaper: The Three Phases of Marketing Every Small Business Owner Needs to Understand to Be Successful.


© 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC. All rights reserved.

This blog uses copyscape.com to guard against plagiarism.

The ever-important timing consideration of small business marketing

Marketers should take a cue from stand-up comedians - Timing is everything!

The other day I spoke with a small business owner to review his marketing campaign that fell flat. He & his partners wanted to know what could be done to improve their efforts in the future. As we're reviewing the piece on the phone I asked "when did this launch?" I found out they emailed school superintendents the first week of school. Ah ha!

They had the target correct, the offer was pretty good, but boy was their timing off. So let's talk about the relationship between timing and marketing success.

Keep reading & you too will see why it matters very much WHEN you market - even if it's to the right audience.

Most marketing campaigns begin by applying the standard formula for success:

60% audience; 30% offer; 10% design

So where does the timing factor fall? I say it's a portion of the 60% because if your audience doesn't get your offer when they're ready to purchase then it's a wasted effort, no matter how good the offer is.

1. Industry Timing - My client's case in point is a perfect example of this. Decision makers at schools are otherwise distracted during the first few weeks of a new school year, so it is not the best time to get their attention. Similarly, consumers won't be installing pools in February, so you must know the best time to get the attention of the target decision makers. If you're marketing to a new industry segment, educate yourself by doing your homework so that you don't waste efforts.

2. Channel Timing - Brand Mechanics recently published a detailed analysis of the 10 best times of day/week for social media marketing. Some of their findings are common sense, others were a bit of a surprise to me. For example, as I wrote in the email chapter of my book, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are typically the best days to email B2B, while Thursdays and Fridays are best for B2C. But, I hadn't known that the highest percentage of Facebook shares happen beginning Friday evening and all day Saturday. And, Bitly says that most B2B links are clicked weekdays in the 11AM hour.

3. Time of Day - Yes, this matters too. Salespeople know that you don't call prospects first thing in the morning, but did you know that a blogs best times and highest read rates are early morning? For emails too timing is important. The best open rates for B2B are between 11AM-2PM during peak days.

4. Lifecycle Timing - Also called "triggers" there are certain events that would naturally trigger purchases. These include buying a new home or having a baby. Getting to these folks at the time they need your products & services is crucial to your success. Selling furniture? Purchase new homeowner lists in your target zip codes. Selling diapers? Advertise on the new mommy blogs, or partner with a local hospital. Consider Facebook's advertiser tool called "real time" marketing. One of their best case studies comes from a wedding photography studio. The studio tested putting an ad on a user's page as soon as they changed their status to "engaged." The company claims that with just a few hundred dollars' investment, they've made many thousands of dollars by getting to newly engaged folks before their competitors could.

5. Event Timing - If you're having a seminar, workshop, or special event consider 6 weeks' notice, with email follow-ups at two week intervals as the date gets closer. The day before you should plan on sending a final reminder too. I recently received an email inviting me to a seminar the very next day. Not good timing & I wonder how many folks showed up.

6. Two-Step Follow-Ups - One shot marketing almost never works, so how do you plan your follow up touches to maximize response rates? Consider that each channel is handled differently, so follow these industry guidelines for the two most common prospecting channels:
• Direct Mail - follow up with a phone call within two weeks
• Direct Mail - follow up with a second mailing within four weeks
• Email - follow up with a phone call within three business days
• Email - follow up with a second email within two weeks

7. Holiday Timing - It seems that retailers are always one season ahead & while consumer may not respond right away, it makes their to-do list & acts as a reminder. There will always be those that are on top of gift/card giving, but consider those last-minute shoppers that you can appeal to as well. And, remember there are many holidays that marketing can play upon if it makes sense for your business. For example, Arbor Day for a landscaping firm or tax deadline dates for financial professionals.

A few final words on timing:

-Before planning a big event Google the date to be sure it doesn't conflict with something else in your area, especially if the same audience would be interested in both.
-When doing your marketing planning for the following year, get out a calendar & plan for each one not just by launch date, but also by adding follow up efforts so you can better plan for budgeting & project management.

Marketing TODAY keeps you in business for TOMORROW.


Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

This blog uses copyscape.com to protect against plagiarism.