60 Time-Tested Marketing Offers

What type of offers from marketers do you respond to?

For me, I love free bags from fashion magazines subscriptions, and free cosmetics from beauty brands. I also love free shipping and discount coupons I get from retailers. I also love the rewards program of retailers as well as all the discounts I can get. Basically, I love anything that can save me money.

As a marketer, there are a wide number of offers that you can offer your customers to increase response, average amount per sale, and increase transactions. Whether free stuff, rebates, free shipping or guarantees, here are some of these time tested marketing offers:

1. Freebies or bonus products = buy the product and get other products for free; such as ebook sellers offering 10 bonuses in addition to the ebook
2. Free gift card = typically subject to purchase of x amount of items. Example is
3. Free trial = allowing the consumer to test, try and use the product for free. Cosmetic companies do this by giving away smaller (trial) sizes of their products
4. Free subscription
5. Free downloads = software companies allow users to download and use the software for x number of times/days before the trial period expires and a paid version must be purchased
6. Complementary in-home consultation = offered by service businesses wherein the business will offer the first visit/consultation for free.
7. Free cost estimates = normally given by service companies such as contractors, they will come to the customer for free, assess the site and the work needed to be done, and give the customer a free quotation or estimate
8. Free gift with purchase
9. Free needs survey
10. Free disposal - for products being replaced such as appliances
11. Free/Instant rebates
12. No payments/no interest for x number of months = for businesses that provide financing options
13. Choice of Free gift
14. Stepped Free gifts
15. Samples
16. Free shipping = offered by online or catalog/mail order companies whereby shipping is offered to the customer for free
17. Free shipping after $X amount of purchase = free shipping only after the desired minimum order amount is reachesd ($25 free super shipping of Amazon, or Gap.com's free shipping for orders $100 for Gap cardmembers)
18. Gift shipment options
19. Rush shipping service
20. Upgrade shipping
21. Discounts for Bundled purchase = practiced by Amazon.com, this retailer ofers a small discount for purchasing the recommended item instead of simply the original item the customer wants
22. Free keeper gift
23. Sweepstakes and contests
24. Money-back guarantee = to show the marketer's confidence that the customer will love their products, this is a simple guaratee wherein a refund will be made if the customer is not satisfied with a product or service.
25. Long term guarantee
26. Double your money back guarantee
27. Relationship discount = discounts given to existing customers in order to entice them to order again
28. Price matching
29. Negative option = favored by mail order book clubs, this is the practice in which goods or services are provided automatically, and the customer has the option of paying for the item or service or decline it before billing
30. Positive Option
31. Reservation option
32. Quantity discount = price reduction given to large purchases
33. Limited time offers = designed to create urgency to the consumers to buy, marketers offer special discounts or freebies thrown in but only for a small window of opportunity
34. Refer-a-member or member-get-member
35. Price increase announcement
36. Price matching
37. Introductory Price
38. Last chance
39. Early bird discount
40. Trade in offer
41. Enrollment Period
42. Prepublication Offer
43. Charter membership
44. Payment with order
45. Bill me later
46. Installments
47. Lay away plan
48. Cumulative Incentives
49. Deluxe version
50. Shop till Forbid
51. Annual Membership Fee
52. Lifetime Membership Fee
53. Load ups
54. Yes/No
55. Yes/Maybe
56. Dollars Off
57. Limited Edition
58. Bounce back
59. Loyalty offers: lower prices for repeat or multiple purchase/visits/usage of service
60. Themed promotions such as special hotel packages inclusive of golf or free sports gear package for sport court installation

Grandparents: How to Reach this Market for Your Business

Grandparents are a huge market to tap, whether you are directly targeting them for your seniors travel business or indirectly for your children's toys business.

Estimates from different surveys show that there are anywhere from 30 to over 70 million of grandparents in the United States alone, and a sizeable portion of these grandparents take care of their grandkids for various reasons. The National Mail Order Association has collected a great deal of data on grandparents

According to GRAND magazine , the demographic characteristics of grandparents are:

• average age of first time grandparents is 47
• over 70 million grandparents
• 4,000 baby boomers become grandparents every day
• over 75% of the 50+ market are grandparents
• 77% of the nation's wealth and 50% discretionary spending come from this group
• annual spending on grandchildren alone top $70 billion

Given the above numbers, grandparents are a great market for children's products. They buy cribs, baby clothes, strollers, and other baby items as gifts to their grandkids. Others buy these items for the use of their grandkids when they visit the grandparents' homes, so the parents don't have to carry all these things. There are also others who buy baby items because the babies and kids live with the grandparents.

According to The Grandparent Study 2002 Report from AARP , the top reasons grandparents spend money on their children are birthday gifts (97%), holiday gifts such as Christmas, Hanukah, or Kwanzaa (96%), because they enjoy buying things for grandchildren (93%) and to entertain or have fun with their grandchildren (90%).

Aside from spending for their grandchildren, grandparents also spend on cars, vacation homes, travel, insurance products, financial products, and others. They are also concerned with their health and ensuring quality lifestyles -- and that means they are a good market for organic foods, vitamins, exercise equipment.

To reach this huge market, here are suggestions from the experts:

• Target Magazine (July 2007) says that grandparents do not want to be told how to be a good grandparent as they have already raised families. They respond to messages "about enriching their relationships with their grandchildren."
• According to Focalyst in their study "Meet the Grandparents", grandparents are plugged and are online. About 60% of grandparents surveyed cited the Internet as their top source for information and advice, and they are emailing their friends and families at least three to five times a week. Marketing to this group should be done online.
• Many of the buying decisions are done by women, so it is a good idea to target grandmothers in your campaigns.

How to Market a Graphic Design Business

One of my closest friends is a freelance graphic artist. She specializes in designing book covers, and has designed the covers of several publications. But right now, she is branching out to web design given the myriad opportunities of the Web.

Seeing her navigate the difficulties of self employment gave me some perspective that I am able to share with a subscriber who asked how she can find clients for a graphic design startup. Sheryl used our Consult Your Guides free service to post her question on how she can market and promote her new graphic design business in Atlanta.

Read the tips I gave on how to market a graphic design business and let me know any other strategies that have worked for others

Word of Mouth & Client Referrals: Top Sources of New Customers

The folks at SalesConx.com sent me the results of the survey they conducted last year. They surveyed 700 small business owners to see how entrepreneurs look at client relationships, to determine the lead generation strategies and how to grow the business using the Internet’s networking features.

Some of the findings of their survey are:

• Referral and word of mouth account for nearly 50% of all new business for surveyed small business owners, however, only 9% are using online lead generation.
• While Facebook has 50 million users and LinkedIn has 14 million users, only 11% of survey respondents noted that they belong to either of these communities. 79% of the participants belong to no social or professional network.
• While 22% of respondents note that they are adding 1 to 3 new clients annually, it is surprising that 11% of small business owners are adding more than 100 new clients per year. This statistic indicates that while lead generation and new client acquisition is NOT a priority of almost one third of small business owners, it is very much a factor for approximately 20% of small business owners who add at least 50 new clients annually.

The main finding of the survey is that "most small business owners rely on new business to drive revenue, but shy away from trying new marketing tactics." I'm not surprised about the finding as I see it all the time. Many small business owners are reticient in shaking up their marketing strategies, even if they see that the strategy is not working as well.

You can read the study's press release with summary of the findings at SalesConx.com

How to Build Your Brand

Many small and home-based business owners consider branding to be an exclusive domain of big companies. It is something that Coke, Nike, Apple, Disney and other companies with big marketing budgets engage in.

And this is often a big mistake. Many small businesses unfortunately fail to reap the benefits of having developed a strong brand -- or the process of establishing an emotional connection between the business and the customer.

Jeffrey Gitomer, in his book "The Little Red Book of Selling" has identified several ways a business can build a brand, even for 1-person businesses, and these are:

• Create demand for your product or service indirectly (through means other than direct advertising)
• Get the business community to have confidence in your business. Earn a reputation for quality performance so good that it’s talked about.
• Establish yourself as an expert. Why just be in the field, when you can be perceived on top of it?
• Register your name.com. Go to some name registration site and register your name as fast as you can.
• Dedicate time to make it happen. Or it won’t happen. If you want to make a lasting mark, it must be preceded with a master plan
• Get others to help you. List the people you think can help you or help you connect – and ask for their support. (The easiest way to get support? Give it first – without keeping score.
• Stay in front of the people you want to do business with. By combining your outreaches, you can create a steady flow of images to your target market. It takes between five and ten images to create awareness great enough to make a buying decision
• Become a resource. It’s much more powerful than someone perceiving you as a salesman or entrepreneur.
• Persistence and consistency are the secrets. If you’re good, have patience. Your phone will ring.
• Ignore idiots and zealots. There are a lot of jealous people and naysayers in the world.
• Become known as a person of action. The result of these actions will be a person who is known for getting things done – a leader.
  

How to Create Effective Calls to Action in Your Website

A "call to action" is defined as an activity requested of a consumer. It could be purchasing a product, requesting for information, completing a survey, or subscribing to an online newsletter. Call to action is your signal for communicating to visitors or users what you expect them to do.

An effective call to action can increase your conversion rates, whether that means sales, leads or however you define the end-goal. Examples of call to action include:

• "Order today before supply runs out!"
• "Click here to subscribe!"
• "Sign up now and get your free gift!"
• "Join our affiliate program."
• "Add to your shopping cart."

But how do you craft an effective call to action? Here are some strategies for improving your call to action:

• Instill a sense of urgency. The sooner you can make them respond, the better. Otherwise they can forget or be distracted by other matters.
• Consider using exclamation marks -- just don't use them excessively where every sentence ends with an exclamation mark.
• Be specific about what you want the visitors to do. "Click here" or anything as vague as this phrase just won't do.
• Pump it up: there are no rules that "call to action" signals need only be 1 sentence. Explain why the person has to do what you want them to do in a paragraph or even more.
• If you are using buttons or graphics, make it stand out in terms of its design and colors. Make it stand out from the page.
• If you are not using buttons, highlight the text by using colors, underlines, even arrows to make the call to action distinguishable and attention-calling.
• Don't put your call to action for the last, especially if the visitor will scroll down just to see it. Put the call to action above the fold.
• D0 a test to see which phrase, manner of presentation, and location within the site works the best.
  

Loyalty Marketing: Strategies that Work

Loyalty marketing is defined as "the effort to identify, maintain, and increase the yield from best customers through long-term, interactive, value-added relationships." It is basically the creation of programs that aim to recognize and reward customers based on their value to the company.

For big businesses, loyalty marketing is an integral part of their marketing programs. But not for small businesses. Many small businesses, while recognizing the benefits of having a loyalty program, are typically overwhelmed by the effort of identifying customers and tracking loyalty programs. They also lack the prerequisite ability to slice and dice the customer purchasing history; and many do not even have databases of their customers. More importantly, they lack the capability to implement loyalty programs

But if you are thinking of launching a loyalty program for your business, loyalty marketing firm Colloquy has an important study entitled "The Difference Engine A Comparison of Loyalty Marketing Perceptions Among Specific U.S. Consumer Segments" that looked at the response rates to various loyalty programs among the general population and specific customer groups.

According to the study, the following are the average response rates of the general population to various loyalty programs

• Cash back = 54.7%
• Points for free travel = 39.1%
• Points for in-store redemption = 32.6%
• Certificates = 28.2%
• Points for web/catalog redemption = 25.2%
  
• Discounts = 47.9%
• Upgrades = 20.8%
• Members only information = 19.7%
• Members only access = 13.7%

You can read the study by first registering at Colloquy

The Secret of Sending Press Releases

ChiefMarketer.com has a very interesting article that summarizes the essential elements of an effective press release. I've read a lot of articles on how to make your press release stand out and get noticed, but this article does a good job in outlining the strategies to ensure better pickup of your press releases:

• Set an objective - who do you want to read your release?
• Make your story relevant and real - how is your business revolutionizing the industry and what sets you apart from your competitors?
• Sell your company - what makes your organization unique?
• Drop names - they can give added credibility to your release
• Punch up the headline - the headline is what sells
• Provide hard numbers - stats grab attention
• Cater to reporters - give them all the information they need and make it easy for them to write about your business
• Remember the basics

You can read the article at ChiefMarketer.com

Six Essentials for Networking

Networking is one of those activities that I do not really look forward to doing, but I know I have to do because of the many benefits it can bring to a business.

According to Christine Comaford-Lynch, author of the book "Rules for Renegades," networking is actually FUN. She wrote: "Networking is about creating an extended family. It’s about developing connections, caring about people, increasing the size of your “tribe.”

She gave six networking essentials:

1. Practice “Palm Up” Networking. When you network, are you giving, or grasping? Palm up networking embodies the spirit of service, of giving and wanting nothing in return. When you network “palm down” you’re grasping for personal gain. Palm up = heart-oriented interaction. Palm down = greedy grasping. Which attitude results in building relationships, providing value, and ultimately bestows benefits on both parties? You guessed it. The universe has a perfect accounting system. Give to others, it’ll all come back to you in time.

2. Do Daily Appreciation. Appreciate at least one person daily. Sometimes I do this via e-mail so I can be thorough. And often, to my delight, the recipient will tell me that they are saving the message for when they need a pick-me-up. You can also express appreciation over the phone or in person. Simply tell someone how much you appreciate who they are, what they do, whatever about them moves you. They’ll be flattered and you’ll feel great.

3. Equalize Yourself with Others. I believe we all have one unit of worth, no more, no less. No one can add to it, no one can take it away. We’re all equal. Just because someone is powerful, rich, famous doesn’t mean they are better than you. Practice equalizing yourself with others—this will enable you to more comfortably interact with others, and to reach out to people of all walks of life.

4. Rolodex Dip. This is a fun practice when you want to connect with someone but aren’t sure who. Flip through your contact database and pick a name. Then think of all the things you like about them. Now call them up to see how they are doing. They’ll be surprised and delighted.

5. Pick a “Sensei of the Day”: Each day I pick a sensei, a teacher. This is someone who has taught me a lesson or reminded me of something important in life. Your sensei can be a person, a pet, a plant, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is to acknowledge that there is much to learn and you are being offered valuable lessons constantly.

6. Do the Drive-By Schmooze. Parties, conventions, groups of all sorts are great opportunities to network, but sometimes you’ll be tired, not in the mood, or have too many events in one evening (like during holiday season!). This is when you’ll want to use the Drive-By Schmooze. Here’s how:

• Timebox your networking. Decide that in 30 minutes you’ll do a check-in to determine if you need to stay any longer.
• Set your goal. Determine the number of new connections you want to establish. Remember, your goal is meaningful connections, not simply contacts.
• Let your intuition guide you. OK, this may sound flaky, but it works! Stand near the door, in a corner, out of the way. Stop your thoughts. Internally ask to be guided to the people you need to connect with. Then start walking. You’ll be amazed at who you meet.
• Connect. You’ll always resonate with someone at an event. When you do, ask questions about them, such as: How did you get started in your field? What’s your ideal customer? We all love to talk about ourselves, and these questions will not only help you form a connection with this person, but will also tell you how to help them.
• Offer help and follow through. If you can provide help, jot down ideas on the back of their business card, commit to follow up, and then do it. If you’ve had a fruitful conversation and want to take it further, offer to meet for lunch or coffee. People say life is 90% about showing up. Nonsense! Life is 90% about following through!
  
  

Tips for Starting and Marketing a Lawncare Business

I've previously written about how to start a lawncare business , but here are some additional tips to starting and marketing this type of business:

Direct marketing is a very effective way of reaching potential customers for your lawncare business. You can either create brochures that provide details about your company or a postcard that highlights what your business is all about. Whatever format you decide in your direct mail campaign, it is important that your ads must be written in a way that speak directly to your potential clients. Emphasize the reasons why you are better than other lawn-care companies. List down the benefits the customers will get when they hire you. Carefully think what your headline will be: remember, your headline can make or break your direct mail campaign and it will spell the difference between sending brochures that are kept or postcards that are thrown immediately to the trash without being read.

Put on a professional image. Your appearance is important!! As much as possible, present yourself in a clean and tidy manner -- even wearing a collared shirt or better yet, your company's uniform -- when talking to your potential clients. Professionalism also means doing an outstanding job, arriving on time, and keeping your word to your clients, and doing what you say you are going to do. These are the qualities that will set yourself apart from other lawncare companies. One of my pet peeves is having a lawncare company telling me that they will come tomorrow but only to show up 2 days later after you've made 10 follow-up calls to them.

Maximize the advertising opportunity of your vehicle. Your truck is one of your most effective -- and cheapest -- advertising tool you can ever have. It's your walking billboard. However, avoid the common mistake of putting every single information about your business in the ad. Doing so clutters the whole ad and makes it very hard to read. Remember, the ad in your car -- which can either be stickers or magnet -- will be read by people on the street as you drive by, other cars driving alongside your truck or behind you -- and that means that people will only have a few seconds to get your information. Focus on a single information that you think people will find easy to remember -- either your business name or website -- and use the biggest font for that information.

Use referral marketing. Your existing clients can be your biggest help in spreading the word about your business. However, give them a little encouragement and make the act of referring your services to others worthwhile for them. Consider offering your existing customers a discount off their monthly service fee for every account that they refer to you.

Go beyond just mowing. To maximize revenue opportunities in this business, it is important that you offer a wider array of services. In fact, mowing provides the lowest profit margin and is only used as a chance to upsell the customer base to other more profitable services. Plus, lawncare business is seasonal in some states that you need to adjust the types of services that you offer based on the seasons. Some of the more profitable businesses you can offer include: insect-disease control; lawn and bed weed control; planting annuals; and landscaping.

How to Build Your Elevator Pitch

Can you describe your business in 3 minutes or less? Imagine a situation where you meet a potential investor on the elevator, and you have only 3 floors to go. During that short elevator ride, you need to be able to win over the potential investor.

Called an "elevator pitch," it is a quick and concise way to communicate who you are, what you do, and why you do it better. It is a way to present your business and win people over in just a short period of time.


The new book "The IT Factor: Be the One People Like, Listen to, and Remember" by Mark Wiskup (Amacom: June 26, 2007) offers four tips on how to perfect your elevator pitch:

1. Describe your business using non-jargon terms. Work hard to speak plainl;y and without jargon in the first sentence, and you will have them listening to you. If you rely on jargon to describe your business, no one will take notice of you -- you'll be just another guy in the industry.

2. Focus on your customers. Now that you've told the listener what your business is, immediately move on to how you serve your customers. Describe specifically what you do for your clients in plain and distinct language. Avoid vague, self-congratulatory maxims that sound familiar and safe -- these phrases are meaningless.

3. Focus on overcoming challenges your clients are facing. Here's where you can really shine. Launch into a single, highly specific issue or problem with which you helped a single customer. Nobody riding in the elevator with you wants to know everything your company does! By sharing a single interesting story, you can give them something to remember you by.

4. Focus on a happy customer ending. Make sure your story has a happy ending for the customer. When you describe a single problem that your product or service resolved for a client, you are telling your listener that you are worth the investment others make in you. It gives you instant credibility.

Article Roundup: Marketing Your Business

Here are some very informative articles I've read this week on various aspects of marketing your business:

• The Secret of Sending Press Releases
• How Can Online Communities Yield Product Sales Results?
• Putting the URL back in Google indexes
• Three factors determine your online success

Thinking of a Freebie Giveaway? Consider a Guidebook

Half of the year is almost over, and it is that time again to think of giveaways and freebies for your customers, subscribers and visitors. Instead of giving them a tshirt, keychain or pens (again), why don't you prepare a short guidebook or booklet that offers tips? This is the advice of Jonathan Kranz in his brief article in the newest edition of Direct Magazine.

According to Kranz, a "reader-friendly 14-to-24-page booklets offering advice and recommendations -- can turn the freebie into another channel for your company's integrated marketing effort."

For this to work and you to come up with a booklet that will be appreciated by your customers, you need to:

• Come up with ideas of what to write. One great content would be to list down your recent customer success stories -- if you are a search engine specialist, think of clients who saw significant improvement in their traffic after using your services. List why these clients became a success.
• Use the power of numbers. For some reason, people respond to numbers -- e.g. "10 Secrets to Success;" "30 Tips to Improving Your Web Site Traffic"
• Make your content look interesting. Don't write an essay. Break your ideas into digestible pieces, with customer testimonials thrown in between.
• Conclude with a strong call to action. Ever notice that those white papers companies often publish are merely a less subtle form of advertisement? Well, this booklet has the same goal -- to provide information to customers while at the same time reminding them of what you can do to help them.

How to Get Your Products to the Market: Dealing with Buyers

Whether you are an inventor or a clothing designer, you need an outlet for your products whether it is the retail store across the street or Bloomingdale's. Of course, the bigger the store, the greater the chances for success.

But the problem is: how do you get your products into the shelves of these retailers? You basically have two options: get the know the CORRECT buyer for each store you want your products to be sold; or hire a distributor or manufacturer's representative to do the pitching job for you. A sales rep is often the easiest route because they already know the buyers of these big stores, they have an established relationship with the buyers, and they know the type of information and paperwork the buyers require.

If you are going to do it yourself, here are some tips:

1. Know the retailer. Before even talking to the store buyers, research the store and why they will benefit from having your products on their shelves (it's a two way thing: you win when they win). Check if your target audience for the product shops in that store. Find out if the retailer is selling products similar to yours; if if they do, what are the advantages of your products over the current offerings.

2. Understand that buyers of big companies and mass retailers are often hesitant and wary in dealing with new suppliers with unproven track records. They don't know you and your products, and whether you will be a good fit for the store. In fact, most buyers prefer to deal with sales reps.

3. Anticipate the concerns and questions of the buyer. You need to do your homework well before your meeting with the buyer, and this includes having proof that your products are ready for the primetime. Buyers will want to know:

• that the product is finished, including packaging
• who else will be selling the product
• whether you have to resources to supply their store
• whether you can meet the demand for your product if it sells well
• whether you have adequate product liability insurance
• whether your product comply with safety, legal, labor and other regulations (imagine the horror of the buyer if he/she approves your products and it turns out your products are produced in a sweat shop!)

4. Use tradeshows. One of the easiest and best ways to attract the attention of buyers is through tradeshows. Make every effort to participate and showcase your products in the best and biggest tradeshows in your industry. Buyers prowl these tradeshows looking for new and interesting products -- and they just might see yours!

I will write more on this topic and give you more tips!

Marketing to Tweens

I have a four-year old son, and even at this early age, he already understands the joys of shopping. When we go to the mall or a store, he insists that he buy something (he doesn't always win, but he definitely tries). He feels that he is entitled to buy anything he wants and I can imagine that this growing consumerism will only grow worse as he gets older.

And marketers know this. Marketers are trying to reach younger kids, getting them hooked early to their products and brands. USA Today had an interesting piece on how marketers are reaching out to the tweens market, particularly girls. Tweens, or those kids age 7-14, have significant influence on what their parents buy and by themselves already have spending power.

PRWeek magazine listed five facts on the tween market:

1. WonderGroup reports that kid influence on items bought for them is in the 80-90% range, with the highest influence on DVDs and music.
2. According to Alloy Media and Marketing, tweens independently spend $30 billion, and they influence an additional $600 billion of family spending.
3. Of the 26 million tweens in 2009, iGilliotResearch forecasts that 4 milion will be using their own cellphones, according to a previous Businessweek article
4. Yankelovich Youth Monitor reports that 72% of 6-to-8 year olds and 56% of 9-to-11 year olds ask their parents to buy thing they seee in TV commercials
5. According to McNeal and Kids Youth Marketing Consultants, children are able to recognize brands from the age of about 18 months.

If you are looking for a growing and increasingly significant market, consider the tweens market. Parents will resist, but children's persistence can be amazing at times.

A Peak into the Marketing of a New Product

I am a chocolate addict, and I need to eat chocolates every day. I eat not one or two, but three or more bars (not just small pieces) every day. The only times I lay off chocolates are the couple of weeks before my glucose tests during my pregnancies.

So of course, when one of my favorite chocolate brands launches a new product, I am all ears. Godiva has recently launched a new product called Godiva Chocoiste
http://www.godiva.com/chocoiste and lessons can be learned on how they launch this new product and work towards branding it.

The first step into launching a new product is first defining what this new product will be and how it will be different from all the existing products in the market today. Ask the question: why will people want and buy this new product?

With this new Godiva chocolates, the product concept is "Decadence Goes Mobile" and the product's tagline is:

"A tantalizing new assortment of supreme chocolate pleasures, absolutely sinful enough to satisfy anytime ... Instant gratification will never be the same."

The idea behind this new chocolate product is that Chocoiste is a casual, portable, chocolate treat that you can indulge while you're on the go. For me, it's the perfect chocolate to take while I am walking to the subway or during a bus ride. I actually go to the Godiva store just to buy a bar that I can sneak in when no one's looking in the subway (you're not supposed to eat in the Washington DC subway system). So I am a perfect target market of this new product!

To increase awareness and market the new product, Godiva is undertaking a combination of merchandising PR, in-store promotions, web site promotions and sampling initiatives (or what they call experiential marketing). Specifically, the company embarked on the following strategies:

• Hired a double decker bus in New York from April 16 to 20 to act as Godiva Chocoiste Convoy that takes passengers from the Godiva store at the World Financial Center to Times Square, all the while handing out the chocolates to the passengers
• Sent samplings and VIP pass for the convoy to media (talk about sweetening the media!)
• Hired people to give out samples of the chocolate at the Central Park in NY
• Created a chocolate personality quiz in a new website http://www.areyouachocoiste.com/ after which the user can redeem a free gift certificate for free chocolates (alas, redeemable only in NY/NJ area)

To measure the success of the campaign, Godiva plans to monitor PR and media/broadcast coverage of the convoy as well as the product itself. They will look at NY sales, website hits of their specifically designed website, and click throughs from the Godiva.com homepage to the new product section.

Not many small businesses can spend money to hire a double decker bus to act as convoy for target market and the media. However, product sampling is something that small businesses can employ. Maybe not send 5,000 samples to media and people in the park, but on a much smaller and intimate scale. It can help the small businesses get the needed feedback from its target audience. Sending some product samples to the media (and even bloggers) can be a very effective tool to market the new product as well.

But starting with the right product concept and how this concept can be packaged into a tagline that will resonate with the target market is very important. This will shape the copy that will be placed on your website. Website marketing is something that small businesses can do. But I urge you to study how Godiva is handling their online campaigns:

• Having a special site created to engage the target audience through the clever use of a survey -- the visitor gets a free sample, and the company gets more information about their target audience
• Putting a button of this new product on the homepage of their main Godiva.com website
• Using lush photography to showcase the products
• Providing option to see larger image of the product
• Cross selling of the products with their Other Options Available in each product presentation page

Like Godiva, it is important to have measures of success to determine how the new product is faring in the market, how people are reacting to it, and what is the most effective way of reaching the target audience.

Targeting the Real Estate Agents Market for Your Small Business

The April 2007 issue of Target Marketing magazine has a great article on how to reach the real estate agent market. Realtors are real estate professionals who are members of the National Association of Realtors.

According to the article, the real estate agents comprise a "large market that purchases a wide variety of products and servIces and influences other prospective customers on a daily basis." Having just bought a house, I can attest to this statement -- as I have come to rely on my real estate agent for her recommendation from vendors to interior decorators to painters.

What are the factors that make the real estate agents a ripe market for businesses?

• According to the list management and brokerage firm Mal Dunn Associates, there are more than 1.3 million realtors in the US
• They are typically independent professionals and manages their own business and as such, buy products and services for themselves, their businesses and even their clients
• They are in a position to recommend products and services to clients who are in a buying mood
• They typically run their businesses from their homes, and their home offices often have all the necessary equipment and supplies particularly Internet connections
• According to the National Association of Realtors, the median income for realtors in 2004 and 2005 was $49,300

If you are a business that sells specifically to the real estate market, then the real estate agents are a key part of your target audience. However, even if you sell anywhere, you can also target this huge market. So what do realtors buy and how to reach them?

• Real estate agents are constantly on the move, so mobile products such as cell phones and PDAs are their necessities
• They also buy computers, office furnitures and office supplies
• They are in contact with buyers and sellers looking for products and services such as appliances, furniture, decor, and other home improvement products

If the real estate market interests you, I suggest you read the complete article at Target Marketing

Marketing Strategies to Compete with the Big Boys

Many small business owners are faced with the problem of competing against the big boys of their industries.

It's not easy going against the Goliaths; mainly because you can never outspend them in terms of marketing. These big boys have deep pockets that they can use to launch comprehensive branding campaigns dominating various mediums -- from TV, radio to Internet. They can also hire the best ad agencies and public relation firms to help them reach and keep their target customers.

So what can you do? Since you don't have their marketing budgets, you need to market smarter and this means:

• Accept that traditional marketing routes may not be for you -- e.g. you don't have the resources to hire an ad agency or even buy a TV spot. Think outside the box and be more creative.
• Start with a product or service that is better than your competitor as quality will be your main selling point
• Carefully target the customers for your products or services, reach out to them by educating them first -- they may have heard of your competitor but not you, so you need to inform them that you have a much better product or service
• Focus on marketing approaches that would allow you to interact better with your customers, especially those that your competitors will never do

Your competitors can package an inferior product into something glossy -- and with their massive budgets, they can actually make people believe that they are the standards of the industry. Without those resources, all you have is the quality of your product or service.

For other ideas on how to beat the big businesses in your industry, read the article "10 Ways Small Businesses Can Compete With the Big Boys"

New Book on Promoting Your Business via Talk Radio

I just received a copy of Francine Silverman's book "Talk Radio for Authors: Getting Interviews Across the US and Canada." I previously interviewed Francine on how a small business entrepreneur can market their business through talk radio shows http://www.powerhomebiz.com/022007/talk-radio-marketing.htm so I was looking forward to getting a copy of the book.

The book is light on tips on how to land radio interviews or how to prepare for a radio interview. But it offers a comprehensive listing of radio shows all over the country, both big and small markets, categorized by industries. In fact, the book provides the much-needed information on the contact person for each radio show, the theme of the radio show and the expertise the show is looking for in a guest.

Under the section of Business, Careers and Marketing, here are summarized versions of a few of Francine's listings:

• Business of Success with Alan Rothman http://www.businessofsuccess.com = guests are typically CEOs, Preisdents, entrepreneurs (about 50-75%)
• Career Talk with Maggie Mistal http://www.maggiemistal.com = guests are experts in a career-related or work related fields or have a particular perspective on careers that are new and different
• The Entrepreneur Home Based Business Show with Paul and Sarah Edwards http://www.wsradio.com = self employment and working from home topics
• Growing Your Business Show with Fred Hueston and Lyna Farkas on All Talk Radio http://www.alltalkradio.net = specialties of guests include small business, entrepreneurs and home based businesses.

If you're interested in using talk radio shows to generate publicity for your business, I strongly suggest you check out Francine Silverman's new book.

Sell -- After Closing the Deal

I was leafing through my old copies of business magazines and came across a great article from Direct Marketing magazine on selling after you close the deal. Small businesses often make the mistake of ignoring or failing to communicate enough to customers after their purchase, and doing so reduces the chance to promote to your own customer base.

The article then raised 4 accepted facts in after-purchase marketing:

1. For an average company, 80% of its new business comes from existing customers.
2. You are likely to get strong referrals from your customers within 3 months of their last transaction.
3. A new customer tends to buy from you again in the next 3-6onths.
4. It costs 5x as much to sell to a new customer as compared to an existing customer to buy again from you.

Whether you are selling online or not, it is important to specifically ask your existing customers for referrals. If you are marketing on the Web, sending a pass-along-to-a-friend offer may even prove fruitful.

Spend time reaching out to your customer base - they already know you; they've bought from you so it takes less effort to convince them to buy again from you. Remember that a sizeable portion of your profit comes to those who are already your customer.

Where to Find Sales Representatives

If you are looking for people to represent you and help sell your products (other than the affiliate program on the Web), try going to various manufacturers' representatives association. There are a number of sales reps organizations representing various industries, and your best bet is to contact these associations for referrals. Here are some of them:

• Agricultural & Industrial Manufacturers Representatives Association (AIMRA) http://www.aimrareps.org/ = for agricultural and light industry and OEM manufacturers
• Association of Independent Manufacturers Representatives (AIM/R) http://www.aimr.net/ = for plumbing, heating, cooling & piping products.
• Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (Manufacturers Rep Division) (AAIA) http://www.aftermarket.org/ = for vehicle aftermarket products and parts.
• Broker Management Council (BMC) http://www.bmcsales.com/ = institutional foodservice industry
• Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) http://www.era.org/ = for electronics products.
• The Foodservice Group, Inc. (FSG) http://www.fsgroup.com/ = independent food service brokers selling to the restaurant, deli and food service distributors.
• Health Industry Representatives Association (HIRA) http://www.hira.org/ = healthcare products except pharmaceuticals

For other groups, check out the Manufacturers' Representatives Educational Research Foundation and their list of members

How to Market in a World of User-Generated Content

I have always been fascinated on how to position your business amidst the user-generated content business models that have grown in popularity in recent years. iMedia Connection has an article called "Smart Marketing in a Wiki World" that explores how businesses could behave in this wiki world of user content, while skating the fine line of "influencing the message and creating propaganda."

Here are the suggestions:

1. Build trust by being transparent, and disclosure is the key.
2. If you invite user generated content, be sure to publish it even if the talk is critical to your business.
3. Understand what the community thinks of your business
4. If you don't think you can handle what users are saying about your business, it is better to sit on the sidelines than participate in user communities only to become a target of blogs

The Art of Selling Yourself

Harry Beckwith, author of one of my favorite business books "What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business," has a new book entitled You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself . The book is all about selling YOU -- the most important product of all.

The book is all about improving yourself, whether you are presenting to clients or trying to make a good impression to employers. It offers a number of ideas to help propel you to the next step to achieve success. Some ideas are common knowledge and have been preached since time immemorial, but are still worth repeating (just because our moms lectured us about something doesn't mean that we actually follow it :o).

Business owners can definitely benefit from reading the book -- the book's approach is to first focus on a story whether it is about the real life experiences of a person such as the actor Jim Carrey and then distills business lessons from it. The author then summarizes the main learnings from the story shared into a one-sentence nugget of wisdom.

Take for example the section on Thinking Outside the Box. He used the story of singer Paul Simon who have written songs that have become instant classics. He flourished inside his box particularly in the 60s, and then he didn't. His box failed him. He solved it by not changing his thinking but by growing his box. He went to Africa and got inspired with that continent's sound and music. What resulted was the Grammy winning album Graceland.

The main lesson from Simon's story? Grow a bigger box. Simon didn't think outside his box, but he grew his box by studying different cultures and bringing in new things.

Other important lessons from the book from its chapter on communicating include:

• The real first rule of communicating: Make yourself clearer, and people will think you are an expert.
• Simplify. Simplify gives people certainty and certainty they can deal with.
• Watch your white space. Silence talks (in reference to talking and the importance of pauses; in visuals and the importance of white space)
• You have a brand. Make sure yours is honest.
• If you worry "Is my idea professional?," it probably isn't.
• Touting your credentials: Be careful in complimenting yourself.
• In terms of telling a story: Put the audience, not you, in the hero's shoes.

Check out the book You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself

Top 10 Turn-Offs About Networking

Networking is not my forte; in fact, I am more comfortable at times just being the wallflower. That's why I am looking forward to reading the new book "Make Your Contacts Count: Networking Know-How for Business and Career Success" by Anne Barker and Lynne Waymon.

From the book, the authors made a list of the top 10 expressions people use when they are talking about networking that can make you cringe:

1. Schmoozing = this word makes networking seem so slimy and insincere. Networking is about teaching your contacts to believe in your character and competence so they want to work with you, send business your way or hire you
2. 30 Second Commercial = while you want to "sell yourself" you don't want to appear as too much of a hard sell
3. Pick Your Brains = this expression makes the authors think of vultures coming in for the kill; and wish that people would instead say "I'd like to get your thoughts about something."
4. Work a Room = this phrase sounds as if you intend to work people over and take all you can. Instead, focus on listening and showing others what they can count on you for and what kinds of opportunities to send your way.
5. Information Interview = You can make networking a way of life -- at professional meetings, backyard barbeques and all kinds of professional and social venues.
6. Tricks of the Trade = there should be no "tricks when you network; only upfront, clear offers to be helpful to each other
7. Favor Bank = give without strings, without expectations of getting -- that's the way to create a network that works
8. Power Lunch = this term sounds too much as if you value people just for their positions
9. Business Card Exchange = your goal is to build real connections, not "cardboard connections"
10. Important People = give your whole attention to the person you are with. Anyone can turn out to be a valuable contact!

Mobile Marketing: How Home Businesses can Tap the Mobile Phones to Reach their Customers

Cell phones have become an ubiquitous accessory in our society today. People use and bring their cell phones almost everywhere -- in the car, during lunch, and just about every waking minute of the day.

Now the question for marketers is: how do we tap this medium to reach our audiences? Should home-based entrepreneurs start learning about this medium? How can it be used for our businesses?

One way mobile marketing is being approached is to tie local search and local shopping with mobile phones. Ads arrive with laser-like targeting precision, informing the customer of deals and sales in places that is accessible to them.

NearbyNow, a mall-centric shopping search engine, allows users to signup to receive special offers and ads from local malls that it covers. Their subscribers are those who are planning to go to the mall, or who are already in the mall; and they signup to receive information on sales and what stores sell the items they want via SMS. Their approach incorporates a time element -- ads arrive in their phone up to 90 minutes after optin as it is assumed that once the subscriber receives the ad, they are already heading to the store. To date, the company has deals with malls in some parts of California, Arizona, Texas and Florida.

Yokel is another search engine that focuses on local search and uses the mobile phone to reach customers. Unlike NearbyNow which sends the information via SMS, Yokel allows users of smart phones such as Treo, Blackberry and Motorola Q to access a Yokel search page to get the list of stores offering the products they want.

While the above examples are most beneficial to store owners, Target Marketing recommends three things business owners and marketers need to consider before embarking on mobile marketing:

1. Rethink your media buys - consider how to integrate mobile marketing into your marketing mix, especially since the mobile phone can be a big "buy it now" button
2. Develop a truly special offer - especially since the cell phone is too personal a tool (not to mention costly when sending SMS messages that the user will just consider as spam)
3. Keep the creative approach simple - the best is a text message with 100 characters or even shorter.

Time to Start Thinking of a Strategy to Tap Social Networking Sites

Social networking is growing huge -- and it is only going to get bigger. In fact, according to Nielsen/Netratings , the darling of the social networking genre, MySpace, is the fastest growing Web brand in the US. Traffic of MySpace grew from 16.2 million unique visitors in July 2005 to 46 million in July 2006.

Looking at those numbers, you can’t help but think – is there a way to bring a slice of that huge pie to your site? How can you tap MySpace to further your business and bring traffic to your site?

My first impression with social networking sites is that their users are teens and youngsters; but I was actually surprised to learn that some sites attract a more mature audience. According to Comscore MediaMetrix , visitors to MySpace.com and Friendster.com are generally older, with people age 25 and older comprising 68 and 71 percent of their user bases, respectively. In fact, 40% of MySpace users are aged 35-54 (my age group!).

I’ve poked around MySpace to see how businesses are using the site. The artists have been among the first who saw the potential of social networking, with musicians and videographers posting their music and videos, and artists showing their paintings. I’ve seen some business coaches who are using the site to post their credentials with an invitation to meet those who “want to be millionaires” as they can definitely help achieve in achieving this goal.

Big businesses are also on board. Burger King has a MySpace profile for their mascot. Automobile manufacturers have pages for some of their brands such as Honda Element, Scion and Toyota Yaris.

One thing is common, though – their MySpace profiles are all about branding (after all, you can’t use MySpace to sell directly). More than that, these businesses do not use an “in your face” type of selling, but uses a more subtle and softer approach. It’s not “buy me, buy me, buy me” but more “get to know me and you’ll like me.”

I am not the MySpace crowd; I’m at the age when I don’t need to post my profile to meet new unseen friends on the Internet. But the question of how to capture the attention of social networking users for a product or service is something that every small business needs to start thinking about.

10 New Rules of Branding

Branding may be a marketing concept that is more commonly used by the big boys rather than small businesses, but it is an important ingredient in the success of a product. ChiefMarketer.com has an interesting article on the new rules of branding that even small businesses should consider:

1. Brands that influence culture sell more; culture is the new catalyst for growth.
2. A brand with no point of view has no point; full-flavor branding is in, vanilla is out.
3. Today's consumer is leading from the front; this is the smartest generation to have ever walked the planet.
4. Customize wherever and whenever you can; customization is tomorrow's killer whale.
5. Forget the transaction, just give me an experience; the mandate is simple: Wow them every day, every way.
6. Deliver clarity at point of purchase; be obsessive about presentation.
7. You are only as good as your weakest link; do you know where you're vulnerable?
8. Social responsibility is no longer an option; what's your cause, what's your contribution?
9. Pulse, pace, and passion really make a difference; had your heartbeat checked recently?
10. Innovation is the new boardroom favorite.

Read the full article