Small Business Marketing Tactic: Offer A Free Demonstration Of Your Services!

Identify a local store that relates to your service and offer to provide a free demonstration.

For example, a Professional Organizer could contact her local office supply store and offer to host a FREE "Organize Your Office" demonstration. The store benefits because the event increases store traffic AND provides the store an opportunity to sell the products being featured by the Professional Organizer.

In addition to the store's advertising for the event, the organizer should:

1. Personally invite 20-25 local business prospects to attend the event.

2. Offer attendees a discount of your services

3. Invite the local press/media

4. Provide a fish-bowl drawing for a FREE Office Organization to the business card selected

REMEMBER! The business cards in the fishbowl are future prospects!

With the event's success, the Professional Organizer may offer to provide future

demonstrations within the store. In time and continued success, the Professional Organizer should offer to become the local office supply store's spokesperson.

Small Business Marketing Tactic: COUPON! COUPON! COUPON!

Encourage customer loyalty when you provide valued savings to your target audience with these five interesting coupon placement ideas:

1. Include coupons on your website

2. Post coupons on Craigslist.com

3. E-Mail coupons to your customers (encouraging them to "pass it on")

4. Insert coupons into shoppers' bags (offer valid during their next visit)

5. Provide an additional discount to the first 100 customers who enter your store on Saturday morning!

Small Business Marketing Tactic: ALL ABOUT LOVE Newspaper Advertising

A wonderful opportunity exists for you to foster genuine customer appreciation in your local market by incorporating them into your newspaper advertising with these five (5) easy steps:

#1: In November, purchase a full-page ad in the Sunday edition of your local newspaper. Select the Sunday prior to Valentine's Day.

#2: In January, introduce the FREE offer to your customers:

'ALL BECAUSE OF LOVE - include a message of love to the ONE that you love in our full-page Valentine's day ad in the February 8 edition of the newspaper!'

I encourage you to display a sample of how the ad will appear, so your customers may visually see what to expect.

#3: Collect your customer's entries. Encourage them to write their contact information and 20-words-or-less message in ALL CAPs.

Forms to include:

- Customer Name

- Address

- Phone

- E-Mail

- Valentine's Day message of love (20 words or less)

#4: When it comes time to design the ad, simply have the Valentine's Day messages typed into a word document, so your graphic designer may simply insert the copy into the ad design (adding boxes around every message).

#5: E-Mail or Call your customers to remind them 2-3 days before the ad is scheduled to run in the newspaper.

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The promotion may be incorporated into various holidays throughout the year (i.e. Mother's Day, Father's Day, July 4th - tribute to local soldier's serving overseas, etc.).

Small Business Marketing Tactic: Market Yourself As Expert!

Be the expert!

As a small business entrepreneur, you have a great opportunity to market & promote yourself as the expert in your field. As you share your knowledge and experiences to your local market (specifically, your TARGET market), you add value to you and your company's efforts.

How?

1. RESEARCH

Locate the various media outlets in your area that your TARGET market regularly references: local cable network, local newspaper, home association newsletters, suburb newspaper, etc.

2. SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Many of these outlets need content. Contact them and let them know you are available to:

- appear on the local news as the expert in your field for interviews, commentary, etc

- provide a regular column in the newspaper/newsletter

Example:

As an event planner, you could become the source that viewers & readers rely upon for ideas regarding how they can plan, decorate, & host their informal events, such as a July 4th get together with family & friends:

- creative decoration ideas

- unique food/beverage recipes to consider

- frugal options with flair

- etc.

When you promote yourself as the expert, another window of opportunity is sure to open within your small business marketing mix!

Small Business Marketing Tactic: 3 Easy Marketing Lessons!

Lesson #1: Consumer Marketing

Know Your Customer

"Our customers are folks who live paycheck to paycheck." - Wal-Mart CEO

Lesson#2: Clear Mission

Make sure your mission Is clear for EVERYONE to understand.

"Saving people money so they can live better." - Wal-Mart CEO

Lesson #3: Consistent Message

All of your marketing messages must clearly communicate the benefit to your target audience:

"Christmas costs less at Wal-Mart."

Source:

http://contentmarketingtoday.com/2008/11/19/3-small-business-marketing-lessons-you-can-learn-from-wal-mart/