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Casual Articles - Marketing Your Small Business - The Top 10 Brilliant Ideas
Answer Seven Powerful Questions to Deliver Superior Service . for your conveniencePowerful questions force us to think deeply on the topic about which we chose to ask the questions. Powerful questions are ambiguous and evoke accountability.Here are seven questions we should all ask to unravel what is required to deliver superior customer service.What customers do we need to make our business successful?This question demands two answers.The first is what is our business? In reaching this understanding it is beneficial to remember the truths embodied in the following story.One of the wor If you have 24-hour voice mail (or an answering machine that is not also your home line), advertise that it is available 24 hours for your customers and prospects; include for your convenience. This is especially effective since many people review the mail and newspapers early in the morning, late in the evening, or on weekends! STORIES SELL! When telling people what you do, use examples. Example: “I help people protect their property; I’m an insurance agent. In fact, last week I wrote policies for newly married couples needing renters insurance.” Anyone can promote a business with an unlimited marketing budget, but it takes specialized knowledge and commitment to get the same (or better) results on a shoestring. These brilliant ideas are only a fraction of the thousands available in the Brilliant Marketing! ™ System. Look for future editi Powerful Sales Presentations - Start Your Presentation with a Bang A Brilliant Marketing Idea... sounds great but what is it? Is it the idea that results in the mailman ringing your doorbell, signaling in a caravan of postal workers with mounds of letters (all in response to your latest advertisement)? Is it the idea that brings a 20% response rate on your direct mail campaign?There are many opportunities to gain from delivering a powerful presentation to an audience. The presentation you deliver can help clients understand the value your company provides, which can lead to new business, and additional business opportunities. It can also elevate the image of you and your services by showing your expertise and professionalism. It’s a way to reach many people who may be interested in buying your product.There are many elements to preparing an effective presentation. It starts with creating a powerful opening. Those first few Surely these ideas would be considered brilliant marketing ideas...right? Well, maybe. It depends on the costs incurred generating the response. If the cost of the marketing was greater than the income it generated, it doesn’t matter how great the response, it’s not very brilliant. The following ideas will get you started marketing brilliantly in no time! BUSINESS CARDS Print (or stamp) something on your business card that will prompt the holder to contact you (and/or to keep the card). Examples: “Return this card for a FREE loaf of bread” (baker), “10% off on next purchase” (retail store), “Send for your FREE copy of our Special Report: Brilliant Ideas for Marketing Your Small Business” (small business marketing specialist). VALUE-ADDED SERVICES Success means standing apart from the competition. This is done by developing (and promoting) your value-added services. If you don’t think you have any, think again...and then if you still don’t, develop some! (Sometimes it is something you are already doing/offering, but you just haven’t recognized it as a value-added service or product.) Example: With each printing order, you also get free design consultation services. BUSINESS FORMS AND STATIONERY Use all company forms to promote your business--it costs no more to design them with promotions than it does to design them without! Examples: On your stationery, list your services or products, your value-added features, and/or the benefits of doing business with your company. ENVELOPES Use the left-hand side of the envelope to motivate the reader to open it and to read what’s inside. Example: What’s inside for YOU? 10 Tips for Marketing Your Business! FAX COVER SHEETS Design and create a FAX coversheet that not only identifies the person who is to receive the FAX, but also promotes your business. One brilliant idea is to include your current promotion. Example: A hotel could promote a “$66 Weekend Ski Package.” VOICE MESSAGE Your voice mail recording should market your business. Example: “Thank you for calling The Rocking Chair – Mountain View’s largest antique and collectables shop. At the corner of Main and Sylamore, we’re open 10-6 seven days a week. Please leave a message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.” INTRODUCTION Business professionals are frequently asked “what do you do?” Practice your 10 second answer to this question; be sure it includes the benefits your business provides to your customers. It should also identify the customers you are looking for. Example: “I work with small businesses, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs. I provide them with inexpensive ideas for promoting their businesses and for serving their customers so they promote their business too. I do this through workshops and through my website http://www.brilliant-marketing-for-small-business.com.” DATABASE UPDATE On a regular basis (every 6-12 months), contact “old” customers. Let them know you are updating your database and need to confirm the information you have. Although this is not a sales call, it is common for lost customers to begin doing business with you again simply because you contacted them. 24-HOURS VOICE MAIL... for your convenience If you have 24-hour voice mail (or an answering machine that is not also your home line), advertise that it is available 24 hours for your customers and prospects; include for your convenience. This is especially effective since many people review the mail and newspapers early in the morning, late in the evening, or on weekends! STORIES SELL! When telling people what you do, use examples. Example: “I help people protect their property; I’m an insurance agent. In fact, last week I wrote policies for newly married couples needing renters insurance.” Anyone can promote a business with an unlimited marketing budget, but it takes specialized knowledge and commitment to get the same (or better) results on a shoestring. These brilliant ideas are only a fraction of the thousands available in the Brilliant Marketing! ™ System. Look for future editio Fast Food Video - Who Trashed My Shrubs? f on next purchase” (retail store), “Send for your FREE copy of our Special Report: Brilliant Ideas for Marketing Your Small Business” (small business marketing specialist).Did you ever wonder what is going on behind your fast-food restaurant? Or, who threw trash on your landscaping?Here are some ways that a video surveillance system helps the fast-food business work safer and better.1. Video records cars, colors, make and model.2. Video shows you if the person you just waited on is still at the menu board.3. Video shows you how long the line is.4. Video records faces.5. Video records all of your cash handling transactions.6. Video show who vandalized the landscaping.7. Vide VALUE-ADDED SERVICES Success means standing apart from the competition. This is done by developing (and promoting) your value-added services. If you don’t think you have any, think again...and then if you still don’t, develop some! (Sometimes it is something you are already doing/offering, but you just haven’t recognized it as a value-added service or product.) Example: With each printing order, you also get free design consultation services. BUSINESS FORMS AND STATIONERY Use all company forms to promote your business--it costs no more to design them with promotions than it does to design them without! Examples: On your stationery, list your services or products, your value-added features, and/or the benefits of doing business with your company. ENVELOPES Use the left-hand side of the envelope to motivate the reader to open it and to read what’s inside. Example: What’s inside for YOU? 10 Tips for Marketing Your Business! FAX COVER SHEETS Design and create a FAX coversheet that not only identifies the person who is to receive the FAX, but also promotes your business. One brilliant idea is to include your current promotion. Example: A hotel could promote a “$66 Weekend Ski Package.” VOICE MESSAGE Your voice mail recording should market your business. Example: “Thank you for calling The Rocking Chair – Mountain View’s largest antique and collectables shop. At the corner of Main and Sylamore, we’re open 10-6 seven days a week. Please leave a message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.” INTRODUCTION Business professionals are frequently asked “what do you do?” Practice your 10 second answer to this question; be sure it includes the benefits your business provides to your customers. It should also identify the customers you are looking for. Example: “I work with small businesses, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs. I provide them with inexpensive ideas for promoting their businesses and for serving their customers so they promote their business too. I do this through workshops and through my website http://www.brilliant-marketing-for-small-business.com.” DATABASE UPDATE On a regular basis (every 6-12 months), contact “old” customers. Let them know you are updating your database and need to confirm the information you have. Although this is not a sales call, it is common for lost customers to begin doing business with you again simply because you contacted them. 24-HOURS VOICE MAIL... for your convenience If you have 24-hour voice mail (or an answering machine that is not also your home line), advertise that it is available 24 hours for your customers and prospects; include for your convenience. This is especially effective since many people review the mail and newspapers early in the morning, late in the evening, or on weekends! STORIES SELL! When telling people what you do, use examples. Example: “I help people protect their property; I’m an insurance agent. In fact, last week I wrote policies for newly married couples needing renters insurance.” Anyone can promote a business with an unlimited marketing budget, but it takes specialized knowledge and commitment to get the same (or better) results on a shoestring. These brilliant ideas are only a fraction of the thousands available in the Brilliant Marketing! ™ System. Look for future editi Anatomy of a Successful Trade Show Exhibit or the benefits of doing business with your company.A trade show, also known as a merchandise show or market week, is an exhibition or a business gathering organized by companies that showcase and demonstrate their new products and services and also their latest offerings. Trade shows also provide opportunities for companies to meet their customers, to learn new trends and to identify new prospects.Trade shows are not open to the public and can only be attended by company representatives, members of the trade and members of the press. One advantage of holding a trade show is that it shortens the time it take ENVELOPES Use the left-hand side of the envelope to motivate the reader to open it and to read what’s inside. Example: What’s inside for YOU? 10 Tips for Marketing Your Business! FAX COVER SHEETS Design and create a FAX coversheet that not only identifies the person who is to receive the FAX, but also promotes your business. One brilliant idea is to include your current promotion. Example: A hotel could promote a “$66 Weekend Ski Package.” VOICE MESSAGE Your voice mail recording should market your business. Example: “Thank you for calling The Rocking Chair – Mountain View’s largest antique and collectables shop. At the corner of Main and Sylamore, we’re open 10-6 seven days a week. Please leave a message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.” INTRODUCTION Business professionals are frequently asked “what do you do?” Practice your 10 second answer to this question; be sure it includes the benefits your business provides to your customers. It should also identify the customers you are looking for. Example: “I work with small businesses, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs. I provide them with inexpensive ideas for promoting their businesses and for serving their customers so they promote their business too. I do this through workshops and through my website http://www.brilliant-marketing-for-small-business.com.” DATABASE UPDATE On a regular basis (every 6-12 months), contact “old” customers. Let them know you are updating your database and need to confirm the information you have. Although this is not a sales call, it is common for lost customers to begin doing business with you again simply because you contacted them. 24-HOURS VOICE MAIL... for your convenience If you have 24-hour voice mail (or an answering machine that is not also your home line), advertise that it is available 24 hours for your customers and prospects; include for your convenience. This is especially effective since many people review the mail and newspapers early in the morning, late in the evening, or on weekends! STORIES SELL! When telling people what you do, use examples. Example: “I help people protect their property; I’m an insurance agent. In fact, last week I wrote policies for newly married couples needing renters insurance.” Anyone can promote a business with an unlimited marketing budget, but it takes specialized knowledge and commitment to get the same (or better) results on a shoestring. These brilliant ideas are only a fraction of the thousands available in the Brilliant Marketing! ™ System. Look for future editi Developing Medical - Community Referral Sources are frequently asked “what do you do?” Practice your 10 second answer to this question; be sure it includes the benefits your business provides to your customers. It should also identify the customers you are looking for. Example: “I work with small businesses, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs. I provide them with inexpensive ideas for promoting their businesses and for serving their customers so they promote their business too. I do this through workshops and through my website http://www.brilliant-marketing-for-small-business.com.”The last few years have seen a change in the estate planning market. The apparent determination of President Bush and the Republican majority in Congress to do away with the estate tax has made marketing estate planning more difficult.Most estate planning attorneys know there are plenty of reasons—reasons completely unrelated to tax issues—that an individual needs to make an estate plan. Most of these reasons have to do with family issues. Perhaps parents have a son-in-law they don’t trust. Perhaps one of their children is a spendthrift. Perhaps one child w DATABASE UPDATE On a regular basis (every 6-12 months), contact “old” customers. Let them know you are updating your database and need to confirm the information you have. Although this is not a sales call, it is common for lost customers to begin doing business with you again simply because you contacted them. 24-HOURS VOICE MAIL... for your convenience If you have 24-hour voice mail (or an answering machine that is not also your home line), advertise that it is available 24 hours for your customers and prospects; include for your convenience. This is especially effective since many people review the mail and newspapers early in the morning, late in the evening, or on weekends! STORIES SELL! When telling people what you do, use examples. Example: “I help people protect their property; I’m an insurance agent. In fact, last week I wrote policies for newly married couples needing renters insurance.” Anyone can promote a business with an unlimited marketing budget, but it takes specialized knowledge and commitment to get the same (or better) results on a shoestring. These brilliant ideas are only a fraction of the thousands available in the Brilliant Marketing! ™ System. Look for future editi Abatement Consultants Often Drop the Ball and Miss the Boat . for your convenienceMany industry sectors have abatement professionals and consultants and there are even trade journals specializing in these things. Unfortunately the greatest abatement consultants are so busy that they generally cannot even return phone calls as they travel the world putting out fires and handling crisis management. The issues, which are most pressing are those dealing with multiple reactions caused by abatement procedures in one sector which affect another and the law of unintended consequences which occur.For instance let us take an industry sector like a If you have 24-hour voice mail (or an answering machine that is not also your home line), advertise that it is available 24 hours for your customers and prospects; include for your convenience. This is especially effective since many people review the mail and newspapers early in the morning, late in the evening, or on weekends! STORIES SELL! When telling people what you do, use examples. Example: “I help people protect their property; I’m an insurance agent. In fact, last week I wrote policies for newly married couples needing renters insurance.” Anyone can promote a business with an unlimited marketing budget, but it takes specialized knowledge and commitment to get the same (or better) results on a shoestring. These brilliant ideas are only a fraction of the thousands available in the Brilliant Marketing! ™ System. Look for future editions of this e-zine for more Brilliant Marketing Ideas!
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