Easy Marketing Tips for Successful Results

Marketing is very important to a small business and it does demand a lot of attention, but too often business owners get wrapped up in new ideas or hype surrounding certain types of marketing that they forget all about the simple marketing tactics that can be quite successful. Sometimes just getting back to some basic marketing can do a world of good for your business.

With that in mind, it is really important to not ignore some of the basic rules of marketing. You want to make sure that you are not too focused on one aspect of marketing that you forget about the big picture. Here are some simple and wonderful marketing tips that can help you to get back to the basics, teach you important marketing rules and bring you successful results:

- Use postcards. It can be so easy to forget about the power of direct mail marketing with all the high tech options. However, postcards have always been a strong marketing tool. People read postcards. They are inexpensive to produce and use. There is no reason why you can’t get a handful printed up and start mailing them off to customers in your target market. It a great way to start a very targeted campaign of a certain group of people or a certain geographical location.

- Rotate your marketing tactics. No matter how wonderful a marketing campaign may be going, you still need to change things up. Try new things. Alternate between a few different marketing tactics. You do not want to use the same thing over and over. You have probably noticed commercials on television change often. This is because you can’t expect people to keep paying attention to the same old thing. Change things up and you will get better results.

- Listen to feedback. An essential part of marketing is watching what is happening with your marketing efforts. If customers like what is happening then work on expanding that specific marketing idea. If you are not getting good feedback then abandon the bad idea and try something new. Stick with things that work and get rid of those that don’t. It is a basic rule of marketing.

- Partner up. If you can network and meet people in businesses that are not your direct competition, but that sell products or services that compliment yours then you have the opportunity to do some cross marketing. If they are willing to work with you then you can possibly combine some marketing efforts and draw in a whole new group of customers.

- Follow up. When a customer makes a purchase you need to follow up with them. Make sure they are happy and offer them a deal on another product. It is very important to make a quick move to get repeat business and to stay fresh in your customers minds. Just because you have already made a sell to them doesn’t mean they are not worth marketing to. Repeat customers should become a huge part of your customer base because this creates a loyal customer base and it puts your business on solid ground.

- Take every opportunity to educate. Answer your phone with an announcement of a super sale that you are having or of a special offer you are making. End emails with a teaser or a special code that will give them a discount if they buy now. Do not let these little moments pass you by. Take every opportunity to sell.

- Become a SEM (Subject Matter Expert.) Writing articles, publishing special reports and getting yourself recognized as an expert in your are of business can do a lot for your sales. People want to buy from someone they respect and people respect someone who is an expert in their field. Become an expert and people will want to buy whatever you are selling.

These helpful marketing tips cover a lot of different aspects of how you should be running your marketing campaigns. Marketing requires a lot of heart and a lot of work. You have to stay focused, committed and be willing to do whatever it takes to make your marketing efforts successful.  Asking for assistance from a professional marketing consultant can only make these tips above see positive effect on your sales on an even grander scale.

Get the Most From Strategic Alliances

As a business owner you can’t expect to make everyone happy. You can’t always do everything you need to for your business all by yourself. You may not have enough resources to do all things you want to do. This is where a strategic alliance can come in handy.

Definition of Strategic Alliance

Strategic alliances are when you partner up with another business. Often it would be a smaller business partnering with a larger business. Alliances in business are like an alliance in any other area. For example, the U.S. often creates an alliance with other countries in times of war. These alliances help the U.S. to reach its goals and to have a better chance of winning the conflict. The same thing happens with a strategic alliance in business.

Strategic alliances are even more exciting. There are many different types of business partnerships and they are all different. The main point that differentiates a strategic alliance from other types of business partnerships is that in a strategic alliance both parties benefit. It is a fair deal where both parties get something from the deal.

The Down Side of a Strategic Alliance

While strategic alliances do start out as fair deals, they do not always end up that way. In order to avoid problems or end up losing out on the deal, you have to be careful when choosing a strategic partner. To ensure that you have chosen the right partner and made the best deal, you will need to do your research. You have to understand how to structure a good deal and ensure that the partnership stays in good shape.

It is important to understand that when you form a strategic alliance that you are going to be assuming equal risks, responsibility and to share equally. You can’t expect to have a good partnership if you are not actually willing to be equals with your new partner.

The Benefits of a Strategic Alliance

When you think about a strategic alliance you may wonder how it can help your business. By partnering with another company you can have access to different technology, benefit from learning about how they do business, get the ability to market to a new group of customers and have access to resources that you did not have access to before.

Creating a strategic alliance can allow you to have access to things that you would not otherwise have access to. You get the chance to use resources that can really help you to build your business. You have the chance to really learn from your partner and to come away with a stronger business. Many strategic alliances are created to gain access to new products, make use of customer support systems or to get more working capital.

Information and resources are exchanged according to the agreement you made when the partnership was formed. That is why it is important to draw up a good agreement when forming the strategic alliance. You want to be sure that your goals are clear and that the partnership is based upon helping you and the other business to reach your intended goals.

Success in a Strategic Alliance

To be successful in your strategic alliance you need to be able to clearly define what you want from the alliance. You also need to understand what the company wants from the alliance. It is important that you also are sure that the company you chose is someone who is reliable and willing to help you reach your goals. You can do this by doing some research into successful alliances and also look at some alliances that were not successful. Take time to look at various companies that you would like to partner with and figure out which one is the right one to help you reach your goals.

A good strategic alliance can really benefit your company. You can have the chance to expand your company and reach new levels when you are working with a partner. You may be able to reach goals in a few months that would have taken you years to reach on your own. A strategic alliance is something that is well worth considering if you feel that you have goals you can’t reach on your own and if you want to take your business a new level of success quickly.

Combine Online & Offline Networking

Using online networking is a big part of business these days. Many companies use online networking almost exclusively. This is a mistake. Just because you are using online marketing, doesn’t mean that you should abandon offline networking.

Networking offline provides that face-to-face interaction that people really crave. If you are only interacting with your customers or with other business associates through online communications you are missing a chance to get the whole picture. Anyone can attest to the fact that communicating in person can’t be replaced. The best way to network is through a combination of offline and online communications. This gives you the best of both worlds.

Online Networking

Online networking has many benefits. Most obvious is that it is convenient. You can interact with others on your own schedule. You can squeeze in an hour or so to work on online networking. You don’t have to leave home to do it or even get out of your pajamas. It is easy.

Online networking also lets you connect with people who you may not otherwise be able to connect with. Someone may be too far away for you to easily meet with or you may have schedules that just do not allow you both to meet in one physical location. Online networking allows you to meet with people without having to worry about distance and also lets you talk through various methods that do not require you both be present at the same time.

Online networking really lets you expand your abilities. You have the whole world at your fingertips. You can meet up with someone from across the world in a simple and easy way. This is something you just can’t do, or at least not do easily, with offline networking.

Offline Networking

Networking offline has been something people have done since the beginning of time. Personal interaction is one of the biggest downfalls of the internet. Many people prefer a face-to-face meeting with someone before they will do business with them. They do not trust online profiles or websites and want to meet someone in person so they can verify they are actually a real person and they can get a feel for the person.

One of the things that is lost through online networking is the conveyance of emotions and body language. Yes, you can add punctuation or use symbols to convey emotions, but they do not always get through to the person you are talking to. Many issues have come from someone not understanding the emotion behind a typed out message.

Body language is very important, especially in business. Online networking lacks body language. You may not realize it, but people use body language a lot. It can often say more than the actually words that are being spoken. Body language can reflect attitude, emotion and true feelings. Many aspects of communication come through body language and when you are only communicating online you lose that dimension of communication.

Offline networking adds a personal touch to your online networking. It is a great reinforcement for those relationships and helps you to build a deeper connection with people you have met online. It gives you more creditability and helps people to really see who you are and to understand you and your business.

Making the Most of Networking

You will find that you can network with many of your contacts both online and offline. Do not miss the chance to meet in person with someone you have connected with online. Also, don’t miss out on the chance to continue networking online with someone that you have met with offline. Take full advantage of all networking opportunities. Combine your online and offline networking to make the most of every relationship you have made.

Networking will never go away. Having relationships and making connections with others is an important part of business. Offline networking is a staple and online networking is just part of the evolution of networking. Networking will continue to evolve, but you should never forget the old tried and true methods of networking. Try to combine your networking efforts so that you can build the best relationships and make the strongest connections.

Tips on Online Time Management

When you start to work online time management becomes a major issue. It is quite easy to get distracted and off track when you are online. You may find an interesting website, get lost in a fun application or even just end up socializing for hours. All these things are fine in moderation and could actually benefit your company, but unless you start to manage your time spent online you could end up wasting hours on unproductive activities and not focusing enough time on things that could be productive for your business.

Stay On Track

When you are working online it can be very easy to get distracted. To keep yourself focused and to ensure that you get all things done that you need to do, you have to set a schedule. You should make a list of the things you must get done and stay focused on each task until it is competed. If you feel yourself getting distracted just make a note of what is distracting you and go back to it once you have completed your tasks.

Don’t Get Overloaded

Social media is a very active platform with many things going on. It is simple to get distracted or feel like you are trying to do too many things at once. When you get overloaded you end up not accomplishing much. To avoid information overload you should limit your social interactions. Instead of signing up for five sites, try only two sites. Limiting yourself can really cut down on the overload and help you to stay on track with your marketing efforts.

Get Organized!

While working online there are many times when you see a link or a picture or some other information that interests you, but you don’t have the time to look it over right now. For times like these use the bookmark feature of your browser to save things for later. A simple click and you have the information or page saved so you can return later. This can be a great way to ensure that you do not get sidetracked and off task.

Also consider making use of online organization tools. There are sites for organizing and storing pictures, videos and other information. Try to use these tools to help you organize things so you can easily find them when you need to. Being organized can help you save a lot of time.

Automate, Sometimes

In general, automation is a big mistake. Social media requires being active and fresh. You want to be personable and not sound like a computer, generating form answers or remarks. However, in other areas of your online marketing, automation can actually be helpful. For example, if you have the same questions over and over then you can create a template to answer these questions. If you are constantly being asked for the same like, then have it handy. Doing this will help you to avoid having to write the same replies over and over.

Allow Yourself to Get Back to Something Later

Sometimes you may not have time to answer a question or post a reply to something someone has said. It is ok to get back to it later. However, for the time being, just let the person know that you don’t have the time to reply right now, but that you will get back to them. Give a specific time frame, like 24 hours, for your reply. This lets the person know that you have seen their question and that you are working on a reply.

Set a Routine

Unlike a schedule, a routine is pretty much set in stone. It becomes habit. It doesn’t change too much day to day. A routine allows you to ensure you have complicated all your tasks and helps to keep you focused. Make up a routine of the things you have to do daily. Setting a daily routine will allow you to fall into a pattern and make it easy to get things done.

Time management when you are working online and dong social media is important. When you just jump into things without any planning or rules for yourself then you will find not much gets done. Use these tips to help you manage your time and make the most out of your online efforts.

Social Media & Email Marketing …

. . .  Can Work Together for Amazing Results

Social media marketing is quite hot right now. Other forms of marketing, like email marketing, that were once just as hot have cooled a little. This doesn’t mean they are dead. You can actually combine social media and email marketing. Doing this combination marketing can really bring you amazing results.

Keep Doing What You Are Doing

If you are already involved in social media marketing and still using email marketing than you can continue to use both, but give your marketing more of an edge by combining these methods of marketing. If you are not doing one of these types of marketing then now can be a good time to get started so you can use a combined marketing tactic to get better results.

Why Combining Helps

People who use social media are also users that use email. In fact, social media users use email more than people who do not use social media. This is an important point that backs up the logic of combining these two marketing methods.

Many of the people who use social media sites use the same email address for their social media log in and as their main email account. This gives you a great chance to market to them on both fronts.

There have actually been a lot of studies and research done on about social media users. This has shown there is a huge link between social media, email and making purchases online. What this means for you, the business owner, is that by combining marketing efforts through social media and email, you are increasing your chances of making a sale. You are reaching the people who are most likely to buy products online. They are more likely than anyone else to share your email marketing materials, too. The social media crowd can really be the best group to market to through email.

Social Media Users Share

One of the biggest things about social media is that it is all about sharing information. When you are getting customers that are active in social media then you are getting customers that are eager to share information about their experience with your company.

Social media users will likely share your email, website address or suggest that others become a fan of your social media page. If you make them happy then they will share that with others and give you some great word of mouth advertising. When you start sending social media users email, it is more likely that your email will get forwarded or shared with others.

Build a Relationship

The key to getting social media users to help share your emails and sales information is building a good relationship with them. You need to get trust and you need to make sure that you are really reaching them with your marketing efforts. Doing this will take time. You have to make sure that you paying attention to your feedback. If customers are happy then you are on the right track, but if they are not happy then you should consider a different approach.

Your Goal

To successful combine your email and social media marketing you will need to get a loyal social media following. Gather email addresses and start sending out marketing materials via email. You will want to make sure that you are encouraging people to forward your emails and share information about your company with others.

Since social media users are the most likely to forward emails and share information, you should see a boost in the results of both your social media and email campaigns. Using these two types of marketing methods together can really help to boost the overall effectiveness of your marketing campaign.

Email may seem old and boring, but it can still be a very effective method of marketing. You just need to find the way to bring it to the forefront. The way to do that is to team up your email marketing with your social media marketing. This way you are reaching the people most likely to read your emails, buy products from your email marketing materials and share these marketing materials with others. By combing email and social media marketing you set your business up for success.

Three Common Social Media Misconceptions . . .

GUEST BLOG – Entrepreneurs: The New Marketing

I’m enjoying my time off, so asked another Vendor Partner to write a guest blog.  Enjoy & Share.

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As far as I can tell, I’m the only one talking about this so far.  Naturally, I want to go on record as the first!

This is about marketing, so if you’re an entrepreneur (or thinking of becoming one), listen up!

First of all, recognize that we are in a period of the re-emergence of the divine feminine.  That link is to a video of the same name.  You might want to check it out!

This means that the whole planet is coming back into balance, after many centuries of being more than a little masculine-heavy.  Check out the video for examples. For our purposes here, I’m talking about what this means to marketing.

Think about it–the way goods and services are sold today comes mostly from advertising and marketing standards that were established in the ’30s and ’40s by men to sell to men.  That means the techniques tell the potential customer to buy for reasons like this:  It will make you seem more powerful!  It will make your wife (or other women) want to have sex with you!  It will make you feel like a man!

Don’t believe me?  Look at car commercials.  They are the boldest example of the last vestiges of cave-man advertising.  (Sorry, guys–it’s probably insulting to you too!)

However, these days, about 80% of all purchasing decisions in the U.S. are made by women, including cars and men’s clothes.  If you are selling (marketing, offering, whatever) now, you are mostly selling to women.  And women don’t care if their husbands will sleep with them–of course they will!  Women have that deal taken care of.

So what do women care about?  Well, speaking as a woman myself, my favorite thing in the world is to sit around and chat.  And than means… anybody?  CONNECTING.

Women are all about connecting.  We like to FEEL something, we like to empathize and sympathize, and we like to hear stories about people like us–or people who are different from us.  And we like to help.

Why do charities that help children in foreign countries show pictures of the children and tell their stories?  “Ana never knew her mother.  Her father died of dysentery after serving most of Ana’s life in the defeated army.  Ana would like to go to school.  She dreams of someday becoming someone just like you.  Help her to do that.”

Why?  Because that’s what women respond to.

This is the New Marketing.  And this is why social media are so important to business owners right now.  Establish a personality on Facebook and Twitter.  Share your story and/or the stories of your clients.  You don’t have to pull on their heartstrings and manipulate them (like the charity example above–sorry for the cheese).  You just have to be honest.  Here’s an example:

“Here’s my client, Ana.  When we started working together, Ana had been in the same dead-end job for 10 years.  Her children were recently grown and had flown the coop.  Ana’s husband had lost his job, and Ana was starting to wonder what the rest of her life would be like.

“After only two months in the XYZ course, Ana discovered that she was more content, felt better physically, and found herself looking forward to work every day.  Another month later, and a great new job offer had landed in her lap.

“Today, Ana works in my company!  She left that great job, because she loved the work we had done together so much, she wanted to help other people the way she had been helped.  Now, she not only looks forward to work every day, she knows she is making a difference in other people’s lives.”

If you’re a woman, I know you can see how much better that is to you than, “Buy this!  It’ll make you irresistible to men!”

And if you’re a man, you might also see its value, but if not, just trust me.

There will be MUCH more about the New Marketing, but this is a great start.  Just remember to give me, your friend, the credit I deserve.  ;o)

Until next time,
y’all be good!

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Susan K. Morrow is a psychically-gifted Intuitive Life Teacher, author, and speaker, who specializes in bringing SPARKLE into her clients’ lives.  Her many and varied programs, courses, and Suzi-Q&A LIVE events continually wow her students and audiences across the globe.  Find more information at www.SusanKMorrow.com.  Books available on Amazon.

*Guest Blog* Features vs Benefits: Which drives a purchasing decision?

As I take a little time off, I’ve asked one of Vendor Partner’s to be a Guest Blogger.  Enjoy, comment and share!

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Features vs Benefits: Which drives a purchasing decision?
By Guest Blogger Natalia Sylvester

Let’s play a little game.

Think of a product or service that you can’t imagine living without, whether it be in your business or your personal life. Maybe it’s a laptop, or a software, or a car, or a home entertainment system.

Quick, can you tell me in what ways it makes your life easier or more enjoyable?

Now, can you tell me, in technical terms, how it does this? If, for example, you love your computer (because it’s fast and you can run several programs on it at once without it ever slowing down), do you know if that’s due to its dual-core processor, or its 320 GB hard drive? Or, if you love your flat screen TV (because it shows such crisp images that you get a better viewing experience at home than you do at the movies), is that because it’s a plasma, an LCD, an LED-LCD, in 1080p or 1080i?

Which question is easier to answer off the top of your head? I’m betting it’s the first. And it’s for a very simple reason: people buy things because of the benefits they’re offering, not their features. All that technical information we could easily find inside an instruction manual? Those aren’t selling points. The selling point is what those features can do for your customers. How will this product make their life easier than another product without those same specs?

For example, if I’m buying a car, and the salesman starts throwing numbers at me about the engine and the horsepower and the magical technology they’re using on the exterior, I will likely zone out. I’ll look at that car and assume it’s pretty similar to the ones at the dealer across the street. Because all he’s giving me are the features.

If he were to start with the benefits, I’d see the value in the car. Maybe what all that info about the engine really means is that this car is not only faster than most, but more fuel-efficient, so I’ll only be filling up every two weeks instead of every week (and spending less money at the pump). Maybe the exterior is so special because it’s completely scratch and dent proof, so when I park at the grocery store, I won’t have to park all the way at the end, where no other cars (or shopping carts) will nudge up against my doors.

In other words, the benefits of a product or service is what happens when you take its features and place them in your customer’s everyday life. This first requires that you know your audience and what problems they have. Only then can you know what role those features will play in their life. How will those features make your customers’ lives easier? What difference will they make?

These are the questions I ask every time I sit down to write copy for any sort of marketing materials. Because even when you’re trying to sell a product or a service, people only get sold based on results. They buy into things that they know will change their life, whether in big or small ways.
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Natalia Sylvester is a copywriter who helps businesses reach their audience and develop their brand through the words they use in their marketing. Visit her online at http://www.inkyclean.com.

Social Media Marketing Concerns

Businesses of every caliber are becoming clued in to the power of social media. What was once simply a place people went to chat and play has become a prime target for advertising by companies both large and small. Since this is such a new platform, there are varied successes and the difference seems to be in the way companies are approaching potential customers.  If you try to do social media marketing with an “in-your-face” advertising approach you will fail. You will have to know how to reach the public through these forums and that takes a bit of time and effort.

Time

Too many businesses are running out grabbing a profile on many different social media sites and then disappearing for a month or better. This is a prime example of what not to do. Instead your company will need to set aside specific time to interact with people and post new information. In a best-case scenario, you should spend a few minutes each day answering questions, posting new information and assimilating the information from fans and friends of your company site.

In order to do all of this constructively you will need a plan of action. It could be helpful to set up your own editorial calendar so that you remain on task and on schedule.  For accounts like Twitter, you may want to post a tweet each day, but only work on following and followers once a week or less. You can also manage Facebook and LinkedIn on a daily or weekly basis. You will need to check in on all social media sites a minimum of once a week if you are going to see any marketing results.  If you can’t commit to that, then it is not worth it to you at this time.

Content

How do you know what to post if you are trying to stay away from strictly ad copy? I suggest starting with a Marketing Assessment and using that content. Information is king when it comes to the internet and the better your information is the more people will pay attention to your page, site and eventually brand. Developing content can be done in house if you have someone talented in that department who also understands social media, however if not, hire a freelancer writer to manages the content for you on a per post basis, or keep them on a small retainer. The choice is strictly up to you and there is no right or wrong answer as long as the content, posts and tweets are valid and interesting.

Conclusion

Everyone gets a little intimidated when something new comes along and using social media marketing is definitely new. The sooner you can put this platform to work for you, however, the quicker you get past the learning curve the better, which is why many companies are outsourcing this marketing venue. If you decide to hire outside the company, make sure to have tracking in place, as you will want to know what is working and what is not!  Contact me for referrals.

Social Media Advantage

If you are like a number of business owners today, you are wondering why you would ever want to participate in social media. Really, what possible advantage could there be to creating a facebook page depicting your business or brand? Well, for starters, that is where all the research says the customers are. About 85% of online users age 19-54 are using some form of social media while they are online; these include twitter, facebook, LinkedIn and much more. What this means for you is if you have any hopes of staying current in this technology driven world, you are going to have to go where the customers are.

Where to Begin
Many online marketers will hear the above advice and run out to join every social media site on the web. They will post a couple of times and then leave the sites only to return once every few months or so. Eventually they will completely forget about their twitter page or Linked in account and will be back to business as usual with nothing to show for the effort. STOP! This is an example of exactly what not to do! You will be better off in the long run to take it slow and look at social media as the tool that it actually is.

First off make a plan. Hmm have we heard that before? What do you hope to accomplish through your social media outlets and how exactly will you meet these goals? Do you have something in place to measure the profitability of what you are doing? Finally, who is going to monitor your company’s social media pages and which ones will be the best for your business? All of these are important questions to ask and answer as you are delving into the social media world.

Go Slow
If you are a small company with limited resources, do not be concerned about hittingevery social site. Start with one or two and make the most of the platform. You do not have to have a profile up and running on every social site on the web, oh contraire, in fact, you will probably be better off with just one or two until you get the hang of using them. It will be better for your business if you consistently post on one or two social media sites than to have a hundred you can never get to.

Time Management
Once you have your facebook or LinkedIn pages up and running, you now have to manage them and your time well. Social media sites can be a great time waster if you do not have a plan of action. (There’s that “plan” word again.) Choose someone in your company to post and monitor these sites on a daily basis. That does not mean this person must spend all day every day on these pages. Set a scheduled time to log in and manage content, posts and comments, then have them move on to their regular job duties.

Internet and Business
It is a proven fact that those businesses who refuse to engage the internet are going to be left behind by those who use it to their advantage. The research is in and people are turning to the Web for all kinds of things, including local business search. A person looking to purchase a new washer and dryer for example will sit down at their computer, research prices, compare different brands and then search for retailers in their area. When you add the percentage of people searching for information on products to the number of people engaging in social media the conclusion is clear, a business ignores these customer trends to their own peril.