Every day I get dozens of questions about small business marketing. In order to answer these I’ve set up part of my site to give answers to common small business marketing questions. Here are the links:
Index of Small Business Marketing Questions and Answers
and pages each with dozens of small business marketing answers.
How to Write Your Marketing Plan
Free Marketing Ideas and Answers
You’ll find hundreds of small business marketing tips to help you grow your business.
– Charlie Cook
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=822afb0d-0a01-4403-84dc-79e4625bfcd8)
HERE ARE SIX THINGS TO DO IN 2006 TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL
1. Hire someone to do all the stuff you spend time on that keeps you from having enough time to work on improving your marketing. I use a bevy of Virtual Assistants, web designers and programmers to sort email, submit articles, build web pages and f.ree up my time to develop products and improve my own marketing.
When you stop doing mundane time consuming tasks you’ll have more time for the fun and more rewarding ones. I’ve found some great virtual assistants with these resources.
International Association of Virtual Office Assistants
http://www.iavoa.com
The Virtual Business Group
http://www.virtualbizgroup.com
Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection
http://www.cvac.ca/
2. Listen to Your Prospects and Clients
Each time a prospect or client asks a question, write it down. Review these each week for new product ideas and for informational reports you could provide for free. You can use each client encounter to get ideas on how to even better serve your clients. Use these ideas and your clients will love you and your products and services.
3. Develop New Products by Thinking Outside of the Box
Set aside 10-20% of your time to develop new product and marketing ideas. Identify a problem your clients have and solve it with your products and services. When you do, even more clients will seek you out and you’ll sell more to existing clients. Need help thinking outside of the box? Here are some of my favorite books and sites.
How Customers Think: Essential insights into the mind of the market – Gerald Zlatman
Thinkertoys (A handbook of business creativity) – Michael Michalko
A Whack on the Side of the Head- How you can be more creative – Roger Von Oech
Weird Ideas that Work: 11 1/2 practices for Promoting, Managing and Sustaining Innovation – Robert Sutton
Why Didn’t I Think Of That? Think the unthinkable and achieve creative genius – Charles W. McCoy Jr.
Bill Myers Product Development Resource Center
http://www.bmyers.com/
4. Use Tracking Links to Test Every Variable of Your Marketing
When you make a change to your web site test everything from the words to the background color to where you put pictures on the page to find out whether it reduces or increases response. Using the test results you’ll know what works and what doesn’t.
My favorite testing tool is the ad tracker feature that comes with my shopping/ecommerce software.
https://www.marketingforsuccess.com/shopping.html
5. Get The Small Business Marketing Tools and Resources You Need to Succeed
Small Business Marketing Gold Special
Your Web Site Marketing Road Map
Your Marketing Plan
Your Marketing Message
A Marketing Mentor
6. Work Less and Earn More
Go away more often with your family and/or friends. Every time I take a couple of days off I come back with new ideas for growing my business and with a clear head get twice the work done in half the time. I use an automated online delivery system so I make just as much from product sales when I’m away anyways. You can too.
https://www.marketingforsuccess.com/shopping.html
Best Wishes for a Prosperous 2006,
Charlie Cook
Marketing For Success
www.marketingforsuccess.com
3 West End Avenue
Old Greenwich, CT 06870
/ Helping you get a better response, more clients
and more sales with your small business marketing //
Copyright 2006 by Charlie Cook of Marketing For Success
and In Mind Communications, LLC
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=38c3da48-e158-4b76-9574-2caff4d10058)
What’s that ringing sound you hear at this time of year? It’s the sound of cash registers ringing up the sales generated by Santa Claus. Just because he’s old, overweight, long haired and unshaven and dresses funny, don’t overlook his marketing success. Santa is a marketing expert and you can become one, too, if you follow his marketing methods.
What’s that you say? You don’t believe in Santa Claus or you don’t celebrate Christmas? It’s true that Santa may be mostly mythical, but ask almost anybody who Santa is and what he does, and they’ll tell you. And there are millions of children who are convinced he’s real. So put your doubts about Santa aside for a moment and take a look at why he’s so good at marketing.
Knows How to Be Unique
Whether it is his trademark red suit, his unconventional transportation, his belly laugh or his occupation, Santa is different. He’s one of a kind, which makes him memorable.
Gets Free Publicity
He’s a master at getting free press. He’s mentioned in the media constantly during the winter holidays. Many songs, movies and books have been written about him.
Discover how to get free publicity for your business with your articles and on the radio. Editors and radio hosts are always looking for content they can use. Here’s the link to Opening Doors with Your Articles and
Getting Free Radio Publicity to grow your business.
Is Customer Focused
While everyone knows about Santa, his marketing isn’t focused on his credentials. He rarely talks about how long he’s been in business nor does he bore people with long discussions of his work processes. Instead, he makes a huge effort to learn what people want. It is estimated that each year over a million letters are sent to Santa.
Santa supplements this effort by appearing in thousands of shopping malls around the country, listening to an average of nine thousand children per mall. He does all this just to learn what his customers want.
Gives Something Away For Free
While most of the presents under the tree are from family, including the annual fruitcake from Aunt Bernice, typically at least one gift bears Santa’s name. How can you not love someone who gives so many presents away each year and whose only expectation is a couple of cookies and a glass of milk?
Knows What He Is Selling
Santa knows what he is selling, and its not just games and toys. Santa sells hope, whether it is for the latest video game, a warm sweater or happiness.
How can you market your business more like Santa Claus does his?
Learn the The 5 Principles of Highly Effective Marketing that make Santa a success. Santa didn’t write this marketing guide, but he could of. I wrote it to detail the marketing strategies that work for small business owners and entrepreneurs like Santa.
Here’s the link to get your copy of The 5 Principles of Highly Effective Marketing manual.
1. Clarify how you and your firm are unique, and what it is that separates you from the crowd. You don’t need to put on a red suit or slide down chimneys. Define yourself by the problems you solve, the expertise you provide and what your customers say about you.
2. Get free publicity for your business, not just during holidays but all year round. Sometimes imaginative stunts like appearing in a sleigh help.
3. Ask your prospects what they want and then provide services and products that give them what they’ve asked for. The better you understand their concerns, the better services or products you’ll provide.
4. Give something away for free. It could be an article, a report, a book or a workshop. Use your free offer to prompt people to contact you and demonstrate your expertise. It works for Santa and it can work for you.
5. Know what you are selling. Your products and services bring in the money, but what do they stand for? What do they represent to your clients? Sell your prospects on achieving their objectives and dreams and deliver with tangible results they can appreciate.
Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, market like Santa and you too, can have many happy clients this and every season, without having to squeeze down a single sooty chimney.
– Happy holidays, Charlie Cook
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6a2e261a-c0cd-4e8d-bd0d-86d13139aca4)
“Is a marketing plan vitally important to a small business?”
– Tameca
Imagine for a minute you wanted to build a house. What’s the first thing you would do? You’d talk to a an architect would create the plan or blueprint for your home. Then with your plan in hand, you’d get a contractor to build your home.
Creating your business is similar. If you want to succeed you’re going to need a plan that will help reach your goals. Without it you might you’ll be lost and be destined to fail.
Yes, a marketing plan is vital to your small business if you want to succeed! If you’re ready to stop wasting time and start growing your business, use this marketing plan >
– Charlie Cook
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=958838c1-1445-40ec-b70d-9293bce59e7d)
The web makes it easy for unscrupulous people to steal your content on the web its true but this same easy of access makes it easy to find people who do this. Take what happened today.
This morning I got a call from someone I’d never heard of. It turns out they had paid someone to write some marketing copy for them. When it was delivered they liked it so much they took notice. They noticed it was written in a different style and became curious. They’re curiosity inspired them to “Google” some of the copy.
What did they find? They found that the copy that they had just paid someone else to write had been stolen verbatim from this site and their copywriter and substituted her name. Being honest clients, they called me to let me know this “marketing communications” firm not only was selling my copy as their own, they were using it as their own on their web site.
A couple of emails and a phone call later and the president of the guilty firm, apologized, removed the stolen copy and promised to cease and desist from using my work illegally.
It’s true it may be easy to steal marketing copy on the web, but it’s just as easy to find the thieves. Of course its simpler to just ask for permission, provide attribution or hire a good copywriter to start with.
– Charlie Cook
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c8278212-6d0f-4e05-92f0-d86db055a3a4)
Last week I attended a concert in NYC by the legendary Bonnie Raitt . Each time I see her perform live I’m amazed that someone who I already thought was superb has gotten even better.
If you aren’t familiar with Bonnie Raitt she spent the first 15 or so years of her career making slow and steady progress in the music world despite being an alcoholic. She has talent and it even shown through the haze of her heavy drinking.
Eighteen years ago she got off the bottle and her career took off. Her many accomplishments include a Grammy. You’d think she could rest on her laurels, but no, each year she looks for new ideas and ways to become an even better performer. I’ve seen her a half dozen times over the last 34 years and last night her performance set a new standard of excellence.
As Bonnie said “Each day gives you a chance to change.”
Whether you are just starting out marketing your small business or you made a million last year. Each day gives you a chance to improve your products, your services and your marketing. If you’re not bringing in a steady stream of business or doubling your lead generation each year, you could be.
What are you waiting for?
Each day gives you a chance stop wasting time and money on old tired ideas that aren’t working and to finally discover what tens of thousands of subscribers and clients have. There is a better way to market your small business.
I can’t sing and I can’t make music like Bonnie Raitt, but I can help you get a better response and a lot more clients with your marketing so you can succeed with your business.
Why not make today the day you change your marketing and start getting all the clients you want? All you need to do is use the marketing ideas , tools and resources you’ll find on this site.
– Charlie Cook
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=47cea083-139e-463a-8b31-4f1d6b43b94d)
“I have bought a few of your books — my stumbling block is that I work in a highly specialized industry — pharmaceutical and healthcare marketing. I would like to create articles for e-zines..how do I find these highly specialized e-zines for the marketing managers and CEOs of these companies?”
Kelley
In ‘Opening Doors with Your Articles’ you’ll find a list of over 40 web sites looking for content you can use to distribute your articles. You’ll also learn how to ensure your articles get picked up, used and generate leads. Discover how get tons of free publicity for your business with this link >
You can also google: “articles health care” to build your own list of online and offline publications.
– Charlie Cook, The Small Business Marketing Guru
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=eae66483-12b9-460b-b6eb-61502f949123)
This is one small business marketing question that always suprises me because I think the answer is so obvious but, well, obviously its not.
Imagine you lived in Houston and wanted to travel to New York. If you take the wrong road, one headed, let’s say, towards Las Vegas, you’re not going to make it to New York, no matter how hard you try.
If you’re on the wrong road with your marketing its not going to all of a sudden get you where you want to go. It’s just going to keep taking you further away from your destination, costing you in time and money.
Just like most men don’t like asking for directions when they are lost, most people resist getting advice from a marketing expert. They want to keep doing it on their own in hopes of a miracle. Are you waiting for a marketing miracle?
If you’re marketing isn’t getting where you want to go, wouldn’t you agree that the smartest thing to do is to stop what you are doing and get advice from someone knows the answers and who can point you in the right direction? Makes sense doesn’t it?
When you know how to market yourself and your business, you’ll actually spend the same or less time and money on marketing. The big difference is that you’ll see results from your efforts. Instead of generating one or two leads you’ll generate ten, twenty or a hundred and you’ll convert more of these into sales and cash you can put in the bank.
Want to spend less and make more? You can! Use this link to discover the secrets to small business marketing that attracts clients and helps you grow your business.
– Charlie Cook
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ed51c978-a8c2-4310-9884-62c560eb332f)
Which is more important, small business marketing or small business sales?
What percent of sales should marketing bring in?
The marketing department of course thinks they are the most important. Or talk to a sales person and they think marketing is a bunch of silliness and that the real work is closing the deal, or selling. Who is right?
To grow your business you need both marketing and of course sales.
Your small business marketing creates the context for sales. Marketing gets your prospect’s attention, helps your prospect understand how your products and services can help them. The better your marketing, the easier it is to close the sale.
Imagine you were in sales and you had the choice between making cold calls all day long or making follow up calls to prospects who had already indicated an interest in your product and were ready to buy. Which would you want to do? Of course following up on hot leads is far preferable to making cold calls. You’d have a lot more success and sales.
No marketing and you’ll have to work hard to close a few sales.
With effective marketing you’ll generate a flood of leads and close a ton more sales.
So which is it, marketing or sales. To grow your small business you need both!
– Charlie Cook
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=2b9d32ba-0b10-4056-a6cc-250a1b6c596d)
If marketing your business has you spooked, discover how a Halloween marketing strategy can pull in all the business clients you want.
If you live in the U.S., at the end of October you’ll be preparing for a stream of young children to come to your door on Halloween. One by one or in groups of friends, they’ll ring the bell and shout, “Trick or Treat”.
To avoid having them actually play a trick on us, you bribe these youngsters with a selection of mini candy bars. You could offer them healthy treats like apples or small boxes of raisins or you could try something novel like telling them a favorite joke, but most young children are on a mission. They want to fill their plastic pumpkins and pillowcases with candy as quickly as possible.
You may not be a fan of sugar-based diets, but if you enjoy seeing all those undersized fairy godmothers and ghosts and goblins on Halloween, you’ll indulge them and dole out one candy bar after another. Your costumed customers know what they want. If they don’t get it from you, they’ll go next door.
This Halloween strategy can also help you grow your business. Want to get a steady stream of customers coming to your door? Want to avoid having potential clients go next door? Offer them a free treat! It works to get children ringing doorbells and talking to adults whom they barely know, and it will work for your business.
What kind of treats will bring in your prospects? Probably not Snickers Bars or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, delicious as these are. The answer depends on what you sell and what your prospects’ want. For example, if your prospects want to:
– Improve their finances – offer them a free guide or a workshop on ways to make more and save more money.
– Sell their home – give them a guide to maximizing their profits.
– Increase their physical mobility and avoid pain – give them tips on ways to improve their posture and strength.
– Get better results with their advertising – give them a guide to writing ads that get a better response.
If you know what your prospects want, you can pull them in like kids at Halloween with the right treat, free report or workshop. Using this strategy on the Internet, you can attract hundreds of qualified prospects each month to your business.
Over twenty thousand people currently subscribe to my weekly marketing newsletter. Each of them signed up in response to my offer of a free marketing guide. And this free marketing guide continues to attract over a thousand new subscribers each month.
Marketing Tricks to Avoid
Some companies think that tricking people into trying their services or products is a clever way to attract customers. phone companies and credit card companies offer low introductory rates that are subject to steep increases a few months later. Some small businesses make wild promises that their services and products don’t live up to.
No one likes to have tricks played on him or her at Halloween or any other time. Strong sales depend on trust. Violate trust and good will with marketing gimmickry, and you’ve lost your prospect for good – and probably several of the friends they tell about you as well.
Marketing Treats to Use
Offer prospects a treat to get them to contact you, to stay in touch, to visit your showroom and to thank them for making a purchase. Not sure what to give away to prompt prospects to contact you and visit your store?
In the 1930s, Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota built a reputation and their business by giving away a glass of ice water. Before cars were air-conditioned, the promise of a cold glass of water was enough to pull a steady stream of hot and thirsty travelers off the highway and into the store.
Today people are hungry for information and ideas that will solve their daily problems and simplify their lives. A Stamford, Connecticut financial firm used a series of f.ree workshops for wealthy investors to pull in prospects and quickly added mill0ns under management.
Make your free offer something your prospects won’t want to turn down, whether its a report, article, workshop, or educational CD. It doesn’t have to be big but it does need to target the interests of your market and be related to your products and services.
With the right freebie, you’ll attract prospects by the thousands and see your sales skyrocket.
–
Speaking of freebies, don’t forget to sign-up for the free small business marketing guide with this link.
– Charlie Cook
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=aec8bf9a-4b33-45da-971e-3792be5c455b)
