51. Increase the frequency of ads shown
Often, companies with a limited advertising budget would choose to create larger, more visible ads that restrict them to advertise less frequently. However, a more effective way is to run more frequently with smaller ads even though they may appear less visible. The reason is because most people typically don't respond to ads the first time they see them. Prospects may need to see the ad a number of times before they take action.
52. Know the deciding factor
People tend to react emotionally when making decisions. However, they like to believe that their decision was made based on rational thinking. So when presenting your offer, a smart marketer will first include the emotional motivator that wins the customer over and also encompass the rationality element to satisfy the customer’s need to rationalize.
53. Observe and learn from business outside your industry
Look outside your industry for the best business examples. It isn’t enough for you to only measure yourself against your competition because you'll only be as good as or a little better than they are. However, your customers are experiencing good customer service, quality billing systems in industries outside yours and they are unknowingly pitting your company delivery against those benchmarks as well.
54. Working the “willing suspension of disbelief”
People are choosing to buy from other people rather than from faceless corporations. Even though these people might not exist, having a human face for the company beats having just a company brand name.
55. Recognizing the 2nd order
The most important order you ever get from a customer is the second order because a two-time buyer is twice as likely to buy again as a one-time buyer.
56. Use the upper left
Eye maps have shown that the first thing you look when reading an article, catalogue or any reading material online or offline for that matter, your eye will rest first at the upper left hand corner of the spread. That's the place you can place your best seller. If your best seller is not an eye catching product or service, use an eye catching visual on the upper left and direct your reader to your actual ad elsewhere on the spread.
57. Write to one, reach out to many
Address your promotional, marketing materials or sales letters to one individual and write copy based on that person. Write in such a way as though you were sitting down and having a conversation with that person about your business.
58. Just-in-time marketing
Always be ready to receive your customer with what you customer wants. This is crucial because people have become spoiled by 24-hour, seven-day-a-week customized products and services.
59. Maintain good publicity
In this day and age of the internet, bad publicity can spiral totally out of control and spread like wildfire. Hence, ensure that you maintain a clean and good image by treating all your customers with integrity.
60. Focus on the smaller market
Trends can propel your business to great heights. However, it is sometimes better to focus on the smaller market while everybody else is hankering after the bigger trend.
61. Direct Mail
46% of all Americans have purchased something by direct mail. Direct mail will be mail sent directly to targeted subscribers who are interested in your product or service. The mentioned subscribers are people who should buy your product based on your product position and their past buying behavior. This means that your message is reaching a target audience that has demonstrated that they have a definite need for your product and a history of buying it.
62. Magazine or Newspaper Special Inserts
Most publication houses publish special inserts for magazines or newspapers they produce. It can be an annual affair. These special inserts or sections are usually on topics of local interest, example Bridal Fairs, Real Estate Home Shows, Craft Fairs etc. These sections usually have a larger readership than the regular publication. Hence, having an insert ad can generate more business.
63. Newspaper Placement
Many companies count it a necessity to have ads placed in newspapers. The placement of where your ad appears in the paper can have a dramatic impact on how successful it will be. There are certain sections in the newspaper that people love to read and placing your ads there will increase your ads exposure.
64. Newspaper Ad Design
You might hear from the newspaper publisher that you can save money by getting them to design an ad for you. However, this is often not advisable because newspaper designers have to meet deadlines and in a short amount of time they are not able to produce quality high converting ads. Even though it may cost a little more, have a professional design your ads.
65. Save design costs
To save costs using a professional designer, get him or her to create your logo, text for upcoming events, etc and you pay one fee for all the pieces and assemble the pieces needed for each ad you place
66. News-like Ad
Make you ad blend into the newspaper to look like just another news article, with headlines and columns. Although the word "advertisement" is required to be placed at the top of your ad, that can be easily overlooked by the reader if you use a catchy headline and an attention grabbing first paragraph.
67. Service or Business directory
List your business in the service and business directory. This is available in some newspapers. Do check with the local publishers about this option.
68. Scan Ads
A scan ad is a small classified ad that is placed once with a member paper of the State Newspaper Association and appears in hundreds of newspapers in that state.
69. Trade organizations
Send a copy of your business’s latest news to any trade organizations you belong to for them to include the news in their magazine or newsletters.
70. Send Thank You Card
Send a thank you card or letter to the media personnel you liaised with to get your business on the publication if you do get an article printed about your business. Include that you would be pleased to be the source in any future articles on your subject.
71. Respond to a news story regarding your business or industry
If the newspaper publishes a negative story about your business or industry, counter it with a press release that shows the positive side of the story. The more controversial the topic, the more it may spark a positive article with your company portrayed in a positive light.
72. Look for other platforms
Your local newspaper is not the only print option. If you're doing business out of your local precinct, there may be other better advertising options that are more economical and reach more customers. Find such publications and subscribe to it for research.
73. Invite reporters for first-hand observation
To help reporters, bloggers or writer get a clear idea of what your average work day is like and how your business works, invite them to spend the day or part of a day with you. This is so they can have a complete story for their publication.
74. Have a product that simplifies life
People are always on the lookout to simplify and make their lives more convenient. Therefore, having a product or service that saves time or makes life easier may be more important to some customers than saving money.
75. Weekly Info
If you can provide daily or weekly information people need, get it out through your local radio station.
76. Get serious shoppers to visit your virtual sales room
Create an easy to navigate virtual sales room and update it frequently with the latest information. Place your company’s new product information on the site.
77. People make buying decisions on the web
Shoppers on the internet are not just "window shoppers". Statistics showed that 71% bought at least one high ticket item they researched on-line. Users ring to enquire about high ticket items offline.
78. Speed up the loading of your web page
The most frequently cited reason for leaving a particular site is the slow downloading time. Hence a faster loading of your site may potentially increase your product or service being seen.
79. Know the reasons why people go online to buy or make buying decisions
Consumers go to the internet to be informed, not to be entertained. They go to your site to find out more about your product or service. Eighteen percent of high ticket items go on-line first when planning a purchase, 69% report Web site info is a crucial factor in their final purchase decision, and only 15% go on-line to compare prices.
80. Bring visitors back
Create value-adding extras to make your site a must-visit for the latest breaking news and update it frequently. You can provide industry updates, gossip, trends and forecasts. This will bring visitors back and motivate them to spread the word on the Internet grapevine.
81. Make your website address known everywhere
Make sure that your Web site address is be on every piece of promotion or marketing material your customer will see. Business cards, brochures, postcards, flyers, ads, signs, delivery vehicles etc.
82. Animate your ad
Animated ads generate click-through rates at least 15% higher than static ads, and in some cases as much as 40% higher.
83. Copyright
Include ( © 1998 Your Name ) on all your Web pages. Not only will this protect you if someone else decides to download your content and use them on their site, this also builds credibility for your company. Copyrighted material tells the reader that the content is original and cannot be found on any other site.
84. Search Engines
Notify the search engines to publicize your website by registering your Web site with as many search engines as possible. Submit-It at www.submit-it.com gives free registration to many websites.
85. T's and C's
Spell out the legal positions that your site has in your terms and conditions. For example, you may want to notify customers about your site security if you are using credit cards – what actions are you liable for and what are the risks the customer takes. Terms and conditions also act as a credibility factor to increase your customers’ trust in you.
86. Ask your visitors to sign your Guest Book
These are the reasons why you should get your visitors to sign your guest book. Firstly, by signing your guest book, you can track the demographics of your hits. If you know the demographics of visitors to your site, you can pitch to other potential advertisers interested in advertising on your site using this information. The guest book also helps you to keep track of frequent customers and big spenders. You can eventually ask whether you could e-mail them with any special sales or promotions you have planned.
87. Frequently update your site
Update your site weekly or if possible daily so that traffic will continue flowing to your site. People return as repeated visitors to a site because of new information.
88. Buy ad spaces on other people’s website
Monitor the website which you want to place ads on for about a month. Look out for how often the site is updated and whether they offer some new content frequently. After which if your observations conclude that your ad will be effective, contact the webmaster to place an ad or banner on their website.
89. Contact On-Line Publications
Find your industry publications and whether they have an online presence. Check that they publish content online on your business or industry and contact them via email about your website.
90. Associate with holidays and Special Occasions
Adapt your website page to reflect what's going on in the world. On special holidays or occasions such as Christmas time, decorate your web site just like you would decorate your own storefront.
91. Join the online community built around your industry
Look for a community of sites within your industry that have linked together for the good of all. Once you find them see if you can join the community and establish a good relationship with them by communicating with them. This community can be a platform for exchange of ideas and inspiration to improve your business to increase more sales.
92. Hire Students
Tie salaries to grade point average for high school and college students you hire. Give a progressive bonus if the student excels in the classroom. In most cases you will find more responsible disciplined workers who will enhance your business.
93. Respect your customers’ time
Try as much as possible to start off with emailing your customer. When that doesn’t get you a response, send a fax over. If that also doesn’t work, give them a call. However, use this as the last resort because customers are busy too and their time is valuable. Be patient and wait for their responses.
94. Special Customers
Make frequent personal calls to five of your best customers and offer them a special deal that is only for them and only today. They may not buy but we all like to know we can get something special that someone else can't.
95. Motto
A catchy slogan or motto can be a powerful advertising message. "When you care enough to send the very best" – Hallmark has used this motto for years and it has made sending Hallmark cards a measure of how important the card recipient is.
96. Create a bulk mailing package
Five or ten businesses near your area would be willing to send your postcard together with their packages by bulk mail and share the mailing cost with you.
97. Business forecasting
Having been in business for some time, you would have some idea of what to expect in the next year. Use the experiences and information from this ending year to plan for next year. However do keep in mind that business forecasting is like weather forecasting, you can’t expect 100% accuracy in the forecast.
98. Five and Ten Philosophy
Every business day try to contact ten new customers or clients. From the 10, get at least 5 referrals of other potential customers to contact. You will never run out of potential customers.
99. Help groom and mentor the youth
University undergraduates studying business have frequent projects where they need to partner with real businesses. The youth bring new ideas and perspective which can potentially increase sales and better your business after you take those fresh concepts and refine it to professional standards. It is a win-win-win situation, 1) the students complete their project and learn under your mentorship, 2) your business has a fresh perspective and potential of further growth, and 3) you can offer these students a career opportunity when they graduate if you think they are competent enough.
100. Sponsorship
Your company can provide sponsorships to various groups to get involved in the community. One example is to sponsor a local sports team. Your customer base can be increased by people related to the sports team, i.e. family and friends of the players. Furthermore, your company name and brand can be actively promoted by being printed on the jerseys, collaterals etc of the sports team.
Regards,
Fermi Mirza Alfarisi
email : fermimirza@gmail.com
Phone/WA : 085710420922
BBM : 75B55C77
0 comments:
Post a Comment