Make sure your marketing messages hit the right target

Have you ever been in a situation where you just moved into a new apartment complex and you received a postcard for someone offering discounted exterior painting or snow shoveling service?  Obviously, as a renter, you don’t need these services.  So the person that is sending you this mail is completely wasting their money and they’re completely wasting your time.  If you are a small business owner or real estate agent, you want to make sure your marketing pieces get to the right audience.  Otherwise, you’re wasting everyone’s time and money.  Here are some simple ways to get to the right target.

1. Identify your potential customer.  You want to aim your marketing pieces at those people who are likely to be your customer – not to everyone.  Pay attention to those who are your customers already, since future customers will most likely resemble them.  You’ll want to identify where they’re from, their demographics (age, gender, income level, household makeup, etc.), and their behaviors and beliefs.

2. Pinpoint your actual market.  How often do you check out at a store nowadays and the sales clerk first asks you for your phone number or zip code?  They’re collecting this information so they know who is shopping with them so they can market to that target area in the future.  Start asking your customers for a zip code and/or phone number (for the area code).  If you have customers that are shopping online, it’s still important to collect this information.  You never know – you could be in Chicago and have a huge group of customers on the East Coast!  Find out that information so you could potentially market to them in the future.

3. Observe your customers.  Gather important information such as: age range, gender, job titles, owners vs. renters.  You may gather some of this information by observing them.  However, it’s important to ask questions, too.  Try to strike up a conversation as they’re checking out.  Not only will that make you seem more friendly, but you can learn a lot about them.  Maybe they’re purchasing something for their son’s graduation from high school.  Now you have an idea of their age range, that they have children, and money could be tight in the next few years if they’re going to help him with his education. 

4. Find out what interests them and their purchasing habits.  Are they online shoppers?  Do they get product recommendations from friends or family?  Do they make most of the purchases for the household or does their spouse or partner?  Do they choose quality or price first?  These important questions will help you learn what they value in making purchase decisions.

All of these bits of information will help you stay informed of your current customers to help you generate marketing messages that are getting to the right target audience.  Not only will it save you time and money, but hopefully it will help you learn more about your customers to generate referrals for years to come.

More information can be found in this article. Now that you know who to market to, let us help you get that done! Visit us online to get started.

How to handle the tough objections

Anybody who has ever tried to sell a product or service before has run into the problem of dealing with objections.  You know, those few words that can pull you right back down after you felt so good delivering a presentation sure to close your sale.  Jeff Wuorio is a small business writer, and he offers suggestions on how to deal with some of the more popular objections that occur in a business setting.

1. I’m already working with your competitor.  First of all, know that no matter if the customer is happy in that relationship, they may feel particularly loyal to the competitor for a number of reasons.  It could be a past sale with them, a family relationship, etc.  And you don’t want to destroy that loyalty.  What you do want to do, is try to get them to listen to what you have to say.  The customer can’t lose anything from hearing your sales pitch.  Worst case is they don’t leave your competitor.  Nobody got hurt, and you got to practice your sales pitch again. 

2. You’re too expensive.  This could be another reason why they choose to go with a competitor.  When they say this, they often don’t understand the concept of the value you’re offering them.  They’re focused, instead, on the price.  Show them how your product or service will offer them a return on their “investment.”  Don’t automatically bring down your price because it takes the value out of what you do.  Instead, try to find out what they’re willing to pay and offer them a replacement product that will equally suit their needs for less money. 

3.  I don’t have time to talk or meet with you.  At least they’re taking the time to let you know that.  That’s a sign that you’ve already gotten through to them.  Wuorio’s article says, “”They may be dealing with something you’re not privy to,” says Chris Deren, CEO of SellMasters Inc., a Boston sales performance consulting concern. “Help them understand that what you do may help with what’s soaking up all their time.” Deren also suggests networking with colleagues, other people within the prospect’s company and others to try to get a personal feel for what your prospect may be dealing with. If nothing else, any extra insight may impress your prospect: “He may decide that you’re one of the few people that he does have time to talk to,” says Deren.”

4. I don’t see the value in what you offer.  Again, this is another misunderstanding because the customer knows that your offer does have value, they just don’t see it.  Try to sit down with them to show them how your service or product will help them.  Whether it saves them time, saves them money, keeps employees working their longer, etc.  Try to do research on the customer ahead of time to find out what’s most important to them, and then figure out what the value you’re offering can do to help.

Knowing these objections ahead of time won’t leave you tongue-tied when it comes out of your customer’s mouth.  It’s best to know the proper way to handle them to appear in a most professional manner. 

Visit us online to see the value and the time savings we offer for all of your marketing materials!

How having a partner can boost your business

You’re probably working on overtime trying to build your business, beat your competitors, and save money during this recession.  You want to make sure you’re still in business and making money on your own.  What if we had a solution for a way to build up your business, for free??  Have you considered a joint venture?  A joint venture, by definition, is a partnership where people undertake an economic activity together and is a way to share knowledge and expertise.  Terrance Charles’ blog offers his take on the top three most effective joint ventures.

1. E-mail list swaps.  You can immediately add hundreds or thousands of e-mail addresses to your subscriber list by doing this.  So how do you find your swap partner?  If you are a subscriber to some marketing lists, try responding to some of the newsletters you receive to see if the authors are interested in a swap.  How about a past colleague you’ve reconnected with on LinkedIn or Facebook?  We’ve had real estate agents swap lists with financial planners.  You want to make sure you do this most effectively, though.  Let’s say you have a database of 500 current clients, past clients, and prospects.  Let’s take the example of the real estate agent and financial planner.  They decided to swap 10 names a week.  Why so low?  Because they each sent each person a note highly recommending the other’s service.  Then they called the new name and introduced themselves.  Then they each wrote a handwritten note thanking them for speaking with them and sending out a card.  It was then that they added them to their regular list.  So it took time, but the plan was for them to thoroughly introduce themself so they knew they were comfortable receiving their e-newsletters first.  It helped them achieve a lot more sales than just blindly adding names to a list.  So consider how you want to best approach this.  With patience and the right partner, you will no doubt have success this way.

2. Trade content.  Do you have another blog or Web site that you’re constantly reading?  See if the author will allow you to post their information on your site and vice versa.  You can add hundreds of views a day to your site by adding their visitors, as well.  And make sure you give them credit.  Link to their page from your Facebook or Twitter page. 

3. Teleseminars and webinars.  Terrance says, “For a JV, this is good because your building credibility and value for your subscribers and customers. Not only that, marketers are always looking for more content, so it usually get’s passed around on blogs, forums, articles and to their list. It doesn’t have to be a long teleseminar, it can be from 5 minutes to 1 hour, it all depends.”  You don’t even have to make it as formal as a teleseminar.  Just post a video on each other’s sites with some new content.  Posting videos is extremely easy to do these days with the new technology that YouTube and Facebook offers.

Hopefully this blog gave you some ideas on how to expand and build your business by forming a joint venture.  Once you’re ready to get those marketing pieces out to your lists, visit us online so we can create the perfect piece for you!

Cut costs and save money

We’ve talked about how the recession is having an impact on small businesses and real estate businesses across the country.  Here are some great ways to cut costs without losing business during the harder times:

1. See if you can renegotiate current contracts.  And this doesn’t mean just with your employees if you have them.  Look at what you’re paying monthly for.  It could be telephone service, postal services, advertising, etc.  Talk to your vendors to see if they’d be willing to adjust your fees.  Maybe you’ve been a customer of an advertising company for 10+ years.  Let them know that and see if you can get a discount.  Try using an e-fax instead of paying out of pocket to send faxes nationwide.  Get an Internet-based phone system like Vonage. 

2. Get rid of travel expenses by not traveling!  With the technolgy that we have around us today, this is a lot easier than it used to be.  We now have access to Web conferencing, conference calls, etc.  If you do need to travel, look online for great deals.  If you have an Entertainment Book, you can often find cheaper hotels and travel packages through there.  Are you a member of AAA?  A lot of hotels offer discounts to members.  Be sure to ask.

3.  Save money on having an office by letting employees telecommute.  You won’t be paying rent or utility bills this way.  If you do have an office, try going green.  We talked during Earth Week on ways to save money.  Some great ideas include purchasing fluorescent bulbs.  They last longer and use a lot less electricity.  Bring reusable bottles to work with water instead of buying bottled water.  Use and rinse mugs instead of using Styrofoam cups.  Print on both sides of paper before you toss it (or recycle it!)  Turn off computers when you leave for the day.

4. Barter.  See if you could exchange your product for a service or product somebody else offers.  Own a beauty salon?  Give free haircuts in exchange for window cleaning.  Have a real estate business?  Advertise local businesses in your newsletter in exchange for gift certificates for client closing gifts.  Get creative!  You’ll see how quickly these changes add up, and you can get new customers and clients this way!

5. Repair instead of replacing.  Have your ink toner refilled instead of going out and buying a new one.  Did your Xerox machine break down?  Have it checked before you shell out cash for a brand new model.  It’s always worth a try.

6. Look for discounts where you shop.  Spend the money to become a member of Sam’s Club or Costco.  You can save a lot of money by purchasing office supplies in bulk.  They even sell ink cartridges for printers.  Look to buy postage stamps on Ebay.   We always Google where we’re shopping before hitting the stores.  Oftentimes you’ll find coupons you can print.  Just search for the store and “printable coupons” or “online promotional codes” if you’re shopping online. 

What other ways do you know to cut costs?  We’d love to hear them for a future blog.  Leave a comment or visit us online.

The truth behind online faxing

If you’re anything like us, you hate dealing with those clogged up fax machines with jammed paper, busy signals, and having to worry about replacing ink and toner cartridges.  Plus, that can cost a lot of money!  Have you given any thought to purchasing an online fax service?  This is where you can send and receive faxes directly from and to your e-mail account.  It makes them easier to get forwarded on (via e-mail) and saves the cost of ink and paper.

Another bonus is that it can save you a lot of money in phone charges.  If you’re just starting your business, a fax machine will be one less thing to buy and worry about.  And since the service is web-based, it will store past faxes for you (in case you tend to easily lose things).  You won’t have to run to the office to collect a fax, either, as long as you have Internet access from your current location.  The service will provide you with a toll-free or local fax number that will go directly into your e-mail account. 

The Online Faxing Guide provides a checklist of the different online fax service providers to help you choose the best one that will work for you.  They also suggest these tips in making a decision:

1. Check for quality.  Talk to others that are currently using the service to see what they think about it.  You want good tech support available if you’re a first timer.  And see if they’ll let you do a trial run for no charge, to make sure you like it before you buy it.

2. Check for competitive pricing.  Most services run anywhere from $10-$20 a month, but there are ones that are cheaper.  And purchasing the plan on an annual basis, can save you more money than paying every month.

3. Determine if there is a set up fee.  If you don’t want to pay one, see what other companies do not charge for this.

4. Read the fine print on extra hidden fees.  If you do a lot of faxing or fax internationally, you’ll want to make sure that’s all included in your monthly cost.

5. Check on the storage limits.  As we mentioned earlier, a lot of companies hold past faxes for you.  Find out how long they stay in your account.

If you are a company or business that sends lots of faxes to clients, another option to consider is fax broadcasting.  This allows you to send a lot of faxes simultaneously, which will save you time and money.  Check to see if the online fax service you want to purchase offers fax broadcasting.

Have a great weekend! Visit us online if there’s anything we can help you with.

Make repeat customers happy and earn more $$!

Did you know that it costs more money to market yourself to new clients than it does to earn sales from current and past clients?  You can save money by getting your past customers to purchase more from you.  It will help you earn more sales by having repeat customers that are already loyal to you purchase again and recommend you to others.

Barbara Findlay Schenck is a business strategist and author of “Business Plans Kit for Dummies.”  She got great advice from Doug Tunnell, the founder of Brick House Vineyards.  His strong suit in selling is working his past customer base to earn repeat business.  He offers some great tips:

1. Keep current records of your customers.  If you don’t have any records, now is the perfect time to start!  Gather as much information as you can, including name, address, e-mail address, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.  You’ll also want to keep track of what each customer buys, so if you’re offering a promotion, you can specifically tailor it to different customers.  With this list, you’ll also be able to mail birthday cards and offer something special.

2. Use e-mail to reinforce your brand image.  Make sure that the e-mail has a link where you can “forward to a friend” so your business can be introduced to others.  Also, make sure to include an opt-out option for those who no longer wish to receive e-mails.  And for those customers, they should be receiving something in the postal mail from you instead. 

3. Be brief.  The Vineyards e-mail includes a greeting, a photo of what’s being offered, a short description, the price, and how to buy it.  That’s it.  No long and wordy descriptions about the new product or why it’s on sale that week or anything like that.  You want to hit on why it’s a good deal and how to get it.  Simple and effective.

4. Offer good incentives.  But don’t give too much away, either.  You might want to offer a really good deal on a new product, but only if they purchase an existing product first.  Or make sure the deal only lasts 72 hours so people act quickly.  We receive e-mails from a retail store we purchase from where you can get 40% off one item, but it has to be used within 48 hours and it can only be used once.  If that isn’t incentive to get to the store…

5. Communicate consistently, but don’t overwhelm them, either.  An e-mail a week is way too much.  You want to switch between e-mail marketing, direct postal mail, telephone calls, and maybe sending a card for the holidays and their birthday.  The customers will be turned off by constant “sales pitches” too often. 

Need help preparing your e-mail campaign?  Please visit us online so we can help!

Going from the office to a home-based job

So you’ve decided that it’s time to work from home.  You either have the opportunity with the company you currently work for, or you decided to start your own company.  Good for you!  Working from home can be a great chance to earn tax deductions, save money on gasoline and eating out, and be more flexible in your time to get things done.

Christine Ng, a professional coach, wrote a great article on how to start out. These tips should help make your transition from the office to the home a little easier. 

1. Figure out where you’re going to work.  While it might make it easy to place your computer in the kitchen, you’ll want to dedicate a space where you’ll be spending most of your time.  If enough of a space in your home is dedicated to a home office, you may be eligible for a tax write-off.  You’ll want to check with your accountant.  Make sure your space is equipped with all the supplies that you need so you’re not constantly running up and down stairs when you need something.  Be sure your computer is networked, printer has ink, phone gets a dial tone all before opening for business.

2. Figure out when you’re going to work.  You’re going to want to devote a certain amount of time each week for working.  You don’t want to say you’ll work from 9 am until 3 pm and then realize you’re working from 6 pm to 2 am.  Try to keep it consistent so your customers and colleagues know when to reach you.  This will also help you to build your business and not keep from getting behind.  It’s so easy at the beginning to realize not going into the office means more freedom.  Just don’t let it get too far out of control.

3. Figure out how you’ll get paid.  Try to work out a plan with your budget so you’re giving yourself a salary bi-weekly or monthly.  As a salaried employee, you’re used to getting a paycheck.  It will be difficult to adjust if you only pay yourself when you make a sale.  So do your best to pay yourself consistently, even if it’s not that much.  Try to separate your personal expenses from your business expenses with a different credit card and checking account.  This will make your life much easier when it comes time to filing taxes.

4. Determine what your goals are.  Once you do that, you’ll want to post them in a place that you can see them every day so you know what you’re working towards.  If you’re constantly looking at it, you’ll know what you have to do to accomplish that amount, and it might mean making a change in your work hours.

View Christine’s article for three more great tips. Once you’re set up and ready to go, please visit us online so we can begin marketing for your new business!

Go green in your business

With Earth Week this week, we thought it would help to give you some tips on how you can go “green” in your business.  Not only will this help save the environment, but in can help you save money in your choices.  Your utility bills can go down.  You probably don’t realize how much waste you produce every day.

1. Make the first step.  Purchase recycled paper and recycle when you’re done with your paper!  If you’re printing for yourself, print on both sides before you get rid of the paper.  If you can, go paperless.  Try to keep as much data on the computer as possible, thereby reducing your waste.  Recycle your ink cartridges by refilling them rather than buying a new one when it runs out.  Swap out your light bulbs for CFL bulbs and let your bulbs last 8 to 15x longer!  They’ll keep your electricity bills down, too.  Another simple tip to save energy is to make sure your computers, printers, coffee makers, etc are all unplugged when you’re not in the office.   Even just activating the “Sleep” setting when you’re not using the computer can save you $75 a year on your electric bill.

2. Try to automate as much as possible.  E-mail your invoices and bills.  You can save gas by not driving to the bank and paying bills and writing checks online. 

3. Let your employees telecommute.  Even if it’s not every day, they will help the environment by saving gas.  So much can be done via the Internet, e-mail, and fax machine that they might not to be present in the office on a regular basis.  If you provide a company car, consider one that’s a hybrid.  You could also be eligible for a tax break.

4. Even simple items like styrofoam coffee cups can be a problem.  Tell all your employees to bring in a travel mug or a regular mug to wash and reuse.  Pour soda and other drinks into regular glasses that can be washed in the sink instead of using paper. 

Do you have more suggestions to make your business greener?  We’d love to hear them.  Leave us a comment or visit us online.

How to grow your business on a budget

Here are some great tips on how to grow your business without a lot of money for advertising.  We always love cheaper ways to do things, especially in this recession!  

1. Find a charity that you believe in.  We love this one.  You might want to donate time, services or products to this charity.  If possible, donate a percentage of revenue you take in.  The charity will be referring business to you by doing this in no time. 

2. Create your pitch.  Imagine you have 60 seconds to convince an audience of 50,000 why they should purchase your product or service.  Make sure you have this down pat.  Practice what you would say to make them buy.

3. Try out all of your ideas.  No matter how far fetched or crazy they are, now is the time to see what works and what doesn’t.  Who knows?  You might get a great sale out of something you never thought would work.

4. Find out exactly what your customers want.  Think of all the ways to contact them: via phone, e-mail, mail, etc. to find out about their needs, wants, etc.  Once you know exactly what your customers are looking for, you’ll be able to offer a superior service to help them.

5. Referrals!  Make sure you reward customers that send referrals your way, whether it be a discounted amount on their next purchase or even a $10 gift card for coffee. 

6. Use risk reversal.  Make it so your clients benefit so greatly from your product or service that they would be stupid not to use it. 

7.  For an hour a week, make sure you work on your business rather than in your business.  Plan next year’s budget, work on new offers, contact past clients – anything to help your business grow.

8. Find a script that works for selling your services.  Test variations of it.  Improve it.  Practice saying it.

9. Always find ways to up-sell or cross-sell your offer.  This will help you sell more to people that are already going to purchase from you.

10. Build mastermind groups.  Whether the people come from within your industry or not, they will always help you to improve your business and are even better for referrals. 

Visit us online for more tips and help!

Stay recession proof in your marketing

During these tough times, it’s even harder to contemplate spending money you don’t have to get your name out there and market yourself and your business.  Money is extremely tight, so you want to do everything you can to conduct your business with little to no expense.  Here are some tips to get you going and hopefully draw up more business!

1. Get more referrals.  First of all, if you don’t ask every person you’re in contact with for a referral, you’re losing money.  After every phone call and handwritten note, be sure to be asking for referrals.  You might want to even offer an exchange of services.  If it’s allowed by your profession, you might give the person who set up the referral a discount on your services for a new name they provide you.  Make sure you thank them generously for the referral.  Another great idea is to swap client lists with another small business or service provider and highly recommend the other person.  Then you can contact each other’s list with calls to introduce yourself and offer any assistance.

2. Join an association or a committee.  Find a fun hobby or a professional association that you’ve been meaning to join but haven’t had time.  This is a great way to meet new people.  You could even set up a cooking club or a book club in your own neighborhood to meet all your neighbors.  Look for volunteer opportunities with an alumni group or at the local animal shelter, too.

3. Get free online listings.  Post your Web site for free on the major search engines – Google, Yahoo!, SuperPages, etc.  And contact your local newspapers to see if they offer free online listings.

4. Pull up old leads.  During the busy season, many businesses let leads slip through the cracks, or didn’t do proper follow-up campaigns because of time.  With things slowing down, this is a great time to pull up old leads to see if they are still interested in your services and to get back in touch.

5.  Write about what you know.  Contact local newspapers and online sites and offer to write a weekly or a monthly column about your small business.  This is a great way to get free advertising and in front of consumers.  You can offer great advice and have your contact information widely available. 

These are some tips to help you get started.  For more help with your marketing, please visit us online.