If you have been following this column for the past several months you
have learned how to define your desired customer, set a profitable price
and select an effective location.
It is time now to use your marketing plan to gain attention for your new
business and convert it into sales.
Successful promotion is a reliable process for telling people about the
solution you have to their problem. The small business marketer must learn
how to use time and imagination in place of money. The key is to feel
confident enough about your marketing story to tell it with enthusiasm.
People react positively to others who show enthusiasm about their products
and services.
How to Start
To be in position to produce effective promotion for your product or service you must first:
Regardless of which promotional techniques you use, keep in mind a little abbreviation to help you remember the goals of effective promotion -- AIDA, which means:
Whether you are creating a promotional flyer, a catalog or a seminar remember that to be successful you must move your customer through the above steps in order to get them to buy.
Developing a Successful Promotional Campaign
#1 - Create and rehearse your sales message - a 25 word commercial for your product or service.
#2 - Develop a written presentation of the benefits of dealing with you - use as a "leave-behind", for example a flyer, brochure, computer diskette, etc.
#3 - Use your marketing research to locate groups of prospects.
#4 - Produce a memorable business card - Essential for networking.
#5- Get yourself known - As a speaker, a seminar-giver, volunteer, sponsor, etc.
#6 - Attend networking groups.
#7 - Learn to ask what others do and look for needs you can satisfy. But be careful, don't oversell!
#8 - Follow up quickly when you do meet someone.
#9 - Ask for referrals. Don't forget to say thank you.
#10 - Use publicity to broaden your story.
The Promotional Toolkit
The opportunities to promote your business are really as broad as your imagination. This is the one area of your marketing strategy where you most inject your own personality. For example, if you have a well-developed sense of humor you can plan your promotion so that it presents a healthy dose of fun.
When planning your promotion keep one rule of "guerrilla" marketing in mind: The measure of a successful marketing campaign is the extent to which it reaches, at the lowest possible cost, the greatest number of people who can and will buy your product.
Although there are hundreds of promotional ideas, in this column we will discuss the two most cost-effective methods:
Word of Mouth
The majority of people, both in business and personally, locate products and services based on the recommendations of others. A person who was referred to you and is happy with your service is much more likely to return with or refer a friend to you.
Good word-of-mouth promotion requires the following combination:
How to Start and Grow Your Network
When you are preparing to open for business, you should take the time to go.through your Rolodex and personal phone directories and write down the name and address of everyone you think should know about your new business. Send each of them one of your flyers and or some other notice that you are starting a business. Ask them in writing to refer their friends to you.
Ask each of your closest friends to give you 10 names of their friends who might be interested in knowing about what you sell. Include these names in your mailing.
Once you have been in business for a couple of months, it is time to use the satisfaction of your customers for your benefit. Your business will expand more rapidly if you use the following technique:
Public Relations
Drawing attention to your company by getting people to read, hear and talk about you is the essence of public relations, which is an umbrella name for a variety of techniques to get you noticed for little or no cost.
Among the most commonly used public relations techniques are:
Becoming an Author
One of the best ways to expand your network is to establish yourself as an expert in your field. An effective means to achieve this is to write articles of local and national newspapers and magazines. When a magazine is published primarily for readers in one industry, it is known as a trade magazine. Editors of trade magazines are constantly looking for wellwritten articles on subjects of interest to their readers.
They do not usually pay for these articles, but they will pen-nit you to include your company name and a little bit about what you do with the article. If you submit regularly you can become known as an "industry source" which means they will call you first when they want to know more about your type of business.
Public Speaking
If you are like many people, speaking in public is akin to having your teeth drilled. And yet many of us learn to overcome our fear. Two common ways to promote your business through public presentations are speeches and seminars.
Many groups are looking for speakers for their monthly meetings, dinners and special events. These groups usually pay a small fee and give you a free meal in return for a 35-45 minute talk. It is very good practice for selling.
To get started, contact the local Chamber of Commerce, women's support groups and local banks to inquire about their speakers programs. Determine if you know a subject well that they would like to present. If you find a good fit, sit down and write out a sketch of what you want to say and send it to the program chairperson for several groups. Call to follow up. Speaking engagements will often follow.
Publicity
Publicity is getting others to say good things about your business -- at no cost to you. People tend to believe stories in local newspapers more than they do advertisements. One of the main reasons this is true is that the average person likes to buy from someone they consider friendly. Reading a story about a business in your community is like listening to a friend.
Ways to Generate Publicity
One of the best ways to get others to talk about you for free is to send out stories and news of interest to the readers of a particular publication. These communications are known as press releases. To prepare to get stories about your company printed in the media you will need to put together what is known as a press kit which includes the following:
We suggest that you put all of this together in a professional-looking folder along with your business card.
Writing a Press Release
There is a traditional format for press releases that newspaper and magazine editors are used to seeing. You will have a better chance if you observe the following guidelines:
Other Ways to Get Publicity
There are many ways to get noticed. Some of the more popular ones include:
The key to successful promotion of your business is consistency -- telling the same message frequently in different places. Repetition is essential to becoming remembered by your desired customers. Too many new businesses only promote until they get their first orders, then they back off. Just remember: your current orders will be completed some day soon and whom will you sell to then?
About the Author
Jeff Williams worked for big business for years, until he decided to take his career in his own hands by establishing his practice as a business coach. Now Jeff offers you the information he had to learn the hard way -- and he shares it with you in his Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide.