MarketingMoment

Fellow blogger and marketer Karen Purves has published a fantastic post on 2010 predictions.

You can read it here.

I’d like to add just one (to keep the list short and simple): transparency. Marketing has been moving away from hype to authenticity, and I think being more transparent in business is key. By being as upfront and as genuine as you can be, you’re more likely to attract higher-caliber clients and customers.

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The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, takes a look at ten of the major lessons learned in marketing, and how they can help ANY entrepreneur or business-owner when the calendar turns to the next decade. To read, please sign up first. (You can unsubscribe at any time, and I NEVER abuse my subscriber’s email address. Your details are safe with me.)

There are also TWO reader giveaways to help sort out both your personal and your business life. Oh, it all makes me feel like Mrs Santa Claus right now!

Subscribe here.

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Do you struggle with your marketing? Or perhaps you need to increase the response of your advertising or your website?

Well, take a leaf from Socrates’ book (or clay tablet, as it was centuries ago)…

Socrates was perhaps the greatest master of persuasion. His tactic was to get people to agree with him, or concede their side of the argument, belief, or debate, by getting them to say “yes”. He would do this by asking questions that people would simply have to answer in the affirmative. And he’d do this over and over until they agreed with him!

How does this help you?

By getting your prospects to agree with your statements or questions, then each time they do they are one step closer to becoming a buyer.

Why not try this ‘Socrates Method’ in your advertising and marketing, and see what happens? Oh, and feel free to report any findings here.

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The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, shows you how to get the ‘X factor’ for your business and ensure that YOUR products or services stay in demand. To read, please sign up first. (You can unsubscribe at any time, and I NEVER abuse my subscriber’s email address. Your details are safe with me.)

Subscribe here.

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The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, is a must-read before you waste any more time or money running poor-performing ads! It will also give you some ideas of getting more out of your marketing materials. 
To read, please sign up first.

Subscribe here.

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The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, is entitled, “The Most Crucial Business Skill of Them All”. To read, please sign up first.

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After years in the making, and months spent chained to my desk, I am delighted to announce the unofficial launch (expect to see a press release soon to make it all official) of my new business Advantage, Inc Limited.

The company was founded with one key factor in mind: to do away with the old (and frankly unfair) client/agency model. Namely, where you pay good money to an advertising or marketing agency — daily fees of anything from £500 to £5,000+ — yet have no idea whether they’ll deliver any tangible results. Sure they may produce glitzy advertising campaigns that win awards within their industry, but what about you? How would you feel if the fruits of their labour produced results that weren’t as good as you’d hoped? Or, worse, failed miserably in terms of ROI?

Advantage, Inc is based on a new methodology:

Number One: To only use strategies that have been proven time after time, year after year, with hundreds of different types of companies in almost as many industries all over the world. Most of our strategies are fr!ee to apply or cost very little to implement in your business.

Number Two: To work with clients to uncover hidden profit opportunities within their existing business — hidden assets that almost 95% of companies overlook — and show them our field-tested systems can be easily and simply plugged in’ to their existing business.

Number Three: To eliminate risk and show full accountability by taking our fees from the profits we make for clients. In other words, Advantage Inc is entirely results driven, and we only get paid for performance.

To find out more, please visit:

www.traceydooley.com

or

www.advantageinc.co.uk

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No matter how much doom and gloom greets us on a daily basis, the fact of the matter is that businesses and consumers are STILL BUYING. But what if you don’t have a steady flow of potential buyers in the first place?

The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, can help turn any solopreneur practice or small business into a systematic lead-generating workhorse.

To read the full article and gain *hidden links* to recent CfS newsletter editions, you’ll have to become a subscriber. (That’s a good thing, by the way, or so CfS readers tell me!) As well as being FREE, you’ll receive a business-building report and audio CD that can dramatically improve sales simply for signing up and trying it out.

Subscribe here.

Recent CfS newsletter issues cover:

Subscribe here.

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1. Create a brand. Print up small but important things such as business cards with a professional logo to present a good image.
2. Ramp up online. Websites today are one of the most important tools when creating a business. Make sure you establish yourself on the internet so that customers have somewhere to learn about you.
3. Make your first sale. The first sale is always the hardest, but once you have the ball rolling, there will be no stopping you.
4. Customer testimonials. Start building the credibility of your business from day one. Get customers to write up a testimonial. And be sure to seek permission to use any unsolicited praise.
5. Build a campaign. Be creative. Quantify on any good opportunity that comes your way; anything from a special promotion to a big event can be used in the campaign to get your name out there.

Source: Start Your Business magazine, issue 14, p28

Possibly related posts: 

• Little-Used Customer Acquisition Tip
• 5 Tips For Better HomeWorking
• What’s In a Business Name?

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I can teach you all the marketing strategies in the world, but if you’re not making time for marketing, then you may as well close shop. Harsh words, perhaps, but most definitely sound advice in the business world of today.

More so than ever before, your main job in business is to tell the world what you have to offer. You simply HAVE to make time to market it . . . again and again . . . despite what is going on around you. Unless you want to end up ‘broke’, that is.  

By doing some marketing every day — no matter how seemingly negligible   — I am able to keep in front of my current and potential clients. If you think you don’t need to do any marketing (what? In this economy?!), or you can’t find the time for it, then think again.

Marketing is something that ALL businesses — no matter how big or small — absolutely MUST invest in. Without a doubt. Especially in today’s overcrowded trading environment. 

And particularly if you need WANT to ride the wave of the current economic wave, and come out plain sailing at the other end… 

Rather stick a pencil in your eye than tackle that HUGE marketing task? 

Split it into smaller, more achievable chunks.

For example, rather than thinking of having to build an entire website, complete with 30 pages or more, start by working out exactly *what* you want visitors to do once they land on your website. Or spend a few hours searching for websites that you like the look and feel of for ideas and inspiration. 

  

To read more tips to help you get your marketing machine revved up and raring to go, and gain *hidden links* to recent CfS newsletter editions, become a CfS subscriber. As well as being FREE, you’ll receive a business-building report and audio CD that can dramatically improve sales simply for signing up and trying it out.   

Subscribe here.  

Recent CfS newsletter issues cover:

• 5 Ways to Get ANY Business Out of a Slump
• How to Get People to Buy From You
• Create a Buzz for Your Business With Twitter
• Can the X Factor Help Your Business?
• Be a Client Magnet
• Recession-Proof Your Business
• Stand Apart from ‘Me-Too’ Competitors
• Stop! Don’t Post that Letter!
• Common Mistakes that Can Kill Business

 Subscribe here.

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