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Whether your company is still feeling the pinch of these brutal (and frankly confusing) economical conditions, or whether there are personal factors affecting your bottom line, one thing is certain: to succeed in business you have to keep on marketing.

Don’t market your products or services . . . and your business will fail. And that goes for ANY business in ANY economy.

Here are five low-cost ‘no-brainer’ marketing tools you can use right now to help break out of a sales slump and boost your revenue — and therefore your staying power. In fact, it’s a strategy that has been proven to work irrespective of which direction the economy is heading.

1. Reactivate ‘Stale’ Clients

It’s a well-known fact that it is 5-7 times more expensive to acquire a new client (or customer) than it is to get a repeat sale from an existing or even ex client. Yet still, business-owners are all too often so busy chasing new clients that they completely overlook what they already have: a gold mine of neglected sales. And even if they don’t ignore their former clients, most companies never properly implement or even consider a follow-up strategy.

There are numerous ways to  ‘mine’ lapsed clients. Here is one of the quickest and perhaps easiest methods:

Simply pick up the phone (or write to them, if you prefer) and ask how thing are going. Apologise for it being a while since you last were in contact. Check how they’re doing, and what’s going on with their business, etc.

The purpose of the call is NOT to sell your new product or ask for more work, but rather to remind them that you exist. You’ll be surprised how many ’stagnant’ clients will say, “Hey, while you’re here, I’ve got a need for…”

Don’t feel like contacting them? No problem! But you can be sure that when you are not talking to your former clients on a regular basis, your competition will be.

2. Have a Referral System

You’re probably like a lot of people; you think that as long as you do a good job, then you’ll get recommended. Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that doesn’t quite cut the mustard. Sure, you’re bound to receive a few referrals here and there, but to really leverage your good work, you have got to be more proactive and have a referral system in place.

The next time you finish a job (or deliver a great product) — and each time after that — pick up the phone or email your client and ask for a referral. (I know this can be hard, but the more frequently you do it, the easier it can get.) However, don’t use the R word itself: for many people the word “referral’ has negative connotations. Instead, simply ask, “Who else do you know that would be interested in my services/product?”

Another great way of generating more referral business is to give an incentive to compel customers to happily provide their friends and colleagues’ names and addresses to you. A gift certificate or a discount on future orders are two popular incentives.

It’s a good idea to personally thank people when they recommend you. They are more likely to remember your gesture, and will acknowledge the weight the referral carries. I usually send a thank-you note and a small gift.

3. Leverage F.R.E.E. Publicity

It’s difficult to beat public relations as a marketing tool. It’s free, believable (when your story is published in a newspaper, for example), gets you noticed, helps spread the word about you or your company, helps establish your identity, gives credibility and, best of all, it can generate quality leads.

Journalists and news reporters are always looking for good stories. So commit to writing at least one press release every month or so, and aim to get it published in places where your target audience is likely to see it (or hear it, if it’s a radio station). Sooner or later, your release will be picked up, and then it’s “Bingo” all the way!

The trick with getting your media release into newspapers, magazines, and television and radio stations is to make sure they’re newsworthy or at least have an interesting hook, write a compelling headline that sums up the story AND grabs the reader’s attention in as few words as possible, use active verbs and stick to facts (no fluff allowed in the domain of news releases).

4. Hold a Prize Drawing

A great way to get noticed and generate new leads is to host a sweepstake or contest, with a prize that hits your ideal customer’s ‘hot buttons’. Make it desirable enough that people will play again and again, or invite others to play. Promotional materials such as T-shirts, mugs, bags or pens inscribed with your logo and web URL also help spread the word.

5. Give Something Back

Finally, be charitable. Sponsor an event — a local photography competition, for example — or a youth sports team (you could provide T-shirts for them with your logo on the back, for instance), or team up with one of your local charities and help with fund raising. All of these are terrific ways to position your company in a positive light in your community.

Variety is the Key

So whether you are suffering from a seasonal downturn in business or are feeling the consequences of the larger global economic meltdown, don’t let these valuable opportunities pass you by. Get going with one new tactic today and introduce another every month or so, if that’s what it takes. Just make a start! Your business will thank you for it in the long run.

By Tracey Dooley, Creative Consultant | PR Doctor | Marketing & Alliance Strategist

If you want to learn how to systematically implement a simple-yet-powerful reactivation strategy that adds 10-30% to your business profits with little time, money or effort on your part, and at absolutely no risk to you, then please get in touch for your no-obligation complimentary consultation by visiting my sister site: www.traceydooley.com

Please be aware that I am offering this service to just one company at this time. This company will learn just how easy it is to implement — and execute — this sustainable 2-step profit technique . . . and it WILL gain an incomparable competitive advantage. All places are on a first-come, first-served basis.

(Why struggle needlessly when you can get expert affordable mentoring and have fun attracting clients easily?) 

(C) 2009-2011 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved

Want to use this article (or any article, tip or post on this blog) on your website, blog, a message board or in an ezine? Not a problem! But please give credit where it’s due. You MUST include copyright info above, along with the following:

Tracey Dooley is a freelance copywriter, editor and marketer. She has spent 18 years crafting compelling concepts and copy that successfully sell, inform, educate or entertains. Her expertise runs across many different sectors and her client list includes marketing agencies, a leading supplier of personal computers, semi-conductors and telecommunications equipment and the UK’s largest TV and interactive production company. =====>  www.mediaminister.co.uk.

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Everything we do involves an ‘underlying motivator’ that drives the motion or action taken. For example, you might take up running to lose weight, in which case, the ‘lose weight’ is the underlying motivator.

Similarly, underlying motivators play their part in getting people to do certain things — whether that be encouraging your bank manager approving your overdraft account, persuading an event organisation to take you on as a guest speaker, or enticing a prospect into buying your products.

The better you understand your clients or customers’ motivating factors or ‘motivators’, the easier it will become to convince them to buy from you…
As well as closing sales, understanding and addressing what motivates your customers will help create clearer and more effective communication.

There are five major motivating factors:

1. Recognition
Those motivated by gaining ‘recognition’ are essentially interested in gaining greater admiration, esteem, celebrity, notoriety, regard or respect.

For example, let’s say you are an image advisor. One of the main recognition motivators your target group shares is that they want to look and feel good. Some might go one step further and aspire to follow the style of, say, Sienna Miller.

Often, people who improve their physical appearance are more successful because of their confidence boost. If you can tap into this prime motivator and understand it well enough with regard to how your product or service fits in, then you will be a lot closer to motivating your prospects to buy from you.

2. Profit
Your prospective customers might be influenced by the ‘profit’ motivator. This involves people striving for success or gaining more acquisitions, growth, income, money, possessions or wealth. Are any of these provided by what you offer?

3. Urgency
This is a good one, but it is often overlooked or underplayed. Just think what would have happened if there were only 10 copies of J K Rowling’s follow-up to the first Harry Potter release! People are more inclined to take immediate action and justify their purchase decision if there is a sense of urgency about whatever it is that they are buying.

4. Efficiency
This is an enormous motivating factor — and an important one to consider, especially with today’s frenetic-paced society. Perhaps you can demonstrate that your product or service will save your prospects time and effort…

5. Internal
Some people are motivated by ‘internal’ factors. So focus on things such as creativity, duty, intellect, honour, morals and philanthropy are important to this group.

Finding out what your visitors want is vital, but finding out WHY they want these things reveals their innermost motivations. Target these motivations with your marketing, advertising, PR and web content. When you write words that tie into the emotions of your readers, and about what really motivates, you will never lose their interest or attention.

In my years as a PR exec, journalist, editor, copywriting and marketing I’ve discovered that telling people the truth and giving a reason WHY you’re saying what you’re saying is one of the most powerful psychological motivators to get people to take action. That might translate into your prospects picking up the phone to place an order, send back a reply card for more information or just simply reading all that you have to say.

I’ve also discovered that pain is perhaps the biggest motivator of all.

All animal life revolves around two powerful psychological motivators: pain and pleasure. And every single minute of the day, we are trying to either seek pleasure (through dreaming, thinking or attaining our goals, aspirations and desires) and/or we are trying to avoid pain (steering clear of traffic jams, not getting frustrated by anything or one, and so on),

People will do pretty much anything to avoid or get out of pain.

So you tie this into the specific pain your target audience — your prospective customers — are concerned about and the pleasure they hope to achieve and whether your product or service can help them.

You could ask questions like, “What would this person lose if she fails to buy my product/service?” “What is the cost of failing to act or delaying to buy?” and “What if this product/service wasn’t available anywhere?”

Just think of ways to slant your marketing messages to include motivational triggers to the emotions generated by carefully chosen and placed words. However, never be aggressive, arrogant or pushy in your presentation. That would only damage your motivational trigger . . .  and your prospect will walk away.

And bear in mind that you are NOT creating pain for your prospects. You are simply helping to see the pain — that is already there — for what it really is, and comparing it to what could happen/would be if the pain was removed and ‘pleasure’ was put in its place.

Essentially, it all boils down to playing detective. Find out what motivates your current customers as well as what motivated them to do business with you in the first place, and use this knowledge to tap into your prospects’ ‘hot’ buttons. That way, you’ll be much closer to closing the deal — and way ahead of your competitor, paarticularly so if they fail to acknowledge the importance of motivators themselves.

By Tracey Dooley, Creative Consultant | PR Doctor | Marketing & Alliance Strategist

Online marketing not getting the results you want? 
Let Tracey teach you how to produce PPC ads, blogs and email 
copy that impresses the spam filters AND your readers: http://tinyurl.com/ywyucg

(Why struggle needlessly when you can get expert affordable mentoring and have fun attracting clients easily?) 

(C) 2007-2011 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved 

Want to use this article (or any article, tip or post on this blog) on your website, blog, a message board or in an ezine? Not a problem! But please give credit where it’s due. You MUST include copyright info above, along with the following:

Tracey Dooley is a freelance copywriter, editor and marketer. She has spent 18 years crafting compelling concepts and copy that successfully sell, inform, educate or entertains. Her expertise runs across many different sectors and her client list includes marketing agencies, a leading supplier of personal computers, semi-conductors and telecommunications equipment and the UK’s largest TV and interactive production company. =====>  www.mediaminister.co.uk.

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One day it’s pay-per-click (PPC) advertising . . . the next it’s Social Media . . . then it’s a new variation on SEO (search engine optimisation) . . . and the list goes on. While these tools can help a business, not one has proven to be the ‘magic bullet’ to catapult your business to success and really set you apart from the competition.

However, there is a single, often-overlooked tool that can and does.

Many top business-owners and marketers from around the world use it. It has the power to make everything you do for your own business work better — from product launches right through to traffic strategies to customer service.

By disregarding this tool, you run the risk of letting your competition take full advantage of it . . . and so accede to them not only getting better results from ANY marketing technique or strategy they use, but also gain a significantly better market share than you.

So what is this essential business tool?

Copywriting.

“Yes, but I already know how to write,” you’re thinking. That’s great. But while we can all ‘write’, copywriting involves SO much more than simply penning a few well-crafted words. Before she or he writes, a good copywriter will spend a considerable amount of time researching the intended audience. They’ll make sure they understand buyer behaviour and how to craft your message in such a way that it really makes a splash.

The Key to Your Success — Online or Offline

Good copywriting can make confusing policies crystal clear. It can keep inter-company communications running smoothly through the careful use of words. And it can build relationships, be positively persuasive and ethically ’sell’ a company’s products or services.

In short, it is the MESSAGE that you present to your target market — at every stage of the sales process. And, as any top author, business-owner or marketing expert knows, WHAT you say and HOW you communicate with your prospect means everything to your business.

Considering Cost Effectiveness

The problem is that most entrepreneurs and SMEs lack either the time to do justice to their ‘business words’ or they lack the necessary skill sets in order to communicate their company’s message effectively.

There is no doubt that copywriting is labour-intensive and time-consuming. Let’s say you’re a small business-owner and you’re spending at least several days per week writing the copy for your sales letters or your blog posts. How much money could you have earned in that time? Would your business suffer more or less by continuing to write your own copy when you have one-hundred-and-one other things you need to do, as opposed to hiring a copywriter to take care of it for you?

No Short Cuts, Now, Please!

Okay, so let’s assume you have the time and you don’t mind that hiring outside will probably save you a lot more than your time is worth. You can always learn to master copywriting yourself through an assortment of educational tools.

What you need to do here is make sure you ALWAYS carefully choose the right words for the right audience and in the right context. If you don’t adequately explain how you differ from your competition . . . If you can’t convey all the relevant benefits you bring to your prospect . . . or the credibility you have . . . or you don’t know what response triggers to use . . . and more, then you are putting a very low ceiling on your overall business growth.

So don’t be tempted to cut costs or give short shrift to copy development. Instead, make sure you are doing everything possible to optimise the performance of the words you use for the benefit of your company. Believe me, your business will thank you for it.

By Tracey Dooley, Creative Consultant | PR Doctor | Marketing & Alliance Strategist

Better Writing Skills 101 — Write Your Way to Blockbuster Results and BOOST Business to Boot explains the ins and outs of good, effective business writing and shows you how to work within the ‘rules’ (or, indeed, when to break them) to write persuasive or professional emails, letters, brochures and more that are clear, convincing and make an impact. Find out more here:

http://bit.ly/BizWriting101

(C) 2010 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved 

Want to use this article (or any other entry on this blog) on your website, blog, a message board or in an ezine? Not a problem! But please give credit where it’s due. You MUST include the following:

Tracey Dooley of MediaMinister (www.mediaminister.co.uk) is an experienced copywriter, editor and marketer. She has spent 18 years crafting compelling concepts and copy that successfully sell, inform, educate or entertains. =====>  www.mediaminister.co.uk.

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Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

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As this is my first post of 2011, I have to officially say … HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So we have a new year ahead of us and we are going to make it count. No ifs. No buts. We are, and we jolly well will! 

That means taking time to look at the next 6-12 months and decide what you want for yourself AND your business. Then, once you know what that is, think long and hard about this: What do you have to do or become to get there?

For example, many solopreneurs tell me they want to start a second stream of income or grow their existing business by leaps and bounds, but they admit they don’t have the self-discipline to make it happen. They may have learned all the right things to do, they tell me, but DOING them is another matter.

To get help with this, do what I do: Learn from the best. Enrol yourself in a mentoring programme. It’s the commitment, accountability, CONTINUAL support, guidance and feedback that will make the biggest difference in your success.

This is precisely why I’m so excited about the year ahead. My business coach and I are making BIG plans for my business in 2011, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a rather SPLENDID year.

I wish you the same, along with everything that your heart desires in 2011.

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(This is the second part of a two-part article, which I originally published in my ezine last year but is still relevant today. If you missed part one, you can access it here.)

6. Email Marketing

Despite the increasing problem with spam, email marketing still works. In fact, 2010 will still see to it that no other marketing vehicle will be as powerful, efficient and inexpensive as a regular eZine (email newsletter).

When done well, an eZine keeps your name in front of your customers and prospective clients, is a great showcase of your expertise and works to build relationships and trust with them.

Some eZines are nothing more than blatant advertising, so try to include as much valuable information as you can. It might be as simple as a local massage therapist regularly sending out a one-page update of case studies or offers, or news on the complementary health industry. Make it a New Year’s resolution to start or improve your e-newsletter in 2010.

Further reading: “E-Newsletters: Where to Start” — http://bit.ly/3Q8ZGL

“Newsletters that Build Customer Relations AND Fill Your Inbox with Orders” — http://bit.ly/6NYZGT

Aweber eZine Management — http://www.aweber.com/?212431

7. Web-Blog Synergy

Growth in e-commerce is leaping ahead of other sectors. According to figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, online sales in July 2009 alone grew by 15.7% compared with the month before, and by 16.8% compared with a year ago.

This growth shows no signs of slowing down. So it’s vital that ALL businesses  have an online presence in order to get or remain competitive in today’s fierce marketplace. 
 Even a relatively simple website will do to begin with. Just something to get you online and that allows your potential customers, business partners, investors and employees to find out more about you quickly and easily.

The best websites integrate their website and their blog, the latter designed to keep the web presence ‘fresh’ and to update people on news, thoughts and ideas.

Further reading: “Is A Business Blog Worth It? — http://bit.ly/biz-blog

“Using Online Marketing to Your Advantage” — http://tinyurl.com/ywyucg

“Website Copywriting Secrets that Convert Web Readers into Buyers” — http://bit.ly/5UDTPR

8. Stress Benefits, Not Features

With all the companies and marketing messages out there claiming to have the best of X, Y and Z, you have to go that little bit further than most if you are to help people understand why they should buy YOUR product or service.

That means not turning features into benefits. By doing so you will position your business away from simply offering a commodity that everyone is presenting to delivering something special.

Further reading: “Are Your Benefits Featureless?’ — http://bit.ly/5jp5oj

9. Marketing is NOT Negotiable

We all know that well-managed companies are the survivors in any climate. They know how to pull through any recession or economic dip, and often come out stronger than the rest.

One of the most valuable lessons to be learned in lean times is that we need to be marketing more thoroughly and more smartly than ever before. After all, people will always need advice and services and products — regardless of what the economy might be doing.

As the study “Turning Adversity into Advantage: Does Proactive Marketing During a Recession Pay Off?”, shows organisations that a) value marketing, b) feature a corporate culture that rewards risk-taking, and c) are willing to up the ante on marketing efforts are those who come out on top.

“The firms that had all three characteristics did very well in a recession. But firms that are missing any one of them, they’re in trouble,” says Dr Gary Lilien, one of the report’s authors.

Marketing is something that ALL businesses absolutely must invest in if they wish to remain in business now … and in the future.

Further reading: “Turning Adversity into Advantage: Does Proactive Marketing During a Recession Pay Off?” — http://bit.ly/8REmTN

10. The Unexpected

Under promise and over deliver, that’s become my business motto. And it works. Good hotels leave guests chocolates on their pillow. Exceptional hotels will leave an eye mask or something equally useful and unexpected. These more thoughtful and imaginative hotels will gain by attracting customers that are fiercely loyal because they know the hotel has their desires and best interests at heart.

Over-delivering is quite simply the number one way to stand head and shoulders above your competition, and grow your business, to boot.

As well as providing excellent products and support to my clients and customers, I try to always go the extra mile. For instance, a regular client recently contacted me at 5pm on a Friday to see if I could fit in a small copywriting project over the weekend. It didn’t take me long at all, and the client was more than grateful. Yes, I do work typical business hours and I could have charged overtime and rush fees, but nurturing a strong client relationship — and repeat business — is worth a lot more to me.

I hope that some of my marketing insights will become your marketing practices for 2010 and beyond. Why not implement one or two today? You might find they transform your business for the better.

By Tracey Dooley, Creative Consultant | PR Doctor | Marketing & Alliance Strategist

Psssst . . .  Not sure where to start? As well as offering worksheets and home-study tools, I can give you profit-multiplying advice and pointers on things you can do straight away to attract new business with my Powerfully Effective Marketing sessions. 

(Why struggle needlessly when you can get expert affordable mentoring and have fun attracting clients easily?) 

(C) 2009-10 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved 

Want to use this article on your website, blog, a message board or in an ezine? Not a problem! But please give credit where it’s due. You MUST include the following:

Tracey Dooley of MediaMinister (www.mediaminister.co.uk) is an experienced copywriter, editor and marketer. She has spent 18 years crafting compelling concepts and copy that successfully sell, inform, educate or entertains. =====> www.mediaminister.co.uk.

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Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

The following article is one that I first wrote last year for my ezine subscribers, but is as relevant now as it was then.  So I thought I’d post it here. I hope you enjoy it!

.    .    .

As the decade draws to an end, every publisher and producer is turning their head towards the “top ten of ” … well, everything, it seems — films, books, TV shows, gadgets, it all makes for a good top ten list. Everything, it seems, but the top ten marketing insights for business.

So here are my top ten for 2010. They come from some of the insights I’ve had or come across about marketing to date that I believe will still be just as influential for your business in 2010.

1. Social Media

Hoping to become firm favourites with their target audiences, a lot of brands jumped on the LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter bandwagon that rolled in and has since dominated cyberspace over the past few years. The problem is, despite their keenness and swiftness, they really didn’t invest enough time or resources to leverage either one. Worse, some businesses chose to ignore social media altogether. Big mistakes…

For these Web 2.0 tools are here to stay — at least until they’re replaced by Web 3.0 or something even more sophisticated. With that in mind, savvy marketers will make the most of them by building direct relationships and developing conversations with the very people they want to reach. Not only that, they will make sure they are being as authentic and credible as possible by being prepared to listen, share information or valuable resources and respond fairly quickly.

Further reading: “Reach a Wider Audience With Less Effort” – http://bit.ly/4BLXkA

2. Joint Ventures

One of the best ways to market a business — especially if you’re just starting out — is to set up joint ventures (JVs). This is where you partner with other businesses to sell your services or products to their customers or prospects.

There are two main ways of doing JVs: a) let your JV partners introduce what you’re selling to their customers for a set price, or, b) let them join your affiliate programme and earn commission for each service or product sold through them.

(PS Tried-and-tested JV Programme coming in 2010)

3. Honesty

Over recent years, there have been more and more ‘tell-all’ consumer-created TV shows and websites, thus signalling a new era of honesty and transparency.

By being authentic in everything you do or say, always delivering what you promise, being upfront about the small print and being as genuine and good to your word as you can, your customers are more likely to sing your praises, rather than badmouth you. Therefore, your reputation will grow and so will your market share. And, as Comcast found out, honesty can even transform a PR nightmare into an industry-leading customer service.

Further reading: http://comcastmustdie.com

http://twitter.com/comcastcares

4. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

A lot of freelancers, entrepreneurs and businesses don’t have a system for determining which prospects would turn out to be good clients and which ones would not.  Others simply cast their net too wide. Rather than focusing on a niche or core client base, they are trying to be everything to everyone. This kind of marketing hardly ever works in your favour.

If clients are less than ideal, chances are they will end up draining your energy, productivity and overall enjoyment. So set up a system for recognising the warning signs of ‘toxic clients’ — it will save you time, energy and resources in the long run.

Further reading: “Engage the ‘Right’ Clients & Watch Your Business Grow” – http://bit.ly/8sGPDb

“Stop Working With Deadbeats! Attract IDEAL Clients & Knock Out The Competition Instead” toolkit — http://mediaminister.co.uk/products.htm

5. It’s Not What You Sell it’s the Way that You Sell It

How a business sells to consumers is just as important as what is being sold — indeed, it is more significant than ever before.

With today’s consumer more firmly in the purchasing driving seat, advertisers and marketers alike are having to change the way they communicate their message.

What sets apart a business in today’s shifting landscape boils down to one thing: Does the marketing message identify and appeal to customer ‘hot buttons’? That is, is what you are saying likely to trigger your prospect’s hidden psychological buying triggers?

You have to truly understand your target market. You need to know what makes them tick … what makes them buy. And then you use proven methods to ethically turn casual browsers into qualified leads and buyers.

Further reading: “From Cold to Hot - How ‘Buttons’ Can Drive Up Sales Like Nothing Else” – http://bit.ly/75mVvf

TO BE CONTINUED … Catch Part 2 in the next Issue!

By Tracey Dooley, Creative Consultant | PR Doctor | Marketing & Alliance Strategist

Psssst . . .  Not sure where to start? As well as offering worksheets and home-study tools, I can give you profit-multiplying advice and pointers on things you can do straight away to attract new business with my Powerfully Effective Marketing sessions. 

(Why struggle needlessly when you can get expert affordable mentoring and have fun attracting clients easily?) 

(C) 2009 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved 

Want to use this article on your website, blog, a message board or in an ezine? Not a problem! But please give credit where it’s due. You MUST include the following:

Tracey Dooley of MediaMinister (www.mediaminister.co.uk) is an experienced copywriter, editor and marketer. She has spent 18 years crafting compelling concepts and copy that successfully sell, inform, educate or entertains. =====> To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD  and sign up for her freebie business-building tips, marketing and publicity pointers, visit www.mediaminister.co.uk.

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The ongoing turbulence in the credit, consumer and property markets continues to throw a lot of entrepreneurs, start-ups and marketers off their game. And if you’re one of them, I bet you’ll be surprised by what I’m about to say: Market more and panic less.

Whaddya mean you don’t have time for marketing?!! You DO run a business - and want to keep it that way - don’t you? Then marketing is simply not negotiable. It is a MUST if you wish to survive in business. No matter how insignificant it seems, by doing some marketing every day I am able to keep in front of my current and potential clients. 
 And the ’smarter’ I market my products and services, the better my hold on my own market share.

You need to do the same. After all, economic downturns (which, by the way, always end in an upturn) bring an entirely new meaning to the term ’survival of the fittest’. But I’m here to tell you that YOU DO indeed have the power to create business . . . IF your focus is in the right place – and that means using SMARTER marketing to get more sales, regardless of what the economy is doing, or how much of a time-debt you have.

It boils down to this: if you don’t, can’t or won’t market your products or services, then your business will fail. And that goes for ANY business in ANY economy. However, if you continue to market – perhaps more aggressively but certainly more smartly than ever before – then your business will have a better chance of survival than most.

Further reading:Business Survival Tools: Don’t Get Left Behind

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“People like to buy products and services from people and companies they like . . . Customers want you to create some kind of relationship with them,” says marketing veteran and consultant Don Debelak in his book Marketing Magic (published by Adams Media Corporation).

He goes on to list 14 reasons why people might buy from you as opposed to your competitors:

1. “Your product solves a problem that no other product solves as well.
2. “The customer perceives your product or service to possess one feature or benefit lacking in other’s products or services, and that feature is relatively important to him or her.
3. “Some people feel your product or service works best.
4. “Some people feel more comfortable using your product than others’ products.
5. “Some people feel that your product has higher quality.
6. “Some people feel that your product is the lowest-priced or the highest-value product.
7. “Some people will buy from you because they like you or like the way you do business.
8. “Your return policies, guarantess, and support are important to some people.
9. “Your product or service carries a prestige image that some customers appreciate.
10. “Your business offers a wider choice to customers.
11. “Your business location is more convenient to some customers.
12. “Some people will continue to buy from you from habit.
13. “Some people will buy from you because you always have the newest or most innovative products.
14. “Your offer a product that makes people feel goot about themselves or others, makes them look good in others’ eyes, or offers a way of showing love or appreciation.”

Perhaps you recognise some of them with your own product or service. Is there one that you can develop to use as your USP (unique selling proposition)? If you already have an USP you are happy with, maybe you can use the above to help fine-tune it so it really works in your favour.

As well as knowing why people are buying your product or service, it pays to know why they aren’t.

Debelak offers the following list:

1. “Business buyers may fear [they are] making a mistake in buying from you.
2. “Some suspects may not have developed sufficient trust in you or your product.
3. “Some suspect may perceive that your products or services are of questionable quality.
4. “Your products or services do not address an important problem of theirs.
5. “Some suspects won’t think they need your product at all.
6. “Many prospects are likely to have satisfactory relationships with one or more of your competitors.”

So you can see finding out why people won’t buy from you is just as important, if not more important, than knowing why your customers do buy from you. When you understand both sides of the coin, you can effectively set up a comfortable environment — through your promotional materials, your in-store layout, your website,  and so on — in which people are likely to buy.

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Picture by Intersection Consulting via Flickr

People do business with people (or ‘brands’) they like and trust, and social media provides the bridge between companies and consumers. But what are the other compelling reasons for using social media? Here are the top 10:

1. It allows you to reach your target market by simply engaging in the right conversations with the right people. This can be much more effective (and a heck of a lot cheaper) than advertising.

2. You can create and build relationships with people who might not otherwise know about your products or services.

3. At least half of Facebook and Twitter users admit to being more likely to do business with a brand that uses social media than one that doesn’t.

4. You can drive high-quality traffic to your homepage/blog/other online sites via call-to-actions, and SEO (the Google search engine loves Twitter updates.

5. It allows you to learn more about, and tap into the wisdom of, your market — which ultimately leads to better positioning and therefore sales.

6. You can listen AND respond to what’s being said about your business (and your competition).

7. Social media allows people to gain a better insight into the company persona - it makes you ‘real’ to consumers.

8. It’s a tool that your ‘fans’ can use to spread positive word of mouth about you.

9. Offering help and advice related to your area of expertise/your products in a spontaneous fashion gives you authority.

10. Because your customers and competitors are using it.

Originally published in the newsletter, Communiqué for Success!

Copyright, T L Dooley. All Rights Reserved.

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Picture by ‘Rubens LP’ via Flickr

There really is no more effective sales clincher than the words of existing clients or customers. As well as boosting your sales, good, believable testimonials can bolster your credibility — an important factor in an increasingly cynical world.

Nine times out of ten, customer testimonials, or even positive feedback on Social Media sites such as Twitter, will outsell any fact, any other ‘proof’ factor or, indeed, hype.  It works on the idea that not only are you a business to be trusted, but also if everyone else is doing something (buying your products, enlisting your services…),  then others are going to want to do it as well.

If you are going to use other people’s praises for your marketing/promotion purposes, make you get permission first.

Another thing you may want to consider is to get testimonials in formats other than the written word. For example, people call a given telephone number and their feedback is recorded to be used as an audio clip. You can even video your clients when you meet up with them (with their permission, of course!) or ask them to video themselves and send you a copy. The idea here is to have testimonials that are as authentic as can be.

At the end of the day, testimonials form some of the most low-cost, high-impact ways to gain new business. So use them!

Copyright, T L Dooley. All Rights Reserved.

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