10 Easy Ways To Market Your Business

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🎁1. Promote your business from the outside in

In this post, I help you to learn the 10 Easy Ways To Market Your Business.

Be proud to promote your business by putting a sign on the wall. I used to deal with a large graphic design company that had an upstairs office on one of the busiest intersections in town.

They had a huge wall in full view from anywhere on the intersection and they never got around to painting a sign on this wall. Eventually they moved out because business was bad. If they had spent a few hundred dollars on a simple sign business would have got a whole lot better a whole lot faster. Outdoor signage works seven days a week, 24 hours a day, whether you are open or closed.

Use it to its full advantage. Be aware of local government regulations governing signage restrictions such as size. Work with these regulations but make your signs as big as you legally can. Don’t clutter them, just a few words outlining what you do and when you are open. Make the colors stand out and check any artwork thoroughly for spelling or grammatical mistakes.

I once had a SCUBA Diving School. One day I put a dummy on the roof dressed in old diving equipment and it looked real. The amount of coverage and exposure that this dummy gave my business was quite extraordinary—to the point that one night it was stolen. The local radio, television and newspaper all took the story on and a great hunt began to find the dummy.

I later estimated that this dummy and the loss of it gave my business approximately $20 000 worth of free advertising. Before you decide on sign-writing, drive around and look at other businesses to see what styles you like and what catches your eye. Visit your competitors’ offices, shops or factories to determine how you could make your business signage more appealing to potential customers. Remember to make your sign-writing match your corporate image and company colours, otherwise things can start to become messy and confusing to your potential customers. Keep all sign-writing simple and easy to read.

The new saying that ‘less is more’ definitely applies to sign-writing. By the way, when you plan your sign-writing remember to include what days you are open or what your trading hours are.

There is nothing worse than sitting outside a business at 8.15 a.m. on a Saturday morning, wondering if it will open at all that day or if it will open at 8.30 a.m. or 9.00 a.m.

🚗 2. Put your message on the company car Like all outdoor signage, company vehicles are an excellent way to promote your business.

Most businesses have at least one company vehicle that can be anything from a utility to a bus. These vehicles tend to be on the road all day, all over the city.

What better way to tell people about your business than a moving sign? Sign-writing on vehicles can be expensive; however, like all advertising, do it to suit your budget.

Perhaps start with a set of magnetic signs for the doors and then work your way up to a full paint job.

There are a few key points to remember with any form of moving advertising—keep words to a minimum, make it easy to read and tell people where they can find you and when you are open.

Many companies have overcome this by putting the Yellow Pages sticker on their vehicle. This works well as long as your company is easy to find in the Yellow Pages.

If it isn’t it should be. Don’t make it hard for customers to find you. A few words of warning with sign-writing on vehicles— you get what you pay for so make sure that the sign-writer gives you a few samples of the work that they have done previously before committing yourself.

I used to have a business partner who was probably the world’s worst driver. He was fast, aggressive and all over the road. This was bad enough in his car but when he was in the company vehicle I would receive phone call after phone call from angry motorists abusing me because of the way this maniac was driving.

Every time my partner took the car on the road we lost customers. The point here is to make certain that anyone driving your company vehicle is aware that if your name is on the side they are representing your business and should drive safely and courteously.

If the people driving your company vehicle are responsible, don’t hesitate to plaster the car with signs telling the world all about your business and the products and services that you offer.

Other clever ideas are the cliché ideas like the large telephone on top of the pizza delivery vehicles. One company that sells exhaust fans has a fan fitted on top of all of its service vehicles, which does look very impressive.

The giant cockroach is a favorite of pest control companies. If you put some thought into what your company does the results can be visually stunning. Imagine a pet shop with a giant dog bone on top of the car or a mechanic with a giant spanner on the roof, perhaps a giant baby on top of the baby equipment hire company vehicle.

Sign-writing company vehicles is a great idea. Your sign-writing will promote your business all day, every day.

💰 3.Turn your invoice into a sales tool Most companies send out invoices and statements on a regular basis

Invoices are normally passed through a number of hands before they actually reach the person that signs the cheque.

This provides the opportunity for you to promote your business to a number of people who are already aware of what you basically do but perhaps not of every facet of what your business has to offer.

This is what we call a ‘soft sell’ or ‘positive reinforcement’ of your company message. Perhaps you are going to stock a new range or product, perhaps pricing has changed, or your trading hours are different or you simply want to reinforce the strong corporate message that you are already putting across.

A computer software company I dealt with used their company invoice to introduce a new member of staff every month. For example, January’s invoice had a picture of Bill Higgins, Sales Manager, with a brief outline of his career history and what role he played in the company.

This gave a very personal feel to their business and increased my level of awareness regarding the people that I was dealing with. The introduction of a company staff member also took the emphasis off the invoice being a bill and I am sure that I paid these accounts much quicker because they had a very personal feel to them.

I also felt as if I was a part of that company, a valued customer being shown the inner workings of a successful business.

Another company that I used to deal with always sent out a flyer with jokes, positive affirmations, motivational passages and generally interesting material.

It was always a joy to get these invoices and I know that these ones were paid early. They put a smile on my face so I believed that they deserved to be paid quickly.

🤵4. Sell yourself even when you’re not there to market your business.

Everybody hates being put on hold but unfortunately it is a way of life.

If you have the technology to play hold music you can probably arrange to have a company message playing. This is an opportune time to let potential customers know more about your company and the services that you offer so you can market your business.

There are plenty of companies that arrange ‘messages on hold’ and the cost is not overly expensive. Like most of these marketing ideas it is more a matter of someone making the time to find the company that produces ‘messages on hold’ and then actually arranging for the service to be installed.

This type of marketing produces a very good corporate image and many small companies give the appearance of being a large company by having a professional on hold message. The same principle can apply with answering machines and voice mail on mobile phones.

Be proud of your business and take every opportunity to promote your services.

Try the following: Instead of ‘Hi, you’ve reached Jim Davies. I can’t take your call at the moment but please leave your name and number and I’ll call you back as soon as possible.’ try this ‘Hi, you’ve reached Jim Davies of Precision Engine Tuning, the mechanical repair specialist in Brooklyn.

I can’t take your call at the moment but I would love the opportunity to return your call and discuss how Precision Engine Tuning can be of service to you.’ Keep your message brief and to the point, taking advantage of the fact that people are calling you but being courteous to the fact that people are busy and they don’t want to spend ten minutes sitting on the phone listening.

to the virtues of your company. It doesn’t cost you a cent to leave a more detailed message and if you get one extra client per year it was worth the effort. I did make an interesting call recently to a large finance company. As usual there were a hundred choices to make, press this and then press that and finally a breath of fresh air. The prompt came, ‘If you are sick of waiting and sick of choices press 9’, which I did and they had a recording playing of a comedian who was making fun of telephone on hold systems, which gave me a laugh while I waited for one of their customer service staff to answer my call.

🔔5. Use the Internet to be noticed in your market.

The Internet is a new and exciting resource that has enormous potential. Advertising on the Internet is a new concept that many businesses don’t really understand. I personally look at the Internet like a big library.

You know that all of the information is there; it’s just a matter of finding it. The amount of information available is virtually beyond comprehension but the key to success is making it easy for people to find your business or product.

Basically there are two ways to promote your business on the Internet. The first is that you can have your own website where people surfing the net may come across your site and decide that they want more information or that they would like to purchase what you are selling.  

Setting up your own site is becoming cheaper every day and within a couple of years the majority of businesses will have their own websites. Websites can easily be linked to other sites, making it easier for you to be found.

It takes alo of time to fully be satistied that you are at the move of the journey to market your business.

There are companies available that sell fully designed and very impressive websites that you purchase.

They simply fill in the blanks and put your company name and your products and services in the right place. So for a few hundred dollars you can have a very professional website up and running. To find these companies search for ‘website hosting, web design and domain names’ on the Internet. Many of the companies that offer this service advertise heavily on search engine sites. The second way to promote your business on the Internet is to purchase what are known as banner advertisements. This is where you put an advertisement on someone else’s website. The advantage of this is simply that you can promote your business on a highly successful site that is established and perhaps getting hundreds of thousands of ‘hits’ per month.

6 A good uniform impresses everyone An interesting phenomenon.

Happens when you put a person in a uniform—generally they are treated with more respect because it looks like they have some form of authority. This is agreat way to market your business.

This is one of the main reasons why the military and the police dress in uniforms. Imagine if an airline pilot strolled through the cabin in a Disneyland T-shirt and shorts—how much confidence would this instil in passengers? I would hazard a guess and say not much. In fact, if I was on that particular flight I would be out the door in a second.

If you and your staff are not well presented in smart and practical uniforms maybe you are not sending the right message to your customers.

Uniforms tend to be costly but, like most marketing tools, you purchase them to suit your budget. Perhaps you can start with matching shirts and name tags and work up to skirts, trousers and shorts. Quite often staff will be prepared to pay some of the costs towards their uniforms because it saves them the problem and expense of continually buying new clothes for work.

Once again, find a company uniform that you like and see if you can apply it to your business. Even very small businesses can have a uniform—the size of the business is irrelevant. Once a uniform is established make certain that everyone is clear about how they are expected to wear it. 

The better presented you and your staff appear the more professional your business will appear. This will instil confidence and security in customers when they use your services.

There are shops that specialise in selling uniforms and accessories. They can be found in the Yellow Pages telephone directory.

Even if you feel that you don’t require uniforms or you can’t afford them, make sure that you and your staff are always dressed neatly with clean, ironed clothes.

📦7. Make the most of packaging Many businesses provide packaging for their products to market your Business.

This may be something as simple as a cheap plastic bag right through to an enormous wooden crate. Packaging provides the perfect opportunity for a company message to be passed on to potential customers that see the packaging as well as to the customer receiving the package.

If you are providing the packaging anyway why not use it to increase your sales. Print a company slogan on your wrapping paper, perhaps your trading hours, gift suggestions, new products, change of address information or any other message that you can think of.

Another easy idea that is very rarely used is to slip in a promotional flyer when packaging up an item. If a person has bought something from your business there is a good chance that they will buy something else in the future or perhaps recommend you to a friend. Book stores are one of the few industries that really take advantage of the potential of in-packaging promotions.

Most will include a flyer covering specials of the month, latest releases and special interest type publications as well as giving you a free bookmark promoting a latest release.

I heard about an idea in Japan where a major shopping centre in Tokyo has a city map printed on their bags. People all over town run around finding their way through the hustle and bustle with this detailed map, which of course also promotes the centre as the best place to shop in Tokyo.

💡8. Never underestimate the importance of a business card

Business cards are one of the best ways you can use to market your business. Though they are often considered a necessary evil rather than a fantastic marketing tool. Potential customers deduce a lot from your appearance and that of your business card. Make the effort and use your business card to its full potential.

Business cards are normally printed in sheets, which means that you can have a number of different messages or names. By all means use some for names but use the others as mini brochures. Putting your serices on the backof a business card only adds marginally to the production cost but it enhances your card and makes it a very effective tool.

Another option is to have ‘bring this card in and receive the following . . .’ on your business card. Coffee shops seem to have adopted this idea on mass with virtually every cafe offering a coffee card where you pay for so many cups and you get one free. 
The business card is your progress record, which is crossed off each time you make a purchase. This concept works well with restaurants that offer either a free glass of wine with a meal or a free dessert with dinner.

  

The offer is printed on the back of the card and to redeem it the customer must produce the card when dining. There are many businesses that could use this concept to easily increase the amount of business they are receiving from both new and existing customers.

Once you have fully utilised your business cards the next important step is to distribute them everywhere. The price difference between printing 2000 and 3000 business cards is, once again, quite small—the more you print, the cheaper they become.

Put them on noticeboards, in letterboxes, in a stand on your counter, give them to your suppliers, mail them out or stand on a street corner handing them out.

✨9. Does your business have a memorable name?

Having a good business name is a very important factor to market yur business. It helps in standing out from the crowd. I get very frustrated when I see businesses with names that really don’t seem to make sense to me.

Sometimes I think people try to be too clever when it comes to naming a business. If you have a million dollars to promote your business name you can saturate television and newspapers to educate the general public.

If you have a limited marketing budget your name becomes another marketing tool, not a marketing liability. By all means choose a name that is different and funny but try to tell people what you do.

Everyone will want to give you their opinion when it comes to choosing a name. How do you decide what is right and what is wrong? There is probably no right or wrong but there are a few points that can increase the effectiveness of your name. Try some of these:

1.      Try to include what your business does in your name.

2.    You can include your name to give the business a more personal feel.

3.    Include your location if you plan to focus on one area.

4. If you specialize try to put that in your name as well.

📩10. Send out reminder notices

This marketing initiative seems to have only been utilized by dentists, optometrists, the blood bank and vets.

Whenever you (or your pets) are due for a check-up you receive a gentle reminder in the mail. What a great idea. So why doesn’t your mechanic send out reminder notices—‘Hey, it’s been six months since your last service, you better bring the car in’.

Or perhaps your solicitor—‘It’s been two years since we have seen you, perhaps it’s time to make a new will’. This type of mail-out or phone call can bring great results and really all it takes is for you to have records of your clients.

It is a gentle, no pressure reminder and a call to action. One dentist I know even goes so far as to schedule an appointment for the clients, letting them know that they will be in touch to confirm the appointment one week prior. Imagine if every six months a letter turned up smelling of perfume.  

Out of curiosity you open it and inside is a scented Christmas tree—the type that deodorise your car. Attached is a brief note from your mechanic saying, ‘It’s been six months since we saw you so your Christmas tree probably needs changing—just like your oil.

Joe from our service department will call you in a few days to see if you would like to arrange a convenient time for a service.’ One Christmas tree deodoriser and postage will come to about $3.50. I have never had a car serviced for under $100 (normally double this amount), so for a $3.50 investment you are probably going to make a $100 sale—sounds like good business to me.

A stationery company that I buy laser printer refills from knows that I use a cartridge every three to four weeks. Without fail I get a phone call during the third week of the month, asking me if I need another cartridge.

I find this very convenient and I am never faced with the dilemma of running out of toner on a Saturday afternoon when I am in the middle of printing out a 300 page document. Deep down I also like the fact that this company considers me important enough to track my consumer habits. It is also one less thing for me to worry about on a day-to-day basis.

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I am Abbey Dawyne Bukenya and really happy you have read this down to the end. I ❤you.

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