As the old business adage goes, “It takes money to make money.”
You, the business owner wanting to succeed and profit in today’s competitive marketplace need to be implementing optimized and cohesive marketing strategies. If you fail to invest in digital marketing, you will be left behind, as your customers are increasingly turning to the Internet to inform their purchase decisions. […]
With the New Year right around the corner, I thought this would be a good time create A Guide to Small Business Goal Setting. Traditionally at this time of year, many people are planning their New Year’s resolutions for the personal goals they would like to achieve. However many small business owners also have renewed inspiration for the upcoming year because of new marketing budgets and expectations for increased prosperity.Many goals, whether they are personal or professional, are often set with the best of expectations, however they are often not achieved for variety of reasons, which I will cover.Why Most Goals FailWrite Your Goals DownThe first and most obvious […]
Tips for Branding Your Business
Branding is a fairly broad term and it basically means all of the elements that are related to your business that people associate with. In other words, branding is the personality of your business. This encompasses many different factors such as the name of your business, the logo, the tagline or slogan or an advertising jingle. It may also include many other intangible qualities such as a specific niche or specialty area that your business services, some particular qualities about your business or staff or dozens of other attributes which creates a perception of what your business is like. I will address some of the more important factors of branding your business and ways to create a brand. Many public relations firms consider branding to be an important element of your overall marketing plan. […]
How Well Does Your Website Work?
I guess the first question I need to ask is do you even have your own website? In order to take advantage of the many website promotion strategies, Internet marketing techniques and tools, you really need to have your own website. If you do a search in Google for such terms as online marketing tips, online promotional strategies, Internet marketing, Internet promotional techniques, online advertising strategies or any other related terms, you will quickly realize the importance of having your own website.
In today’s modern digital world, having your own website is not only important, it is absolutely essential. This is a critical component of any Internet marketing strategy. Nearly everyone looking to purchase a product or service will go to the Internet first. If your website cannot be easily found, your prospects will surely find your competitors. Most people frown upon businesses that do not have a website because it is often viewed as some fly-by-night company, which is certainly not the image you want to portray. […]
Lower Your Marketing Costs and Improve Your Marketing ROI
As small business owners, we need to constantly be aware of the multitude of marketing opportunities that surround us every day. To survive in this tough economy, you need to maximize the dollars that you invest in marketing to get your greatest ROI. Lowering your marketing costs can certainly give you a better return on your investment.
One of the easiest ways to get more mileage out of your advertising and promotional dollars is to think of creative ways to implement new marketing strategies in some of the things you already do. […]
This is a continuation of part one of this article on surefire ways to lower your marketing costs.
Hire Some Bird Dogs to Lower Your Marketing Costs
This method goes back long before the Internet was around and I believe it got its start in the car sales business. Well it still works today. In fact, I use it myself more so in the digital environment rather than with business cards as it was originally carried out. Basically, you are paying someone a referral fee for anyone they refer to you who becomes a new client. You can decide the amount of the referral fee depending on the type of product or service you sell, however, don’t be stingy because you want to make the incentive strong enough to compel people to participate.
You can either use a fixed price per referral or a percentage of the total sale. That is for you to decide, but make the reward significant enough to keep your bird dogs happy. Remember this is found money. These are customers that you have obtained with virtually zero effort or marketing dollars. Folks, it really doesn’t get any better than that. […]
The Importance of Choosing a Good Domain Name
Having a good domain name can often be one of the cornerstones of a site that ranks well in the search engines and therefore I recommend putting a reasonable amount of time and effort into the research before choosing your domain name. Here are some important tips that will aid you in your planning when you are faced with choosing your next domain name. Choosing a good domain name may not be as hard as you think.
Your Domain Name Should Match What You Sell
I feel the most important aspect of your domain name is to have it match the main product or service for which you hope to rank. Google and the other search engines tend to favor websites for which the domain name matches the main product or service as closely as possible. […]
Tips for Reducing Customer Turnover
It’s a fact of life in the business world. Customer attrition will happen and we as small business owners have to accept that. However, there are steps that can be taken for reducing customer turnover.
Recognizing Your Most Valuable Asset
As I have mentioned in my previous small business marketing advice article, your existing customer base is your most valuable asset. That is a fact that should be recognized, appreciated and optimized for your greatest marketing ROI. Customers who have already purchased from you are more likely to purchase again, more likely to refer their friends and associates and the average transaction per sale is usually higher. Those are all important metrics that contribute significantly to the long-term success of any business. Reducing customer turnover can certainly keep more profits in your bottom line. […]
Give Your Customers and Prospects an Offer They Can’t Resist
Let’s face it; everyone is feeling the effects of our economic situation and as small business owners, these may be some of the toughest times many of us have ever faced. But I do not want to dwell on that (and neither should you) because there is still a lot room for your small business to be the success you dream it to be. In fact, if you look back at our economic history, times harder than this have presented business owners a great amount of opportunities to continue building their businesses. It’s all a matter of choosing to have the right mindset, putting your worries aside, and actively taking the steps to promote your small business even more. Incorporating even a few of these small business advertising tips can certainly enhance your profitability and help carry you to the next level of success. […]
Facts to Consider About Designing a Website
There are many factors of your overall web design strategy that should be considered when you are either creating a website or doing a substantial upgrade to your existing website. One of the biggest design mistakes I often see with many websites happens before the site is even built. That answer that would surprise most people but as you read on you will understand what I mean.
One of the most important questions a small business owner should ask themselves when considering building a website would be and what is the real purpose of my website? That factor is sometimes overlooked by many small business owners and Tampa Bay web designers, but it is an important consideration that should be carefully thought out before the actual web design process begins. […]
