Our articles are about all the ways to create a competitive advantage for your small business through effective visual communications, practical and affordable marketing, and just a little splash of excitement!
Would QR codes help your business?
You have probably seen them – barcodes that look like strangely deformed checkerboards. But you may not be sure of the business purpose or opportunity.
These two-dimensional barcodes store a lot of information that can be read automatically by smartphones. A Quick Response code – usually called a QR code – is a 2-D barcode that is readable by dedicated QR readers, smartphones and, to a lesser extent, computers with webcams.
The code contains encoded information that can display text, look up a document on a website, send an email or add a vCard of contact information to the user’s smartphone. QR codes were originally created and used by Toyota to track parts used in vehicle manufacturing in 1994.
Want More Referrals? Here's How
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door." If it were only that easy!
Ask anyone in business, and they'll likely tell you that it takes more than having a good product or service to attract customers.
Some companies advertise, which helps bring customers in, but most business owners will tell you that they get their best customers through referrals. They only wish they could get more of them.
How to write focus group questions
Customer focus groups can provide clues for increasing sales and revenue, but only if you ask the right questions. Here are some tips for coming up with a first-rate list of questions for your groups.
Decide on the objectives for your focus groups. What are you trying to learn? How will you use that information? Write down a purpose statement.
Poll key knowledge people. Talk to people in important positions in your manufacturing, sales, marketing and other departments. Find out what they know on the topics of interest, and what else they would like to know. Also consider whether any vendors, contractors or corporate customers might have knowledge that would be useful.
Is it time to revamp your marketing?
It's 2011, and most companies are trying to figure out how to gain market share and increase sales.
Manufacturing firms and distributors are no exception. Connecting with customers in today's information-rich environment requires more than a glossy brochure.
With the advent of social media, smart phones and websites that build virtual communities online, many companies are looking beyond print and into the world of cross-media marketing to bolster their success.
Social media can boost business
In these challenging economic times, every company is looking for ways to gain market share and increase sales. But connecting with new customers requires more than a glossy brochure.
One way is to leverage the power of social media – a new marketspace available for those organizations able to capitalize on the opportunity.
Social media is an unstoppable revolution in the way people connect, communicate and build communities online. But how can you take advantage of social media to build real world revenue?
A New Year, A New Plan
It’s January 2011 and everybody knows that it’s time to sit down to revisit your business plan. But don’t forget about your marketing plan. There is no better time than the beginning of a new year to take time and reflect on what worked for you and what didn't. It's also a great time to develop a marketing calendar for the upcoming year.
If you're serious about growing your business this year, it's time to ditch your old marketing approach and put together a plan that you can manage along with the daily operations of your business. Too many entrepreneurs focus on marketing only during the slow times and, as a result, put their businesses on an economic roller coaster where it's always feast or famine. A well-planned marketing program helps you build sales year-round and is easier to manage because it removes the stress and anxiety of having to play catch-up every few months to jump-start sales.
Choose Your Tactics
The best marketing programs reach prospects with a smart mix of tactics. When it comes to marketing, being a Johnny-one-note is a bad idea because a single tactic is rarely sufficient to move prospects through the sales cycle.
Do you know if your marketing efforts are working?
It is important to track your marketing results to give you an idea of where to allocate your marketing dollars. For example, if you know that a number of new leads are coming from internet searches, you can focus your marketing efforts on expanding your web presence and improving your search engine ranking.
Here are a number of ways you can track where your leads are coming from.
Designate a Special Telephone Number
Use a special phone number - one that is different from your main number - in ads, on your Web site and in marketing material. When prospects call that number, your team will know it is in response to a specific marketing initiative. At that point they can ask, "How did you hear about us?" and handle the call accordingly.
Creating and managing an effective e-newsletter
Know your audience
Use your existing customers to create a “target market segment” for your e-newsletter. Think about who they are; what needs, problems and interest they share; and then address them in the content of the e-newsletter.
Make it easy to subscribe and unsubscribe
Add a e-newsletter sign-up form to your website allowing people to enter their name and email address. Also make sure it’s easy to unsubscribe from your e-newsletter by including an unsubscribe link on the bottom of every e-newsletter.
Logo Design
What makes a good logo?
A good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic, simple in form, and conveys an intended message. An effective logo is:
- Simple
- Memorable
- Timeless
- Versatile
- Appropriate
1. Simple
A simple logo design allows for easy recognition and allows the logo to be versatile & memorable. Good logos feature something unique without being overdrawn. A clean logo will be easy to recognize. You only have a few seconds to catch someone's attention on a crowded store shelf, a billboard on the highway or any other vehicle used for advertising, marketing and promotion. Think about one of the most recognizable logos in the world, Nike's very simple swoosh.
Marketing Your Website
The true beauty of online marketing is the multitude of choices available that are either cheap or free. Below is a list of various marketing tactics you can use that won’t break the bank… and if anything they’ll add to it.
SEO is a great long-term strategy to drive qualified traffic to your site
Start with the end in mind by making a highly relevant, tiered keyword list that you’ll use for all future web work and content creation. Aim to end up with a tiered list of short head keywords followed by long tail keywords. SEO is a long-term method, but also very effective. It can drive the most qualified traffic to your site.
