Table of Contents
Question 1: How can I attract more customers? 4
Question 2: How do I increase my profits? 6
Question 3: How do I reduce my costs? 8
Question 4: How can I fight increased competition? 10
Question 5: How can I advertise my small business
without having to spend massive amounts of money? 11
Question 6: How do I use networking to grow my business? 13
Question 7: Where do I find the best marketing help
Question 8: How can a marketing strategy help my small business? 16
Question 9: What is branding and why is it so important
Question 10: How do I know if my marketing efforts are paying off? 18
Question 11: What should my small business marketing website
incorporate to attract clients? 19
Question 12: What should I include in my marketing materials package? 21
Question 13: What are some effective promotional methods
Question 14: What is my unique selling proposition (USP)? 25
Question 15: Why should I consider outsourcing for my small business? 26
Question 16: What are the top mistakes business owners make
when choosing their marketing plan? 28
Question 17: How do I use market research in my marketing plan? 30
Question 18: Why use a Blitz Campaign for my local business? 32
Question 19: What are the 5 fundamental principles of small business
marketing I need for my small business? 33
Question 20: What are the best small business marketing resources? 35
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"Now my service is apart from the rest of the competition resulting in an increase of leads and policies sold."
Carlos A. Diaz, Owner, Diaz Agency, San Diego
"I learned how to expand my client base, increase my revenue and income..."
Ghada Jadallah, Personal Chef, www.dashofsaltnpepper.com
"...certainly lead to solidifying Green Lizard Lawn Care's brand and in turn increasing sales."
Nicole Davis, Founder, greenlizardlawns.com
"...will help me reach out to new customers, I would not have known how to reach."
Harland Henry, Business Consulting, www.sunbizshowcasealliance.com
"...the tips have increased visibility resulting in more new patients."
Jason Hurley, Chiropractor, Tampa
"...the more thought I gave it, the more sense it made: book more clients, increase our profit margins."
Sherry Lee, www.caymanvillas.com
"...ideas I haven't thought of in the 12 years of running this [business], thank you very much."
Robert Dickey, R&T Computers, www-rtc.no-ip.biz
In this economy, many small business owners are looking for ways to gain more customers, cut costs and reduce expenses.
Throughout this guide you will learn 20 tricks to accomplish those goals.
And, there’s nothing complex or highly technical about these tricks. They can easily be implemented by the vast majority of small business owners. The most important thing will be to take what you learn from this guide and put it into action.
With that in mind, let’s get started so you can begin growing your business...
How can I attract more customers?
Trick 1:
One of the most effective and easiest ways to attract new clients is to get existing, loyal clients to buy more and additional products from you. Think about it: you have already established a relationship with them so why not continue with that relationship?
Consistently offer them new and valuable products that reinforce the trust they have in your products and your business. Keep the communication (emails, newsletter, calls, videos, etc.) with your customers very informative so it doesn’t feel like you are hard selling them with each message.
For example, a personal chef sends her existing clients an email newsletter with her newest weight-loss menus, tips on how to preserve cooked meals, tips on how to organize a birthday party, a graduation, a wedding, etc.
When she then offers you her catering services for your next Holiday Party, you will think of her as an expert you came to trust and most likely schedule the event with her.
On the other side of the scale lies, of course, finding new customers. One of the major and most effective ways to entice new clients is to join forces with other complementary small businesses. What I mean is you look for small business owners who offer a complementary service/product and create a marketing partnership.
Think of a hairdresser partnering up with a spa for example. Then you agree to offer each other’s services or products to each other’s clients. By doing this you get exposure to a whole new client base. Setting up a marketing partnership is a very simple process and has nothing to do with a legal partnership.
You make your potential partner see how they will benefit from the partnership, agree on who does what and off you go. It’s a WIN-WIN situation for both parties involved.
For example, you could look for another business that sells tangible products and delivers them to customers. If you’re selling organic body products, put a tiny organic sanitizer and your product catalog in the box of a business that ships back massagers to buyers.
Marketing partnerships typically yield one or more of the following benefits:
increased sales
expanded customer base beyond its current limits
less risk than some other marketing strategies
no cash requirement
creation of a virtual advertising budget rivaling a larger company
boosted the company image or brand
broadened product/service offerings
made it easy to enter a new market/industry
tough to duplicate for the competition
used as a surplus inventory liquidator with no discounting
got customers one would never have reached otherwise
increased cash flow
removed geographic limitations
All you need to do is to be open and look for possible partners that can help you promote your business. And, if you really think about it, there are potential marketing partners just around the corner.
Another means of gaining new customers is by referrals from current customers. The straightforward method is to simply ask for referrals every time someone buys from you. Of course, to make it worth your customer’s while, you can offer them a reward for their referral, such as a percentage discount on their next order or a free gift, redeemable when their referral has completed their first purchase with you.
Additionally, to entice both the referrer and the referree, you can provide your customers with referral certificates they can share with their friends and colleagues. The certificate can be for a new customer gift or discount. The certificate will have a place for the referrer to write their name, so when the referree redeems their certificate, you know who referred them and can reward them.
Maybe, every time someone buys from you they get a free T-shirt to help spread the word about your company.
The right referral program can be a WIN-WIN-WIN for you, your customer and your new customer.
How do I increase my profits?
Trick 2:
Typically the three ways to increase profit are: increase your sales volume (leaving everything else the same), increase your sales price or reduce your costs.
The first technique in boosting profits is developing a good rapport/relationship with your existing customers, as mentioned earlier. This will help increase the value of your average sales transaction and the number of times customers buy from you.
The second method was increasing the number of customers by partnering up with other businesses and sharing your client base. That way you both grow your business influence and create a more dominant market presence.