Put Your Customers to Work for You
By Cameron English Client referral incentives can be a valuable and inexpensive way to build a business. Every small-business owner knows that one way to inexpensively build a client base is to get referrals from satisfied clients. But how do you induce existing clients to refer new ones to you? You should just ask. Business and marketing consultants point out that people usually refer clients that tend to “match that client in outlook and perspective, so when a good client refers people, they are usually good clients. Make sure the person you’re asking a referral from is your...
read moreHow to Create Show-Stopping Online Banner Ads
Written by Cameron English Web banners can be an effective tool in your online marketing campaign. With an eye catching design you could see a vast increase in your click through rate. The key to creating a good advertisement is to focus as much of the user’s attention as possible on your advertisement, while, at the same time, making the content of it interesting to potential viewers to drive them to click through to your site. Below are a few tips that can help your business creating show stopping online banner advertisements. 1. Work with a professional designer. Professional...
read moreDon’t Waste Your Marketing Budget with this Costly Mistake
Close your eyes. Well, maybe not – reading is difficult with your eyes closed. Let’s pretend that you are a restaurant owner, looking at your sales report, trying to figure out where you can improve sales. Your lunch and dinner numbers look pretty good, but your sales at 3PM are pretty dismal. You decide to increase sales, you are going to run a big advertising campaign that promotes your 2-4PM specials. Or maybe you own a retail store, and have a product line that doesn’t quite perform as well as some of your other products. The slow moving inventory is taking up space, so...
read more4 Keys to Radio Advertising
1. When deciding on a radio station to advertise on, you first need to know your target customer. Different stations attract very different types of listeners. Your radio marketing consultant should be able to give you in depth profiles of the typical listener on each of their stations. Match the knowledge of your business with their knowledge of their radio station to send your advertising message to the right people. 2. Think outside the spot. 30 and 60 second spots (commercials) are the bread and butter of radio advertising, and pretty much every campaign will include them. Beyond that,...
read moreGasp! Online Reviews…
Much like the first kid on the playground who teased us for our dirty shirt, complaints and negative reviews stick in our brains for a LONG time. Multiply that by the permanence of the internet and you can have yourself an unpleasant situation. We all know that the unhappy minority have the tendency to be the most vocal. When one of them posts a scathing review somewhere online, what is the best course of action? First of all, try not to view their action as completely negative. There are always improvements in the way that we could do business, and getting to the root of a complaint gives...
read moreMarketing Works.
One of our senior marketing consultants told me something profound today: Marketing Works. Such a simple truth that gets clouded by frustrated business owners who pour money into advertising without seeing the return that they were imagining. Why does this happen? Frustration from lack of results is often because you’re not sure what “results” are. This isn’t as simple as saying you would like ”more sales” or “more people in the door”. Your measuring stick to define success must be specific and objective. Choose ONE measurement,...
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