The Big Book of Small Business
In The Big Book of Small Business, Tom shares his hard-earned lessons on how to become an enlightened, effective leader, and on how to do the small things right so the big decisions work. This all-in-one toolbox for small businesses is jammed with warm-hearted, tough-minded practices and street-smart tips, covering every aspect of a growing business:
Starting, funding, and getting your new business off the ground
Crafting a mission and growing a corporate culture that works
Hiring the best people and maximizing their potential
Communicating and negotiating with your employees, customers, and suppliers
Creating processes for continuous innovation and growth
Protecting your business from unforeseen dangers
Planning for growth
And much more . . .
As thorough as a textbook and as lively as a news magazine, The Big Book of Small Business is the most comprehensive and practical book on how to take a small business to the next level, and an indispensable slingshot for the million.
To order this book in Australia, click hereTo order this book in USA, click here
27. Word of mouth / Testimonials
Word-of-mouth marketing truly is one of the best ways to promote your business. The three most important things you can do to start the process of increasing your business through word-of-mouth include:
(a) Diversify your networks by becoming visible and active in the community. Participate in various networking groups and/or professional associations.
(b) Set up a contact list of businesses that are complementary and non-competitive to you. For example: a lawyer, an accountant, a financial planner and a banker. All of them have clients with overlapping similar needs. They can all work with and refer each other easily. Another good example is a florist, a photographer, a travel agent and a jeweler. A referral for one of them becomes a referral for all of them.
(c) Building your business through word-of-mouth is about cultivating relationships with people who get to know you and trust you. People do business with people they have confidence in. It's not what you know, or whom you know, it's how well you know them that counts. If you go into this process understanding this one key point, you will have a better opportunity to build your business through word-of-mouth. Ivana KatzWebsites 4 Small Businesshttp://www.web4business.com.au/
26. Postcards
If looking to target potential customers, don’t overlook postcard marketing. Postcards achieve almost a 100% readership, while being simple to use and inexpensive.
Postcards:
- keep your name in front of customers - generate a high return on investment - are flexible, informative and creative - have high impact and low cost
Postcards can be used to:
- generate website traffic and sales leads - promote new specials or company awareness - announce new products, websites, store locations - thank customers - use as a discount offer /coupon
Repetition is the key to effective marketing efforts and postcards offer an inexpensive way of doing it.Ivana KatzWebsites 4 Small Businesswww.web4business.com.au
25. Print advertising
Writing the Copy
When it comes to print advertising, you have to get to the point—fast. Your headlines should motivate readers to want to read on to learn more about your product, price and offer. Effective headlines address a pressing customer need or desire. The reality is that people care more about themselves—and what you can do for them—than about your business. You'll get a much higher response rate when your headline quickly answers the question, "What's in it for me?"
In the body of your copy, offer an incentive for the reader to call you or come to your store. You may want to offer a discount or a free giveaway
Placing the Ad
Newspaper ads are very effective for businesses that market their products and services locally. Not only can you reach a large number of people in a specific metropolitan location, but you can also target prospects via their interests (in the sports, lifestyle and business sections, for example).
Advertising costs depend on a number of factors, including the size of the ad, where it's placed, the day it runs and so on. Call and request a media kit from the newspaper or magazine so you can determine what advertising steps you can take that will fit with your marketing budget.
Consider placing print advertisements in local publications, national publications, industry publications, target market specific publications, yellow pages, local directories, special cataloguesIvana KatzWebsites 4 Small Businesshttp://www.web4business.com.au/
24. Radio advertising
You may have shied away from radio advertising, thinking the cost would be well over your budget and it may very well be if you were to advertise on commercial radio stations. But have you considered community radio stations? There are hundreds of them around and the great thing is that they will reach your local market. For community radio stations in your area, visit your local yellow pages or search on the internet.Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Businesshttp://www.web4business.com.au/
23. Media Releases
Having a story written about you and your business will not only bring you lots of new customers (at no cost to you), but will also provide you massive credibility. Stories about you in the media are far more believable, powerful and attractive than any ads you could possibly run. People will trust and respect you instantly.
A media release (also called press or news releases) should provide enough details to be informative, but it should leave out just enough information to be tantalizing that the media person calls you to find out more.
Your media release should feature the following:
(a) The Headline This is 90% of your release. Your headline will do almost all of the work in attracting attention to you.
(b) The Summary This is the first part of the media release and should tell your story briefly.
(c) Credentials & Quotations Insert quotes from other people and include the person’s credentials
(d) Call to Action What do you want the person reading this release to do? You want them to call you for an interview. So provide your contact details and write a very brief outline of why you would be an interesting person to interview.
For more information about writing media releases visit:
PRWeb - Tell your company story to thousands!Press Release - www.pressrelease.com.au
Elance - www.elance.com
PRNewswire - www.prnewswire.com
NewsBureau - www.newsbureau.com Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/
In The Big Book of Small Business, Tom shares his hard-earned lessons on how to become an enlightened, effective leader, and on how to do the small things right so the big decisions work. This all-in-one toolbox for small businesses is jammed with warm-hearted, tough-minded practices and street-smart tips, covering every aspect of a growing business:
