Small Business Marketing Ideas
online marketing strategies for the small business owner
Word of Mouth Marketing
Feb 3rd
I recently had a Zappos word of mouth marketing moment that I thought I would share with you. This is how word of mouth marketing works in your everyday life.
I was at my favorite store, the BBB, in line to checkout. An older woman was complaining to the checkout lady that she could not find a comfortable pair of brown boots and it was winter. She needed brown boots. She had been to four stores now and noone had what she was looking for and she just felt frustrated.
Now, if you know me, you know that I don’t like to get involved. I don’t like to try to force my opinion on anyone … I simply share and you can take what you want from it. But, I felt compelled to at least offer some advice here and help the poor woman out. The conversation went something like this:
(Me) “Excuse me. I heard that you are having some trouble finding brown boots. Do you shop on the Internet?”
(Lady in Need of Brown boots) “Yes I do.”
(Me) “Well. There is this great online store called Zappos.com where you can probably find what you are looking for and they have free shipping both ways”
(Lady in Need of Brown boots) “Well, I can’t be bothered with all that returning and shipping stuff”
(Me) “OK. I just thought it might make it easier on you. I have a friend with triplets and she will order nine or ten pairs of shoes for them at a time and then just ship back the ones that don’t fit. She says it is a life saver. Plus they have thousands of shoes to choose from.”
(Lady in Need of Brown boots) “Is It That Easy? …. What was that name of the store again? … Here, let me get a pen so I can write it down. ….. ZAPPOS.com …. thank you so much”
(Me) “No problem. Good luck”
And there you have it. Because I know that Zappos.com has excellent experience, can relate to the lady’s problem and know that they will take care of her, I was willing to offer advice and now it is up to Zappos to offer such a great experience that she becomes a customer and a referral source too.
About The Author
Are you looking for Web Marketing Experts to help your small business with it’s online marketing? Someone to help you create and implement your social media strategy? I know what you are up against. You need to find the right fit that is within your budget and trust that person to know what he/she is doing and to get it done. You want someone to market your business online. You want to end each day knowing your online marketing strategy is successful and expanding. You want to give that worry to someone and spend time on the parts of your business that you enjoy. You want to tell other internet marketing experts, “thank you, but I already have an amazing internet marketing system in place that is bringing me all the business and money that I need.”
My name is Alison Elliott and I help small businesses succeed online. You can read more about me, my internet marketing system and how I use social media strategy and web marketing expertise to create, implement and manage your online marketing and presence, on mylocal internet marketing experts web site.
To help move you in a positive direction, I am offering you a free thirty minute consultation to see if my services are the right fit for you. If nothing else, you will leave the consultation with a clearer idea of what you are wanting and how to attain it.
Small Business Marketing Ideas: About Coupons
Jan 20th
I have a lot to say about coupons. They can be a great way to get new and existing customers into your business but before you go running out and creating coupons all over the place, I want you to take into consideration the following:
1. Will I still make money if I create this offer? This is really important to your success with the coupon. If you are going to lose money on the coupon, stop and think about it before you put the offer out there. A loss leader can be effective but it might lead to anger directed at the customer because you feel taken advantage of with the coupon (but you are the one who caused it). Here are my examples.
I have a friend who loves coupons. She eats out with them all the time. She also purchases discounts in the form of pre-paid certificates online. So, she recently got into an argument in a restaurant ,with the manager, over whether she could use the coupon and the certificate. Now, I am not going to debate whether or not she can or can’t do that. The point is, if you are going to put them out there, you should take the customer with open arms and whatever coupon they present to you because that is how you build a relationship and return customer.
Another example is with my same coupon loving friend. She also purchases pre-paid restaurant vouchers on another web site. There is one restaurant in town where the waiter actually groaned – physically groaned- at her when she presented the coupon … kind of like “Great … another coupon.” Guess what – she doesn’t go there anymore and she tells everyone about the bad service. Is that using your coupon to gain customers? NO.
2. Are There Too Many Restrictions On The Coupon?
This is a serious issue and one where you can actually begin to lose customers with your coupons. I am going to compare two well known retail stores. Retail Store A we will call the BBB and Retail Store B we will call M.
So, the BBB sends you coupons left and right. Almost every time I open my mail box, there is a coupon. The coupon offers a discount on a single item in their store with an expiration date. Guess What? That store will let you use as many coupons as you have products at check out and will honor all expired coupons. What a great customer relationship building tool. Customers, me included, love being able to be in control of when they purchase and feel that the coupon is a way of saying thank you (at least when it is done this way). Nice Marketing BBB!
Now, lets move on to M. M also sends out lots of coupons, but the coupons are full of restrictions … from the time of day in a store when you can receive the discount, to the products that apply and so on. I actually stood in line and missed the coupon time by five minutes and they wouldn’t honor it. The funny thing is that I have been a great customer of theirs for years and now I almost never go there because I lost the sense that the store has any mutual respect for me and my time. The coupons actually make me feel hostility towards them.
So, please consider if your coupon is making your business flourish with happy customers and making you happy as well … or if your coupon is causing you to lose money, resent your customers and cause you to lose your existing core customer base.
About The Author
Are you looking for Web Marketing Experts to help your small business with it’s online marketing? Someone to help you create and implement your social media strategy? I know what you are up against. You need to find the right fit that is within your budget and trust that person to know what he/she is doing and to get it done. You want someone to market your business online. You want to end each day knowing your online marketing strategy is successful and expanding. You want to give that worry to someone and spend time on the parts of your business that you enjoy. You want to tell other internet marketing experts, “thank you, but I already have an amazing internet marketing system in place that is bringing me all the business and money that I need.”
My name is Alison Elliott and I help small businesses succeed online. You can read more about me, my internet marketing system and how I use social media strategy and web marketing expertise to create, implement and manage your online marketing and presence, on mylocal internet marketing experts web site.
To help move you in a positive direction, I am offering you a free thirty minute consultation to see if my services are the right fit for you. If nothing else, you will leave the consultation with a clearer idea of what you are wanting and how to attain it.
Small Business Marketing Idea: Federal Projects
Jan 11th
With the federal government as one of our biggest spenders, have you considered your products and services as a government need? Now maybe you sell temporary tattoos and can’t see how your business would possibly be needed by the government. I would tell you that this post is not for you. But, for the majority of the small business owners out there, you may be able to start bidding on federal government projects and/or find grants in your line of business. Here are some great places to start:
Government Grant Postings Here
Government Contracting Information from American Express
Using Teaming to win government contracts
I hope this helps you find success in your business.
About The Author
Are you looking for Web Marketing Experts to help your small business with it’s online marketing? Someone to help you create and implement your social media strategy? I know what you are up against. You need to find the right fit that is within your budget and trust that person to know what he/she is doing and to get it done. You want someone to market your business online. You want to end each day knowing your online marketing strategy is successful and expanding. You want to give that worry to someone and spend time on the parts of your business that you enjoy. You want to tell other internet marketing experts, “thank you, but I already have an amazing internet marketing system in place that is bringing me all the business and money that I need.”
My name is Alison Elliott and I help small businesses succeed online. You can read more about me, my internet marketing system and how I use social media strategy and web marketing expertise to create, implement and manage your online marketing and presence, on mylocal internet marketing experts web site.
To help move you in a positive direction, I am offering you a free thirty minute consultation to see if my services are the right fit for you. If nothing else, you will leave the consultation with a clearer idea of what you are wanting and how to attain it.
Survey Marketing: A Small Business Marketing Idea
Oct 14th
The world is really about you to you and me to me … get it? And, it should be. You are here living with yourself every moment of the day – even if you choose to help others, you are still living your life the way you want it for you. So, when you want to know something about you, a survey is very attractive.
In walks survey marketing for the small business.
Survey marketing is a way of personalizing a relationship, providing information to a potential customer and making your product all about the client. Here is an example:
1. I have a problem: I want some natural vitamins to boost my energy but I am not sure what I might need or even why I am tired in the afternoon
2. I go online to research. I type into Google: afternoon fatigue vitamins
3. Up comes the search result and I notice a site that says “take a survey to determine what vitamins will help you fight afternoon fatigue”
4. I click on that site over all the other sites
5. I complete the survey.
6. At the end of the survey, I get the results by providing my email address (now I am on their marketing list) and the survey is also emailed to me BUT in addition, the survey is also displayed on the thank you page …. with a pitch for a more in depth analysis and the ability to buy those vitamins
7. I buy them (and now they have the opportunity to sell to me further)
Isn’t survey marketing a great small business marketing tool????
Alison Elliott is a Marketing Expert and founder of Corner Your Market Global Marketing. To get these tips along with tips on SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing for Small Business, Unique, Interesting and Great Marketing Ideas for Small Business , Help Creating Online Marketing Plans for Small Businesses, and Businesses and Software to help Market your Small Business online , you can sign up to our small business marketing e-guide here.
Small Business Marketing Strategy: Sign Appeal
Oct 8th
I am always fascinated when watching myself and others choose and purchase. So, a recent restaurant experience prompted me to blog about the marketing strategy of your sign.
Now a sign can be the look of your logo or your site, but in this case it was an actual sign on a restaurant. Of course when someone does something so amazing that I write about it, I also like to mention their name, so this story is all about Bachi Burger in Las Vegas, Nevada
I was driving down Windmill recently (having just moved to town) and I saw this really cool sign that said “Bachi Burger” in a trendy, simple and attractive design. The sign stood out among the strip mall for it’s simplicity and modern beauty and the name made me curious. I found myself thinking … “that looks like a great place to eat.” Weeks later I found myself with my family waiting to see a movie in the area and remembered the place … the name and the sign. I wasn’t sure if it was a bar but figured, let’s go try it out. And we did.
The food was amazing and unique and the atmosphere and fabulous service was everything the sign said it would be (kind of like Starbucks where the atmosphere says hang out here).
We came because of the sign and the name (external marketing) and will go back again and again because of the customer service and the food (internal marketing).
So, from a small business marketing strategy standpoint - what is your sign?
Alison Elliott is a Marketing Expert and founder of Corner Your Market Global Marketing. To get these tips along with tips on SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing for Small Business, Unique, Interesting and Great Marketing Ideas for Small Business , Help Creating Online Marketing Plans for Small Businesses, and Businesses and Software to help Market your Small Business online , you can sign up to our small business marketing e-guide here.
Small Business Marketing Strategy: Time Out For Customer Service
Oct 5th
A business is a well oiled machine and it doesn’t work if all the parts aren’t working – I am sure someone said that or some version of it but here is what it really means: advertising and networking will get customers in the door, customer service will make them stay (or run away). Here is a story for you that may help with your small business marketing strategy:
(1) I move to a new city and need a new dentist
(2) I am not really sure exactly where to look … and I receive a ValPak coupon for a dentist near my house with a free teeth whitening (not really free but whatever)
(3) I make an appointment and arrive on time with my two girls too
(4) They are very disorganized, we are constantly moved around to different rooms, we are there for over two hours, I have my x-rays done and then they tell me I need to reschedule for a cleaning (what?!)
(5) I go to reschedule but ask the receptionist why and her answer – which by the way, I was still a customer at this point in spite of the treatment – “I told you that we didn’t have time to clean your teeth when you made the appointment.” And when I said, “I don’t remember that conversation or I wouldn’t have made the appointment,” the response was “Well I told you that so it is your fault”
Interesting customer service stand point. So now I have a choice remain a customer or leave- and by the way, I am a very diplomatic customer. I don’t typically get overheated or start yelling.
I chose to leave.
I called later and cancelled all future appointments (the receptionist proceeded to argue with me about whether this is my fault and I mentioned to her that I am not on the phone to argue but to cancel the appointments.”)
I then went and found a dentist near my gym with an “accepting new patients” sign out front, a very nice, personable receptionist and they are now getting all my dental money (and I can be vain, so I pay for things like teeth whitening and other money makers.)
Bottom Line here is really a business marketing strategy lesson: This dentist spent lots of money to advertise on Valpak and really in vain. A better marketing strategy would be to advertise in Valpak and set up consistent marketing training with your staff (the face of your business).
Alison Elliott is a Marketing Expert and founder of Corner Your Market Global Marketing. To get these tips along with tips on SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing for Small Business, Unique, Interesting and Great Marketing Ideas for Small Business , Help Creating Online Marketing Plans for Small Businesses, and Businesses and Software to help Market your Small Business online , you can sign up to our small business marketing e-guide here.
A Match Made In Heaven Small Business Marketing Idea
Sep 14th
As back to school approached, I took each of my girls shopping. This is a ritual of ours. We go on “Mommy Daughter Dates” and do something as just us two . . .my parents did that for me and it is so rewarding. Anyway, this particular date was all about back to school shopping and one of our stops was Justice, the pre-teen clothing store.
As we finished checking out, I was given my receipt, Justice J Bucks to draw me back in at a later date for a discount AND a $10 coupon to Office Max. How brilliant is that! What a great partnership! We were just thinking about the back to school list given to us by our school . . .pencils, pens, folders, paper, erasers . . . . and now Office Max was on my radar. I mean why not? Oh by the way, Office Max was not on my radar before.
Guess where I bought my kids schools supplies? OfficeMax.
This partnership idea is definitely not a new idea. The concept of strategic partnership – finding a business partner with the same target market for a specific campaign – has been going on since the dawn of time. But to see it at work and be able to relate to this small business marketing idea with a real life, successfully implemented example is priceless.
Start thinking about the types of strategic partnerships that might work in your business. Start simple. Here are some random small business marketing ideas I am making up:
Example #1: An organic vegetable co-op might partner with a specialty cheese shop or organic meat producer to offer a holiday special.
Example #2: A clothing retailer might give special coupons to a local salon to include with each paid service. On the other side of that, a salon could offer a special for make-up and hair service for anyone purchasing a holiday outfit at a nearby clothing shop.
Example #3: As a storefront and an online store, you could offer an additional discount coupon for all in store purchases when they purchase again online . . .these could boost your holiday sales and you could promote free shipping or gift wrapping as an extra incentive.
Think outside the box and think at least six months out . . .if not an entire year. If you think you may need some help with your marketing plans, you can read more about what we offer to help with small business marketing strategies.
To Your Marketing! – Alison
Alison Elliott is a Marketing Expert and founder of Corner Your Market Global Marketing. To get these tips along with tips on SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing for Small Business, Unique, Interesting and Great Marketing Ideas for Small Business , Help Creating Online Marketing Plans for Small Businesses, and Businesses and Software to help Market your Small Business online , you can sign up to our small business marketing e-guide here.
Small Business Marketing Idea: YouTube promotion
Sep 9th
Online videos are a great asset to your small business marketing. People love videos because it engages multiple senses and helps to relate to you and your business. One fun marketing idea is to have your customers – the valuable fans who love you – create videos about why they love your product or service. The marketing idea is easy to set up:
1. Create your offer. Something like, “Love our products? Create and upload a video on YouTube about why you love our products and why you use them. Make sure you link back to our site and then send us the video link by email. You will receive a 20% off coupon on your entire next order AND be entered to win a $100 gift card in our “Love Our Products Video Contest”
2. Create a plan about how you will promote this promotion: send out an email to your customers, add it to your social media, put it on your web site, include a printed offer inside every online order, put the offers in your store and add one to every purchase in your store.
3. Execute the plan with a launch date, an end date, any legal stuff you need for the contest and a contest end date.
Have fun with your marketing .
If you need any help with the planning and execution of a marketing idea like this, please contact us with your request.
This small business marketing idea is brought to you by Alison Elliott is a Marketing Expert and founder of Corner Your Market Global Marketing. To get these tips along with tips on SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing for Small Business, Unique, Interesting and Great Marketing Ideas for Small Business , Help Creating Online Marketing Plans for Small Businesses, and Businesses and Software to help Market your Small Business online , you can sign up to our small business marketing e-guide here.
Small Business Marketing Idea: Honey vs. Vinegar
Sep 7th
I noticed lately that my girls have been fighting a lot and there has been a lot of negativity flowing through our house – back talking, sassy responses, etc. It is quite upsetting when that is not the environment I want for myself or my children. . . .then my oldest girl wanted to start an allowance, so we set out a few chores: make your bed in the morning, bring in and put your stuff away from the car, no sassy back talk. Well, you can probably see how that went (they lost their allowance within a few hours). That did not work! The point is to reward and not take away. Then I thought of the saying “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” and I changed the game.
We got rid of the chores and started the penny reward system. A penny is given for anything that is good – good behavior, a kind act, being nice to your sister, cleaning your room, making your bed, helping . . . anytime / anywhere at our discretion. The pennies go into their special jar on the counter and 100 pennies can be transferred into a dollar. The dollars are kept in their “wallet” in our cupboard to spend later. Suddenly, my home is much more peaceful. There is no taking away and negative energy but rather a giving and a reward for positive behavior.
So, how does this relate to a small business marketing idea? My idea is to create programs and incentives in your business that create this same positive flow of energy. A penny is a small thing but turns into a bigger dollar later. Consider ideas for small rewards that can turn into bigger rewards later. Here are some ideas:
Small Business Marketing Idea #1: A spontaneous $10 off your next order to reward a loyal customer
Small Business Marketing Idea #2: An extra gift in a customers next order, just to thank them for ordering
Small Business Marketing idea #3: Customer reward day at your store – a special invitation to come in after closing for a discount off any purchases and give aways
Small Business Marketing Idea #4: Door prizes rewarding the 20th or 100th person in the door of your store (or online) with a reward or coupon – that happens randomly in a month
Have fun with your business. Create a positive and fun environment and your customers will think of you often!
Alison Elliott is a Marketing Expert and founder of Corner Your Market Global Marketing. To get these tips along with tips on SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing for Small Business, Unique, Interesting and Great Marketing Ideas for Small Business , Help Creating Online Marketing Plans for Small Businesses, and Businesses and Software to help Market your Small Business online , you can sign up to our small business marketing e-guide here.
Create A Fan Club – Small Business Marketing Idea
Sep 5th
I love this small business marketing idea by Infusionsoft (the greatest marketing software ever) – the idea of creating a fan club for your business. This fan club gives you the good and the bad but it also enables you to make your service better by listening to both and to concentrate on the praises of your business.
Here is what they say about this idea:
Years ago, in the early days of Infusionsoft, we heard a lot of complaining from our customers. They understood the value of automated follow-up, and they knew we were the only company to provide such a system for small businesses. But the software has certainly been a work in progress, and they let us know it.
I’ll be the first one to admit…it’s difficult to keep a business going when all you hear are complaints. But as much complaining as we heard, there were an equal number of customers singing our praises. And that is what we focused on.
Don’t get me wrong. We heard the complaints. In fact, we studied all the negative comments so we could learn how to best help our customers. But when times were tough, (or we’d lose our enthusiasm) we turned back to the success stories. And they reminded us what we we’re really fighting for.
Small business ownership is difficult. You may feel like you are all alone. But in reality, you already have a fan club. If you can stay focused on helping those that appreciate you, you’ll make it through just fine.
During recent Revolution Tours, I was thrilled to hear that some of our biggest critics have become our biggest fans. And believe me, I’m writing down their comments. Those “raving fans” are going to be a driving force for us as we move forward and perfect our software.
If you don’t have something in place already, take the time to create a spreadsheet, a page on your website, or even just a word doc to collect that positive feedback from your prospects and customers. Someday, it may help you push through the grind until you come out triumphant.
—– It’s Alison again, one great way to start your fan club is through Facebook. You can create a fan page that is all about customers leaving their comments on the page. you can even reward your customers for letting you know how you are doing for them.
This small business marketing idea is brought to you by Alison Elliott is a Marketing Expert and founder of Corner Your Market Global Marketing. To get these tips along with tips on SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing for Small Business, Unique, Interesting and Great Marketing Ideas for Small Business , Help Creating Online Marketing Plans for Small Businesses, and Businesses and Software to help Market your Small Business online , you can sign up to our small business marketing e-guide here.
