Marketing Your Small Business

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E-mail Newsletters

Today, building a strong contact list is one of, if not, the most important marketing techniques you can apply.  A periodical e-mail newsletter is a great free means of maintaining that contact list. You could entice customers to subscribe to your free e-mail newsletter by offering a one-time discount on your product or service.  This serves two purposes; helping grow your contact list with e-mail addresses for your database and pushing sales instantaneously.  For your e-mail newsletter to be an effective marketing tool, you need to capitalize on the e-mail addresses once you get them.  You also need to monitor how effective the information you are sending is.  Weekly or monthly specials are an easy way to measure the effectiveness of this marketing technique because you can track the sales driven by a particular promotion.  For as little as ten dollars a month you can choose to pay an external company (if you can’t do this yourself) to send a very professional looking newsletter to customers.  Inexpensive e-mail newsletters provide added value to opt-in customers through relevant editorial content and promotional offers.  A newsletter will also reveal who your customers are and what products or services they enjoy. A newsletter is an affordable technique with a high return because it is a multi-purposeful marketing tool that evokes several points and is an excellent tool for staying in front of your current customers and maximizing your customer base.

Referrals

Small businesses would cease to exist without referrals.  A referral from a client who has used your product or service and is happy with the outcome is the most economical and effective marketing force.  People who are referred to a business tend to spend more money.  Research has proven this beyond the shadow of a doubt. People tend to refer others who are highly motivated and are eager to purchase - not just tire kickers or bargain hunters. It does not cost anything to ask a customer to recommend your business to a client, neighbor or friend.  If you have loads of business cards sitting idle in a drawer, consider asking your existing customers to take a few and pass them out in their daily travels or in their social or professional groups.  If your existing customers agree to this consider providing them with an incentive for the potential business their efforts bring.  Perhaps an additional discount or special would be reward enough.  The road to building credibility with your customers can be long and strenuous, but with a referral the credibility is established for you by your customers.

Center of Influence

Depending on the product or service you offer, it can be easy to get involved in trade show events or crossover events.  Crossover events can be highly successful when it comes to building or expanding your customer base.  For example, if you are the sole proprietor of a wine shop, consider partnering with a local catering company for an open house that can pair food choices to wine selections.

 

 

 

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