August 2010
You are currently browsing the articles from Joe's Marketing Blog written in the month of August 2010.
Not sure how to put together a Strategic Marketing Plan for your Interior Decorating Business?
A good media mix makes sense when you are looking for small business marketing tips. Having a strong internet marketing strategy, along with traditional print media like direct mail, magazines, Yellow Pages or other directory advertising, trade shows, seminars, etc., work with this type of business.
This is an important and effective way to promote your business. Use graphics, your portfolio and before and after shots of your work, testimonials from happy customers, and pricing on packages that you offer, on your website. You do not have to stick to these prices but it is a way to get your foot in the door. You can always up sell from there.
And incorporate search engine optimization website promotion. This can be done on a local geographical level so you can target where you want to get business from. It is one of the least expensive and most effective ways to promote your business. If you need help with this contact Advantage Solutions.
Traditional Print Media still works for some types of Businesses
One of the great things about Direct Mail is that you can pin point where you want to advertise. Promote your website on your marketing piece, and offer something that will make the customer pick up the phone and call you or go to your site. Include some pictures and testimonials. Keep it simple as in this type of advertising less is more. People prefer bullet points to paragraphs. It is better to mail the same area twice than to try another area. Repetition works.
Do some research to see if there are any home decor magazines that would make sense for you to advertise in. Ask them how they are distributed, whether it is through subscriptions, which is the most preferred, mailed out to homeowners, or just dropped at various retail locations. Look who else is advertising in there. Maybe call them and ask how it works for them. Also, always ask for a discount when negotiating the price with the sales rep. They expect you to do that. In print media that is very common.
When people are ready to buy they will look for you in the Yellow Pages
They may have seen your advertising somewhere else and just didn’t need your service at that time. Your rate of return on Direct Mail advertising increases by 15% when you combine it with Yellow Pages advertising. It also gives you credibility. Don’t miss out by not being in there as your competition will get the calls. You don’t have to be the biggest, you just have to be in there.
Do some Trade Shows and get some Speaking Engagements
Have a reason for people to come to your booth and talk to you. Maybe a draw for a room makeover, free consultation, painting supplies, etc. Quite often they have free seminars at these trade shows. Look into being one of the guest speakers. Become an expert in you field.
Build relationships with Realtors and Home Builders
And finally, building relationships with whomever you come in contact with will always help you. Realtors and Home Builders are a good source of leads as they are constantly in touch with potential clients for your business. You may want to offer and promote home staging services to get more customers.
Much Success!
Joe.
Written by Joanne on August 23rd, 2010 with no comments.
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By Joanne Kuipers
Looking where to invest your Advertising Dollar to get your phone ringing? Be in the Yellow Pages!!
Did you know that 80% of people who have an emergency go to the Yellow Pages for help. Whether it be a plumbing issue, heating, or even an emergency for the family pet, people will consult the Yellow Pages to get a phone number quickly. Let their fingers do the walking and find you! Sure you may think that print is on it’s way out the door but that’s not entirely true. And everything that’s in the Yellow Pages is automatically populated on their web directory.
You don’t necessarily need the biggest ad if that’s not in your budget, especially if you are just starting out. Work with your Yellow Pages consultant and let their design department come up with something that will get you noticed! And it doesn’t cost extra for this service.
When people are ready to make a purchase they will look for you in the Yellow Pages!
Vehicle Signage
The best vehicle signage that I have ever seen and that gets noticed is a picture on the driver’s side door where he is actually sitting on a toilet. It is very funny. Do a Google search under images for ‘plumber truck’ to find it. There are other great examples of vehicle signage there as well. This will give you credibility and also get you noticed when people look for you on-line and in the Yellow Pages.
Promote your Website using Website Optimization
It is well worth it. You can take a course that will teach you how to do it but I would recommend hiring a professional that does it all the time. They will be up to date on the best ways to achieve results. Contact Advantage Solutions for professional on time service at unbeatable prices.
Always try to think like your customers think. How would you look for a plumber if you needed one? I would recommend these three basics and stay away from display ads in newspapers or magazines if most of your work is servicing emergency or on demand clients.
Good luck with growing your business!
Joe
Written by Joanne on August 11th, 2010 with no comments.
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By Nigel Bullers and Joanne Kuipers
Want to get more business? Better qualified customers?
Not sure how to promote yourself or your business?
As a home renovation contractor you know there’s a lot of competition out there. And you know it’s hard to find the time to even think about how you are going to promote your business.
Plan Out Your Advertising Campaign
Advertising is only expensive if it doesn’t work. You have to look at it as an investment. You must also use different mediums in order to reach a more diverse group of clients and that will ultimately deliver a greater ROI (return on investment).
It is very important to set a budget for the whole year and stick to it. Take time during the slower months to figure out how much more business you want, how you want to advertise, and how much you are committed to spending. If you take the time to do this you will create a better more effective plan and you will save money by not doing a little here and a little there. During the year when you get approached by advertising salespeople trying to sell you something you don’t have to give it another thought because you have already decided what you are doing. You can always consider what they are offering when you are planning next year’s advertising.
Planning your advertising a year in advance also removes a lot of stress and pressure from these salespeople. Simply tell them that they can call on you at that time of the year if you want to even think about doing business with them.
Market Your Business With Yellow Pages
Media Mix The first place to start would be the Yellow Pages. The Yellow Pages is sometimes overlooked in today’s market but it is still the most used directory. It has the most complete listings of all businesses and that is why in Canada, for example, it is used eight times more than any competitor.
When people are ready to buy they will look for you in the Yellow Pages. The average ROI is $26 to every $1 you invest. Your Yellow Pages advertising will also go onto yellowpages.ca and canada411.ca. You can ask your Yellow Pages rep to do some research for you; they have access to specific information:
- Demographics of each area or market.
- On-line traffic reports for your type of business in each market
- Results for print ads.
- Call measurement studies, where they give the advertiser a specific phone number that is only published in that ad.
- Track the amount of calls they get and give them a report.
- You can also ask to see the ones they have done with other businesses.
Designing a Display Ad
When designing a display ad it’s important to quickly create interest. People have only seconds to glance at your specific ad which seems like a challenge, but the good news is that they only need a brief moment to decide. You do need to think about why someone would be motivated to use your service? Do you offer the best service, best quality? Once you determine what that reason is then placing a short value statement, or pitch at the top of the ad will generate interest, that’s your “Brand Difference”. If you are not sure simply look in the Yellow Pages and see what your competition is doing. If you want to attract higher end clients you can design your ad to reflect this by making it look expensive through colour and graphics. If you don’t have a logo contact a company that can create one for you like Advantage Solutions or you can contact a college to see if they have students that can do this for you.
Signage
Another way to get your name out there is with signage. When working on a project put up signs with your name, number, and website on it. Keep it simple. Have signage on your vehicle as well. But it is important to remember that people will now make assumptions about you business based on the look and quality of that signage. It will be important to keep the signs clean, and the area where signs are displayed such as on the side of a truck. Whether its fair or not people will make assumptions about you quality of work based on how clean your truck is, that may also apply to the driving habits of your personnel.
Using Direct Mail is also very effective. It works really well if you have the right offer. If you have Val Pak available in your area I would suggest that. And mail the same area over and over again. People have to see you more that once before they necessarily do business with you.
Display advertising in the newspaper is hit and miss. Instead I would suggest just doing a weekly classified ad.
Craig’s List has become one of the number one ways that people find service providers in their market.
Internet On Line Exposure
If you do not already have a website, it may be important to get one. Start by accumulating pictures of your work, before and after stories and shots are a great way of highlighting your work. With digital cameras it’s not hard to do. If you are a tech savvy and have time, you could do it yourself.
There are a lot of free resources on the internet. Or contact a company that can create the site for you: Advantage Solutions Call around for rates. Since your business is aesthetic people need to see your work. Get testimonials from past customers as well.
By using these different media mixes you will be able to set up a successful and cost effective advertising plan. As a matter of fact, when you combine Yellow Pages advertising with your direct mail campaign, you increase your ROI on the direct mail by 15%.
Wishing you much Success!
Written by Joanne on August 5th, 2010 with no comments.
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