2 Comments

Traditional Marketing Techniques

Traditional Marketing Techniques

Recently, I spoke to two entrepreneurs about possible ways of marketing their business. I sensed from our conversation that they were not fond of online promotion. They were not knowledgeable about online marketing and they were looking for an alternative way to promote their business. Therefore, I did not suggest any digital marketing media such as websites, blogs or social media. My suggestions were time-tested old school techniques.

Get involved with the community by joining the Chamber of Commerce or Rotary. These organizations will help you get connected with the local community. You can participate in charity fundraising events, donate your time and services, or do public speaking engagements that demonstrate your expertise on a particular topic.

Mail/email marketing is a strategy to connect with your customers and prospects. You can use mail/email to send out routine information like appointment reminders, but you can also use mail/email to send out marketing materials like newsletters

Newsletters are a means of keeping your consumers informed. Your newsletter may include news articles related to different topics ranging from industry news to current promotions. Giving out tips is a customer service technique of reassuring customers that you care about their satisfaction, even when they don’t need to come into your office or store.

Attending trade shows and fairs will create brand awareness in the community for your business. This gives potential new customers and suppliers a chance to view your brand. Something as simple as a free sample of your product or service can be a stimulus in creating interest.

Hopefully, you found some of these suggestions helpful.

30 Comments

Email Marketing

Email Marketing

The benefit of email marketing is a cost-effective method of sending your message to your customers or potential customer whose names and email addresses you have amassed. This treasure trove of prospects can be contacted regularly with a monthly newsletter, periodic promotional announcements, and special offers.

Email marketing can create stronger awareness for your business, products and customer relationships.

Top 5 email platform providers

1. Drip Ecommerce CRM (www.drip.com) Drip-powered brands are using E-commerce CRM data and marketing automation to build personalized marketing experiences, drive meaningful engagement, and earn long-term customer loyalty.

2. Mailchimp (www.mailchimp.com) Bring your audience data, marketing channels, and insights together so you can reach your goals faster. With Mailchimp, you can promote your business across email, social, landing pages, postcards, and more — all from a single platform.

3. Salesforce Marketing Cloud (www.salesforce.com ) Reach individual customers through hundreds of features to help you create tailored, relevant content — from basic email marketing tools to sophisticated cross-channel campaign functionality.

4. Campaign Monitor (www.campaignmonitor.com) Create beautifully branded campaigns with this simple email builder.
Editors can spend more time doing what they do best—engaging people through email. It’s all the builder you need and then some.

5. SendInBlue (www.sendinblue.com) Promote your brand and grow your business with beautifully designed emails

12 Comments

Social Media Advertising vs Traditional Advertising

Social Media Advertising vs Traditional Advertising

Advertising media in America had its inception almost three hundred years ago when Benjamin Franklin published the Pennsylvania Gazette which included print advertising. In 1922 WEAF NY offered ten minutes broadcast radio time for $100.00. In the late 1940s television was the new addition. About a decade ago we saw the emergence of a new medium online marketing.

I’ve read many articles online extolling the superiority of social media marketing over traditional advertising. There are strengths and benefits to each form of advertising. The one major benefit to small business owners is the low cost and flexibility of social media. Choose a comprehensive strategy that works for you.
When creating ad copy there are certain elements that are basic to different forms of advertising media whether using print advertising, direct mail, email or an online landing page. The fundamentals remain the same.

1. Make the offer, give the prospect a reason to learn more about the product or service.
2. The headline explaining the key benefit or offer you are making.
3. Include an image, one or two striking pictures that illustrate the offer.
4. The body of the ad includes details about the offer, details about the store or product and any other information you want to highlight.
5. A call to action. Set a time limit, clear and concise instructions for what the readers should do.
6. Include contact information with the logo.

Please leave comments on topics would be interested in reading.

1 Comment

Social Media Marketing for Small Business

Social Media Marketing for Small Business

Modern advertising has traditionally been the domain of print, broadcast and direct mail media. These forms of advertising have required large financial expenditures that were out of reach for most small businesses. Print promotions required an advertising agency to create artwork, and write copy adding to the cost of the ad. Television advertising requires scriptwriters, artists, film crews and other support personnel again, a major expense.

The internet has ushered in a new dawn with the advent of social media marketing which has no financial expense, just the cost of your time. This democratization of advertising and sales promotion had given small businesses the ability to reach a large audience. Software to create graphics, photos and video are available at very reasonable prices. An example is an ad created by my former students who were marketing management majors at Penn State. They had limited experience with camcorders, editing software, and scriptwriting, but they created a commercial for a small business.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6aaptd5ean0x5i8/Our%20Family%20Cafe.mp4?dl=0
With some effort, you can do the same.

Here is a list of the top social media marketing sites.
1. Facebook (www.facebook.com) Best for B2C (business to consumer)
2. Twitter (www.twitter.com)
3. LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) Best for B2B (business to business)
4. Instagram (www.instagram.com) Best for selling visually-oriented products.
5. Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) An image curation website
6. Youtube (www.youtube.com) video-hosting website
7. Yelp (www.yelp.com) Crowd-sourced review forum
8. MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com) email marketing service