success strategies for business owners effective use of traditional promotion tools
TRANSCRIPT
Success Strategies for Business Owners
Effective Use of Traditional Promotion
Tools
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About SCORE
Douglas S. Cavanaugh
• Successful and experienced business owners and executives acting as volunteers
• Free ongoing mentoring:One-on-oneE-mailSignup on our website – Mentoring
Tab
• Seminars, workshops and Meetup Group
• Resources for small business: manasota.score.org
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3Introductions . . . Your Expectations?
• Introduce yourself• What business are you in?• What are your expectations for the meeting today?• Record . . .
End of the meeting feedback:
Expectation
Outcome Gaps
Success Strategies for Business Owners 4www.score.org
Traditional Marketing Methods & Tools
• Advertising: radio, TV, newspaper, magazine, direct mail, yellow pages
• Public Relations: print, radio, TV• Collateral: business cards, tri-folds,
stationery, flyers• Product samples, special offers• Customer surveys• Presentation material, signage
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5Marketing Materials
Do your marketing materials need a makeover? Do they still reflect your brand?
They all need to be consistent!• Logo• Signage• Business cards• Brochures• Promotion merchandise• Website(s) and other electronic media presence
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Customer Retention Matters !
• As your business grows, retaining existing customers is key to success
• It costs 5 times more to find a new customer than it does to keep one*
• Loyal customers can refer other customers to your business
*Source: Gallup
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7Customer Service
Customer service is key to repeat business and is an important part of your Marketing plan.
Are the following aspects of your business meeting customers’ expectations?
•Physical location•Phone•Your staff•Questions, problems, answers•Customer feedback•Post-sale follow up
Customer Service is a key “face” of your business
Katrina Markoff
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Advertising
What are the desired outcomes of advertising?
• Builds awareness• Product / Service information• Helps customers find you• Builds credibility• Drives sales
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9Understanding Public Relations
Public relations is a means of generating attention from the media or another third party that can be as effective as advertising in building awareness of your business
Customers trust what they read in publications or online far more than they trust your ads
Jennifer Behar
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10Writing a Press Release
Standard Format
• Headline• Date• Summary• Body• About/Boilerplate• Contact
Target to Each News/Media Outlet
• Relevant Topics• Timely• Interesting
Resource
• Newswire’s PR Toolkit
toolkit.prnewswire.co
m
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11Press Release Distribution
Target publications, reporters and bloggers:•E-mail release•Link to your website•Follow up
Free press release distribution services:•FreePressRelease.com•PR.com•PRLog.org•Chambers of Commerce (for members)
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12Customer Loyalty Programs
Keep customers coming back with loyalty programs that can include:
• Loyalty cards• Geolocation websites• Discounts and special offers• Events • Giveaways
What has worked for you? (5 minutes)
Atul Patel
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Event Marketing
Sponsoring an Event• Keep your target customer(s) in mind• Good promotional tool for businesses with local customers• Find of events that match with your business’s
offerings and your goals. • Options include sports teams, charity events, schools, races,
fairs• Investigate event organizer
To consider:• What will you give - how much will it cost?• What will you get – make a $$ estimate of future sales
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14Cause Marketing
Cause Marketing (or Relationship Marketing)
• Using positive publicity, enhancing your brand by affiliating your business with a “cause.”
• Many customers are conscious of social responsibility• Products associated with a good cause see up to a 74
percent boost in sales compared to non-cause-associated products*
• Women and millennials are especially cause-conscious• Key causes: Green, education, disaster relief, disease
research
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15Return on Investment
Always assess your ROI (Return on Investment) for your marketing budget
• Set measurable goals
• Measure resultsMarketing effort that generated the saleSurvey customers
• Adjust marketing plan accordingly
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16Exercise 1 Appropriate promotions for your business?
Using the Worksheet in your folder, fill in your Appropriate Promotions for your business . Think about what new promotion strategies may be able to help grow your business?
Fill-in your thoughts about the reasons for your selections. Think about:
How will this help achieve my goals?How will this reach my target customer/s?Does this fit my budget?Do I have the necessary staff?
10 minutes to work and 10 minutes to discuss
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17Exercise 1Appropriate promotions for your business?
Yes Possible No Why?
Direct Personal Contacts and Networking
Internet Website
Handbills and Flyers
Ads in Newspapers & Periodicals
Handout Brochures and Business Cards
Direct Mailing
Telephone Solicitation
Social Media - Internet
Others . . . .
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Assessing Your Business
The SCORE Business Needs Assessment, it is in your packet. Download at: http://tinyurl.com/8j7fkgw
It will help you assess the current state of your business in 5 key areas:
1. Management2. Marketing3. Sales4. Finance5. Operations
Decide what additional sessions to attend Develop a customized business improvement plan
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Business Needs Assessment - Marketing
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Help Us, Help You
Please fill out the session evaluation form
Your feedback is important to help us improve our programs!
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22Marketing Material Resources
Low-Cost Resources:
•99Designs.com•CrowdSPRING.com•Elance.com•Freelancer.com•Guru.com•Inkzoo.com•Logoworks.com•Marketsplash.com •VistaPrint.com
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23Marketing Resources
• American Advertising Federation (www.aaf.org)• American Express OPEN Forum (www.openforum.com)• American Marketing Association (www.ama.org)• Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org)• Larry Chase’s Web Digest for Marketers (www.wdfm.com)• Marketing Hub (www.marketinghub.com)• Marketing Plan Pro (www.paloalto.com)• Marketing Profs (www.marketingprofs.com)• Marketing Research Association (www.mra-net.org)• Marketing Sherpa (www.marketingsherpa.com)• Mobile Marketing Association (http://mmaglobal.com)• Radio Advertising Bureau (www.rab.com)• SCORE (www.score.org)