Vistaprint has been the first supplier of business cards and promotional material for many small and home based businesses during their start up phase. They now offer added value to their clients by showing them how to properly use their marketing materials.
They have a Marketing Learning Centre which offers free webinars and free online videos full of marketing tips and advice. Topics include “Effectively Using Email Marketing”, “The Art of Crafting Compelling Copy” and “Postcard Marketing for Small Business” as well as many more.
Each listing gives you an overview of what it covers. For example, the compelling copy video says:”Learn how to create compelling copy for your marketing materials that will encourage customers to act while building your brand. Topics include: what to do before you begin to write, the nuts and bolts of copywriting, and how to write for a variety of different mediums.” The videos are between 8 and 22 minutes long and are quite easy to watch and understand.
They also offer a series of shorter video clips that show you how to create your products using their system. If you manage your marketing by yourself you will find these really handy.
The On-Demand Marketing Tips are free to view even if you are not yet a customer so make sure that you take advantage of this service. There is really no reason that you can’t present your business image in the same professional manner that large businesses do.
It is great to see so many businesses using social media to connect with customers and potential clients. The problem I see is that small businesses are so busy tweeting and posting to Facebook that they forget to keep their profiles up to date.
Just in case you don’t think this is important, think back to the last time someone asked to connect with you on Facebook. What did you do? Do you automatically accept everyone who asks to be your friend? Most people don’t. They research the person first.
Where would you start if you wanted to find out more about the person? You go to their profile.
Your social networking profile is the doorway to your business. It is a tool to attract people to you and your business so you may need to alter the wording on your profile at each network if there is a difference in the type of user it attracts.
Your profile needs to tell who you are and what you do. If you are clever you will say more than “We are accountants”. You will fill it with words that show how you will solve the reader’s problems. You want to be noticed but more than that, you want people to feel an instant connection with you.
Every business must keep its profile up to date. The basic contact details may not alter but your business won’t stand still. Make sure that your profile matches what you are currently doing. Let it reflect your theme for the season or build on a recent success you have had. Thank about what will appeal to your ideal target market and keep your profile tailored to it.
Social media is all about connecting. If your profile is out of date the wrong people will be trying to connect with you. Worse still, if your profile is on a professional site like LinkedIn, you could be missing out on potential employment opportunities.
You should be checking your social networking profiles regularly. Pick a time such as the change of seasons and use it as your reminder. It will only take you a few minutes to check and update but it might bring you in a valuable new client or order.
So, how up to date is your social networking profile?
Having a website built for you can be an expensive, time consuming and fiddly thing to do. If you are going to go to all that trouble then make sure you get the results you are after.
There are 10 key questions that you need to ask yourself before you start. The answers to these questions will tell you a lot about how your site and your business should be shaped.
1. Why do you want a website?
What is the purpose of your site? Will it be an information sharing site or will you be selling products? What will you offer your customers?
2. What is your target market?
You need to know everything you can about the people you want to reach. Who are they? Where do they live? Is it a family market or a business market?
3. What are you offering your customers?
Once you know your target group you can understand what problems they have and why they may want what you offer. Are you clear on what it is that you are offering? Is it a product, information or a service? How will it help your target market?
4. What should your site be called?
Before choosing a name you should think about the terms people might use to search with for what you offer. If you can include one of those terms in your name it will be easy to locate in a search. Keep your name short and easy to spell.
5. What should your site look like?
This is important because you only have a couple of seconds to make an impact. Keep the layout clear and logical. Don’t use a lot of text on the home page unless that is what your target market will expect. Make sure your images are crisp and clear and that the theme reflects your branding and logo.
6. What do you want your site to say?
The wording is important because it needs to tell the visitor exactly what your site is all about within a couple of sentences. You want to hook your target market straight away. The words are also important because they can also help you be found on the search engines.
7. What will you use for content?
No one will keep returning to a site that doesn’t change and that includes search engines. You need fresh and relevant content updated regularly. Where will you get the content and where in the site will you put it?
8. Can you update the site yourself?
Will you be able to update the site when you want to make changes or will you have to ask your web designer to do it for you? This may add substantially to your ongoing costs.
9. Where will you have the site hosted?
Speaking of costs, who will host your site? Have you shopped around and compared prices? Your designer may also offer hosting so be sure that you know what the market price is before accepting it.
10. Can you afford this?
Now that you know what you want your site to do, have a rough idea of the look and content, you can ask for a quote from your designer. Some will offer payment plans but don’t commit to anything that you can’t afford. Again, shop around. Ask other businesses for recommendations. Whatever you do, don’t pay the whole amount up front. Pay a deposit in commencement and negotiate arrangements for subsequent payments.
Good luck with your new site. If you have thought it all through it will be perfect.
One of the biggest lessons that new business owners have to learn is that they don’t have to do everything alone. In fact, they shouldn’t. Some times it is better to be part of a joint force, especially when it comes to promotions and marketing.
Have you heard of Joint Ventures or Strategic Alliances? This is a very clever way that you can get your business out in front of a lot of potential clients.
What is a Joint Venture (JV)? It is a kind of partnership put together with the sole purpose of finding new clients and attracting business. There must be something in it for each member of the partnership and each member must also contribute to it.
What usually happens is something like this:
• Find businesses that complement your own
• Make sure they have the target group you are after
• Agree to work together
• Create an offer or package which includes contributions from each party
• Make it attractive to your target group
• Agree that each member of the partnership will promote the JV to their list.
• Interested clients must submit their contact details so they can access the offer.
What you end up with is a lot more potential clients on your mailing list that you can market to later. You may also end up with clients and orders immediately as a result of the venture.
Big and small businesses all use this model of marketing because it is effective. It is a great way to promote your business and usually very cost effective. You have control over what you decide to offer as your share of the JV package so you can tailor it to fit your budget.
If your business needs a boost why not join or create a joint venture. Be very careful in making sure your partners share the same target market and you will all do well.
