3 Foolproof Ways To Soar Through A Recession

Winners are ALWAYS looking for ways to grow their business. They trust their company, trust their customers to come through for them, and realize that a financial crunch offers advantages that aren’t available during better economic times.

1. Get More For Your Advertising Bucks

When the economy makes a turn for the worse, it just makes sense that your advertising will give less of a return than during and economic boon. Sure there’s a lot less money being spent, but you don’t have to have to watch your profit margin plummet!

Think about it… advertisers are feeling the recession just as much as you are, and are more desperate for clients. It’s the perfect atmosphere to negotiate your way to lower costs - even if you are already getting a good price. Every advertising penny you can save, is that much more profit you’ll earn on the products.

Have you thought about getting free publicity? Local newspapers are always looking for something of local interest. Make the news! Publicity is free, but a wonderful way to get your business in front of potential clients.

Do your advertisements really need to be as big as they are? We tend to think the big is better, but the facts are that short ads with 11 words or less often generate higher response than large ads. Give it a try, and trim some costs right off your advertising bill.

2. Take Advantage Of Big Ticket Sales

Not all of your customers suffer during recession. Remember that there are always people who are thriving financially, so don’t be afraid to make big ticket sales offers. Additionally, when money is tight, people who place a lot of stock in your product will value it even more.

Think about ways to create products similar to yours, but with much higher prices. Internet marketers often create members only sites and sell their products at much higher prices. Hey, they’ll obviously make fewer sales, but the people who really value the product will buy. Each sale will net an immensely higher profit. Think about it like this… even though the sales are fewer, the actual profit may be even greater than when it was sold at a lower price.

3. Maximize The Customers You Have

Your customers already know that you have great products and provide satisfactory service. They trust you to come through for them. Think about it… it’s much easier to make sales to someone you already have a relationship with.

Use every opportunity to increase your sales volume within the customer audience you already have. Do you have a product that goes with the one they are purchasing? Offer it to them at the register. It’s a proven and effective method for increasing sales. You may be shocked at the additional sales you can generate from those who are already buying from you.

The Benefits Of Branding

Branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of consumers. A brand is a persistent, unique business identity intertwined with associations of personality, quality, origin, liking and more. Here’s why the effort to brand your company or yourself pays off.

1. Memorability. A brand serves as a convenient container for a reputation and good will. It’s hard for customers to go back to “that whatsitsname store” or to refer business to “the plumber from the Yellow Pages.” In addition to an effective company name, it helps when people have material reminders reinforcing the identity of companies they will want to do repeat business with: refrigerator magnets, tote bags, datebooks, coasters, key rings, first aid kits, etc.

Memorability can come from using and sticking with an unusual color combination (FedEx’s purple and orange), distinctive behavior (the gas station whose attendants literally run to clean your windshield), or with an individual, even a style of clothing (Author Tom Wolfe’s white suits). Develop your own identifiers and nail them to your company name in the minds of your public.

2. Loyalty. When people have a positive experience with a memorable brand, they’re more likely to buy that product or service again than competing brands. People who closely bond with a brand identity are not only more likely to repurchase what they bought, but also to buy related items of the same brand, to recommend the brand to others and to resist the lure of a competitor’s price cut. The brand identity helps to create and to anchor such loyalty.

Consider the legions of car owners who travel up to 2,000 miles at their own expense to attend a Saturn celebration at the company’s plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. That’s loyalty. And supposedly, more people have the motorcycle brand “Harley-Davidson” tattooed on their body than any other brand name. That’s out-of-this-world loyalty.

3. Familiarity. Branding has a big effect on non-customers too. Psychologists have shown that familiarity induces liking. Consequently, people who have never done business with you but have encountered your company identity sufficient times may become willing to recommend you even when they have no personal knowledge of your products or services. Seeing your ads on local buses, having your pen on their desk, reading about you in the Hometown News, they spread the word for you when a friend or colleague asks if they know a ____ and that’s what you do.

4. Premium image, premium price. Branding can lift what you sell out of the realm of a commodity, so that instead of dealing with price-shoppers you have buyers eager to pay more for your goods than for those of competitors. Think of some people’s willingness to buy the currently “in” brand of bottled water, versus toting along an unlabeled bottle of the same stuff filled from the office water cooler.

The distinctive value inherent in a brand can even lead people to dismiss evidence they would normally use to make buying decisions. I once saw one middle-aged Cambridge, Massachusetts, intellectual argue to several colleagues that Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee tastes better than Starbucks’. So contradictory was this claim to the two companies’ reputations for this demographic group that the colleagues refused to put the matter to a taste test.

5. Extensions. With a well-established brand, you can spread the respect you’ve earned to a related new product, service or location and more easily win acceptance of the newcomer. For instance, when a winery with a good reputation starts up regional winery tours, then adds foreign ones, each business introduction benefits from the positive perceptions already in place.

6. Greater company equity. Making your company into a brand usually means that you can get more money for the company when you decide to sell it. A Coca-Cola executive once said that if all the company’s facilities and inventory vanished all around the world, he could walk into any bank and take out a loan based only on the right to the Coca-Cola name and formula.

7. Lower marketing expenses. Although you must invest money to create a brand, once it’s created you can maintain it without having to tell the whole story about the brand every time you market it. For instance, a jingle people in your area have heard a zillion times continues to promote the company when it’s played without any words.

8. For consumers, less risk. When someone feels under pressure to make a wise decision, he or she tends to choose the brand-name supplier over the no-name one. As the saying goes, “You’ll never be fired for buying IBM.” By building a brand, you fatten your bottom line.

Marketing That Grabs - Uncover This Hot Secret

Boost your marketing with this secret. It is so effective, it reaches out and grabs your would-be buyer. It doesn’t matter what your product is. This secret works with everything.

To make it even more valuable, practically nobody uses it. That is why it’s still a secret. What is it?

It is a face.

Everyone loves to see a face. Even your pets like seeing your face. Look at all the ways in which people are attracted to faces. A few decades ago, there was the Potato Head craze. Later, the Pet Rock took us by storm.

People wear the face of favorite cartoon characters as charms or on tie clips. We are used to receiving “smilies” in Emails and dashing off a smiley face on a note we write.

Here are 5 ways you can use a face to sell your product:

1) If you have a Web site, include snapshot of yourself. It builds instant trust. Buying and selling is a personal matter and customers like to feel they are dealing one-on-one with a real person.

2) Place a picture of a person on your product. It can be on a book cover or on packaging. Researchers discovered that viewers are most attracted by a face that is looking straight at them &ndash eye to eye.

3) For an advertising piece, such as a mailer or a postcard, a pet’s face is very effective. It can be used for any type of product &ndash not just pet products.

4) Testimonials are powerful buying triggers. Would-be buyers believe others who have already bought. Make your testimonials even stronger with a picture of the testimonial giver.

5) A child’s face is a winner. A few days ago, I saw a man selling a filtration system on television. He held a little boy on his lap as he spoke. Without mentioning the child, he spoke of the benefits of his filters. Seeing that little boy’s face, you knew you needed that filter to protect your own children.

Bottom line - put a face on your product as soon as you can. Your marketing will come alive and good things will happen.

How to Find Those Niche Markets Your Business Can’t Afford to Overlook

How many niche markets are perched right under your nose? …markets you’ve been overlooking? Hey, take a look at the customers you have right now. Are there any groups that stick out in your mind? Now let me ask you this…Do your advertisements and sales cater to any of these groups?

When I say niche markets, if small businesses, nurses, or homeowners comes to mind… you’re thinking too broadly. Exactly what is a niche market?

Niche Markets Are:

1. Individuals within a group that you can identify by the same interests and needs.

2. Individuals who are looking for your product.

3. Individuals you have the ability to compel to do business with you, rather than your competitor.

4. Individuals that you can easily reach

5. A group that is large enough to do the amount of business you need.

6. A group that is small enough to be overlooked by your competition.

The greatest value of niche markets is that they enable you to target your sales messages precisely. And yes, the more narrowly you define your market, the easier it is going to be to address the needs within the niche.

How Do You Find Niche Markets?

Of course, the first place to start is with a list of the customers you already have! Dig around. Are there any similarities that seem to stand out to you?

Another method involves listing the benefits of your product or service. Think about it… which prospects would benefit the most from this list of benefits? A narrow group of people should begin to emerge. That is your niche market.

How Do You Reach Niche Markets?

Get to know them! First you’ve got to understand the language of each segment of your clientelle. Yeah, they may all be speaking English, but they have their own vocabulary and style that only an insider is privy to. Get inside the circle…it’s the only way to really gain insight to their special needs.

Insiders get the real scoop on things that outsiders never even know exist. When your customers see you as “one of us” you’ll be way ahead of the competition. Your customers will have a loyalty toward you that your competitor will not be able to break through…even with lower prices…because you are the one who understands their needs!

Marketers are always looking for low-cost ways to boost sales volume and profits…it’s in their blood…part of who they are. They can’t resist the urge to find, explore or invent another method to increase the value of their business…and most of them know that there are niche markets all around - just waiting to be discovered.

Smart Marketing For Inventors Chapter 2 - Turning your invention into a marketable product.

There are many smart inventors who come up with unique products which solve problems which were in need of being solved, which make life easier, and which save people’s lives. Yet many of these inventors do not have engineering degrees, are not designers, and many have no design experience at all. They typically do not have any marketing experience as well. As such, they do not realize the fact that their rough prototype of their invention will not succeed as a marketable product. This might be because of a number of factors such as:

1. the product based on the invention (hereinafter referred to as the product) does not meet a specific customer need;

2. the product does not aesthetically appeal to the customer;

3. the product is not designed to withstand the use and abuse to which customers will subject the

product; and

4. the product is not properly packaged, advertised, and promoted to appeal to the customer.

Regarding factor 1, that the product does not meet a specific customer need, it should be remembered that the bottom line to any potential customer is whether the product fulfills an actual need of the customer, which need the customer may or may not realize they have. If the need is one the potential customer does not know he or she has, the marketing effort will need to include educating the potential customer as to the need and how the product meets that need. Needs of the potential customer include making their life more enjoyable, easier, etc.

Regarding factor 2, that the product does not aesthetically appeal to the customer, it should be remembered that the first thing a potential customer likely perceives is the overall look of the product. If the product has a look which appeals to the potential customer, they are more likely to further investigate the product to see what it is and how it works. Aesthetic appeal includes the overall lines of the product, that is, does the product have curved surfaces or angular surfaces, are the colors of the product appealing, is the product ergonomically designed to fit the human body, etc. Curved lines might be appropriate for certain products such as lounge chairs and kitchen mixers to give a modern, ergonomic look, whereas angular lines might be more appropriate for other products, such as hand tools such as chisels and axes.

Regarding factor 3, that the product is not designed to withstand the use and abuse to which customers will subject the product, it should be remembered that customers will use the product for uses which the inventor intended as well as uses which the inventor did not intend, nor even foresee such use. For example, a screw driver might be used as a chisel which is struck by a hammer. Care must be taken to make the product robust enough to withstand foreseeable unintended uses and to warn the customer of foreseeable hazardous uses such as by applying a warning sticker to the product and a warning on the packaging and on the instructional materials. Questions in this regard should be directed towards a lawyer specializing in the legal field of Products Liability, such as in most larger city yellow pages phonebook.

Finally, regarding factor 4, that the product is not properly packaged, advertised, and promoted to appeal to the customer, it should be remembered that the packaging of the product is part of the overall first impression the potential customer has of your product, and in the case of products which are not visible from within the packaging, are the only item of first impression to the potential customer. Therefore, a well thought out and designed packaging and advertising materials is essential to the success of many products. It should be clear from a not-so-lengthy viewing of these items what the product does for the potential customer. Remember, you typically only have from fractions of a second to several seconds to capture the potential customer’s attention and interest in your product. There are advertising and packaging design specialists in the yellow pages phone book of most larger cities which can be consulted for a fee, and many books on advertising at your local bookstore, library, and on the internet.

Best regards,

Brian R. Rayve, Esq.

Owner, InventionPatenting.com

How to Find Those Hidden Markets

Marketers are always looking for low-cost ways to boost sales volume and profits…it’s in their blood…part of who they are. Yeah, they can’t resist the urge to find, explore or invent another method to increase the value of their business…and most of them know that there are hiddenmarkets all around - just waiting to be discovered.

How do you find those hidden markets?

How many hidden markets are perched right under your nose? …markets you’ve been overlooking? Hey, take a look at the customers you have right now. Are there any groups that stick out in your mind? Now let me ask you this…Do your advertisements and sales cater to any of these groups?

My grandmother used to always say, “If you see one mouse, you’ve got twenty.” Yeah, if you notice one group of customers with certain needs, there are probably a bunch of customers out there with the same needs…you just can’t see them. Be sure to focus on the specialized needs of each group, and watch customers appear that you had no idea were even there!

Marketers on the Web have a great opportunity to specialize for different groups of customers. Hey, make a few minor changes to your original Web page and post a separate page for each targeted group, and you’ve individualized your business without a lot of effort. Add a link to your home page, and you’ve effectively created appeal for a wider audience without losing the effectiveness of your main market.

How do You Adapt to Hidden Markets?

Get to know them! First you’ve got to understand the language of each segment of your clientelle. Yeah, they may all be speaking English, but they have their own vocabulary and style that only an insider is privy to. Get inside the circle…it’s the only way to really gain insight to their special needs.

Yep, insiders get the real scoop on things that outsiders never even know exist. When your customers see you as “one of us” you’ll be way ahead of the competition. Your customers will have a loyalty toward you that your competitor will not be able to break through…even with lower prices…because you are the one who understands their needs!

Modern-Day Postcard Marketing

Postcards are one of the most effective marketing tools you can use to generate website traffic or sales leads. Postcards are not new - and they may not be very exciting. But they really work …especially if you follow these 6 proven postcard marketing tactics.

1. Know What You Want

Decide what you want your postcards to accomplish. Most marketers use postcards to attract new customers. But you can also use them for other purposes such as generating repeat sales or cultivating customer loyalty.

Also, decide what you want the recipients of your postcards to do. For example, do you want them to visit your website, pick up the phone to call you, come into your store …or something else?

2. Use the Best Mailing List

If you want postcards to generate repeat sales, you already have the mailing list - your customers. But if you want postcards to attract new customers, you need to get a mailing list. Fortunately, there are high-quality mailing lists available that can deliver your sales message directly to your best prospects.

For example, get a list of prospects who previously requested information about (or bought) products similar to those you sell …or a list of subscribers to publications read by prospects in your targeted market. You can get these and other high-quality lists from most mailing list brokers.

3. Design Your Postcard to Look Like a Friendly Message

People like friendly messages. They don’t like advertising. Take advantage of this by designing your postcard to look at first glance like a message from a friend instead of like an ad in a magazine. It produces a pleasant emotional reaction from readers and increases the number of replies you get.

For example, use the same typestyle and layout you would use for a personal note to a friend. Include a date at the top and a sender’s name at the bottom. Avoid borders, graphics and other design features often used in advertising.

4. Include an Incentive to Respond Quickly

Provide a reason for those who read your postcard to take action - now. Don’t let them put your postcard aside for later action. They’ll get involved in other activities and forget all about it.

For example, offer the reader a discounted price, a special bonus or some other benefit if they reply by a deadline.

5. Use Real Stamps

Use real postage stamps on your postcards. It produces more replies than imprinting the postage. You can send postcards by First Class Mail in the US for only 24 cents if you make them at least 3 1/2 by 5 inches but no larger than 4 1/4 by 6 inches.

6. Time the Delivery of Your Postcards

Mail your postcards so they are likely to arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday. The volume of mail delivered on those days is usually light and your postcards will not have to compete with a lot of other mail delivered at the same time.

Controlling the delivery day of your postcards is easy if you use First Class Mail. Just allow 2 to 3 days for delivery - depending on how far they have to go. That’s the normal delivery time for First Class Mail in the US.

Postcards have been around for a long time …but they have become a highly-effective modern-day marketing tool. Follow these 6 proven postcard marketing tactics and you will generate a flood of traffic to your website, a steady flow of sales leads or any other sales activity you want.

9 Secret Ways To Get Valuable Feedback From Your Customers

You can learn many things you didn’t know about your business by getting valuable feedback from your customers. Your customers may buy your main product just to get the free gifts. Your visitors may think it’s to hard to navigate through your web site.

By knowing this type of important information you can improve your web site, products/services, advertising, and marketing. Below are nine techniques you can use to get valuable feedback from your customers.

-Use surveys and questionnaires regularly to improve your business. Publish them on your web site, e-zine, print newsletter, direct mail material, include them with product shipments or inside product packages. Post them on appropriate online message boards, e-mail discussion lists and newsgroups on the internet.

-Create an online community for your customers. Include a chat room, message board, e-mail discussion list on your site for customers to participate in. You can regularly moderator these communities to see what your customers are saying about your business.

-Give away your products to a group of your customers. Ask them to use and review the product. Ask them to fill out an evaluation form and send it back. Some customers may fill them out, some may not, but the feedback you do get will be valuable.

-Offer your web site visitors an online product or service from your web site at no cost. It could be an ebook, search engine submission, consulting via e-mail, web design, etc. In return, ask them to fill out a short survey about your web site, products or services you’re selling, customer service, or your web site.

-Create a customer focus group. Invite ten to twenty of your most loyal customers to meet regularly. They will give you ideas and input on how to improve your customer service. You could pay them, take them out to dinner or give them free products.

-Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis. Offer them a free e-zine subscription. Ask customers if they want to be updated by e-mail when you make changes to your Web site. After every sale, follow-up with the customer to see if they are satisfied with their purchase.

-Make it easy for your customers to contact you. Offer as many contact methods as possible. Allow customers to contact you by e-mail. Hyperlink your e-mail address so customers won’t have to type it. Offer toll free numbers for phone and fax contacts. This will make it easy for your customers to voice their opinions.

-You could regularly contact customers on birthdays or holidays. Send thank you gifts to lifetime customers. E-mail them online greeting cards on holidays or birthdays. Call them personally to wish them a happy holiday. You couldthem follow-up with a survey or ask them if they’re happy with your business.

-Invite your customers to company meetings, luncheons, workshops or seminars. Create special events for your customers like parties, barbecue’s, dances etc. Make a point for yourself and your employees to interact with them at these event to get valuable feedback for your business.

You could use a couple or all of the techniques listed above to get valuable customer feedback. These aren’t the only ways, be creative and come up with some of your own.

When Is An Autoresponder Not An Autoresponder?

If you’re new to internet marketing, you may

be wondering…

“What the heck is an autoresponder?”

Of course, some of the old hats out there

reading this will scoff at that question.

They’ll LITERALLY say:

“SCOFF! An autoresponder is a program that

automatically sends out emails to your prospects!

SCOFF, SCOFF!”

Well, they’re right. An autoresponder does,

in fact, automatically send pre-written emails

out to people in a timely fashion.

BUT…

(And this is a big “but!”)

An autoresponder is actually much, much more

than just a program that sends out emails.

It’s actually…

A COMMUNITY BUILDING TOOL.

Lemme give you a quick breakdown in website

traffic to explain what I mean…

See, there are 3 types of website visitors…

There are first time visitors.

There are recurring visitors.

And then there are ADDICTS.

Recurring visitors and addicts will almost

ALWAYS buy more of what you have to sell

than first time visitors.

So in order to cultivate these two types

of visitors, marketers want to build

COMMUNITIES around their brand and products.

You’ve heard of blogs, message boards, and

content sites, right?

These are all community building tools

designed to create recurring visitors

and addicts.

But guess what?

THEY ARE ALL INFERIOR COMMUNITY CREATION

TOOLS WHEN COMPARED TO A GOOD AUTORESPONDER.

To quote Martin Lawrence:

“BELIEVE that!”

See, most people use their autoresponders

WRONG.

And the worst part is - they don’t even know

they’re doing it.

Blogs, message boards, and content sites

have the disadvantage of needing people

to come to them in order to be effective.

Emails are different.

Emails go DIRECTLY to the people.

You ever lure a dog closer to you with a piece

of food?

Well, imagine the email is a piece of food,

and your potential customer is the dog.

You can take the time to have the dog come

to you to get the food…

Or you can toss the food to the dog.

In both situations, you’re going to win

the dog’s trust. But one is MUCH FASTER

than the other.

Eventually the dog you toss the food to

will start coming to you, while the other

dog will always be a bit wary.

The same is true of email.

So a good autoresponder will get you exposure

to your customers, but more importantly, it

will begin to BUILD A RELATIONSHIP with them!

And let me tell you something: Customer

Relationships are VITAL to selling!

The customer will get to know you, get to know

your products, and get to know your company.

And eventually, be it 2 days later or 2 years

later, they will EVENTUALLY buy.

Now, imagine if every first time visitor to your

website joins your autoresponder.

Because of your autoresponder sequence, I’m willing

to bet that at least 20%-60% of them to become

recurring visitors.

And of that, maybe 10% become ADDICTS, if you

incorporate a blog or message board into your

site.

That’s when things get REALLY fun.

But make no mistake about it: It all depends on

how you set up your autoresponder sequence!

Do it right, you create a community of buyers

around your business.

Do it wrong, and you’re just wasting your time

and money.

That’s why I created the Email Rebel course.

To teach you the RIGHT way to create an

autoresponder sequence, and use your autoresponder

to create the type of community you want.

It is chock full of actual, HELPFUL information

that can really benefit your business.

Understand: I’m very disappointed with a lot

of products that are out there.

They’re just video of talking heads in a seminar

room, or mindless interviews with nothing new

to offer.

And how many powerpoint presentation do we need?

Jeesh!

That’s why the Email Rebel course is DIFFERENT

from all the other stuff you see.

Until next time…

Rappin’ Matt

The Mighty Marketing Newsletter

For many companies and organizations, it’s a powerful marketing tool that attracts and retains customers. I’m referring to the dependable, hard-working newsletter.

On the subject of newsletters, guerilla marketing guru Jay Conrad Levinson says, “It’s a way of staying in touch, proving your expertise, giving beneficial information and gaining confidence.”

Newsletters can be used for marketing, public relations, sales support, associations, or many other purposes.

But how do you publish a successful newsletter?

Following are some simple strategies that have worked well for my clients and me.

Content and Style

Consistently providing editorial value is the key to a successful newsletter. Measuring content against a set of objectives is one way to accomplish this.

What is the purpose of your newsletter? What are you trying to deliver to your readers?

Another way is simply to remember what you’re publishing — a “news” letter. After all, “newsletter” is the marriage of two common words: “news” and “letter.” If you make your newsletter newsy, providing readers the latest information on subjects they care about, you can’t go wrong.

Does all content have to be cutting-edge news? No. Editorial content can be a new slant on an old subject. It can be time-tested tips that are good reminders to an interested audience. Or sometimes it’s information that isn’t new but useful to people in a new stage of life — parenting, for instance.

Whatever the content, it should be relevant to readers. If unsure, just ask yourself: How can readers use this information? Is there take-away value?

The second word, “letter,” helps to establish a writing style and tone. I like to write articles and newsletters as if I’m writing to one person in a friendly, conversational tone.

Newsletters are often a dialogue with customers — the lifeblood of your business — so the tone, while friendly, needs to be respectful. Just avoid writing newsletters that are stiff, formal and self-important.

Story Ideas

In the abstract, thinking “news” is great. However, a few concrete ideas can help kick start a newsletter. Here is a partial list:

* News
* Product and service stories
* Product and service tips
* Special offers, promotions and sales
* Explanatory articles (how it works)
* Case histories
* Industry updates
* Do’s and don’ts
* Appropriate humor
* Quotes and testimonials
* Checklists
* Interviews
* Profiles
* Letters
* Community involvement

Want some more good ideas? Collect and read newsletters. What do you like? What can you apply?

Create a newsletter file and fill it with company and industry news items. Keep a list of ideas, talk to customers, attend trade shows and seminars, and read as much as you can.

By keeping yourself well informed, your newsletter will stay current and interesting to your readers. Finally, publish your newsletter on a regular basis and your sales are sure to increase.

(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel