Posts Tagged marketing strategies
Make Money During Your Down Time
Today I found an article at MainStreet.com that can apply to both small business owners and their small businesses. In “4 Ways to Make Money on a Day Off,” Stacy Baker gives a few pointers on how to use your free time to bring in—or save—a little money. Her ideas are geared toward individuals, but I think they can apply to businesses as well.
Baker describes how one can turn their passions and hobbies into money-making ventures. Many small business owners have already done this—a lot of startups were the result of someone wanting to turn their hobby into a job. But your small business can also make a little extra money by catering to its customers’ passions. Classes or workshops are a great example of this. If you provide goods to a particular group, you can also offer them the chance to enjoy using these goods at your store. Cooking classes, wine tastings, scrapbooking workshops, and sport training sessions are just some of the activities your business can offer during its off time that can help bring in a little extra money and market your store.
Next, Baker suggests working within your network to gain valuable resources for your business. Try starting a relationship with another business owner in your community that will be advantageous to both of you. Find someone whose expertise or products you need, and who also can benefit from what you and your business offer. This type of relationship is very opportunistic from a marketing viewpoint, and you’ll also save money in the process.
Check out Baker’s full article at http://www.mainstreet.com/article/smart-spending/bargains/deals/4-ways-make-money-day.
1 comment July 16, 2009
Why Your Small Business Needs to Find Its Niche
Small business owners, whether single, married, or happily dating, can learn a thing or two from online dating sites. How? Just take a look at some of the online dating Web sites that are out there: JDate® connects Jewish singles; Trek Passions is for sci-fi fans looking for love; ScientificMatch takes the biological match-making approach by using DNA to find your perfect partner; AgeMatch caters to those seeking a May-December romance. (To see a few more unique dating sides, check out David Spark’s article “Most Unusual and Unique Online Dating Sites” over at Mashable.com.)
What do small businesses and online dating sites have in common? They both thrive when they find their niche. The “less is more” way of thinking works for online dating services because it narrows the dating field down to a group of individuals who already know they’re going to have something in common. Clients don’t have to waste their time with dates that are destined to turn out poorly, and can instead spend more time with potential Mr. or Ms. Rights. This can work for small businesses as well.
Limiting the amount of products your business offers gives you the opportunity to become more knowledgeable in your industry. Customers will be drawn to your business since they know that you’ll have both the product and the expertise they are seeking. Niche marketing is another strategy that works well for small businesses since it lowers the amount of competition they are facing, and since money isn’t being spent on marketing to the “wrong” groups, niche marketing can be very cost effective as well.
Finding a niche is a great way to improve your business’s marketing success since you can focus your efforts on your target audience, and it also allows you to become more of an authority on the products or services you offer. For more information on finding your business’s niche, marketing, and other small business topics, visit MySolutionSpot.com.
1 comment February 20, 2009
Consider Writing an EBook
Have you noticed lately that your favorite magazines are missing a few pages? The decrease in pages is a direct result of their falling advertising revenues, which, of course, was brought on by the struggling economy.
Many businesses were forced to cut their advertising budgets in 2008. Consequently, a large percentage of these businesses temporarily halted their costly advertising campaigns and began testing out new promotional strategies that were more economical. In their quest to find cost-effective alternatives, they discovered numerous online marketing strategies that were worthy of permanent positions in their marketing mix.
The EBook
We’ve previously mentioned several beneficial and affordable online marketing strategies, including blogging, local directory submissions and social media participation, but one strategy we haven’t expanded on is the eBook. These electronic publications are distributed via Internet. Because they are free to access and share, readership is often high.
The quality of an eBook matters a great deal. The author must choose a topic that his or her target audience will find intriguing if he or she wishes to attract people who will not only read the eBook, but will also forward the publication to their peers.
EBooks have the potential to greatly increase a business’s visibility, and they are free to create. You simply need a few good ideas and the information to support those ideas.
3 comments January 6, 2009
Startups: Choosing the Right Advertising Mix
Small startup businesses are sometimes at a disadvantage when it comes to choosing their advertising mix. They often lack the background knowledge that typically comes from experience and/or market research. Without access to such information, many of them mistakenly invest in costly advertising strategies that produce little or no benefit to their business.
Luckily for these businesses, the advertising world is changing dramatically. Studies have indicated that proximity plays a large role in patronage. This means that a business’s prime prospects – those who are most likely to purchase their products or services – typically reside within a short drive of its facility. As a result, some businesses can reduce or resign their high-priced mass media campaigns and place more emphasis on less expensive advertising methods that target the smaller, more segmented local audience.
Local Marketing Strategies
Many businesses continue to rely on traditional marketing strategies to reach their local market. They distribute catalogs and purchase radio, newspaper and Yellow Page® advertisements. While traditional strategies are effective, they are more powerful when supported by newer strategies like pay-per-click advertising, local search marketing and online classifieds. By employing online marketing strategies, businesses can enhance their visibility and deliver their messages directly to consumers who are searching for their products or services.
There are numerous online business resources available that will help owners of small startup businesses decide whether they need to embrace or avoid costly mass media campaigns. These resources will also help them stay abreast of new online marketing strategies. With the information they acquire, startup owners will be able to create the appropriate advertising mix for their business.
Add comment September 15, 2008
