Category: Sales & Marketing

Article Contributed by James Burbank

Most business owner whose business has just started to grow and who are getting into the whole marketing game find that the search for the right marketing agency is not the simplest task in the world. In fact, after a while, it becomes quite obvious that this is a task of herculean proportions and something that has to be approached with due diligence and prudence. In the following text, you will find a few questions that you need to ask yourself as a business owner when looking for your perfect marketing agency.

Will I benefit from the services of a marketing agency?

Before you actually start looking at different marketing agencies that are available to you, you need to take a good hard look at whether you actually need the services of such an agency. There are cases in which business owners hire marketing agencies simply because they think they earn enough and that this automatically means they need marketing experts.

You have to work out whether a marketing agency will be able to bring you new business and whether it will pay off for you. If it is going to be an uphill battle where you will be throwing money at an agency and they will be struggling to find a single new customer. It is a cliché, but it all comes down to the return on investment.

What do I need from my marketing agency?

Once you have definitely decided that you need a marketing agency, you need to work out for yourself what it is exactly that you need from them. You may need just a market research and a few ideas on what you can do; you may need a comprehensive marketing campaign that will last more than a year and that will involve your entire brand, it all depends.

The reason why you need to get this straight is that this will be the most important factor in choosing the marketing agency. You will need to find the experts in that particular field. It is unrealistic to expect that every marketing agency does everything perfectly.

Can I trust this marketing agency?

You will never hire a marketing agency just because their name sounds cool. You will be checking their reputability; you will be checking their track record and you will even be checking their finances if you are smart. You can find plenty of information on pretty much every agency these days and it has become very difficult for them to hide things that they do not want known. Still, with all the information that you can get anywhere you look, the best thing is to get a recommendation from another business owner that you trust.

Can I work with these people?

Sooner or later, you will meet with the people from the agencies that you have narrowed down your search to and this is where you need to ask yourself whether they are people with whom you will want to work. This is more important in this industry than in most other that may be involved with your business. For example, when you are looking for an accountant firm, you just need someone who is reputable and know their stuff.

With a marketing agency, it goes deeper. They will need to understand you and your business and you will need to be able to work with them towards getting the best possible service that you deserve. We are not saying that you need to be best friends with your marketing people, but they should be more than just a service.

About the Author

James Burbank has spent years in marketing and brand promotion for US-based businesses in Australia and Europe and currently blogs from home on a number of subjects. For anyone’s marketing needs, he always recommends Marketing Angels, a marketing firm from Sydney, Australia.

Article Contributed by Sophie Andersen

Taking part in trade shows can be really useful and fruitful for every company. By participating in such events, you get to know other companies’ tricks and strategies and what is sometimes even more important, other companies also notice you. Beside fellow businesspeople, you also get in contact with the trade visitors. One of the crucial outcomes of being present at a trade show is representing your business and products, too.

Ready-made products

When it comes to products, the best advertisement for every business is to offer the potential customers to try their products. If you make something edible, you need to have large quantities of the given goods at the stand, so that passers-by and representatives of other companies get an opportunity to try your products.

Beside your own products, you always need to have some other giveaways. If the trade show and the branch you are a part of do not actual deal with self-made production, but you sell something, always have stacks of presents for the clients. Speaking from my own experience, it is obvious that many stands and book fairs and trade shows suffer from the lack of originality and creativity. If you visit several book fairs in one year, you will see that most publishing houses give discounts for the same books and even their booths look the same at different fairs. That is not a wise marketing strategy. You always have to have a certain quantity of giveaways and promotional materials with your company’s emblem on them.

Raffle and unusual promo items

Promotional materials can really increase the number of people who attend your booth and want to buy your products. Too many trade show participants have the same approach – pens, pencils, plastic bags, T-shirts and that is about it. If you all giveaway the same promo items, then none of you will be visible to other clients. Instead of wasting your money on the pen print, you could invest in a raffle. One member of promoting staff could stand at a particularly crowded corner at the fair and hand out leaflets for the raffle. Also, the leaflets should have a small map of the show and a mark to point at your place. In addition to that, there should be a serial number of the leaflet-ticket and the time of the raffle. The prizes for the raffle could range from umbrellas with your company’s name on them to thin raincoats in your company’s colours and other unconventional items. When throwing a raffle, it would also be great that you have a large promoting banner or a promotional marquee in colours and logo(s) of your company, too.

The booth spot

A very interesting thing when it comes to trade shows is the place for your booth, too. If you know that some companies overlap with your business targets, move from them, to the area where there are no rivals. However, you need to be aware that some trade shows insist on grouping the manufacturers of similar products in the same area. Whatever the case is, you always need to try to stick out and attract customers with the tips from this text.

About the Author:

Sophie Andersen is a marketing expert at Top Hat Marquees at Sydney. She is in charge for designing promotional marquee and make them look awesome at trade shows. Sophie loves to write and share her expertise.

You may have heard it said ‘Stories Sell’.  It’s true.  We really connect to a good story and it’s a proven marketing and sales tactic.

You know this instinctively, you only buy something when you really ‘believe’ it.  And you can take any example from your own life.  Think about the last purchase you made; what was the pitch?  What did you believe when you bought it?  I can guarantee you, it was a great story.

However, I’m not writing about new ‘tactics’ here.  I want to write about something much more authentic and personal than the latest proven business building gimmick.

And what’s this got to do with your business?  Well you can be the very best in the world at what you do but if you can’t sell your services, you simply don’t have a business.

Here are the 5 reasons your business needs YOUR story and these are also the 5 ways you can build your business authentically and easily.

1. Your Story is evidence of your expertise.  What you have experienced; including your personal life events, research, education and approach, is the best evidence of why you are perfectly placed to provide your service to others.
2. Your Story creates powerful connect. When we hear your authentic story we are reminded of our own related experiences and instinctively understand that you get it!
3. Your Story is inspiring. Your potential clients are struggling to achieve something.  You have grown beyond that struggle so by telling that story you are inspiring others.
4. Your Story is the key to attracting clients.  Your story differentiates you from others in your market.  People always remember the story and be attracted by it. You show up as human, approachable, knowledgeable and most importantly, relevant.  Clients find you when you start telling your story.
5. Your Story makes you money.    Add up all of what’s said before…more connection, more expertise, more inspiration, more clients – yes, it means you will make more money and have a thriving business.  Now what business owner  would say no to that!

You need a great story.  And you don’t have to make it up.  You have a great story.  Don’t doubt it.  You story is who you are, it’s how you create your reality, it’s how you show up.

Start showing up powerfully with your authentic, compelling story – your business will thank you for it!

New Webcomics series brought to you by #entrepreneurfail and GetEntrepreneurial.com. Enjoy!

As alluring as social media is, it is fleeting and many people never see the posts more than once if at all.

Email provides one of the highest conversions in online marketing because everyone checks their emails – even if only looking at the subject line, and it is always in their inbox until deletion. Catching folks on social media is hit-or- miss.

Unfortunately, the state of email marketing generally consists of the following:

• Too much email
• Not enough email
• Unclear calls to action
• Irrelevant information
• Too selly sell

The way to combat the “Wham bam, fear of SPAM” blues, here are some tips and tricks to nurture your email subscribers, and not be an #entrepreneurfail:

• Remember, the ideal balance is 80% content and 20% sales-y emails
• Offer them discounts that you don’t put on social media (and tell them that it’s exclusive for them)
• Encourage engagement by running a contest, asking for votes or design ideas, and reward the winning entries – and give them a little fame
• You don’t have to only share your own content – curate other articles/posts/content out there and share with your subscribers
• Aim to reach out to your email list at a minimum 1-2 times a week (I’m guilty of failing at this one, as my subscribers may forget about me between contacts)
• It’s ok if people unsubscribe since you want only your true future potential customers.
• The rest will remember your site and come to it as necessary
• Always have a call-to-action in the email
• Include all your social media links at the bottom of the email and include links to your site on the email
• Include a button that says forward to a friend on the email
• In the future consider setting up an autoresponder (all the mail clients have it MailChimp, Constant Contact, AWeber, etc etc) which will automatically send pre-planned emails to your new subscribers

The subject line is the most important – make it irresistible and compelling so they have to open the email:

• You’ll Never Believe…
• You won’t want to miss this…
• Jaw-dropping _____ for the new year
• Yes, You could be <enter someone famous> 

Do you use email to reach out to your potential customers? Tell us more in the comments below. 

This comic was created by Kriti Vichare for #entrepreneurfail: Startup Success.

Article Contributed by James Burbank

There is nothing wrong with all the revolutionary new ways of promoting your small business that we are being introduced almost daily, it seems, such as using online image services for marketing, using cloud services for your business needs and so on. However, more often than not, small businesses work in fields where the more traditional business and marketing methods are more useful. These are 5 good old-fashioned and relatively cheap ways in which you can promote your small business.

1. Invite people out to meals

It does not get much old-fashioned than this. Setting up a business meeting over a lunch or dinner and doing business face to face with your potential client or partner or supplier. This is a perfect way to do business because people tend to get more relaxed in less-than-absolutely-professional setting where they can get something to eat and drink. It becomes much easier to do business and promote your own firm or company or store.

In addition, this helps build a relationship that will be at least a tad more than just a professional connection. Of course, it goes without saying that you need to be pleasant and to have the feel for the occasion. In short, do not get drunk and start ranting on about something that the person(s) opposite you are absolutely not interested in.

2. Get involved with the local community

Unless you are providing a remote service across oceans, it is very likely that your small business will be rather local in nature. The relations that you develop in the start with your local community will provide a theme for your business going forward. No one wants to deal with a business that, when starting off, bought and demolished a local community center because the location was neat.

You can organize local events and charities that will contribute to your local community. And let’s be honest, there are not that many local communities that could not use a bit of help. Depending on your line of business, you can organize days when you will help your local community in more practical ways as well.

3. Attend trade shows

When your small business is still in its infancy, it is more likely than not that your budget will not allow you to set up your own exhibition stands and exhibit yourself (although this is something to look forward to). However, this should never stop you from attending local, regional and national trade shows and fairs from your field of expertise.

Trade shows are a unique opportunity for networking and also promoting your brand by getting in touch with your potential competition (and having a sneaky peek, why not?), your potential partners and al the potential clients and customers that will attend the trade shows in droves. Trade shows are an exquisite source of information on what is happening in your field and what you might do yourself.

4. Become the source for local media

Local media may be in decline when it comes to producing original content and when it comes to exposure in today’s interconnected world, but they still have an involved and passionate community that gets its information from this source and who are likely to react and act upon something they see or read in local media.

The best way to get in touch with local media is to approach them when they are doing a piece on something that is in your area of expertise. Do not insist on being quoted at first. In time, they will start quoting you and approaching you as a trusted source of information/expert. This will give you exposure that you would spend quite a lot of money on if you went with paid advertising and it won’t cost you a dime.

5. Organize local events

Organizing an event seems like too large a bite for a small business but the secret here is to go small and go alternative. Instead of renting out a giant hall in the local hotel, find a small space where you can organize a movie night with a projector and complimentary drinks. Organize a race for the local community or an athletic event of some kind at your local park.

The important thing here is to make sure your local community knows about your event and that you do not try to push your brand or your products directly. People will, sooner or later, start talking about you and your rating in your local community will only grow this way. Plus, you can always use such events to feel the pulse of your potential customer/client base.

About the Author

James Burbank has spent years in marketing and brand promotion for US-based businesses in Australia and Europe. Currently, he works from home back in the States and writes for NVP Exhibits, sharing his experience with anyone who wants to learn more about his fields of expertise. You can find James on Twitter too – @jburbank2019.