Business Cards are Not an All-Access Pass

Contrary to popular (or at least common) belief, networking events, conferences, expos, etc. are not a business card collecting free-for-all aimed at building your marketing distribution list and boosting your online network.

In order to not turn connections – and potential clients – off, build a relationship first before you add them to your mass marketing distribution list. Or, upon taking their business card, simply ask if they would like to be added to your monthly newsletter list and be sure to give them several solid reasons as to why your newsletter would be of benefit to them.

Why should you be concerned about this? Obviously, you don’t want to annoy the people who you would like to turn into clients with unwanted emails. But, more importantly, do this and your email marketing efforts could garner spam complaints creating a big headache for you in the future.

Get Connected in Your Community!

For small businesses owners, successful marketing strategies extend beyond effective SEO, social media dominance and expertly crafted ad messages. To gain credibility among your immediate target market – your local audience – it is imperative you cultivate a strong presence in your community. While you may know of many community groups, organizations and associations, it is wise to ensure they know you!

Lisa Barone recently blogged about the importance of building awareness in your local neighborhood through community involvement. Here are some easy ways Lisa has suggested to become an active member of your community.

Offer to host a class – Does your business provide a unique service that can be incorporated into a learning opportunity and, thus, a networking opportunity? Offer to host a class. A client of ProMoter specializes in helping people own their own business through franchising. To build their network of contacts and turn prospects into customers, the company hosts free monthly seminars with expert speakers and topics of interest to their customer base.

Join your Chamber of Commerce and other area groups – Local Chamber of Commerce meetings are a great way – an emphasis on great! – to meet and network with other business owners. ProMoter is an active member of a variety of local city organizations including Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI), One Southern Indiana and the Jeffersontown Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, ProMoter staff members are active members of the Louisville chapter of National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and the Young Professional Association of Louisville (YPAL). Joining local affiliates of nationally recognized organizations can do a lot for your business reputation.

Donate your services – Huh? And, how is this supposed to bring in revenue? Well, sometimes smart business decisions don’t necessarily do a lot for your bottom line – in the short run. But, profits can be found if you are patient. Check out this example – a local Louisville photographer is often called upon to donate or drastically markdown her services for major group events. However, because she is known as this group’s unofficial photographer, many members call upon her services at full price creating quite the customer base. It is all about exposure – no pun intended!

Go local – As a local business you should be supporting other local businesses. Use them whenever you can. Next time you stop in at a local shop, ask to speak to the owner or manager. Brainstorm ways each business could benefit from the other’s services.

Click here to check out the complete article by Lisa: http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/06/build-awareness-in-your-community.html.

Are you well connected in the community but missing out on other marketing opportunities? ProMoter Inc. can help you unleash your business’s potential! Contact us at 502-562-1969 or email us at promoter@promoterinc.com.

Be A Fearless Marketer

In December of 2008, I blogged about ways your small business could weather the storm of a slowing economy. Fresh off a presidential election and with renewed hope of a quick (or at least steady) economic turnaround that was sure to accompany a new administration, I never imagined the storm clouds would still be hovering over small businesses in April. Nevertheless, even in extended periods of slow or stalled sales, now is the time to be a fearless marketer while your competitors stay caught out in the rain.

• Recall how you came into business with your current client roster. Think back – maybe even way back – to how you first attracted your clients. Make a list. How did you make this connection or build this relationship? At ProMoter Inc., many of our clients and contacts came from associations and groups our staff is members of. Armed with this knowledge, we keep our memberships up-to-date and actively participate in committees, boards and meetings.
• Keep wooing long-time clients. Have you been doing business with the same client for years, maybe even decades? My guess is that you don’t want to lose that client. Sure you’ve built relationships with these clients but business is business. Keep your ideas fresh, your prices competitive and your gratitude apparent. Don’t give them any reason to let their eyes wander.
• Diversify. Consumers always want more for less. Brainstorm cost effective ways to diversify your current offerings so you can sell deeper into your existing customer base.
• Rethink business as usual. Many businesses are looking to revamp their tired strategies and mode of operations. What was working most likely isn’t working now. Don’t get left behind clinging to your tired practices. First step, overhaul your marketing plan to insure you are reaching the right audiences with the right messages at the right price.

ProMoter Inc. can help with this step to guarantee you aren’t left in the rain without an umbrella. Give us a call at 502-562-1969 or email at promoter@promoterinc.com to learn what we can do for you!

E-Newsletters are a Great Way to Build Contacts

Marketing in today’s economy is all about gathering contacts and building relationships with those connections. Not to worry, there are more ways to making connections than going to 7 a.m. networking events or happy hour socials. E-newsletter campaigns are a great way to build and maintain your email lists. If done well and consistently, you may acquire new business and establish customer loyalty.

Neil Anuskiewicz and SmartBiz.com have outlined six strategies your small business should utilize in order to build and maintain your email list through e-newsletters.

1. Make your e-newsletter sign-up forms easy to find. If you made the effort to create an e-newsletter and to install sign-up buttons on your Web site, be sure they are not hidden. If a unique visitor comes to your site and bounces off without realizing you had an e-newsletter, then you have missed out on a valuable prospect for your product or service. Be sure to put your sign-up buttons in prominent places and on as many pages as you find appropriate.

2. Build trust, have a privacy policy. In a spam age, people are hesitant to dole out their email addresses. Make sure you have a clearly stated privacy policy positioned in a noticeable area on the e-newsletter. By taking this extra step, you are building trust with your clientele.

3. Provide incentives to subscribers. Hopefully the prospect of receiving valuable information through your e-newsletter will be enough to entice visitors to subscribe. But, if in the off chance it isn’t, try offering special discounts that are exclusive to e-newsletter subscribers.

4. Ask for the right amount of information. Essentially, you have created an e-newsletter to garner contact information from current and prospective clients. That being said, you need more information than a simple email address in order to build a relationship with that contact. However, if you make the form too long, people are likely to bounce off of your page. Stick with the basics – name, company, phone number and email address.

5. Use the Forward to a Friend feature of your ESP. Most Email Service Providers (EPS) have a forward to a friend feature. If your subscribers like your content or know of someone who would benefit from the information, most will forward to a friend yielding you more subscribers and contacts. To make it easier to the receiver of a forwarded email to subscribe to the list, you might want to put a link to the subscription form in the email.

6. Share your Knowledge. Sharing your industry knowledge in articles, blog posts, etc. can drive more traffic to your website and get more email list subscribers. By creating the image that you are an expert in your field, people will be more likely to subscribe to your e-newsletter.

Gathering email addresses for email campaigns like e-newsletters is only the first step. Next, you will need to build a relationship with those contacts. Creative and consistent e-newsletters is one means of establishing that relationship. However, don’t feel shy about personally contacting new subscribers. You may be surprised in the potential behind those contacts!

For more on this article, be sure to check out http://www.smartbiz.com/article/articleview/2510/2/53/.

Want to create an e-newsletter for your business and start building your email lists? ProMoter Inc. can help. Contact us at 502-562-1969 or promoter@promoterinc.com.

Social Networking: The New Frontier in Making Business Connections

Whether you are ready or not, social networking has quickly emerged as the new frontier in making business connections with the number of “connections” or “friends” being just as important as the number of business cards in your rolodex.

“Through social networking sites I have facilitated introductions and cultivated relationships through mutual friends. Those new relationships generated business opportunities for me and for my contacts,” said Michael Gabhart, sales consultant for U.S. Voice & Data.

Social networking sites offer the user a variety of beneficial applications including the ability to connect with prospective employees. With personal profiles available on most social networking sites, you as the employer have the ability to examine prospective employees’ sites and weed out any that do not seem to fit your company’s mission or agenda. Social networking sites are also great vehicles for users to develop stronger relationships with prospects and customers, and often remove geographic barriers from business.

Because social networking is relatively new to those in the business world, it is important to avoid many of the unfavorable applications so be wary of which social networks you join and how you utilize those that you do. It is important that you maintain a professional profile when using a social network for business purposes. Ensure that you have a clear agenda and purpose for utilizing a social network.

• ClassMates.com began as a resource for users to connect and keep in touch with friends from kindergarten through college. The site is free, but offers more advanced applications and services to members for a minimal fee.

• LinkedIn is a professional, business networking site aimed at building connections with like-minded business people who may otherwise be out of reach. LinkedIn allows the user to post their career details within their profile. Contacts can be made with members who are potential or current clients, future employees or employers or act as liaisons or “connections” to such members. The site is free, but offers premium services to power users for a fee.

• Facebook allows individuals to connect with friends and colleagues as well as meet new people with similar interests or friends in common. Facebook is a social networking site with an immense variety of applications and a large community of active users. While this site is very popular among individuals of all ages, its business functions are limited.

• MySpace was established early on and continues to be popular among users of all ages, cultures and socio-economic status. While it has proven to be a launching pad for the careers of many successful musicians, it is also home to viruses, spam and questionable content including a large underbelly contingent.

• Second Life operates as a virtual world for computer users with more advanced skills (although with tutorials a beginner is said to be able to use this program with some ease). Individuals can create an avatar or “resident” and live within a virtual society steeped with commercialism. Opportunities are available to sell advertising space or “property” and purchase “islands” in which your company can virtually operate. In its ideal form, Second Life can be used as a means of business-to-business communications and a way for businesses to connect with their customers. However, some security concerns exist within this system including how to guarantee confidentiality.

Looking to make social networking work for you and your business? ProMoter Inc. can help. Contact us at 502.562.1969.