Everybody loves a bargain, and that is why discount coupons are so popular. Indeed, just the perception that some product or service is a bargain can drive sales. Think of grocery stores that offer buy one, get one free coupons as an example. If roasts are $5.50 a pound, but there is a BOGO offer, the net price is really $2.75 per pound. Now, if that is roughly equivalent to the sale price that they sometimes offer, it really isn’t that great of a value. However, I would hazard a guess that the BOGO coupon sells more of those chuck roasts because the bargain perception is there.

Discount coupons for many types of services and products can be offered. They can be an integral part of a marketing campaign, and lend that bargain perception that drives traffic and sales to a business. Certainly they cannot build customer loyalty, but they are wonderful for generating awareness of a business, helping a business to be more competitive against large or chain stores, and extending market reach of a small business. Once they come through the door, it is the merchant’s job to WOW them and keep them coming back.

Local search marketing sites offer community building networks, local support structures, and the go green initiative all wrapped up in one neat package. These sites give businesses the opportunity to increase sales while helping to improve the community and maximize their advertising dollars. The sites allow each business to advertise and they will do significant internet marketing on behalf of the community as a whole and the integral pieces of it by promoting the business to thousands of individual buyers and other businesses who are interested in local marketing.

Businesses can design a discount coupons program that gets attention from the community. Another plus in our tech savvy world is that discount coupons can be printed or delivered by text message to potential buyers right on their cell phones. Coupons can be great tools to find out what local buyer’s hot buttons are. Create a few different offers and see which is the most popular, and then leverage that knowledge for the next campaign.

Because local community sites are visited for news and events, they are frequented more often than an individual business’s site would be. Take advantage of that by offering a great discount coupon to get new customers in the door, and then dazzle them with your service or product to keep them coming back for life!

Denise Gabbard is a professional writer with a keen interest in online marketing of all types, including discount coupons programs that can extend your local reach around the world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denise_Gabbard

Everybody loves a bargain, and that is why discount coupons are so popular. Indeed, just the perception that some product or service is a bargain can drive sales. Think of grocery stores that offer buy one, get one free coupons as an example. If roasts are $5.50 a pound, but there is a BOGO offer, the net price is really $2.75 per pound. Now, if that is roughly equivalent to the sale price that they sometimes offer, it really isn’t that great of a value. However, I would hazard a guess that the BOGO coupon sells more of those chuck roasts because the bargain perception is there.

Discount coupons for many types of services and products can be offered. They can be an integral part of a marketing campaign, and lend that bargain perception that drives traffic and sales to a business. Certainly they cannot build customer loyalty, but they are wonderful for generating awareness of a business, helping a business to be more competitive against large or chain stores, and extending market reach of a small business. Once they come through the door, it is the merchant’s job to WOW them and keep them coming back.

Local search marketing sites offer community building networks, local support structures, and the go green initiative all wrapped up in one neat package. These sites give businesses the opportunity to increase sales while helping to improve the community and maximize their advertising dollars. The sites allow each business to advertise and they will do significant internet marketing on behalf of the community as a whole and the integral pieces of it by promoting the business to thousands of individual buyers and other businesses who are interested in local marketing.

Businesses can design a discount coupons program that gets attention from the community. Another plus in our tech savvy world is that discount coupons can be printed or delivered by text message to potential buyers right on their cell phones. Coupons can be great tools to find out what local buyer’s hot buttons are. Create a few different offers and see which is the most popular, and then leverage that knowledge for the next campaign.

Because local community sites are visited for news and events, they are frequented more often than an individual business’s site would be. Take advantage of that by offering a great discount coupon to get new customers in the door, and then dazzle them with your service or product to keep them coming back for life!

Denise Gabbard is a professional writer with a keen interest in online marketing of all types, including discount coupons programs that can extend your local reach around the world.

Article Source:  EzineArticles.com/

Photo by lirontockerBuilding branded profiles, engaging prospects and connecting with potential employees and strategic partners are all powerful ways to tap into Facebook and  LinkedIn.

But, for the typical small business, there may actually be some equally important social networks you may not be so familiar with. The big networks get all the press, but small networks, say for instance, like the connectodex found here at OpenForum may prove tremendously valuable for small business folks due to the small size and targeted focus of the membership.

The list below represents some of the more active networks I’ve encountered when it come to small business social networking.

Visit a handful of these sites and choose several that feel right for your business. Once you build a profile, taking full advantage of the opportunity to link to your primary business offer full descriptions of your products and services, spend enough time to go a bit deeper.

Write or republish some articles or blog content, search and identify a dozen or so people to connect with, and give some advice, point to someone’s great content or answer questions from other members.

Don’t try to jump into every new network you can find, but do jump into a few outside of Facebook and LinkedIn and make yourself a bit of a larger fish in these smaller ponds.

In addition to OpenForum check these networks out:

• Biznik – this network for small business folks is blending online and offline by allowing members to collect by city and host and promote local events

• StartUpNation – a wealth of information focused on startups and very active community

• Wall St Journal – community build around subscribers  and geared, as one might suspect to professionals and financial folks

• Small Business Brief – heavy dose of search engine related content but very active small business focus

• Inc magazine – another popular business related magazine with community of entrepreneurs

• StartUp Biz – very fast growing network with lots of tools to promote yourself

• PartnerUp – small business focus and big on helping people find answers and connections for the things they need

• BizSugar – allows you to submit, share and vote for the best business information links on the Internet.. Great place to promote and discover your small business content

• CoFoundr – Programmers and designers use the site to find co-founders, build teams, and get advice.

• Entrepreneur magazine – Entrepreneur magazine’s community site has a lot of activity and content

• Business Week Exchange – Site from Business Week magazine is a great place to promote and find content on the web, tends to be a bit larger business focused

• Naymz – one of the better sites for those focused on building personal brands – highly indexed in the search engines

Image credit: andresmh

John Jantsch is a marketing and digital technology coach, award winning social media publisher and author of Duct Tape Marketing.

For entrepreneurs, “going local” is an important aspect of your marketing. For many small businesses all marketing is local marketing.

The three keys to community marketing are as follows:

1. Get local: target your marketing efforts down to the neighborhood level

2. Get involved: participate in the community to generate visibility and good will

3. Get personal: as much as possible, market on a one-to-one, face-to-face basis

Here are some tips and techniques to get you started:

Use local city-specific Web sites and local portals

City and town Web sites, as well as local versions of major portals, are growing in number and popularity. Maintain a presence on local sites by providing content  or by advertising. In addition to local versions of AOL’s Cityguide, community-oriented Web sites like Yelp.com and Judysbook.com (which has the added advantage of covering suburbs and small towns in addition to major cities) are becoming more common.

Use local search engines and directories

Make sure you’re listed with local search engines and city-specific directories. Local.com and CitySearch are two such search engines. A newer, but more “hyper-local” site is Backfence.com.

Set your Google ad to appear locally

If you operate a local business and advertise on Google, you can target local customers only. Google lets you set ads to appear only to people in a particular city, state or region. In the AdWords section, click on “For local businesses” under “How it works.”

Get involved in your community

Volunteer, serve on local boards, participate in your local Chamber of Commerce and work for local charities as a way to grow your grassroots marketing efforts. You may find that your neighbors become your customers. For volunteer opportunities, visit idealist.org, The United Way, or Rotary International.

Support community events

Take your community involvement one step further by supporting community events. Sponsor a youth hockey team, or get involved with local events and activities. Small business associations such as SCORE offer tips for establishing a strong presence in your local community. Suggestions include starting a local newsletter or creating a local advisory board made up of customers. John Jantsch’s “Duct Tape Marketing” blog’s “In your own backyard” section is insightful as well.

Make the most of local media and publicity opportunities

Generate awareness for your business locally by writing op-eds in the local newspaper, getting booked on local radio talk shows, and advertising in the good, old-fashioned Yellow Pages. Craigslist continues to be an excellent local resource. For help getting booked on radio talk shows and otherwise generating local publicity, seek out the services of a good local public relations consultant by searching the directory of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Other local marketing options to keep in mind…

* Explore cause-related marketing opportunities to generate good will for your company.

* Consider taping a TV show on your local public access station  it’s usually free.

* Give your Web site or blog a local focus or start a local blog.

* Develop a customer advisory board to get input from local customers.

* Create alliances with non-competing businesses  I’ll help you if you help me.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/local-marketing-tips-and-tricks-340864.html

About the Author:

Lou Bortone is a former radio and television executive who now serves as a marketing and branding consultant. He is the author of “Wiseguy Wisdom: Success Secrets from Godfathers to Goodfellas.” His website is: http://www.VirtualGodfather.com