Monthly Archives: June 2009

Branding, Business Cards, Offline Promotions

Must-Have Marketing Materials for Start-Up Businesses

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Unfortunately, when a business is just getting started, advertising is one of the first things to be left on the backburner. While it is very important to get your name out into the public, when you are scraping to pay the bills and stay afloat, marketing quickly becomes an expendable expense. There are, however, a few marketing items that are absolutely essential for a start-up business to invest in if it expects to survive. No matter how the budget stands, these items are must-haves, and all expenses should be set aside to make space for them. Business cards, postcards, a letterhead and brochures are marketing materials that you absolutely cannot do without.

Business cards are the first marketing item that many small businesses have trouble getting by without. Whenever you meet an individual who is interested in your business, it is essential to hand them a business card. Every customer served well should leave your company with a card. Every local establishment that will allow it should have your business card on its bulletin board. Very simply, a business card will do wonders for word of mouth advertising. While that alone is not enough to make your company flourish, it can keep you afloat while you settle in.

A good business card can be difficult to design, but there are a few basic tactics to help you decide which path to take. The first suggestion is to keep it simple. Too much text, and an excessive design can clutter your card and distract your consumer from the important information. Stick to the essentials when it comes to text, and keep visual flair simple. The second suggestion is to include something to make your card stand out. Whether it is an especially attractive logo, a slightly unconventional material, a creative, but still functional shape, or an excellent use of a unified color scheme, your card needs to stand out in some way. The third suggestion for business cards is not to settle for something cheap. While it is tempting to skimp a little here and there to save money, it is crucial to establish your company as a professional organization. Having a high quality business card is a great step towards accomplishing that goal.

A second important basic marketing item is a postcard. Postcards are great because they are simple, cheap and easy for potential customers to keep. Use postcards to announce your company’s grand opening, and have the postcard act as a coupon when brought in with the customer. You could also consider running a contest through the postcards. Whatever you do, make sure you have a direct benefit to your customer when it comes to the postcard. It needs to be more than just a business card. Make sure you give the person who receives the postcard in the mail a reason to keep it hanging up on the bulletin board, or on their refrigerator. Beyond that, keeping all basic company information on the card and taking advantage of how cheap they are to mail by sending one to everybody in your area will ensure that you will not have wasted your money.

Letterheads and brochures are two other important marketing devices for your start up business. Letterheads exude professionalism, and a good one will get the attention of consumers and make them think of you in a similar way to how they think of major companies in your field. Giving that sense of establishment to your new company will help your potential customers develop an essential trust with you. Gaining the trust of consumers is especially important for a start-up business to become successful. Brochures can help you develop that sense of trust and professionalism further. In many cases, customers will want to see tangible results of your services before they will trust you enough to give you their money. Having a brochure with sample products, testimonials and other similar items is a great way to give potential customers that sense of security that they need. A brochure can be one of your greatest tools to turn potential customers into satisfied customers.

Maintaining your budget as a start-up business can be one of the hardest tasks you will face. Balancing funds coming in with those going out can be daunting and can easily leave you tempted to cut spending to a minimum. While that can be a wise conclusion, there are certain elements of marketing that are undoubtedly must-haves, and should never be cut. Business cards help you reach new consumers, and establish your professionalism. Postcards can get your name out to the masses, while also giving people a direct reason to visit you on location. Letterheads and brochures give you the chance to establish a sense of trust with customers, furthering your professional reputation. These four elements of marketing are things that a young business can just not do without.

About The Author

Nick Kakolowski is a freelance writer who writes about business and networking, often describing is specific aspect of networking such as utilizing printing services .

Source: Articlecity.com

Branding, Offline Promotions, Referral Marketing, Website Marketing

6 Successful Techniques for Promoting a Lawn Service or Landscaping Business

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There are definite advantages to owning a landscaping or lawn business. There are of course the obvious advantages of being outdoors all day enjoying the fresh air and not being stuck behind a desk in the same office day after day. But to be successful it requires dedication and a commitment to succeed. This can involve long hours beginning early in the morning and going until dusk. You’re out servicing your clients all day and you do not have a great deal of time to be worrying about marketing and promotion. But if you neglect to maintain effective marketing you will fail.

Luckily there are some inexpensive yet very effective ways to promote your landscaping business that do not require a substantial amount of time. You have certain advantages over many other businesses when it comes to promotional opportunities. One of the major assets you have when it comes to promoting is your visibility. You and your crew are in the public eye the entire day. If you are not using this visibility to your benefit your passing up a enormous opportunity.

Let’s take a look at some of the more successful companies that provide similar services. The main ones that come to mind are True Green and Chem Lawn. There are some very important keys to the way they take full advantage of their high profile services. These factors are major contributors to the success and recognitions of their brands.

1. Professional looking uniformed staff.
One of the most important things you can remember is that “Image is Everything.” Think about it. If given the choice most people would choose the person in the professional looking uniform over the guy in the wife-beater t-shirt wearing a bandana and covered in tattoos. The t-shirt guy might be more skilled but he doesn’t come across as a professional and that can turn away potential clients. We’re not talking suit and tie. It can be as simple as a pair of dark work pants or short pants with a dark colored shirt that of course is clearly identified with the name of your company. The best option would be a small logo on the front breast and large on the back of the shirt with the phone number. In addition to maintaining a professional appearance, wearing a uniform like this is also helping to advertise your business. Everyone that drives will be able to see your name on the shirts and associate that name with the beautiful property that you are working on.

2. Vehicles are mobile billboards.
The name of your company and Phone number should appear prominently on all your company vehicles. If you are pulling open trailers there should be panels on both sides displaying your logo and contact info. Think about how many people see your vehicles during the course of a day; potentially thousands. You may want to consider vehicle wraps for your vans or pick-up trucks. But at the very least make sure that your name is displayed on your vehicles – Big and Bold.

3. Canvas the neighborhood.
You might be working a property on a certain street and there might be 30 – 40 homes within a couple of blocks. While you are taking care of the property send one of your staff out to put door hangers on all the houses close by. Let them know that you’re working in their neighborhood and offer them an incentive to try out your service. Door Hangers are fairly inexpensive to print but can go a long way in promoting you business. If you put them out in every neighborhood you work in your name will slowly become more recognizable. This will turn into more business.

4. Get yourself into the homes.
Direct mail is still one of the most effective forms of promotion. The key is to be consistent. If you mail out a postcard to an area one time and then never do it again because you didn’t get a hundred new customers you’re missing the point. It’s true that most of the postcards you send will end up in the trash. So what? The average response rate on a postcard mailing is about .25% – .5%. This means that if you mail 5000 pieces you could see anywhere from 10 to 25 calls. If you generally charge $60 per month for your service one customer is worth about $720 over 12 months. If your mailing cost $2000 you would need to sign up 3 new accounts to make it a success. But it may take a couple of mailings to the response you’re looking for.

5. Get in their web space.
If you do not have a web site yet, I only have one question for you. Why Not? You can have a basic website designed for around $600 that will look great. All of your promotion should have your website address on it. The benefit of a website over other types of promotion is that there is no limit to the amount of information that you can put on it. You can have pages explaining all the different services that you offer; a gallery page featuring photos some of the nicer properties that you maintain; a contact page where connect with you; a page featuring testimonials from your happy customers.

6. Get in their circle of friends.
Always ask for referrals. Offer your customers incentive to help you get new customers. Most people are happy to let their friends know about their great lawn guy. Use this to your benefit. Offer gift cards to local restaurants or a free month of service if their friend signs up.

As you can see with a minimal budget and a small investment of time you can assemble a substantial promotional campaign using some assets that you already have. They key to promoting any business is to get your name in front of as many people as possible as often as possible and with the techniques explained in this article you will be able to do that quite effectively.

About the Author

Ray Boucher is a marketing profesional and owner of inthinktive: a creative firm located in Dunedin, FL
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Branding

Can A Strong Brand Beat a Recession?

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Despite dismal economic and business conditions, two companies with strong brands seem to be oblivious to the chaos that surrounds them. In an environment that seems to have no silver lining, Colgate Palmolive and Apple Computer have posted results recently that would make any business envious. How did they do it? Good management and a strong brand appear to be the magical combination to beat even the worst of recessionary conditions.The current economic environment over the past 12 months has been anything but encouraging. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and NASDAQ Indices are down over 35% since this time last year. The U.S. unemployment rate has risen by 2.3 percentage points – to 7.2 percent – since the start of the recession in December 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Sentiment Index reached a 28-year low in 2008, according to the University of Michigan.

Needless to say, the past 12 months have not been conducive to profitable business growth. Yet two companies with strong brands have managed to weather the storm quite well. The strength of their brands has instilled deep customer loyalty that appears to be unbreakable, even when consumer spending is under tremendous pressure.

As economic prognosticators continue to predict doom and gloom, consumers appear willing to spend their hard-earned and well-guarded cash on the brands that they love and trust the most. Consider the recent earnings reports from two brands that lead their respective product categories: Colgate Palmolive and Apple.

Colgate’s (CL) 2008 fourth quarter earnings jumped 11%. Their net income rose to $401.2 million, or 73 cents a share, from $361.2 million, or 65 cents a share, a year earlier. The company, whose brands include Colgate toothpaste, Irish Spring soap and Ajax cleaner, said sales rose to $3.21 billion from $2.9 billion a year earlier. Colgate achieved this stellar performance despite the reduction of worldwide advertising costs by 140 basis points.

Apple (AAPL) recently reported the best quarterly revenue and earnings in the company’s prestigious history. The company posted record revenue of $10.17 billion and record net quarterly profit of $1.61 billion. All of Apple’s key brands showed strong growth: Apple Macintosh sales grew 9%, iPod sales grew 3%, and iPhones sales grew 88% over the year-ago quarter.

These companies were able to achieve outstanding results in a recessionary environment by establishing and managing a strong brand. That is good news for businesses and economists that are seeking a path to success through the fog of recession.

Apparently, a strong brand can beat a recession. Establishing a strong brand just may be the most critical strategy for any company looking to weather the current – or future – economic storms.

Establishing a strong brand, however, does not happen overnight. A brand is not simply a logo, a tag line, nor a snappy ad campaign. The brand, in fact, is not even defined by the company – but rather the perception that is created in the minds of the consumer. Establishing such a strong and differentiated brand perception takes time and an outstanding customer experience.

As a sign of hope in tough times, companies that have successfully built a strong brand have shown that they can indeed beat the recession.

About the Author

Robert Howard is the Founder and Chief Executive of ClearBrick LLC, a leading provider of customer experience business solutions, research, and online customer experience advice.