Success Strategies for Business Owners Effective Use of Traditional Promotion Tools

Success Strategies for Business Owners

Effective Use of Traditional Promotion

Tools

Success Strategies for Business Owners 2

2

About SCORE

Douglas S. Cavanaugh

• Successful and experienced business owners and executives acting as volunteers

• Free ongoing mentoring:One-on-oneE-mailSignup on our website – Mentoring

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• Seminars, workshops and Meetup Group

• Resources for small business: manasota.score.org

http://www.score.org/


3Introductions . . . Your Expectations?

• Introduce yourself• What business are you in?• What are your expectations for the meeting today?• Record . . .

End of the meeting feedback:

Expectation

Outcome Gaps

Success Strategies for Business Owners 4www.score.org

Traditional Marketing Methods & Tools

• Advertising: radio, TV, newspaper, magazine, direct mail, yellow pages

• Public Relations: print, radio, TV• Collateral: business cards, tri-folds,

stationery, flyers• Product samples, special offers• Customer surveys• Presentation material, signage

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5Marketing Materials

Do your marketing materials need a makeover? Do they still reflect your brand?

They all need to be consistent!• Logo• Signage• Business cards• Brochures• Promotion merchandise• Website(s) and other electronic media presence


6

Customer Retention Matters !

• As your business grows, retaining existing customers is key to success

• It costs 5 times more to find a new customer than it does to keep one*

• Loyal customers can refer other customers to your business

*Source: Gallup


7Customer Service

Customer service is key to repeat business and is an important part of your Marketing plan.

Are the following aspects of your business meeting customers’ expectations?

•Physical location•Phone•Your staff•Questions, problems, answers•Customer feedback•Post-sale follow up

Customer Service is a key “face” of your business

Katrina Markoff


8

Advertising

What are the desired outcomes of advertising?

• Builds awareness• Product / Service information• Helps customers find you• Builds credibility• Drives sales


9Understanding Public Relations

Public relations is a means of generating attention from the media or another third party that can be as effective as advertising in building awareness of your business

Customers trust what they read in publications or online far more than they trust your ads

Jennifer Behar


10Writing a Press Release

Standard Format

• Headline• Date• Summary• Body• About/Boilerplate• Contact

Target to Each News/Media Outlet

• Relevant Topics• Timely• Interesting

Resource

• Newswire’s PR Toolkit

toolkit.prnewswire.co

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11Press Release Distribution

Target publications, reporters and bloggers:•E-mail release•Link to your website•Follow up

Free press release distribution services:•FreePressRelease.com•PR.com•PRLog.org•Chambers of Commerce (for members)


12Customer Loyalty Programs

Keep customers coming back with loyalty programs that can include:

• Loyalty cards• Geolocation websites• Discounts and special offers• Events • Giveaways

What has worked for you? (5 minutes)

Atul Patel


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Event Marketing

Sponsoring an Event• Keep your target customer(s) in mind• Good promotional tool for businesses with local customers• Find of events that match with your business’s

offerings and your goals. • Options include sports teams, charity events, schools, races,

fairs• Investigate event organizer

To consider:• What will you give - how much will it cost?• What will you get – make a $$ estimate of future sales


14Cause Marketing

Cause Marketing (or Relationship Marketing)

• Using positive publicity, enhancing your brand by affiliating your business with a “cause.”

• Many customers are conscious of social responsibility• Products associated with a good cause see up to a 74

percent boost in sales compared to non-cause-associated products*

• Women and millennials are especially cause-conscious• Key causes: Green, education, disaster relief, disease

research


15Return on Investment

Always assess your ROI (Return on Investment) for your marketing budget

• Set measurable goals

• Measure resultsMarketing effort that generated the saleSurvey customers

• Adjust marketing plan accordingly


16Exercise 1 Appropriate promotions for your business?

Using the Worksheet in your folder, fill in your Appropriate Promotions for your business . Think about what new promotion strategies may be able to help grow your business?

Fill-in your thoughts about the reasons for your selections. Think about:

How will this help achieve my goals?How will this reach my target customer/s?Does this fit my budget?Do I have the necessary staff?

10 minutes to work and 10 minutes to discuss

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17Exercise 1Appropriate promotions for your business?

Yes Possible No Why?

Direct Personal Contacts and Networking

Internet Website

Handbills and Flyers

Ads in Newspapers & Periodicals

Handout Brochures and Business Cards

Direct Mailing

Telephone Solicitation

Social Media - Internet

Others . . . .


Assessing Your Business

The SCORE Business Needs Assessment, it is in your packet. Download at: http://tinyurl.com/8j7fkgw

It will help you assess the current state of your business in 5 key areas:

1. Management2. Marketing3. Sales4. Finance5. Operations

Decide what additional sessions to attend Develop a customized business improvement plan

http://tinyurl.com/8j7fkgw


Business Needs Assessment - Marketing


Help Us, Help You

Please fill out the session evaluation form

Your feedback is important to help us improve our programs!



22Marketing Material Resources

Low-Cost Resources:

•99Designs.com•CrowdSPRING.com•Elance.com•Freelancer.com•Guru.com•Inkzoo.com•Logoworks.com•Marketsplash.com •VistaPrint.com


23Marketing Resources

• American Advertising Federation (www.aaf.org)• American Express OPEN Forum (www.openforum.com)• American Marketing Association (www.ama.org)• Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org)• Larry Chase’s Web Digest for Marketers (www.wdfm.com)• Marketing Hub (www.marketinghub.com)• Marketing Plan Pro (www.paloalto.com)• Marketing Profs (www.marketingprofs.com)• Marketing Research Association (www.mra-net.org)• Marketing Sherpa (www.marketingsherpa.com)• Mobile Marketing Association (http://mmaglobal.com)• Radio Advertising Bureau (www.rab.com)• SCORE (www.score.org)

http://www.aaf.org/

http://www.openforum.com/

http://www.ama.org/

http://www.the-dma.org/

http://www.wdfm.com/

http://www.marketinghub.com/

http://www.paloalto.com/

http://www.marketingprofs.com/

http://www.mra-net.org/

http://www.marketingsherpa.com/

http://mmaglobal.com/

http://www.rab.com/

http://www.score.org/

Documents

Success Strategies for Business Owners Effective Use of Traditional Promotion Tools