Small business marketing, especially in a down economy, requires a psychological aspect, as Vitaly Grinblat explains. At Welcome Express we offer an arsenal of advertising products designed for Orange County small businesses to attract new customers who are newcomers themselves. The psychology is clear – newcomers are seeking a higher percentage of solutions than those who are settled into established behavior patterns of commerce.

*What is your real goal in marketing and advertising your business?
 
Let’s look at relationships as an example. When you first meet a member of the opposite sex and you feel attracted to them, you don’t come up and after introducing yourself propose marriage, do you? There’s a process involved in creating a relationship. You first usually go on a date and get to know someone before even considering marriage. If you actually did walk up to someone you didn’t know, introduced yourself and told them that you want to skip all the steps and get married, you’ll probably never see that person again, and ruin what potentially could have been a great relationship.

It’s the same in business. Not all your prospects are ready to buy right away. Depending on what your products or services are, it may take several steps before your prospect feels comfortable enough to go ahead and do business with you.  On the other hand, there are some business that all they do is advertise to get people to know who they are and there’s no tracking mechanism for any follow up to continue the relationship building process.

That’s why direct marketing solves this problem. Using the direct marketing approach allows you to build a relationship with your prospect and give them a chance to get to see what you offer before asking them to buy. Which takes all the pressure off of you and them.

Here are the steps to successful direct marketing rollout:

1. You need to pick a specific target market. Not everyone is your prospect. In fact, the more narrow your target market is, the more likelihood of success, because you can tailor make your message to their particular needs. Dan Kennedy, of the greatest marketers in the world, calls it a perfect message to market match. [ Editor's note: Welcome Express targets the newcomer to Orange County who hasn't yet selected and made habit his or her 'chosen' merchants for doing business.]

2. Create something that you can include for free in your direct response offer. Notice I said free. Because we want the prospect to act (or respond) to your offer by calling, or going to your website, or faxing you, or walking into your store, whatever it happens to be.

This step is important, because this separates the interested prospects (leads) from the ones who have no interest. You now can continue sending information via mail or email to these people, because they’re the ones that raised their hands. Why waste your advertising dollars on people who don’t even show any interest in what you have.

3. Have a great offer with your give away. There must be a compelling reason for your prospects to act now. It must be emotionally captivating and have social proof, (testimonials). Make sure you have a strong guarantee, people love guarantees, and although if your product is good, they will not ask for a refund, but it does make them more comfortable to make the decision to buy.

The ones that don’t respond, you keep communicating with. You see the timing has to be right. They may not be ready. Money could be an issue at this moment. They may have marital problems or something else that keeps them occupied at this moment, and your offer is the last thing they’re interested, for now.  So you follow up with emails, mail, send them reminders, tips, ideas, etc… Depending on your business, this would vary, but the idea is to keep the sequence of follow up going.

4. When the prospect buys and turns into a customer, keep communicating with them, and have a back end sales strategy. In other words, have additional products and services that you could sell them later. If you don’t, your competition most definitely will.

Again depending on your product this will be different for everyone, but think of what can complement the product they purchased. If they bought carpet, they might be interested in a carpet cleaning solution, to keep it clean. They may also be in the market for furniture, drapery, and other items.

The psychology of a direct response model for small business marketing is simple, if you keep your customers’ best interests at heart and do whatever it takes to nurture those relationships, which later turn into profit centers.

*Source: Vitaly Grinblat  http://www.squidoo.com/law_of_attraction-for-abundance

The Value of Effective Networking

Networking is about building good relationships in a more formalized way. The key to being an effective networker is to see a relationships’ progression as more of a slow burn, rather than walking into a group and seeing who is instantly available to sell your products or services to.

The key to effective networking is to see what you can do for the other person. The most effective networkers are the people who are genuinely on the lookout for their fellow group members. By establishing how you can help the other person, without looking for anything in return, enables your fellow networkers to feel confident about your integrity. The person who is generous in this way will stay in people’s minds as someone to be trusted and valued.

Having follow-up emails and meetings with associated service providers after networking meetings are useful to maintain the continuity. These meetings can be relatively short, say an hour in length, but are a good way for business people to discover if there are ways that they can support each other. This is often a win/win situation as one person gets some business and the other is able to offer a more comprehensive service to their clients, and so appear more professional.

Staying in peoples’ minds means that it is important to attend meetings regularly. Some network groups require a membership commitment and this entails an annual subscription fee. Other groups are more informal and allow people to visit as and when they choose, paying an attendance fee for each visit. If you are a member of a group it is important to maintain the continuity of your presence. It strengthens the group dynamics and it also enables you to be seen as someone who is committed to your business and the group as a whole.

Also, some networking groups have web sites that allow members to contribute their articles or join forums and discussion groups. All these are opportunities to introduce yourself, spread the word, and establish yourself as someone who is experienced and knowledgeable in your field. This enables other networkers and potential clients to understand more about what you do. It is a further way to reinforce the relationship and peoples’ confidence levels in you and your skills. It is the way to give you an edge, something for potential customers to see as making you special from the competition, a reason to choose you.

Asking for warm leads is important. If someone does have a recommendation for you, ensure that the potential client knows who you are and is expecting your call. Maybe even arrange a meeting where you are able to be introduced properly. This strengthens the confidence that the potential client has in you. After all, we all our more positive about buying from someone who comes warmly recommended.

All it takes are one or two really good leads to make all the effort worthwhile. These could be the leads that really set your business on its feet and sustain it over many years.

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

It’s time to put down the brightly colored grocery store ads and head to your local farmers’ market for a delightful day of shopping in the refreshing outdoors.  There you will find a plethora of fresh picked, vine and tree-ripen fruits and vegetables, grown by local farmers. Most is harvested within a day of its arrival at the market, a claim that grocery stores are unable to make.  And an increasing amount of the produce is organically grown which means that the farmers don’t use fertilizers or pesticides, a benefit for the health conscious consumer.   As you stroll through the aisles, most vendors will offer you sample of their wares. Nothing beats actually tasting that juicy nectarine or trying a pluot for the first time.  You may notice that while the taste is unparalleled, the produce may not look picture perfect. Since the produce is vine and tree-ripened, it is available only from the grower and cannot be shipped to the wholesale stores. It is coming directly from the fields.  The taste is the true test and you won’t be disappointed. 

Happily, the shopping doesn’t stop with the fabulous produce.  Most farmers’ markets also offer a variety of other items to make your meal a complete experience.  Bring home some vivid colored fresh flowers to brighten up your dinner table.  Start out with an appetizer of hummus and pita bread.  Sample from the many flavors such as tomato basil, avocado cilantro, or roasted pepper.  Or perhaps a selection of nuts including pistachio, peanut, and cashews would whet your appetite.   Don’t have a main course yet?  Take a look at the fresh pasta available at many of the farmers’ markets.  No, you’re still not done with the shopping yet.  Dessert still needs to be selected.  A selection of pastries including cakes, cookies, and specialty items are often available.

As you plan your trip to the farmers’ market, keep in mind that they are held outdoors.  You will have a more comfortable and fruitful visit if you are dressed for the weather and have chosen your comfortable walking shoes.  Take a stroll through the entire market before settling down to make your purchases.  Different farmers have different prices so comparison shopping is a must.  But if you are purchasing produce, please don’t try to bargain for a better price.  The farmers have worked hard to bring you their crops fresh from the fields and do not appreciate bartering. Bringing your own bags and perhaps a small hand held cart is a helpful hint to avoid taking trips back and forth to the car.  Small bills are helpful as well as it is not always possible to make change for larger bills.   Overall, keep in mind that a trip to the farmers’ market is an opportunity to take a break from the everyday hustle and bustle, save money, support our local economy, and learn about your community in your own backyard.   For a listing of farmers’ markets and the days of the week that they will be in your area, click the Farmers Markets Link under Quick Links.
http://www.orangecountyresourceguide.com/farmers-markets.html