MARKETING IDEAS and TOOLS
Business Card Design Ideas
Brochure Design Ideas
Die Cut Business Cards
Scented Business Cards
Cheap Business Card Ideas
Unique Business Cards
Unique Brochure Ideas
Cheap Advertising Ideas
Business Card Layout
Promoting Home-Based Business
Competitive Advantage
Email Marketing Tips
3 Ways To Spend Less
Selling With Color
Promotional Magnets
MARKETING STRATEGIES
Differentiate Yourself
Information Marketing
Building Customer Loyalty
Getting Customer Feedback
Testimonials
How to Define a Niche
Discovering Niches
Finding New Customers
Indirect Benefits
The Consumer's Perspective
Promotional Marketing
Pricing Products and Services
Viral Marketing Magic
Marketing Mix
STARTUP IDEAS and STRATEGIES
Home-Based Startup Ideas
Business Idea Brainstorming
Virtual Assistant
Internet Researcher
Event Planner
Wedding Consultant
Telecommuting Strategies
Freelance Job Strategies
WEBSITE MARKETING
Build Traffic to Your Website
Domain Name Ideas
5 Ways to Increase Traffic
Scavenger Hunts
Talking Avatars
Promote Your Web Page
Autoresponders
Internal Links
Link Exchange Tips
Viral Marketing and Email
Attract Your Target Market
Market Your Website Offline
KEYWORD TIPS
Keyword Competition
Keywords and Meta Tags
Prime Spots for Keywords
Keyword Phrases
AFFILIATE MARKETING
How To Get Started
Residual Income
Affiliate Agreements
ONLINE BASICS
Choosing Domain Names
Domain Name Extensions
Website Design Strategies
Learning HTML
Understanding HTML Colors
Are Your Colors Web-Safe?
How to Accept Payments
Bandwidth: Doing The Math
Find The Right Web Host
Publish Your Website
MARKETING YOURSELF
Resume Tips
Find New Customers
Through Complementary Businesses
Customers aren't the only valuable source of referrals for your business. Other businesses, especially complementary ones, are excellent potential sources.Through Complementary Businesses
Complementary businesses offer products or services that relate to those you offer. So, your customers would likely be interested in what they sell - and vice versa.
Word-of-mouth marketing is only one method through which complementary businesses can help you increase your customer base.
If you have a newsletter or other periodic publication, you can swap ads with other businesses. (Just make sure that they're not competitors.) This works for both online and online newsletters.
You can employ the same reciprocal method using your website.
Swapping articles can be even more effective, both in newsletters and on websites. This is a win-win. You're leveraging other businesses' customer bases.
At the same time, each business is offering something that adds value to the others' websites and other publications.
Sharing online and offline mailing lists is a great way to expose your business to likely prospects. They are "likely" because they are already buying goods and/or services that are related to those you offer.
Combine your mailings with complementary businesses and you can save an enormous amount of money in postage alone.
Depending on the weight of the paper, you can mail up to four sheets of letter size paper for the same cost of mailing just one.
So, partner with a complementary business and promote one another in your mailings. Include their brochure or newsletter in return for their doing the same for you.
Another idea is to include free samples or coupons from the other business and vice versa.
This is yet another win-win. Your business is promoted to a steady stream of new prospects.
Your current customers get a lot of freebies which everyone likes. That, in turn, makes them even happier as your customers.
Happy customers are repeat customers, and repeat customers are the most apt to refer others to your business.
Nancy Richardson
CreateYourMarket.com publisher
Need a writer?
Quick Tips:
Enclose a business card promoting your website with each piece of outgoing mail.
Ask customers who frequently do business with you for a testimonial.
Promote your website URL offline on everything from bumper stickers to your answering machine message.
Want to reach the highest percentage of your target market?
Advertise in specialty publications including newspaper supplements devoted to a specific topic.
Marketing is crucial, but it doesn't always have to be serious.
Some of the most effective advertising campaigns rely on humor. Don't be afraid to make your customers laugh!