It may sound funny to say this, but perhaps it's true that now more than ever, we need to find more ways to make money and get customers.
It sounds silly because any business needs more money and customers, right? Of course, so why make the statement that it's more important now than say twenty years ago? Well, the answer is simple.
We're living in strange times.
Times that have never quite been like they are now.
Things change very fast, technology, social sentiment, legislation, and the general stability of the economy, both in a given nation and the world.
So we need to be able and willing to adapt too.
So in this article, we're going to briefly review a few ideas on how you and your company can take action to not only grow the customer base and increase profits, but be prepared for changes as well.
Idea #1 - Advertising What? This is the idea, you might be asking, advertising? Yes, this is the first one.
Now, before you log off this article, let's explain what we mean.
Everyone knows about advertising, of course.
If you're not doing it now, you probably have been, or will.
But here, we want to touch on a few forms of advertising that you might not have used yet.
What we're talking about here is traditional advertising, but not the common ones like radio, TV, billboards and the like.
Try to find out who your customers are and where they spend their time.
You will want to explore some lesser used advertising mediums to get their attention.
This has the double effect of utilizing an unused market, as well as being somewhat less expensive.
For example, you might put ads in local magazines or newspapers.
Not the big paper, but those little freebies or penny savers.
There are also lots of roaming ad spaces in your area, such as buses, taxis, airplanes and the like.
And why not pay to have a banner posted at a local event, or even set up a booth? If you really sat and thought about it, and did a little research, you could find all sorts of advertising opportunities in your area.
They are often clever, unique and reasonably priced.
Idea #2 - Online Advertising Now, here is an area that you may not have used to its fullest potential.
Since 97% of all customers research and make buying decisions online, it's a good place to put yourself.
There are lots of places to post ads online, and even some free ones, believe it or not.
There are, with the exception of fifty or so free advertising websites, 3 main areas of internet advertising, and they are: 1.
PPC's or Pay per Clicks.
These are programs such as Google AdWords where you set up an account and set a price per click that you are willing to pay.
You create ads with keywords and then they are displayed based on how you set them up.
When somebody clicks this ad and goes to where it is linked, you are charged.
This can be a very effective form of internet advertising.
2.
Banner ads.
These are ads you pay to place on other people's websites.
They can be text, graphic or video.
These are commonly found on large high-traffic sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and so forth.
Most of these can be targeted to specific demographics and geographic areas.
An interesting addition to this are video ads that can be paid for on YouTube.
3.
Affiliate programs.
These are programs where you place ads, videos, or information on your own website.
When these are clicked, and the advertised products are purchased, you earn a commission.
These are great for high ranked and heavily trafficked websites.
One of the best things about this option is that it is highly customizable in any form.
You can pay as little or as much as you want, then you usually have up to the minute control over your ads, so you can add them, change them or remove them at will.
Idea #3 - Gorilla or Grassroots Marketing This is a very broad concept.
It essentially is boiled down to non-traditional forms of advertising and marketing and usually means that you or those you hire to do the job are getting in touch with the customers one on one.
Though seemingly tedious and ineffective at first, gorilla marketing can be very powerful because it creates excitement and relationships at the street level.
Some examples of this are: sending a team of people into a given area such as a mall, a college campus or downtown region to hand out flyers, cards give surveys or pass out invites to people they meet.
This is great for any type of business that has a heavy relationship with its buyers, like restaurants, musical artists, local events, attractions, or bars.
Another form of gorilla marketing is setting up booths at local events or shows.
This is a great way to interact with a more or less captive audience.
This can also be combined with give away and contests.
The grass roots area is somewhere where you definitely have to get creative.
But it can be a fantastic way to build up a very loyal base of fans and customers over time.
Idea #4 - Online marketing Here is a pretty broad topic as well.
As before, the reason is obvious.
When you are trying to attract attention, you want to go where the eyeballs are focused.
And today, that is more often than not online.
The first steps in any internet marketing campaign or strategy is to set up your website to be as search engine friendly as possible.
Doing some SEO or search engine optimization on your websites is key, although not the end of the story by any means.
Once you've got your website tweaked, you will want to engage in several strategies to achieve the primary tactic: get visitors.
This is done in a huge variety of ways that are really only limited to your own imagination.
Some examples of online or internet marketing are writing articles like this one, blogging on a regular basis, building relevant links to your websites, posting and promoting videos on YouTube, using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social sites to cross promote yourself and your websites, posting on related discussion forums, offering freebies to build a voluntary email list, posting free ads, and on and on.
These are mostly free to do, but do require a commitment in time, which is where the true cost of online marketing lives.
It is well worth it over the long haul and certainly worth hiring some help if you need to.
Idea #5 - hiring Professionals There are times when it is a good idea to hire some outside help.
Why? Because when it comes to marketing, advertising material production, video creation, printing and the like, you want the job done right.
In the same way that you want your customers to come to you because you are an expert.
Perhaps sometimes we're unsure about going to a marketing firm to get help or have a consultation.
Most people have their defenses up and don't' want to put themselves into a situation where they will be hard sold to.
But it can't hurt to sit down or have a phone conversation with a marketing professional.
We have all sorts of ideas and experience that can not only help grow your business but help you avoid the pitfalls.
And when it comes to spending your money, you want to do so strategically.
A professional marketing firm can help you decide on a tactic, or set of tactics, and then help you create and implement strategies to achieve that tactic.
They can provide quality production services on things like website design, material creation, copy writing and planning.
Even if you don't hire the company, that first consultation can be very valuable, whether you pay for it or not.
Tip #6 - Get creative and think outside the box What is required nowadays more than ever is creativity.
It is vital to be able to think beyond the normal limits and come up with some creative and innovative ideas on how to attract new customers, serve existing ones and grow the bottom line.
So sit and ponder on the ideas we've talked about here.
If possible, get at least one other person to put their head together with yours.
Even better, a committee whose goals are to meet your goals.
This is also where a third party marketing professional can really come in handy.
The world has changed so much over the last twenty years or so, and if we don't change to adapt, we'll get left behind.
To be a real contender in business now, we have to have websites, mobile websites, interact with our customers in the real world and online, and we have to be flexible and creative.
It probably seems like more work than ever, and that's likely true.
But as entrepreneurs, that's the job we've taken for ourselves.
So do what you need to, adjust your budget, hire some help, put a mastermind group together and carve your niche in the business world.
Good luck.