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BUSINESS MARKETING

Alice in Wonderland:

(Perhaps we could use a drawing of a Cheshire cat talking to a young girl?)

Cat: "Where are you going?"

Girl: "I don't know?"

Cat: "Then any road will take you there!"

True of life – True of business

(Could have a drawing of a confused person at a crossroads with signs pointing in various directions)

1) Decide what you want

What are your dreams – goals - aspirations? (Drawing of a person with thoughts/dreams being revealed)

"Vision without Action is a Daydream.

Action without Vision is a Nightmare." – Japanese Proverb

Too many don't have goals – Success for them is just survival

If we fail to define what we want - what we deserve - we get only what others give us.

Goals force deliberate behavior – Search for methods, systems, and people to help us reach our goals. We quit hoping and wanting and start doing

Goals require that you use your time – energy – efforts to achieve your goals – We become enthused and energized – search for knowledge – experience personal growth – company growth – and economic growth.

2) Write your goals down

An idea in our head is not a goal … It is just an idea … It will go away if it is not written down

3) Set a deadline to meet your goals

This provides a sense of urgency and will narrow the focus of efforts to reach your goals

4) Make a list of the things that you need to do to achieve your goals

It is time to start thinking like business owners/managers! Whether you realize it or not … You are getting older. Do you see yourself working until you drop, or will you retire at age 55? Do you plan on growing your company to 50 or more employees, or do you see yourself as the owner of a company with 10 or less employees? Will you sell the business in a few years and move on to something else? Will you sell the business once it reaches a certain level of growth? Do you intend to pass the business on to your children? Is it your intention to sell your business to your employees?

There are two types of goals that you should concern yourself with: Personal goals and business goals. Personal goals should come first because you don't want to commit your business to a strategy that clashes with your lifestyle or prevents you from realizing your dreams.

Peter F. Drucker stated: "Long-range planning does not deal with future decisions, but with the future of present decisions"

Have a Business Plan - "No business plans to fail – they simply fail to plan!" … Wise old business saying.

Planning is our greatest weapon against failure – A business plan is a blueprint for a business' future.

A business plan answers the following questions:

· What is your business idea or what is your existing business?

· Who are your existing and/or potential customers and what motivates them to buy from you?

· How will you let your customers know about your business?

· Who are your competitors and how are you different from them?

· How will you carry out the basic functions of the business?

· Is the management team capable of guiding the business to success?

· What is the long-range future of your business?

· What is your company's financial picture? – How much money will it cost to run your business and how much money will you make?

Typically a business plan consists of the following:

· Executive Summary: Highlights the most important aspects of your business, summarizing key points of your business plan.

· Company description: Features the basic, factual details about your business.

· Target Market Description: Identifies the types of people or businesses most likely to be your customers, and explains their needs and wants.

· Competitive Analysis: evaluates other companies offering a similar service or filling a similar market need.

· Marketing and Sales Plan: Outlines how you will reach your customers and make sales.

· Operations Plan: Explains how you run your business and the operational factors that may give you an edge over your competition.

· Management team: Describes the key people running your business.

· Development Plan and Milestones: Shows where your business will be in several years' time, how you will get there, and the milestones you plan to reach along the way.

· Financials: a set of financial statements showing the current financial status and the future financial goals of your company

( We Could provide a list of sources for help in developing a business plan. Could have some samples to view –

There is a business plan outline in Microsoft Office)

5) Add to the list as you progress toward your goal

6) Take action: No matter what we feel – No matter what we know – No matter what our potential or talent – Only action brings them to life – A reputation cannot be built on what we INTEND to do.

It is the start that stops most people.

7) Do something everyday that moves you towards your goals

Marketing: Everything you do or say that your prospects and customers see and hear from you. Marketing includes everyone you meet, every vendor contact, every sign, every point of contact and every communication.

Effective marketing requires a marketing mindset – It starts with you – Not the company, not the marketplace, and not the customers. Your goal is to be market ready. Tell yourself that. Convey it to the world!

Energy, enthusiasm, and passion have to be present. They all spring from the mindset.

A business cliche states: "Nothing happens until something gets sold" We can't sell a service no one knows about. Thinking like a marketer, all the time, ensures that never happens.

Marketing has been compared to breathing. A person can't live very long on a single breathe. It takes many breaths, one right after another. Marketing works the same way. Attracting new customers usually doesn't happen with one marketing initiative. We must keep breathing to stay alive. We must continue marketing to keep our business alive and prosperous.

View marketing as an investment, not an expense. Remember the second point at the outset "Write your goals down" – This allows for tracking, evaluating, measuring, and managing your goals.

Write down your commitment to marketing:

· I will read, write, send, call, or say something related to marketing everyday.

· I will think continually of my customers' needs and desires first and shape my business and services around them.

· I will always strive to improve my marketing knowledge, seeking new and innovative ways to improve services and ways to communicate with customers and prospects.

Marketing Goals

Marketing goals are nothing more than a statement of what results you want to achieve with your marketing.

Marketing goals should fit into and support your overall business goals. Just like any other goal, marketing goals should be measurable. Goals must be specific and realistic as well. (It would be helpful to have an example of an unreasonable as well as a reasonable goal to share at this point)

A marketing goal can be a big number, such as a certain year-end revenue figure. It can also be a smaller number over a shorter period of time, such as four new clients per month. Goals, although specific and measurable, can be a simple statement of a company's culture or attitude: To be number one in customer satisfaction in your area.

Marketing goals can also be quantitative translations that fit with your company's financial objectives, stated in marketing terms such as to increase

· Sales dollars

· Share of market

· Awareness

· Number of new accounts/relationships

Competition and Research

Competition is everywhere and in the spirit of free enterprise, competition is a good thing. Research your market and your competition.

Customer Research

· What problems do they have that need to be solved?

· How do they want them solved?

Primary Component of Research

· Who is buying what from whom?

· Why do customers buy the way the way they do?

· What influences customers to buy – marketing/promotion/advertising

· What creates customer satisfaction?

· What competitor are customers/prospects aware of?

· What media/advertising reaches customers best?

Identifying Your Competitor's Achilles Heel (I have a picture of Achilles' mum dipping him into the river Styx by his heel to make him immortal – I also have a picture of Paris shooting Achilles in his heel mortally wounding him.)

At some point, you will need to develop a competitive advantage or unique selling point/proposition. The only way to know whether you have an advantage is to know what the competition has and does not have.

Your competitive advantage is the benefit that you offer that your competitor does not. Just because a competitor might offer the same service does not mean that they have a competitive advantage. It only becomes an advantage if one talks about it and promotes it … then, and only then does it become a competitive advantage. If one company tells customers that a common feature is a unique benefit, that company then has a competitive advantage.

Mastering Guerilla Marketing (Mariner Books) presents four criteria that a competitive advantage must meet:

1. It is a positive benefit – one of the ways people gain by doing business with you.

2. You are the only one that offers it – or so your customers think because you are the only one talking about it.

3. Your advantage can be communicated with a few, well-selected words.

4. People know it's you when they hear it or see it.

Opportunity Research

Market research and competitive intelligence anticipate emerging threats and uncover opportunities.

The internet can be an open door to a competitor's company.

• Visit a competitor's web site.
• Participate or visit newsgroups and information forums.
• Mine sites for information.

The more information you gather, the better equipped you are to compete.

Action Steps

1. List the top three competitors that you want to research.

List the top three benefits of each competitor.

2. List your top three benefits.
3. Compare the competitors' benefit list with yours.
4. Describe your uniqueness compared to these competitors.
5. Write down every reason you can think of to do business with your company. Now do the same for your top competitors. Scratch off the common ones. Are the remaining reasons good enough to be your competitive advantage? Do you need more?
6. Visit three competitive web sites and answer the following:

· Does the company appear easy to do business with?

· How does the company's identity compare with yours?

· What is appealing; what is not?

· How can you make your site better as a result of this review?

Target Your Market

This involves determining who buys the service you are offering and why they buy it from you? It means taking dead aim on your target.

Lose your aim and you lose your customer. Many a business has spent a great deal of money identifying themselves to the marketplace, built a brand, then lost it all when they added services unrelated to their core purpose. The essence of marketing is narrowing the focus. You become stronger when you reduce the scope of your operations. You can't stand for something if you chase after everything. Consider this example:

Focus on your target. Know what business you are in and what your customers want and need.

Position Your Company

A position according to Harry Beckwith, in his book, Selling the Invisible, is "a cold-hearted, no nonsense statement of how you are perceived in the minds of your prospects… It is the positioning statement that describes how you wish to be perceived. It is the core message you want to deliver every time you market."

A further clarification of what it means to position your company is stated by Al Ries and Jack Trout in their classic marketing books, Positioning, The Battle for your Mind and The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. According to these marketing masters "Positioning is not something you do with a product. Positioning is what you do in the mind of a prospect. That is, you put the product in the mind of the prospect…All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of the customer or the prospect. The perception is reality." These statements are as true for services as they are for products.

Measure the position against three criteria:

1. Does my position offer a benefit that my target market audience really wants?

2. Does it truly separate my company from the competition?

3. Is it unique or difficult to copy?

Consider: Federal Express. "Trust us to get it there overnight." This is an example of positioning with two components-overnight and trust.

Can you think of positioning examples that apply to your industry and your company?

Features versus Benefits

A feature is a factual statement about a product or service. Factual statements aren't why customers buy. Benefits are the reason they buy.

Features:

· 24/7

· In business since _______

· _________ cleaning and extraction system.

Customers and prospects care very little about these statements. Sorry. None of these examples tells a customer how their life or business will improve as a result of working with you and your company.

Being in business for 20-30 years doesn't carry a lot of weight with a prospective buyer unless that feature can be translated into a benefit of reliability and a guarantee of being in business in the future.

Benefits sell. Benefits clearly answer the question that a customer or a prospect really want answered, "What's in it for me?"

Once you have benefits clearly defined, the next job is to market them. Put yourself in your customer's shoes and ask what results the benefits offer. An approach that ties any marketing message to results will make certain you hit your target.

Competitive Advantage

A benefit that you offer that the competition doesn't offer is a unique benefit and a competitive advantage.

A benefit is competitive advantage when it

· gets the attention of prospects.

· sells your product or service.

· keeps customers coming back.

· causes prospects to talk about your company to other potential buyers.

· buries the competition.

Creating an advantage that is difficult to duplicate is the ultimate competitive advantage.

It is critical that you be able to effectively communicate your competitive advantage to your target market, both verbally and in print.

Your competitive advantage becomes the basis of

· your message and communication to the marketplace.

· your headlines.

· your networking commercial.

· your positioning.

· your PR.

· all prospecting methods and communication.

· your overall marketing.

You can differentiate yourself in a number of ways:

1. Place

2. Price

3. People

4. Service

5. Quality

6. Convenience

7. Speed

It should come shinning through in all your marketing.

Communicating Benefits and Competitive Advantages

Chances are that when asked what they do, most companies would struggle to recite something that flowed. Most would stumble and not have information explaining why they are different from their competitors. Ask another company in the same business as your own and you will likely get this response-no differences and no competitive advantage communication.

Often just being able to recite your advantage statement or business description is a competitive advantage

Identity and Branding

The name your parents gave you at birth is identity with clarity. People know you by that name. When they see you, your name immediately registers in their mind, and they greet you by that name. They associate what they see, hear, and remember with the name they know you by. You have an identity and so should your business.

There are few things more frustrating than having to change the name of your business once it is up and running. Select the right name at the outset. There are only two kinds of names: bad names and good names. Bad names are hard to pronounce, exaggerative, common, suggestive of other companies, and difficult to spell. Almost all the others are good names.

· Don't let your name paint you in a corner.

· Don't let your name prohibit your growth, expansion, or diversification.

Part of your identity is your primary marketing message-what you want people to remember and know you as. Your marketing message can take many forms. It can be a logo, a tagline, or a radio jingle. It can also be the look of your place of business, your signs, your brochure, your business card, or your on-hold message. Much like the definition of marketing, identity is everything a customer sees and hears about you and, most of all, what they remember about you.

Your business identity needs to be clear and free of confusion. There should be no confusion as to who you are. A consistent identity is a successful identity, the same identity, everywhere, over and over. Change the identity and you change customer perceptions. Change perceptions and you collapse your marketing. An identity plays a part in grabbing attention, getting interest, creating desire, and causing action, all goals of successful marketing programs.

Your brochure, presentation folders, ads, letter head, and business cards, as well as your services, all represent your identity. Your identity is valuable and one of the most controllable assets your company has. (We could have some examples of these various items either with a made up name or Dri-eaz)

Because it is so valuable, you should take the right amount of time to make sure that the identity is clear, consistent, and has the "personality" that you want it to possess.

Identity is the accumulation of all the visual elements of a company's communication to the outside world. Your identity needs to clearly state who you are, your beliefs and values, and your company's culture. A well thought-out identity program can be a very powerful component in your company's marketing mix.

Marketing Communication

Your advantages need to be communicated in a compelling and convincing way. Your message has to be articulated well and stated often.

Clarity is a primary consideration when developing your marketing materials.

· Focus. Focus your message and communication on what your prospect receives, not what you do, not who you are, not how long you have been in business. The message should be about benefits.

· Message. Provide enough content and information to persuade. You want to grab the attention of your prospect, and then lead them to action.

· Design. This includes layout and "the look." A good first impression goes a long way in getting attention and interest.

· Credibility. Testimonials, case studies, correct grammar, and typo-free content all lead to instant credibility

Advertising

Advertising is a valuable tool, but it is not the only tool. Advertising helps make the other tools work more effectively and visa versa. Advertising works and feels best when it is balanced with all other marketing.

Many times businesses confuse marketing with advertising. Marketing is not advertising. Advertising is a tool in the marketing toolbox.

"Advertising which promises no benefit to the consumer does not sell, yet the majority of campaigns contain no promise whatever (That is the most important sentence in this book. Read it again.)" – David Ogilvy on Advertising

Promise, promote, and sell the benefit! Remember, if there is no benefit, there will be no sell! It's all about the benefit!

Just like marketing, advertising works best through repetition. Repetition provides constant reinforcement of your name, identity/brand, and marketing message in the mind of your potential buyer.

Different advertising media are associated with differing characteristics, which should be considered when planning your marketing.

· Newspapers. Marketing that is newsy, read by those interested in news.

· Radio. Wide-ranging and one-on-one. Do you ever feel that the radio is talking directly to you?

· Television. Even more wide-ranging and demonstrative.

· Direct mail. Repetition and action oriented.

· Brochures. Detail-oriented and long-lasting if used as a reference or filed.

· Classified ads. Short and to the point, filled with information.

· Internet. Interactivity and accessibility as more and more people get online.

· Signs. Motivator and reminder.

Advertising Components

Headline. Advertising great David Olgivy states: "On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. It follows that, unless your headline sells your service, you've wasted 80% of your money." The headline markets your ad; it is the attention getter, designed to grab the reader or listener.

Body. Who you are, what is special or different, where, when, and what are described in the body of your ad copy. It is short, succinct, and to the point.

Offer. This is why you are advertising; remember your purpose.

Hook. This is an incentive for a response.

Call to Action. Tell the prospect what to do.

Ad graphics. A good design will get attention and create interest in a visually appealing manner.

Butterflies come to pretty flowers – Korean Proverb

Business Networking

One of the most effective and low-cost ways of spreading the news about your business is by networking. Networking simply means making contacts with other people who can help you in your business – and there is definitely nothing new about that! 'Word of mouth' is the best form of advertising. And the best way to get that to happen, is to tell as many people as you can about your business – through networking.

"He who whispers down the well,

about the services he has to sell,

doesn't gather the amount of dollars,

as he who climbs the tree and hollers."

Unknown

Networking is not handing out your business card to everyone you meet and aggressively seeking their business. That is not networking. That is hard selling, which is the antithesis of networking.

Networking is about giving. It is about offering to help other people without expecting anything in return. In Masters of Networking, Ivan Misner says "Master networkers give without remembering and receive without forgetting." It is about mixing with like minded people and that wise old saying "Help enough people get what they want and you will get what you want."

The key to giving without expectation lies in understanding the law of reciprocity – What you give out comes back ten fold – but not always from the same person! If you give out referrals, you will receive referrals, give out love, get back love, give out help and advice, and receive help and advice.

It could be as simple as joining a community based group such as Rotary, Lions, Toastmasters or your local Chamber of Commerce. Jeffery Gitomer of gitomer.com says, "When all else is equal, people buy from people they like, know, and trust. When all things are not equal, they still buy from people they like, know, and trust"

Network and watch your business grow! However, don't expect to get overnight results. Good relationships are built over a long period of time and networking is a lifetime occupation, not a short-term project.

(We could have a few examples of networking thank you letters/notes.)

Fusion Marketing

Fusion Marketing is really nothing more than a strategic alliance with another business. It is one of the most underused, inexpensive, and effective methods of marketing. Anytime you can tie in your marketing efforts with those of others, you stand to gain more. Fusion marketing is combining the efforts of two entities to significantly enhance their joint marketing efforts.

One of the cardinal rules for all entrepreneurs is that you can't do it alone. Michael Gerber speaks about it in The E-Myth Revisited when describing the concept of working in the business vs. working on the business. Many entrepreneurs find themselves working in their business because they try to do too much alone. A better approach would be for them to do what they do best and to get the help of others in areas where they are not at their best.

Lorraine Segal, author of Intelligent Business Alliances has observed that 30 percent of most U.S. companies' revenue comes from alliances of one type or another. She also notes that one trend becoming the norm is small- business-to-large-business collaboration. Smaller companies can help meet the need for speed, responsiveness, and attention that challenge some larger companies. In this case the alliance is mutually beneficial and synergistic.

Fusion marketing can be as simple as putting a stack of your business cards on a partner's counter in their place of business and their cards on your counter.(We could show a couple of pictures with this concept)

Two forms of fusion marketing that are not typically labeled as such are co-op advertising and sponsorships.

A sponsorship is nothing more than a mention of a company in advertising in exchange for money, favors, services, or other benefits.

Public Relations

By definition, public relations (PR) means getting the word out to the public. In the case of a business, it means the business is getting its message out to its public target market.

Getting the word out involves relationships, a vital part of PR. There are relationships with an audience as well as with organizations that can help you get your word out,(radio stations, television stations, and newspapers or other publications).

The public wants to hear a good story. Good PR tells a good story. The better you tell your story, the better the acceptance will be from the public and the easier it will be to get your message out.

PR's importance is changing according to The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR (Harper Business). American marketing strategists Al and Laura Ries argue that public relations has become the most effective way to build a brand. Business owners become known in their respective fields through PR and associated media exposure. The best part about this weapon is the cost … zero!

Seventy percent of what is published in newspapers is the result of a press release. Press releases are used to communicate news to media outlets. The press release states the who, what, when, and why of your news. The key word here is news. When the information from your business has a news angle, the probability of publication goes way up.

Not sure what you should cover in a press release? Consider these ideas:

• Starting a new business
• Introducing a new product
• Celebrating an anniversary
• Announcing the promotion of an individual within your business
• Offering an article series for publishing
• Receiving an award
• Receiving an appointment
• Participating in a philanthropic event
• Recognition of the company
• Announcing that you are available to speak on a particular subject of interest
• Announcing a public appearance on television, radio, or in person
• Launching a web site
• Announcing the availability of free information
• Sponsoring a workshop or seminar

Almost any event can be turned into news. There is no guarantee that any press release will ever be published, but by taking a consistent, professional, and newsworthy approach, the probability is good that you will get some coverage.

Just because some press releases don't get published doesn't mean they are wasted. Press releases are also great vehicles for communicating directly with clients and prospects. Putting them on your web site is a very effective means of promoting to those visiting your web site. They bolster your marketing efforts and presence, keep your customers and prospects informed, and maintain your credibility.

Web Site

A web site is an address. It is your base. First, you want people to find your house. Then, you want them to be welcomed and comfortable.

E-Zine

An e-zine is an online newsletter. Publishing your own free e-zine can bring qualified traffic to your website while helping you increase your profits. E-zines are increasingly common on the internet.

Newsletter

• Dartnell Corporation, the training and motivational media company, states that newsletters have four times the readership of a traditional advertisement.
• Newsletters are perceived to be more credible and believable than ads.
• More information can be communicated in a newsletter.
• Newsletters have a longer shelf life and are passed around for others to read.

Regardless of the form or context of the newsletter, you are generally providing your prospects and clients with valuable information. It is a simple, low-cost way to communicate with customers and prospects in your target market.

Free and helpful tips about your products and services work in much the same way as articles. Free tips position you as an expert in your industry and show your willingness to help others, both advantages when compared to your competitors. Once readers are helped or hooked by these tips, they are more likely to read more information by you, seek your help, or purchase from you.

• Use newsletters as a direct-mail piece to customers and prospects in your target market
• Give newsletter out on sales calls.
• Hand them out to guests that come to your place of business
• Post newsletters on your web site.
• Include newsletters in your information and media kits
• Include newsletters in other customer/prospect correspondence

No Cost and Low Cost Ways to Market Your Business

Get a Meme

It is a relatively new word that was coined in 1976. It can be defined as the simplest possible way to communicate an idea. It is an instantly recognizable transmission of an idea, simple and clear, no explanation necessary. Memes can be visual, such as an international traffic symbol; verbal, such as Lean Cusine; or an action, such as a hitchhiker holding out his thumb.

A meme can help a business stand out from the clutter and proliferation of today's marketing. If a meme is used, it should be used in all marketing, wherever and whenever it is possible. It is no longer enough to have a logo, which represents a company but stops too short. A meme represents both a company and an idea – usually, the main benefit offered by a company. The Energizer Bunny is a meme. So are the Aflac Duck and the Michelin Man.

The _________ is the meme for America? A _________ is the meme for Florida? A _________ is the meme for QANTAS Airlines? Memes are common but they are not yet common in marketing. The sooner a company gets one the faster it can be used in their marketing.

Memes travel from mind to mind and are easy to spread. Think of the major benefit that your company offers, then determine how it might best be communicated with an image or a phrase. Simplify it and focus on it, and let it spearhead your marketing.

Develop a Theme Line

There is no cost attached to developing a winning, lasting, and memorable theme line. It is a set of words that describes the spirit of your company. "You're in good hands with Allstate" – "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there." – "American Express, Don't leave home without it."

Like your meme, use your theme line wherever and whenever you can: in your advertising, on your website, on your business cards and stationary.

The best theme lines say positive things about your company but they don't exaggerate. If it exaggerates, it will undermine you every time it is used.

The sooner you use a theme line the better. It will only gain strength with time and usage. It will carry your banner forward in all your other marketing

While You Market for Free

It is critical that we understand that while you can market for free, it is not something that you can sit back and watch once you launch it. The work is never completed. These marketing tips should be used throughout the life of the business.

• Set Hours of operation for the 24/7 Age – People need and want access to you when it is convenient for them.
• Greet Callers with a Smile in Your Voice – The caller should be able to sense the smile in the voice of the person answering the phone. Each call is a golden opportunity to intensify your relationship with the caller.
• Keep Appearances Neat – Neatness is part of the marketing plans of both Disney and Nordstrom. There is power in neatness. It should be reflected in your office, your vehicles, your service people, your telephone manners, your signs, and your correspondence. Customers assume that it is the way you do business.
• Dress for Profits: Employee Attire – Company attire will influence profits. Fashion is a language of signs, a nonverbal system of communication, according to Alison Lurie, who wrote The Language of Clothes " The vocabulary of dress includes not only clothing but also accessories, hairstyles, jewelry and other body decorations" The meaning is clear … every part of your personal presentation and that of your employees holds meaning.
• Earn and Maintain Credibility – The road to profitability is paved with credibility. It is earned through your marketing, customer service, and overall professionalism. Publicity stories cost you nothing but earn you loads of credibility
• Guard Your Reputation – It is something you get by continually delivering quality work and service over a long period of time. Everyone in the company must know how important they are in crafting the company's reputation and how crucial that reputation is to the company's and their success.
• Respond Quickly!!! – Every poll since 1988 verifies that time is what Americans cherish most. They don't want to wait. Speed will become one of your business's important promises. If you don't say it or live up to it, you can count on a competitor taking that business away.

Allies to Help You Market for Free

• Rely on Word of Mouth – Work like crazy developing word of mouth referrals. When a person buys anything from you, there's a phenomenon known as the "moment of maximum satisfaction" It lasts from the moment of the sale to approximately 30 days following the sale. Give them a brief document summarizing the best benefits you offer, you'll be putting the right words in the right mouths at the right time.

Everyone who works for you should be trained to ask for referrals. – "We're able to keep our prices in line by getting customer referrals rather than relying on expensive advertising"

• Find Fusion Marketing Partners – It is a time honored way of doing business without spending money. Ask for it. Most business owners will go along with the idea because it makes so much sense. "Hey, I'll put up a sign for you in my place of business if you put up a sign for me in your business" – "I'll refer my customers to you if you refer your customers to me"

• Solicit Testimonials – Testimonials are free, easy to get, timeless, readily available, and a flexible way to use many other marketing tools and probably most important, they are also believed.

How do you get these letters? You must be deserving of them and you must request them. They cost nothing but are worth priceless credibility. They are very high powered marketing tools. Copious use of them is a brilliant tactic. They have strong believability and a long shelf life.

• Mention Your Satisfied Customers – People love to hear stories, and if you have stories of how you've successfully operated in the past and delighted many past customers, you'll have the rapt attention – and possibly the patronage of your prospects

• Get Involved in Your Community – People would much rather conduct business with friends than strangers. When you become involved with the community, you separate yourself from the ranks of strangers. Being involved with your community puts you in a splendid position to network.

• Network – Networking success is not determined by the number of business cards you pass out, but by how many you collect. Contact each person who gave you their card. Refer to what the people said when you contact them.

• Give Speeches for Groups – One the of the most overlooked and effective ways of marketing for free is giving talks for free to community organizations or professional groups.

Marketing on a Shoestring Budget for Small Companies ( I have a number of examples for this section)

Residential Customers

1. List them

2. 2 weeks to one month prior to the start of the water damage season, send them information on how to avoid water damage.

3. List emergency steps that they can take if they should suffer this misfortune --- Call your company for help. It could be a letter, a card, an emergency tips brochure, a spot removal guide. One firm sends out a monthly newsletter.

4. If your company cleans carpets, ask if you can place a magnet on the side of the hot water tank or refrigerator with an icemaker. The magnets are in the shape of the appliances and show water leaking from the bottom of the appliance. The message states: "Call ___________ restoration company if I leak"

5. Firefighter/Police … Offer a significant discount for cleaning or restoration of their property. Here is what happens: "We're not allowed to recommend anyone but … if it were my home or business, I'd call ________ restoration company to care for my property.

6. Plumber/Roofer … Give a significant discount if they caused the damage. You recommend their company and they recommend your company. Only recommend quality companies. Once a month send a gift certificate for dinner or movie passes to one of the service providers that you recommend. Thank them for their referrals. They will continue to refer your company or if they haven't been doing so, this will remind them to do so.

7. City Managers … Most cities now have some form of self-insurance. Provide information on the services you offer and the scope of your experience. Testimonials can be very helpful. Always ask for them and be shameless in using them to promote your company. Also provide them with a copy of the IICRC S500 Water Damage Restoration Standard. The City Manager will often be an attorney or have one on staff. They like standards!

Advertisement

Radio/TV

Keep a simple, consistent, inexpensive message in front of your customers and potential customers. Example: "For complete restoration of your water damaged home or business, call the company your neighbors have relied on for ____ years and ____ (number of) successfully dried buildings and contents … _______ Restoration at ________phone number.

Use testimonials. – Ask those who have provided you with testimonials if you can use their kind comments for your advertisements.

Newspaper

A couple of weeks prior to the onset of the flood season, send the newspaper information about what their readers should/could do to prevent water damage and/or what the reader should do in the event of a water damage. It is more likely to be printed if it originates from an independent authoritative body such as a technical bulletin from an industry association or governmental entity. – Flood Damage Containment Recommendations, SCRT – Repairing Your Flooded Home, FEMA – Suggested Guidelines for Remediation of Damage from Sewage Backflow into Buildings, Journal of Environmental Health – Emergency Tips – Do's and Don'ts When Disaster Strikes, ASCR

If it is newsworthy, send it in at the appropriate time. If your company is involved in the restoration of some major flooding or some important local building, call it in or have someone else call it in for you. They are always looking for interesting local news and good photo opportunities.

Send information to the newspaper about your company and your employees whenever possible. Remember, it's free!

Insurance Industry

Change in this industry is inevitable. Do not make major insurers and their adjusters your main focus if you are not currently in their vendor program … market directly to your current and prospective customers. If you do market to adjusters, spend more time with independents. In major loss situations, the current vendors can't handle everything anyway.

1. Get educated and get advanced certification

2. Utilize any sales or promotional tools that can increase awareness of your company

o Newsletter

o WetChec

o S500 Standard

o Flood Pro – Hydro Extreme

o Injectidry – Dri-Force

3. Do demonstrations of innovative equipment and procedures

· Build an extraction floor and demonstrate the effectiveness of various extraction tools.

o Build a short wall with plexiglass and demonstrate various wall drying tools

4. Offer to be a speaker at a breakfast or lunch function for clubs, community service groups or adjuster meetings.

5. Use videos/photos – These can be used to accomplish the following:

o Documentation

o Train employees

o Sales tool – especially visual aides that show before and after restoration

Yellow Page

For every dollar spent, make it your goal to generate an additional $ _____ . Some have said about their phone book advertising: "Well, at least I got my money back." The problem with that statement is that they worked for free. Always track what caused your customers to contact your company. One company spent $16,000 on a ad and tracked it. – The ad only generated sales of $11,430

Make your ad water damage specific. "__________ Carpet Cleaning" that states that _________ Carpet cleaning also does water damage restoration is not a strong ad. Quick-N-Dry, Dry-N-A Hurry, The Water Movers, etc. all make the point --- This company does water damage restoration. Water damage restoration is their focus, it is not a side business. Many areas will allow you have additional "Doing Business As" name listings under which a company can operate for a minimal fee.

If your company does not do reconstruction, you could partner with another company that does and share the cost of an ad.

Some companies have shared ads with plumbing contractors both in phone book advertising and the radio. "Once we repair your plumbing problem, we always recommend ___________ Restoration to dry out your home or business and complete the water damage repairs"

In some markets, the phone book companies recommend that restoration companies list themselves under the Fire/Water Damage section of the Yellow Pages. Response may depend on location and local custom. One company partnered with a construction company and shared an ad under the name "Restoration Specialists" In two years the ad generated one phone call. Use a separate phone number so you can track an ad's effectiveness.

As an example: In a month of unusual flooding the tracking system indicated the following:

· Water Damage Specific Yellow Page Ad --- 67%

· Saw Vans --- 13%

· Used Company Before --- 11%

· A Friend's Recommendation --- 9%

In a month with typical flooding the tracking system indicated the following:

· Yellow Page Ad --- 7%

· Saw Vans --- 10%

· Used Company Before --- 56%

· A Friend's Recommendation --- 27%

Do you want to be on the front page of the phone book but can't afford it? You can have that page for approximately $.30!!! – Have some labels made that are sticky on the back side that advertise your company. You can mail some out with a cover letter, as an inclusion with a newsletter, or if you clean carpets, your employees can distribute them to your customers. "If you should ever happen to be the victim of a water damage loss, you won't have to search for us. Just place this label on the outside of your phone book so you can locate us quickly. We'll be there when you need us" This could be used as a teaser at the start of "the no cost – low cost marketing section" – "How many of you would like to be on the front page of the Yellow Pages?? I am going to show you how you can be there for less than $.50!"