Marketing and Sales Info

Building customer relationships to boost sales

Building customer relationships should be one of your top priorities. Several companies are looking for new and innovative ways to boost sales, but the best way to do this is by building customer relationships. How can you build customer relationships? Here are some easy tips to help you get started:

]]> Tip # 1 - Customers are human
A common problem big companies have is forgetting who their customers are. They are so concerned with keeping their sales numbers at a certain level that they don't think about the actual people that purchase the product. Instead of just going through orders and organizing data into spreadsheets, take time to thank your customers. When you start automating everything, you forget about your customers and the hard work that they do. This can cause you to lose valuable relationships you have built with your customers in the past. You can still automate things; just make sure you are sending emails or thank-you letters to your customers. They need to know that the company still cares about them and not just their money.

Tip # 2 - Surveys and Rewards
Customers like to fill out surveys if they know they will get something out of it. Start offering discounts on your products to your customers to encourage them to purchase more and to provide you with some great feedback. This is a great way to boost sales because the customer is inspired to spend more money. Surveys provide your company with great information as it helps you get to know your customers a little bit better and it can help you improve on some of the existing processes at the company. When you start offering discounts or rewards to customers, they are excited and they feel appreciated. Don't do this all the time or else customers will start to expect it.

Tip # 3 - Customer Service
Your customer service agents are the face of the organization. They represent everything your company stands for so it is vital to your business to spend time hiring the right employees and then to spend time training them. To emphasize the importance of good employees, take a look at how Disneyland hires their employees. They tend to hire a lot of college students that are in-between semesters. They put them through a 8 week training course and many of them only end up working for the company for about 6-8 weeks. Why spend half your time training employees? This is because they train their employees to know their job extremely well so there won't be any questions when customers come to the park. They want their employees to have 100 percent customer satisfaction rating and spending more time on training allows them to get a high score year after year. Instead of just hiring a person that has the right qualifications for the job, hire people that come with excellent customer service skills as well. People with good customer service skills will boost your sales and keep your customers coming back year after year.

Tip # 4 - The Customer is First
One of the best rules to remember when you are trying to boost sales is that the customer is first. Your customers may be 100 percent wrong, but you need to make them think that they are always right. Have a good product return policy and a great customer policy to keep your customers coming back for more. Do little things to make them feel important like helping them out to their car with their purchases. How about sending email notifications when you have a new product launch? Keep your customers informed about your company to keep their interest in your company so they will continue to shop from you.

Building customer loyalty

There is no great way to build customer loyalty than to start collecting customer information and finding ways to relate with them. Your customers want you to bend over backwards for them. A common problem for business is that they will get the customer, make the sale, and ignore them until they come back to shop again. Did you know that 80 percent of your sales come from repeat customers? With that being said, it makes complete sense why you need to spend some time gathering customer information and focusing your marketing strategies on them.

]]> Customer loyalty is essential to keeping your business alive. One thing that makes customers continue to come back for more is the value they place on your product or service. The value not only comes down to making a great product, it also comes down to customer service. If your customers have problems with their products, they deserve to get the attention of a good customer service team. The better you treat your customers, the more they will return to your company for more. Customer satisfaction can come from a number of different things.

First, do some customer satisfaction surveys to find out what your customers think of your products and services. This is a great way to get the feedback you need to change your current products and make them better. Another way you can get customer satisfaction results is to do some phone call surveys. You don't need to call every single customer you have, but you should call a good majority of them. Ask them some questions about why they continue to purchase your product.

Second, you must do everything in your power to keep your customers happy. Happy customers are an invaluable marketing resource. A happy customer will continue to come back and they will also tell others about your company. Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the best tools you have available and it only happens by keeping your customers happy and satisfied.

Third, find ways to keep in touch with your customers. Many of your customers may feel neglected because you only stay in contact with them when they shop. What about the customers that buy large items and then don't come back for a few months? They are just as important as the customers you see on a weekly basis. You can keep your customers happy by sending them flyers, postcards, and emails. This is a great way to let them know what your company is up to and how they can participate in your business. Do some thank-you mailers to different groups of customers and offer them a discount on their next purchase. This is a great way to boost sales quickly and to gauge how well your customers respond to your marketing efforts.

Organize your customer information into a database and create profiles for them. This can help you track down the type of customer you are looking for when you are doing targeted mailings. It can also help you predict market trends and forecast for the future. Keeping customer information organized can help you improve customer satisfaction. You can do this by sending emails to them when you are about to discount a product they purchase on a regular basis. This is an easy way to build customer loyalty and to keep your customer satisfaction ratings high.

Spend more time focusing on your customers and you will start to see an improvement in your sales. Remember that your customers are your most important asset and they will continue to keep your company running year after year.

Building a good publicity campaign

One of the best marketing techniques you can use is to build a good publicity campaign. Public relations is a large industry for a good reason. These individuals have the media connections businesses need to get news stories run so they can gain more attention for their business. Have you ever noticed when a movie studio is releasing a new film and all the promotions you see about the movie? Not only do you see promotions in print, radio, internet, and television media, you start to see actors show up on talk shows during the week when their new film is being released. This is all part of a publicity campaign where the primary focus is to inspire people to go see this movie on opening weekend so the movie studio can make back their investment, plus some.

]]> Building a good publicity campaign has several steps; let's look at a few of the most important:
1. Contact the news media if you have a new product that you feel will make some headlines. Send them press releases via fax and email; this is the best way to get their attention. If you have some established media connections, make sure you contact them personally to let them know about your new product. You can meet news media members at events and social gatherings through some of your other connections.
2. Establish your company reputation by responding to some of the stories that are run in the media. Write some editorials and send them into the paper and news broadcasting studios. Provide some factual evidence with your editorial. If you can build your reputation on a particular field, news media members will start contacting you the next time they run that story. Even getting your name in the paper as a comment can boost your publicity.
3. Create your own blog and radio show. Start talking to your customers about your particular industry and encourage them to call in or to leave comments. Take the time to actually respond to their questions and comments. This gives you a great opportunity to build your reputation and to gain some free publicity.
4. Send newsletters to members of the news media. This is a wonderful way to keep them up to date with information about your company and changes in the industry. If you have a lot going on, they may just run a news story about your company without receiving a press release.
5. Hold a fundraiser for your company and donate some of the money to charity. Every time a fundraiser is held with a good intention, the media wants to hear about it. They are always on the look for a feel-good story since most of their news stories focus on negative things. Fundraisers are great way to attract multiple members of the news media. If you are lucky, you may even get a local news station to set up a broadcast booth on site and do their news feed from your office for a day.
6. Build an online following through your blog and other sites. Create a profile on several social networking sites and start participating in discussion groups. You can attract a large following this way and it's a wonderful way to gain the attention of the news media. Don't forget to host your own blog so you can continue posting new information on a daily basis.
7. Call into radio shows and suggest they do a story on your particular market segment. This is a great way to land some time on air and possibly get more news channels interested in what you have to say and your company.

Boosting good communication to keep your customers

Good communication within your business can help you with customer retention and it can cut down on lost productivity costs. Communication is essential to running an effective business. There are numerous companies that spend too much time trying to attract new customers that they neglect to find ways to keep their current customers. One way you can enhance customer retention is to boost your communication skills within the organization.

]]> Communication is more than just the transmission of a message from one source to another. Good communication means transmission of a message in a clear, articulate and effective manner. Think about an upset customer and the ruckus they are causing. What would happen if you sent in an employee with poor communication skills? Would they be able to calm down the customer and find a way to solve their problem? Good communication can be learned, you just need to have a good study in order to do so. If you send in an employee that has dealt with multiple upset customers and has good communication skills, they are likely to find a solution to the problem the individual may be having. The goal of good communication is to have both ends happy about the end result of the message that is transmitted.

Having good communication skills is essential in the workforce. Communication can help you persuade someone to hire you if they are on the verge of hiring another application. Communication can help you move up from a manger to a supervisor and it can help you win over a lot of friends within the organization and within your particular market. Customers always appreciate the individual that has excellent communication skills because they can answer all of their questions and send them out the door with satisfaction. Customers that have a pleasurable experience with communication are twice as likely to return as a repeat customer.

Managers and other business leaders are often looked at as the individuals that must have good communication skills. This is because they need to converse with different personality types on a daily basis and find a way to work through difficult and uncomfortable situations. If you have every dealt with a bad manager, you no doubt had some problem with communication. Mangers should always be trained to have good communication skills so they can handle all the different personalities tactfully, yet firmly.

Customers can quickly spot of problems with companies that have poor communication. Have you ever stood in line waiting for someone to do a price check? What about contacting a company about a problem only to be transferred to 3 or 4 different agents? Poor communication is everywhere and many businesses do not realize the damage they are causing to themselves. Train all of your employees thoroughly so they know exactly what to do in difficult situations. Teach them how to help customers properly and always have an area in your office where they can report the customer complaints and issues they dealt with. This can help you with the training of new employees so they will know exactly what type of questions they will be asked.

Criticism is an essential part of communication. Most people don't like to receive criticism when it is done harshly. All the criticism you do within the company must be constructive and encourage employees to continue working harder. Don't point out all of the things they are doing wrong, point out a few things you admire about their working ability and make sure they understand this. If you are discussing things about their personal qualities, make sure you are sensitive to their feelings. You don't want to make the employee uncomfortable, but you need to be firm with your message.

Your Campaign Checklist

When you open your doors to the public for the first time as a small business owner, you have to add the marketing cap to your entrepreneurial duties. If you are in business, you have to figure out ways to stay in business. The day to start marketing your business has come, but if you've never done any marketing before, you may not know if you are ready. Here's a checklist to make sure you are ready to launch your business and your marketing campaign.

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You've done your research. You've analyzed the market for response to your product or service. You know who your target market is and what features and benefits of your product will appeal to them.

Your marketing message describes how your product or service will benefit your potential customers.

You have your pricing schedule set in place. You know when and who you'll give discounts to. You know where your competitors are priced and what you need to do to stay competitive.

You have a sales forecast in place which includes sales goals and profit projections.

You know what type of media you will be using in your marketing campaign, what of that media is free, and what you'll be paying for.

You have sales promoters on board and ready to bust into the market for you. Radio, television, and newspapers can all promote your product and give you exposure in the market place.

You've planned a publicity campaign. You've invited the local news media to cover your grand opening. You've volunteered in events that matter to your customer base, for example The Race of the Cure.

Your marketing materials are ready and cover all of the products and services you offer. They help your potential customers see why you stand out above the crowd, or in other words, what makes you different.

If you have orders or purchases the first day, is your product or service ready with all the bugs and kinks worked out (or at least to the point where you feel comfortable offering it)?

If you are offering a product, does it have a warranty? If it does, the warranty information needs to be ready.

Your customer support staff is in place, trained, and ready to support any potential customers. This is especially important if you want to focus on customer retention later on, which is a much less expensive marketing technique than customer acquisition.

Your product liability and business insurance is in place.

Your product is packaged to appeal to your target market.

You have a patent on your product (if it is a product you can patent).

Your distribution or delivery services are ready for customer sales.

Your employees know what they are doing and what part they have in the marketing and sales process.

You've branded your business. You have a logo, tagline, business card, and have sat down and seen your entire business process through your customers' eyes. This is especially important to your overall marketing process. A marketing campaign can utterly fail wasting your time and money if you business isn't branded. Branding is what sets you apart from your competition. It is coming up with what is unique about you and making it apparent in every aspect of your business. If your business doesn't brand itself, you will not be noticed.

Writing good ad copy

Writing good ad copy is definitely an art. The trick to writing good ad copy is to say what needs to be said as simply and quickly as possible. This may sound easy enough, but when the fate of a product lies with a printed ad, it can be very difficult to hold back the desire to tell the customer all of the wonderful things about your product that you want for them to know. After all, if they knew what you did about your product, they wouldn't hesitate to make the purchase right? Unfortunately, the last thing on the consumer's mind is reading ads for the purpose of hearing the production companies gloat about their product. Consumers want to glance at an ad and be given all of the information that they need to make a decision as to whether or not they are interested in buying that product. You as the marketer have a few seconds to portray in an ad company not only what the customer wants to read but also the most important elements of the entire product development team.

]]> Writing a good ad copy is first about getting the consumer's attention. After all, if you cannot even get them to look at your ad, it does not matter how brilliant your ad copy is. The next item that you need to focus on in order to write a good ad copy is branding. Your branding should be consistent, obvious, and created with the goal of creating awareness for your business. You want people to remember you and keep coming back for more. This rule is especially true for internet or website ad copies. With so many millions of virtual businesses out there, you need to make sure that you have branded well enough to have the consumer remember your name and care enough to read your ads in the future. The last characteristic and perhaps most obvious feature that is needed in a good ad copy is the ability to communicate. The ad should communicate clear what your business is about. Always keep in mind that your consumer is not buying your product because of its great features, but because there is a perceived benefit to them. This can take some fine tuning so don't be afraid of testing the effectiveness of your ad copy, change something from time to time, compare the results, see what worked best and go for it on larger scale.

Another suggestion for writing good ad copy is to present the information needed in a way that evokes an emotion. You want people to read and like what you write. You want them to be able to get excited and even motivated to buy by what you write. Your product may not be revolutionary but, in order to stand out, you have to make it seem that way. Whatever it is that you are selling, friends, chances are that someone else is selling it, too. Your job in advertising is to get customers to do their buying from you. Effective advertising can only happen when somebody reads what you write and is able to understand how it applies to them. Be sure to keep the focus in your ad off yourself and on your customer. Tell your customer how he/she will benefit from using your product, service, or idea. It should not need to be said, but there is no excuse for spelling or grammar mistakes in a good ad copy. Be careful when using abbreviations, it is almost always better to spell everything out. Have many different pairs of eyes look over your ad copy before it is printed to ensure you avoid some embarrassing errors.

Why you need to understand your customers for marketing

Understanding your customers is essential for successful marketing. It's so important that companies spend millions of dollars on market research a year in an attempt to find out the needs and wants of their customers.

So why do you need to understand your customers for marketing? A few reasons include:

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To meet the needs of your buyers. The better you understand your customers, the more you will know about them, including the things they want to buy. Understanding your customers means knowing what they buy, what their exact needs are, and what they are looking for in terms of products and services. That way, you can better tailor your marketing efforts to them.

To take advantage of timing. Regardless of what type of service or business you provide, timing will be an important aspect of the buying process. Understanding where your customers are in regards to the buying process can help you better influence their decision, or market your product to them at the right time.

Establish a relationship. By understanding your customers, you can better earn their trust and repeat business. You will also increase the chances that they will recommend your services or products to others.

Satisfy their needs. A satisfied customer is one who will not only come back for business, but will also recommend others. Understanding your customers means better satisfying their needs the first time around.

A few tips for getting to know your customers include:

Know what they buy.
Understanding the lifestyle of your customers will help you determine which of your products and services you should can market to them. For example, if you have a day spa, you can market pampering packages to the busy moms who like to get massages or manicures on weekends or who could use a break.

Know how they spend your money.
Knowing how your customers spend their money will be able to help you market the right products and services to them, as well as help you know how to market them. For example, if your customers are wealthier and drive expensive cars, you might assume they don't mind paying for higher status items. Or, if your customers are more frugal, they might be more apt to purchase from you with a promotion deal.

Know when they are buying.
People tend to make purchases at major times in their lives-for example, your customers who are having a baby will be more likely to consider purchasing a roomier vehicle. Or, customers who have just gotten married are more likely to buy homes for the first time. Understanding your customers means knowing crucial buying times in their lives and marketing your products at the correct times.

Not only that, but understanding when your customers buy during the day is important too. For example, if you know the majority of your customers work day shifts, then you can make sure you keep your store hours a little longer than normal, so people can shop when they get off work. The same goes for budgeting. Marketing big ticket items will be more successful when people have a little more money to spend, like around tax season when they get their rebate checks back.

Understanding your customers will go a long way in marketing. It helps you better anticipate their needs and wants so you can better adjust your marketing efforts.

What profiling has to do with marketing

When it comes to marketing, experts and business professionals use many different means to gather information about their customers and potential customers. This act of gathering research is known as market research and helps analysts and business owners and professionals to know how to better reach their target market.

One way they gather information is through profiling.

]]> What is profiling?
In marketing, you can either profile customers who are people, or customers who are businesses.

Customer profiling breaks your customers down into specific groups. Each of these groups has defining characteristics, and virtually every customer and potential customer can be profiled. Some of the more common profiles you may recognize include:

Women

College students 18-25 years of age

Senior citizens

Middle class

Small businesses

Two-parent households

Single mothers

Grandparents raising children

In addition, these profiles can be broken down even further; for example, "Women aged 25-30." Generally speaking, the more specific the profile, the more successful your marketing efforts will be.

A customer profile will typically include the 5 key demographics used in marketing. There are age, income, gender, education level, and ethnicity. GeoDemographics are profiles that are more specific and include things like hobbies and interests, lifestyles, purchasing habits of specific age groups, and so forth. Profiling can also come through survey data that is gathered, typically from surveys and questionnaires.

If your business caters to other businesses, your profiling will be different. Profiling another business will use information like Standard Industry Classification codes to determine the business type. Other information collected in business profiling includes number of employees, revenue, or even number of computers in the company.

What does profiling have to do with marketing?
Profiling is an important aspect of successful marketing. With profiling, businesses can:

Generate new customers. The information gathered from accurate profiles of your customers allows businesses to determine whether or not it would be beneficial to begin marketing to a specific market or segment they have not entered into yet. Accurate profiles allow you to determine where and to whom new marketing opportunities are.

Target your efforts. Customer profiling allows you to better target your marketing efforts. It does this by first identifying your customers, then understanding their buying habits, lifestyles, and other information so you know who exactly is the most likely to purchase your products, and when.

Save money. Customer profiling allows businesses to save money because they have a better idea of where they can successfully market their products. Instead of wasting money on marketing those customers who are very unlikely to purchase certain goods and services, they can save money by targeting those customers who will give them a return on their investments.

Look for new marketing avenues. With profiling, you can decide where the best places to market to your profiled customers are. For example, if your target market is students aged 18-25, and your profiling research shows that this age group spends more time online than any other, you can hone your marketing efforts in on new sites that your potential customers will be visiting.

Profiling is an important tool when it comes to marketing. Profiling can help you save money and bring in more business as you better learn more about your customers, including who they are, where they live, and what their buying habits are.

Ways to increase the response with direct mail marketing

If you are going to be using postcards as part of your direct mail marketing program, you are going to want to do everything that you can to increase your response rates. By increasing your response rates, you will be improving your chances of having an effective direct mail marketing campaign through postcards.

Here are some tips you can follow to improve your direct mail marketing campaign.

]]> Tip one:
Begin thinking about the big idea. You need to come up with a great offer because that is what is going to motivate people to respond. By offering them a solid promise of value, you will make people more willing to respond to your offer, if you simply send them a pretty postcard they are not going to be very motivated. This is why you need to come up with the big offer before you start to design your postcard or the wording you are going to use. You want to figure out what will make people say things like "Wow! I can't pass this opportunity up!"

Tip two:
Once you have, the idea for the postcard figured out you will need to match that idea with the right group of people. You should already have a profile in mind about who your ideal customers are because that is simply basic business, if not know is the time to come up with that profile. You will want to obtain an in-house list of qualified prospects, if you don't already have one you can use a professional data company to obtain one for you. They will simply create a list of people based on the information you give them.

Tip three:
With postcards, you only have a brief moment to catch your reader's attention so you want to ensure that you have a great headline. You will want to have a strong and clear headline for your direct mail marketing campaign because it will help you get past those first few seconds, where they decide to continue reading or toss it in the trash. You want your headline to be easy to read at first glance, interesting in some way, and suggestive of what value is going to come. You will need to rewrite your headline as many times as necessary until you reach all three goals.

Tip four:
Your postcards are going to have limited space for you to work with, which is why they need to be done right from the start. You only want to have one dominant image on the non-address side of the postcard. You want to put some thought into the image that you select and make sure you do not select it just because you think it is pretty. You want to choose an image that is going to support your headline and one that will your potential clients will identify with, and engage them. You want to choose an eye-catching headline that is relevant to your headline and message, but one that is also relevant to the reader in some way.

Tip five:
You want to limit the scope of your message on a postcard to one major product or idea because of the limited space that you have. By limiting one idea to a postcard, you can develop it in ways that are more likely to get a response. The reason for this is that you can explain the primary benefits, include a testimonial or two, include product photos, and make a strong offer. This is not something that can be done while covering several products on one postcard, you want to save the multi-topics sales pitch for your website or brochures.

Using the internet as a marketing tactic

Since the internet has been introduced, it has turned into a new element of marketing for business. In order for your business to stay competitive with other businesses, you are going to need to learn about the various ways that you can use the internet for marketing. The internet allows you to use all sorts of marketing tactics to promote your business, you simply have to pick the ones that will be the most effective for your business and begin.

]]> The internet is such a powerful marketing tool because everyday millions of people access the internet, whether it is to shop, search for information, read the news, check email, play games or something else. With how many people access the internet on a regular basis it makes sense to use the internet as a marketing tactic for your business. To benefit from internet marketing your business does not need to have a website, but to get the maximum benefits your business should have a website. The reason for this is that if your business has a website your customer's have somewhere that they can go immediately to receive more information about your product or service. Even if you do not wish to sell products online, your business can still have a website because the website can be used for providing contact information, answers to frequently asked questions, and other types of services.

Here are some steps to follow to help maximize the benefits of various internet marketing tactics.

Step one:
Create a website that people will constantly talk about. If people are always talking about how great your website is more and more people will hear about, which means more people will come to see what all the hype is about. Keep in mind that if people are hyped up about your website they will be more inclined to spend money on your products.

Step two:
Create written ads that will have a long lasting effect on your potential customers. Try to stay away from the ads that say things like "Hurry sale ends soon" or Buy now before offer expires" will these types of ads can be effective in getting people's attention they will not create long lasting customers that will return time after time.

Step three:
Keep in mind that just because you have used an ad once doesn't mean you can never use it again; a good ad will last a long time, besides the fact that you can find other ways to use the ad. You can create several ads off of one ad by changing the message, the color format, the font size, and anything else you can think of, while still keeping the feature character.

Step four:
If you already have, an ad campaign that is working for your company it is a good idea to continue along the same lines, this is because when people think about your company they tend to think about the advertising first and keeping it the same as your other ads will allow your older customers to recognize your company. This doesn't mean you run the same ads over and over again you just want to keep the feature character the same. A great example of keeping the feature character the same is Energizer batteries. No matter what kind of ads they design customers always think about the bunny before anything, the bunny is their feature character.

Step five:
Choose the marketing tactics that will work the best for your company. With internet marketing, you can choose from blogging, podcasts, search engine optimization, banners, pay per click advertising, etc. You can use one or two of these tactics or you can choose as many tactics as you want to create an even more successful marketing plan.

Using surveys on MySpace to market your business

While surveys in general are pretty much the same, you ask questions and fill in the answers; you can customize any survey to fit your need. Some websites offer free surveys for MySpace, all you have to do is fill in the answers to the questions, generate the code and copy and paste it into your MySpace profile. Other websites offer you the opportunity to create your own survey, either by choosing from a list of questions or by creating your own questions. As a business majority of the pre-made surveys will not be appropriate for your profile, so if you have an IT department you can have them write the code needed for your survey or you can find a website that offers you to create your own survey questions.

]]> Surveys are used for a variety of reasons. They can be used to share general information with others, get consumers opinions on products or services, and they can be used to do research. Many businesses use surveys for research when they are making a new product or trying to find out if a new type of service will work. Sometimes companies will provide the product to a consumer for free and ask them to fill out a survey about how the product worked, if any improvements could be made, their likes and dislikes, etc. When you are in business getting your customers, feedback is important, because if your customers are not happy your business will not succeed.

MySpace.com has become a popular social networking website, with millions of people logging in each day. MySpace profiles are not limited to just individuals, businesses can also create one. Since MySpace profiles are free for all users, by creating a profile you are getting free publicity. Now the trick is to get the millions of people logging in to view your company's profile. One way to make your page stand out is to utilize MySpace surveys.

One way to use a survey on MySpace is to create the survey and post it on your profile. This works well for a general survey about your company. It can give potential customers important information about your company beyond the scope of just simply filling out the boxes on MySpace. It will also be customized for your business so it will make your layout unique.

Another way to use surveys on MySpace is to post one as a blog. If you have your blog settings open anybody browsing your profile can see the survey and read it. You never know when somebody decides they like your survey so much that they are going to copy and paste it and circulate it among their friends. This will generate more publicity for you if you have some questions on the survey that mention your company by name.

The last way to use surveys is to post one as a bulletin. When people join your "friends list" on MySpace they have an option to subscribe to your bulletins. By creating a survey for people to fill out and posting it as a bulletin you are setting yourself up for free advertising. People who have time to waste or just like to give their opinions will fill out the survey and repost it as a bulletin and then their friends will see it, etc. Just remember to have questions on the survey that refer to your company directly so people will know where to look if they are interested.

Surveys on MySpace are a great way to advertise for free. They are also a great way to get your customers opinions. Just remember to make them stand out enough to be noticed.

Using social networking websites as a marketing tactic

While most business owners know that advertising is a form of marketing and marketing is a way to get your business's message out to a target group of customers, what they are not aware of is how they can effectively use social networking websites as a marketing tactic. How you can use social networking websites as a marketing tactic is going to vary based on your businesses marketing plan.

]]> Social networking websites are great to use for marketing because it is a fast and easy way to reach a select group of people to market to. If you plan to use social networking websites to market your business to potential customers you will need to research the websites you are considering using to ensure that your target group is using that social networking website or if you have to approach a different website. For example, Facebook is used by more middle-aged adults than teenagers. MySpace is used by more teenagers and young adults than middle-aged adults.

Using social networking websites will also help increase the amount of traffic that is directed to your website because you can include a link to your website on your profile that you have created. You can also use your profile to promote your business. If you are considering using social networking website to market your business here are the various marketing tactics you can use.

Number one: Banner ads or pay per click advertising
One way to advertise on Social networking websites is banner ads or pay per click. These ads are how Social networking websites generates its revenue, but it is also a great way for you to advertise your company. Social networking websites chooses where to place your ad, and from there users can click on the banners and go directly to your website. Although you have to pay for these advertisements, it is still worth the money because of the amount of members Social networking websites has.

Number two: Create a profile
You can also create a profile on the social networking website, which will allow you to promote your business. Creating a profile on most social networking websites is free, unless you pay a company to design your profile to make it stand out. With all of the pre-made layouts and layout generators available on the internet, you could most likely design your page by yourself, thus saving money. By creating an account, you are putting your company logo out there for other people to see. When people add you as a friend, your company's logo will appear on their friends list, which in turn might cause other people to add you. The higher the amount of people who add you as a friend or see your company logo, the better your advertising will be.

Number three: Word of mouth
Word of mouth can be spread on social networking websites because people are constantly talking to their friends, and you can talk to other people. With Social networking websites you can post a comment on a friend's profile that says you loved this product or service because it got the job done or something else. By posting this comment on your friends profile it is now public, anybody who uses or visits Social networking websites can read the comment. They in turn might tell their friends, and the cycle just keeps on repeating.

Number four: Surveys
The same type of surveys you hand out in malls or on the sidewalk can be accomplished on social networking websites. The surveys will be able to provide you with information that your company can use to increase traffic to your website, improve your website, or make changes to your product or customer service to better serve your customers.

Using podcasting as a marketing tactic

Podcasting reaches potential customers easier than emails because there is no junk filter set on a podcast. A podcast is a form of advertisement, similar to what you might hear on the radio. By having an audio file that can be downloaded onto a computer, cell phone, MP3 player, or other devices that can play audio files people are able to play the ads in the background while they continue with what they were doing. Think about how popular radio advertising is, many people listen to the radio as they are driving, cleaning house, etc. The radio unlike television allows them to multitask so they feel like they have gotten stuff accomplished; podcasting is similar to radio advertising.

]]> If your business is going to use podcasting to communicate with your customers there are some things they should keep in mind. When creating a podcast for your business make sure that it is a quality podcast, which means that is full of useful information, not a bunch of ramblings. You are also going to want to keep it creative, there are millions of podcasts out there, and you are going to have to make your company's podcast stand out so that users will listen to it. When you are publishing, your podcast be sure to include it in a variety of podcast directories so that your company has the maximum amount of exposure for the podcast.

Here are the top six reasons that your business should use podcasting.

Increase your marketing reach and online invisibility

Improve your sales and conversion rates

Regular line of communication with subscribed listeners

Value added content increases loyalty

Industry news and trends sets you apart from the competition

Interviews with leaders in your particular niche will establish your business as a respected leader in your industry

If your business plans on using podcasting as a new marketing tactic here are some tips for you to follow to get the maximum effect from your podcasts.

Tip one:
Always vary the creativity in the ad. Many users don't mind hearing short tasteful ads but they don't like to hear the same style repeatedly. They want something new and exciting each time the listen to a podcast. So always keep your ads interesting by talking about different features, doing special ads for the holidays, getting different people to talk on your ads (a new voice is always an eye catcher), or you can add real live interviews with other customers who have tried your product and liked it. Don't hesitate to try something new, which is the reason why people listen to podcasts for something new and interesting.

Tip two:
When placing your ads inside a podcast do not place the ad at the very beginning or at the very end of the podcast. For the best chance of people listening to your message you are going to want your ad right in the middle of the show, where they will be less likely to fast forward or just stop listening. If there are ads, at the beginning of the show many people will fast forward through them because their hands are already on the control and they just want to get started. Ads at the end never are listened to because once the podcast is done people turn it off and begin listening to the next show they had lined up. Your best time is in the middle of the show because the listeners is already engaged in the show and probably won't skip through the sponsors messages because they are already doing something else while listening.

Just remember that while podcasting can be a great form of advertising you still need to use some common sense to create an ad campaign that will engage and entertain the listeners.

Understanding your demographic

Understanding a demographic is an essential step to figuring out if that demographic statistically fits in a company's target demographic. For example, a tattoo parlor would likely not target a bible youth group as their ideal demographic even though the people in the bible youth group were inside the target age of the tattoo parlor. Understanding demographics will help a company know where to focus their marketing campaigns or how to present their marketing campaigns. Here are a few demographic and tips on how to reach each demographic.

]]> Age

Age groups are usually divided into "generations." Age is one of the most important dempgraphics because everyone falls into one age division. People in the fifties and sixties may be considered baby- boomers. People in their late twenties and early thirties may be considered Generation X. People born from the early nineties to the present would be considered Millenials. Each age category represents a different demographic with a different culture.

Baby-boomers will likely be looking into retirement, investing for their retirement, and traveling. This group is still young enough to be active, but getting old enough that they need more medication. They are usually the group with money as well. They may still be working, but they have worked long enough to be at the top of the pay scale. The best way to reach this group is through magazines or television. They are experimenting with the internet, but are still wary of online advertising.

Generation X is likely finishing up graduate school or will have recently started their career. Many of them are married or getting married. Some have small children and are looking for fun activities for the whole family. Many of them will be looking for a house or purchasing toys and baby clothes. This generation is pretty tech savvy, but still communicates primarily through verbal conversation. This group is reachable through television, internet, radio, etc. They are pretty comfortable with internet ads.

The oldest of the Millenials are in the middle of the undergraduate degrees. They are used to having information at their fingertips because they grew up during the age of the internet. They communicate primarily through texts and social networking sites. This group moves and thinks quickly. This group is most accessible through the internet and television. They have very few qualms with internet, and probably do not listen to the radio.

Socio Economic Status

Each socio economic situation denotes a different kind of culture. For example, the family of four that lives on forty thousand dollars per year is likely living a different lifestyle than the family of four living on one hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year. The first family likely does not go out to eat very often. They won't go on extravagant trips or spend money on things that won't last. The second family may not eat in the house very often. They go on big trips to destination spots, and do not worry about waste.

Marketing to the first family may focus on the durability, strength, and usefulness of an item, while marketing for the second family would focus on the popularity, prestige, or glamour of an item.

Understanding a demographic is essential to making a marketing campaign both successful and effective. Some other demographics to consider are race, religion, gender, and geographic location. By considering all of these demographics together, a company will be able to pin point the most effective places to direct their marketing efforts.

Tips on direct mail marketing

If you plan to use direct mail marketing as one of your business's forms of marketing you will need to take a second to learn about direct mail marketing. This is important because in order for direct mail marketing to be effective it will need to be used correctly.

Here are some tips to keep in mind if you plan to use direct mail marketing.

]]> Tip one:
Make it clear in your marketing message what you expect your recipients to do and what they can expect you to do. You will also need to make sure that you follow through with your end of the deal, if you do not follow through with what you have promised your customers will not trust you. Having no trust will ruin your customer relationships and can ruin your business because of word of mouth advertising. For example, if you have said you will never sell your subscription list to a third party; do not sell it no matter how much money you are offered. Selling that list can violate a person's privacy and ruin your trust with your customers, which can cause you to lose business.

Tip two:
Most people are not going to take the time to read the entire letter that you enclosed, they are most likely going to scan the letter. To help people pay attention to what you are saying while scanning the letter you are going to need to break up the long writing with subheadings. This will allow certain sections to stand out, and can allow people to read the parts they are interested in. You can also break up the writing by including pictures or other graphics. This works because the scanning reader's eyes will stop and look at the picture that you have included, which means they have to go back and find where they left off.

Tip three:
You need to keep the length of the letter in mind because everybody is going to have an opinion about what is too long and what is too short. Do not pay attention to what other people say, you need to make sure that when writing the letter you do not stop writing until you have said everything that you need to say. For example, if it takes two pages then you will need to use two pages. If you can fit everything onto a postcard, use a postcard.

Tip four:
You will need to design something that can be easily mass-produced, which is what you will be using to get old and new customers back into your business. You can use a letter or a postcard that contains some kind of an incentive to encourage people to some into your store. For example, you can include a coupon that offers your customers to save a percentage or flat dollar amount off their next transaction or you can offer them so much off if they spend so much money, the more money they spend the bigger the amount they get to take off.

Tip five:
Make sure that you edit the letter before you mass-produce it. The best thing that you can do is to set the copy aside for at least a day if not two. After some time has passed, you need to read the copy aloud and make notes on where it sounds awkward or where the words don't seem to flow right. Make the fixes and read the copy aloud again. If possible, you should have somebody read the copy to you so that you can actually hear how it sounds aloud which is more accurate than you reading it to yourself.