People expect great service and competency from a business. Using those words in your USP is a waste of time. It’s fluff. Also, your USP does not have to be one sentence. Go for it then shorten it down. Three or more sentences are fine if you need it. Just be UNIQUE!

Let me know your USP’s.

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An “artsy” website only shows the talent of your graphic designer and leaves the browser confused and a confused browser leaves quickly. What does a confusing website say about your company? Does your customer service also leave the customer with confused unsatisfied feelings? They might think so.

Some website content ideas to consider:

Use A Clean Design

Do not overwhelm your customers with too many duplicate and nonsensical images. Remember to get your point across “above the fold”. Also, keep the large image display for your gallery.

Use A Larger Font Size

Gone are the days of a 10 point Arial. Now computer monitors are high resolution you should be using a 14pt or higher Sans Serif Font.

Use Lots Of Copy (text)

When it comes to how much text it’s always better to have more text then not. Why is more text better? Because if your customers need more text to help them make a decision it’s there for them. If it’s not then they will leave uninformed. Don’t worry if they want to stop reading they will.

Use Call To Action Images

Keep in mind that there will be people who like to read and then there will be others that like to click images and media. Your website should have strong call to action images throughout the website. The call to action images should direct them to the content specific to the call to action ex. a contact form, a free report or a email sign up form, etc.

There are many more items you should consider BEFORE you design your website. If you need help with your website content ideas just give us a call and we will be happy to help.

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The post A couple quick tips for direct mail. appeared first on Marketing and Website design articles to help you with your Strategic Advertising and Marketing..

Make sure before you implement any techniques, when marketing to business owners, you have a fantastic website that will convert prospects into customers! All marketing techniques and strategies should incorporate your website address.

When marketing to business owners try some of these suggestions.

Here are some tips for How to market To Business Owners?

Create a Professional Company Brand

Did you know that people will remember a branded company approximately 20% more then one that is not branded? That percentage should not be overlooked. Your company needs a corporate brand which would include a professional logo, correct color choices, branded image elements, etc. This brand trickles down to every marketing piece your produce from your business cards to your website.  And when you are trying to figure out how to market to business owners you should consider if they are professional then they are probably looking for vendors are also professional.

Get a Professionally Designed Company Website

All of your marketing and advertising is supported by your website. In today’s economy not having a website is like not having a business card. Many people look for your company on line to research you before they decide to do business with you. Your website should include everything required to make a sale. From contact forms to call to action buttons, videos, webinars, free reports, email sign ups and more.

Search Engine Pay Per Click (PPC)

Once you have a GREAT website sign up for Google AdWords and create online advertising triggered by keywords that point to your website. All the large search engines have PPC opportunities.

Direct Mail

Think of it. All those mail persons out there becoming your sales force! With a properly designed mailing piece directed to a target market you can get the attention of your prospects. You can use postcards or letters or product samples, etc. If you are using letters a great technique is to hand address them to ensure they get opened. When was the last time you threw out a hand addressed letter? Keep in mind that any direct mail campaign must be tested and done frequently. If you are going to do it only once then you are probably wasting your time. An average undeliverable rate is 10 – 12 percent.

Direct Email

Just like direct mail you can secure opt-in emails via a list broker. The great thing about email marketing is you can track how many people opened the email, if and where they clicked through to your website and if was actually delivered, etc. Then you could produce reports and resend emails to those who opened or clicked through. Email marketing is great for reconnaissance and follow up.

Cold Calling (Telephone)

After you have implemented a direct mail campaign call the business owners on the list and ask then if they are interested in the information you provided and set up appointments with them. If this is your first time doing this record your voice (not the callers) so you can go back and tweak your pitch.

Cold Calling (Foot Work)

When you are on an appointment check your list and see if any of your prospects are near by. If they are stop in and say hello. Make sure you have information to leave with them.

Join Networking Groups

Networking is a great way to get in front of business owners. The best way to utilize them is to make sure you go to every event. Networking is just like advertising the more you do the more likely they are to remember you. Have plenty of professional business cards on hand. One technique is to actually tell your fellow networkers that you pay for leads that close.

Friends and Family

You would be surprised to know that many of your friends and family members are wither business owners or know people that are business owners. Ask them to introduce you.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great place to find business owners. Start by developing your network and see where who they lead you to.

These are just some of the many ways to market to business owners. If you would like to know more ways on how to market to business owners just contact us at 732-818-0080 and we will go over all of the possibilities and advanced strategies designed to get your cash register ringing!

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When you are looking to tweak your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on your blog posts and web pages one major thing to remember is to make sure you are actually using search terms that your CUSTOMERS would use to find answers. Also, only use COMMON industry terminology that your customers might have been exposed to in a competitors pitch.

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Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation. This effect is prominent in ambiguous social situations where people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior, and is driven by the assumption that surrounding people possess more knowledge about the situation.

You can use Social Proof in your marketing.

When you’re advertising your goods and services it’s important to use Social Proof in your copy and images. A quick easy way to accomplish this is to use testimonials throughout your copy as well as video testimonials on your website. When prospects are close to a decision they will look to others to help them decide if buying from you is the right choice.

Also, if you are trying to sell a certain product and have successfully sold it too many others let everyone know by saying “Hundreds of Housewives have purchased…” (Notice I used a specific group “Housewives” if your main customer base is “Couples” use “Couples”. Etc.) Think of it as a way to push them off the fence and into your yard.

You can also use Social Proof in imagery in your marketing. By knowing your best customers you can incorporate people that fit the same visual profile. Social Proof is also very helpful when you are using social media to promote your company. Encouraging people to “like” an image of your product or statement and then following up with those people will help your bottom line but you must be fast. Be careful not to do too much Sales Bitching (thanks Starr Hall) in your social media.

So you don’t think it will work?

Everyday you are exposed to Social Proof. For example when is the last time you watched a TV show with canned laugh track and found yourself laughing a bit too hard for something that wasn’t that funny? You can try a Social experiment. Go to the mall, stand on the side and look up. Have someone off to the side record how many people in 5 minutes that also look up. Then do the same thing with five of your friends, all looking up. You will notice that now you have everyone looking up that passes your group by, you might even draw a crowd.

Let me know how you use Social Proof in your marketing.

There are many other ways to use Social Proof in your marketing. If you would like to talk about how Social Proof can help your business give me a call at 732- 818- 0080. We have helped hundreds of businesses and we can help you too.

As always your comments are appreciated and welcomed.

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Here are some free tips to help you.

• Collect emails from customers all year.
• Have an employee tell people that are in the store to get ready to give their email address at checkout and how they will benefit from giving it.
• Have a poster, or a hand out, with the reasons to give your email address.
• Make sure you have a STRONG OFFER which will incentivize them to give their email to you.  (Tip: Give them a percentage off of the sale right away and another valuable offer that is sent to them at their email address for a future purchase.)
• Tell them you will keep their email private and will never sell their information. (Only if it’s true.)
• Tell them that anytime they wish they can unsubscribe to future emails.
• When collecting their email associate the email with the purchase in your database.  Then you sort and offer coupons for similar and up sell items in the follow up email.
• If they will not give their email address, believe it or not they might not have one, ask them for their snail mail address so you can also send them the offers.
• And the most important thing I only saw happen 10% of the time is to DON’T FORGET TO SAY THANK YOU!

Do you have any other ways you collect emails?

If you want to learn how to incorporate a system for doing this just contact us and we will be happy to discuss it with you at no charge.

As always thanks in advance for your comments.

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This example gives the appliance store the ability to offer a very valuable bonus to their customers and it gives you the ability to get in front of new customers. Even if you only get a few sales right away from other things they need, it will help you build a HOT prospect list for your future marketing.  And keep in mind you could do the same for them.

As always your comments are appreciated.

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If you are going to spend the money to advertise then DO IT RIGHT! For a bit more you can have a professionally designed, strategic ad created that is designed to generate interest in your company by appealing to your customers demographics and psychographics. In most cases the publication can give agencies like us a discount for doing the ad. Sometimes the discount you get pays for the professionally designed ad! Remember you also save that amount Month after month.

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Customer service is paramount!

Happy Holidays!

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