5 Easy Ways to Get New Customers Make them an offer they can

5 CRITICAL QUESTIONS (THAT WILL HELP YOU SEE YOUR BUSINESS IN A NEW LIGHT.)

The answers to the following questions can form the foundation for a successful marketing campaign or even a strong marketing strategy. You will get as much out of these questions as you put in. We suggest you sit down with an open mind and a blank sheet of paper and answer them honestly. When you analyze your answers for market opportunities you may be surprised by the creative strategies that will reveal themselves.

Note: You can answer these questions at any level desired —for an individual product or service you sell, a whole product line, your company, or your overall brand perception. In the questions below, whenever we refer to “you,” ask that question about your product or service, or about your company. Choose the level that suits your needs best.

1)What are the primary benefits to the customer when they buy from you?
We’re not talking features (e.g. contains fluoride), but real benefits (prevents cavities). Try to focus on what your customers gain from using your products. Once you have that, you need to focus on how to best convey those benefits, so your customers can look at your materials and immediately know what your products offer them.

2)What are your key strengths in the marketplace?
Compare your company to your competitors. Can they claim any of the same benefits you do? If so, are there any areas where you are stronger than your competition? How can you leverage those strengths in your marketing materials? Focusing on your strongest benefits may make you a more niche company, but conversely, that will also help you grow.

3)What weaknesses do you have?
OK, time to be honest with yourself. Where is the competition stronger than you? Is there a way to neutralize or minimize the weakness? At the very least, can you train your sales staff to better overcome that objection when they run into it? By putting yourself in your competitors’ shoes you’ll know how to best gain a competitive advantage over them.

4)What makes you unique?
What is the ONE product, service, or benefit you provide that competitors can’t? (e.g. unmatched customer service, most diverse product line). Hone in on that and then hammer it in your marketing materials. If you don’t have a unique differentiator you need to develop one, pronto.

5)If you were to buy from your company, would you be thrilled?
Take an honest look at your product quality, your service, and your delivery. Are you delivering an excellent customer experience in all respects? Are you making it truly easy to buy from you, or are there impediments that make it difficult for the customer? Where can improvements be made?

The previous questions should give you a better idea of what your company does best and how it stacks up in the marketplace. But how do you take the lessons you’ve learned and implement them in order to grow your business? We recommend these three steps for most companies.

Step 1: Solidify your brand
How do your answers to the previous question jibe with your current brand image? You may find that your brand needs to be tweaked to better reflect your strengths. If so, you may need to update your corporate ID.

Step 2: Fix your website
From our experience, most companies’ websites do not do an adequate job of selling or promoting their company. Now that you’ve re-examined your company, you should also re-examine your website. Does it highlight your strengths? Does it make it easy for your customers to buy from you? Your website needs to look professional, accurately reflect your brand, and allow your customers to easily find the information they need. Most of all, it has to compel your prospects to act. If it’s not doing all of this, your website is costing you sales.

Step 3: Broadcast your new message
Once you have figured out the message you feel will best elevate your company and have reconciled this message with your brand and website, we recommend spreading your message with a comprehensive direct marketing campaign. You can start modestly - with an email, advertising, or direct mail campaign - and build gradually. If you have an existing mailing list, direct marketing will reactivate your existing customers and freshen up older prospects. We also recommend renting a list (or trading lists with another, non-competing
company) in order to hit new prospects.

5 EASY WAYS TO GET NEW CUSTOMERS

1.)Make them an offer they can’t refuse
Consider a free trial, free gift with purchase or substantial discount on one product or service to lower the initial risk for new customers. Guerrilla Marketing author Jay Conrad Levinson says, "Use small ads and direct mail postcards to offer free consultations."1 This gets your foot in the door so you can demonstrate the quality you provide, winning prospects’ trust and future business. Transform your business card into a sales tool by printing a free trial offer or coupon on the back. Hand out this "gift" to everyone you meet.

2.)Communicate frequently.
People are busy. Send just one communication and, if it reaches a prospect when they are not interested in your service, it will probably be quickly forgotten. Studies say it takes as many as eight contacts with prospects to close a sale.2 Of course this depends on your industry and product or service, but frequency of marketing communication is crucial for building mindshare.

3.)Use a variety of communication vehicles
Adopt multiple tactics that reach out to cold, warm and hot prospects on a continuing basis and usher them through the sales cycle. Different people react to different forms of communication. To find the most effective mix, choose at least one tactic from each of the following groups. Advertising: print as well as online ads and search engine listings that are linked to your Web site
Direct mail: postcards, letters, brochures, flyers, and e-mail solicitations to rented lists Public relations: media relations, seminars, bylined articles for publication, special promotions and events 2

4.)Test everything
Never overlook the value of testing—test designs, opening lines, marketing messages, and mailing lists. In strong agreement, marketing expert Lois Geller states: “The most effective method of getting direct marketing to work for you is to create small tests of several versions, calculate which produces the best return, and then do a larger mailing using those results. Because low-volume tests can be so useful, businesses of any size can benefit from this simple tool.”

5.)Create a referral program
Referrals from satisfied customers are fuel to your business's engine. Yet statistics show that the average satisfied customer tells only five other people. Increase referrals by giving clients an incentive to talk about you. Create a referral program with benefits such as discounts on future purchases or commission fees. After a sale, send each client a letter explaining the program and include some business cards or magnets for them to distribute.

NEED HELP FIGURING OUT YOUR MARKETING BUDGET?

Before you tweak your brand or launch a new campaign we highly recommend you take time to set your marketing budget. A solid budget will be the cornerstone of your marketing efforts, not only enabling you to more accurately plan your actions, but also clarifying whether you have sufficient funds to achieve your sales goals. K&R makes it easy to plan your marketing budget with our free Budget Analysis Tool. This handy worksheet helps you calculate the cost and ROT of most types of marketing campaigns you undertake.

Call us because now is the time to get down to making your business our business. Here is my direct number 248-557-8276


DUPLICATION Audio & Video Cassette, DAT Market Ready Packages VIDEO DVD/AUDIO CDr's Formats, Prices, Compatibility Info, Authoring, Copy CONVERSIONS NTSC PAL SECAM HD 8mm, Slides, Beta, DV, S, Film FORENSIC Audio & Video Enhancing, Noise Removal, Voice ID, Vita NEW MUSIC Jingles, Film Scores, Sweetening NEW STUFF Worlds' Smallest Digital Signage ENGINEER DAN/DAVE Talk to Us! We work for food.	STAGING & RENTALS Lights, Design, Video Walls, PA GRAPHICS/PRINT Templates and Art Specs Electronic Imaging WEDDING VIDEO "Pick an Expert", DVD, Samples DJ, Photography, Prices STUDIO SERVICES Prices, OnLocation, Editing AUDIO CLASS Oakland U MUS353 NEWS/HOT STUFF What's Happening, Links MASTERING Improve Your Home Mix VIDEO/AUDIO TRUCK 5 Cam, Jib, 24 Track Audio	VOICES & TRANSLATION Voices, Foreign, Dialects, Announcers, Mouth, Listen n Pic WEB, KIOSK DESIGNS Art, Hosting, Interactive, Prices PRICE DILEMMA Program Production ENGINEERING D8B Fader Fix, AVTransmitter Products For Sale VOCAL ELIMINATE Karioki Music Any Song FEEDBACK Free Stuff & Samples BANDS GO HERE! $$ For Music, Our Engineers OUR WEB CAM Watch, Listen, Direct Projects