Business Marketing

People think that they are standing alone in their business marketing. They believe they don’t need to market and advertise their business, that new customers will just magically appear!

Disillusionment happens to the best! You can’t expect to have ready made business from day one, without doing some form of promotion leading up to the Big Day! And if you are not continually keeping up with some form of marketing/advertising then you will fall into the “outta sight, outta mind” syndrome.  Losing the edge and the customers you were so sure would find you.

New customers don’t fall out of trees on your doorstep. It takes planning and promoting to get your message out there and across to your potential customers.

Longevity and Consistency – this is the key to all media success.  Internet Radio, online ads, print media, (magazines, newspaper etc..), Social Media, FM Stations, Newsletters, email campaigns, e-newletters, flyers, brochures, etc…..

You get the picture!

All of the forms of media listed above have something good to offer. The key is deciding which one will work best for you putting a plan of action into place.

Which one is best for you?  Is it online, not online, on the radio, on an Internet radio???

The choice is yours.

1. Which one will have the best impact?

2. Which one gets the most traffic?

3. Which one is the most cost effective?

4. Which one? Which one? Which ONE?

My best advice is talk to someone who does marketing for the best options for your business.  Don’t go generic!! Make it specific and pin pointed, geared for you and your business.  Find out what sets you apart from anyone else doing what you do.

What makes you unique? Why would someone want to do business with you? What do you do that would give you the edge over your competitors?

I would love to hear your opinions on what sets you apart from others in your field.

Ask for referrals

Many people hesitate to ask for referrals. We tend to assume that if our clients like what we do for them they will spread the word. That’s not always true.  If you recruit the assistance of your happy clients your business will flourish. Supply them with materials to forward or hand to their friends and family. Make it easy for people to spread the word about you.  When you build a relationship with your clients, establishing the groundwork, and showing them you appreciate who they are, makes asking them for referrals come much easier.

Don’t be fooled, your clients are an extension of you. When you go the extra mile to build that relationship, it opens many new doors. Your clients will be happy to give you referrals when they are happy with the service you provide.

So go ahead and take the necessary steps to make your clients happy and satisfied with the service you provide. As you get to know them, they are also getting to know you. How much can you benefit from their Circle of Influence? And how much more can you grow your Circle of Influence by having happy and satisfied clients?  This is a great way to increase the branding of your services and company.

Remember to ask for the referral.

 

 

Marketing vs Advertising

Many don’t realize that Marketing and Advertising are 2 separate avenues for a business to use as tools when promoting their business.

Marketing is done with consistency and longevity, being in front of potential clientele daily. This also helps you brand your business. When you market your business daily, being seen over and over by potential clients, you leave an impression on them. They may not need your services right now, however down the road when the need arises, you will be the one they think about. Why?

Because they have seen your ad or heard your commercial daily and will call you to get the answers they need or the product you promote.

 Advertising is done with promotions, like B1G1, 50% off, etc…

When you want to move products, like retail stores do, you throw out specials to bring in customers. The better the specials, the more traffic you bring in. Advertising is really geared for old school thinking.  Though times are changing, print is still out there and ads with B1G1 and 50% off still attracts attention. If you haven’t noticed, people are no longer attracted to small percentages off a product and B2G2 or B3G1 are the most appealing. Due to competition driving the market, you have to give more and more away, discounting pricing so low is the only way to bring in the traffic you desire and need.

 So where do you go from here?  Do you Market? Do you Advertise?

 The answer is yes.

  If you desire and need foot traffic in your doors and you have product you need to move, advertise. Just don’t make it an everyday or every week deal. Do it once a quarter, if you can.  Advertise as a bonus not a mandatory event.

 If you are looking at long term and have the desire to show your potential clients/customers that you plan on being around for a while, have quality products, great customer service and the desire to be there when they need you, then Marketing is your gold key to growth. 

Marketing and Advertising together can be dynamic when used the right way.

Marketing and Advertising wrongly implemented can be a disaster and send the wrong message.

What message are you trying to send to potential clients/customers?  How are you doing it? And what results are you hoping to get?

 Marketing vs Advertising

 If you have questions please contact us.

 Have a great day!

It’s day 3 of the count down to Feb 29t

It’s day 3 of the count down to Feb 29th being “Peace Within Day”. One day that everyone chooses to share peace with others. It’s that simple!

Instead of anger, be at peace
Instead of lashing out, let it go
Instead of hurting someone, be nice to them
Instead of disgust, show compassion
Instead of a grudge, an act of forgiveness

We are all human, we all have our differences, but for just one day, just one day,

We can all come together and have a day filled with peace around the world.

A simple smile, a hug or a kind gesture is all it takes!

Let go on Feb. 29th and have Peace Within!

Share this post on your Facebook wall, your Twitter or LinkedIn Page Share it with a friend or on your blog.

Help us to make the “Peace Within Campaign” go Viral world wide by the 29th of February. It’s only up to you to share around the world.

Join us in sharing around the globe Feb

Join us in sharing around the globe Feb 29th as “Peace Within Day”. One day that everyone chooses to share peace with others. Instead of anger, be at peace. Instead of lashing out, let it go. Share this post on your facebook wall, Twitter, or Linkedin page. Share it with your friends, on your blog. Feb 29th, “Peace Within Day”. Help us make it viral.

Peace Within Day!

Join us on February 29^th for our Peace Within Campaign.

One day that everyone chooses to share peace with others. It’s that simple!

Instead of anger, be at peace

Instead of lashing out, let it go

Instead of hurting someone, be nice to them

Instead of disgust, show compassion

We are all human, we all have our differences, but for just one day, just one day,

We can all come together and have a day filled with peace around the world.

A simple smile, a hug or a kind gesture is all it takes!

Let go on Feb. 29^th and have Peace Within!

Go to our Facebook page, Tucker Communications, and find the post Peace Within and share the post on your Facebook wall, your Twitter or LinkedIn Page and share it with a friend or on your blog. 

Help us to make the “Peace Within Campaign” go Viral by the 29^th of February

Peace Within Day! Join us on February 29

Peace Within Day!

Join us on February 29th for our Peace Within Campaign.

One day that everyone chooses to share peace with others. It’s that simple!

Instead of anger, be at peace
Instead of lashing out, let it go
Instead of hurting someone, be nice to them
Instead of disgust, show compassion

We are all human, we all have our differences, but for just one day, just one day,

We can all come together and have a day filled with peace around the world.

A simple smile, a hug or a kind gesture is all it takes!

Let go on Feb. 29th and have Peace Within!

Share this post on your Facebook wall, your Twitter or LinkedIn Page and share it with a friend or on your blog.

Help us to make the “Peace Within Campaign” go Viral by the 29th of February

What should small business owners focus their marketing efforts on in 2012?

2012 is here and for small business owners the task of developing a solid online marketing strategy looms ahead, too.

What should small business owners focus their marketing efforts on in 2012?

What marketing strategies will yield high conversion rates and generate lucrative sales for small businesses?

Which methods of online marketing will give you the exposure you are looking for to grow your business?

Your online reputation is going to become more important than ever in 2012. You need to be aware, monitor and maintain your online reputation closely. You don’t want to lose potential clients due to a negative post that appears about your company in a search results. It’s important to take control of your online information. You’ve got to spend time each day putting out positive content about who you are, what you do and what you have to offer.

Spend 15 minutes a day putting out info about your company using social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs, Live and Google.  These social media platforms are the life of any business in positive and negative ways. If you are taking the time to build a good reputation you will benefit from it in the long term. However if you are not monitoring what others are saying, then negative comments could be your downfall.

So what should small business owners focus their marketing efforts on in 2012. My answer is online marketing through the mentioned social media platforms. Build a presence, post daily, and tell people about it by cross linking all available.

What are you doing in 2012 to Market?  Let me know what your doing, and let me know if I can help. 

2012 – Rockin’ your way to success and reapin’ the rewards!

People need to speak less and listen more when they are networking

Experts say people need to speak less and listen more when they are networking.

How do you fit into this?  Do you listen when you are meeting someone? Do you automatically start talking about yourself and what you do? Do you try to sell the person you are having the conversation with?

 These are all relevant questions to ask yourself. A first impression is one you can never get back and will stay with you for years to come. It can define who you are as a person and a business owner or representation. 

 If you come off as a “it’s all about me” person when you are meeting with someone, imagine how many people they will tell in their “Circle of Influence” and then imagine how many people that “Circle of Influence” is going to tell.  Those numbers can run into the thousands. 

 

Overwhelming isn’t it?  Imagine if you do this with 5 people or even 10 people.

Now how is that going to impact your business?  Not a pretty thought is it?

 

This is also the same for you if you make a good lasting impression on the person you are meeting with. Now do the math again. 

If you use the same scenario but have a positive influence on the person you are meeting with, that “good person to know / connected with” reputation is been magnified times 10 and you have just increased your “Circle of Influence” astronomically. 

 Networking is serious business and is not to be taken lightly.

 When you are talking to someone, be attentive to what they are saying, listen to the details and make mental notes for future references. Little details like are they married, do they have kids, or are they talking about a pet. These details when remembered means you were paying attention and actually listening to them. And when you bring this back up in a future conversation, it tells them you were listening.  Something as simple as, how’s your kids doing? Are you and Scruffy still enjoying playing ball? 

 This might seem like a waste of time to you, however by making it personal, you have a much higher ratio for doing business with this person, all because you took the time to remind them of something that is very special to them.  And in the end, you actually got what you desired… business, revenue or the best referral you have ever had!!

 I have been building relationships for 7 years for my company. I have invested hours and hours, networking and getting to know thousands of people. My sales people complain all the time because in every networking group they go to, someone knows me or of my company. My sales people also find that it also is very beneficial to them.

 

So build your relationships, spend time getting to know the people and watch how you can grow your business by having others grow it for you. 

 

Building networking connections can be good or bad depending on how you handle it.

Are you one of the people that need to speak less and listen more when they are networking? 

 What are your thoughts?

Accomplishing Your Goals or Self Sabotage

Accomplishing Your Goals or Self Sabotage?

We, as in humans, sometimes get in the way of moving things forward.

What do I mean? Self-doubt, lack of confidence, fear of success and/or failure, negative messages, dwelling on the past, etc. occasionally rear their ugly heads and black out good, positive momentum. Well guess what, everyone does it and you are not alone.

We all have the tendency to play the “self sabotage” game. It seems like we get so caught up in the fear of success that we cripple our efforts to make good. Whether it is our life or our business, we have to be on top of our game if we are going to make a go at success. 

What do you need to do in to eliminate the “self sabotage” antics that riddle you daily?  One thing is that you can set obtainable goals, not unrealistic goals. Many people set goals that they know can never be obtained. Why? Normally due to lack of knowledge, sometimes due to thinking that “there is no way people wouldn’t want their product or services”,  or maybe because they think they have to.

Goals should be done in baby steps, not giant leaps. This gives you the opportunity to actually accomplish the goals, giant leaps can set you up for failure.  Remember, when your ask “how do you eat an elephant?” The answer is not “all at once”, it is “one bite at a time”. 

When you face your goals, face them one bite at a time and be successful and proud of the accomplishments.

So which are you doing? Accomplishing Your Goals or Self Sabotage?

Happy Hump Day!
Sheila