01_799076 ffirs.qxd 8/23/06 10:21 PM Page i the Unofficial ® Guide to Marketing Your Small Business Marcia Layton Turner 02_799076 ftoc.qxd 8/23/06 10:28 PM Page viii 01_799076 ffirs.qxd 8/23/06 10:21 PM Page i the Unofficial ® Guide to Marketing Your Small Business Marcia Layton Turner 01_799076 ffirs.qxd 8/23/06 10:21 PM Page ii Copyright © 2006 by Marcia Layton Turner Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, record- ing, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. 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Composition Services 02_799076 ftoc.qxd 8/23/06 10:28 PM Page iii Introduction ........................................................xi I Marketing Matters..............................1 1 Zeroing In on Your Customer ......................3 Divide and conquer .....................................4 How many customers make a successful business? .................................5 Who are you currently selling to? ..................6 Understanding demographics.......................10 Picture your perfect customer .....................12 Just the facts ...........................................14 2 Why Customers Buy .................................15 Decisions, decisions: How customers buy ......16 Your product meets their needs ...................19 Your product has a competitive advantage ....20 Your product is priced right ........................22 Your product is convenient .........................24 Just the facts ...........................................25 3 Know Your Enemies .................................27 Who are they?...........................................28 What do they offer?...................................30 How do they measure up?...........................32 What’s their marketing strategy? .................33 Take an inside look at their operations .........35 Information is power .................................39 Just the facts ...........................................39 iii Contents 02_799076 ftoc.qxd 8/23/06 10:28 PM Page iv iv CONTENTS II Planning Your Success....................................41 4 Positioning..............................................................43 Perception is reality ...................................................43 Who’s on first? ..........................................................44 What makes you different? ..........................................45 Positioning strategies .................................................47 Holding on to the lead ...............................................48 The follower advantage...............................................49 Just the facts............................................................50 5 Goal Setting ............................................................51 The bottom line.........................................................51 Financial goals ..........................................................57 Customer goals ..........................................................58 Image goals ..............................................................59 Just the facts............................................................60 6 Your Marketing Plan .................................................61 Why plan?.................................................................62 Outline of a plan .......................................................64 A marketing plan’s long-term value ..............................77 Just the facts............................................................78 III The Least Expensive Ways to Market Your Business.................................79 7 Public Relations.......................................................81 Relevancy .................................................................82 Contact point ............................................................83 PR tools ...................................................................84 More advanced PR tools ..............................................89 Beyond publicity........................................................93 Just the facts............................................................96 8 Networking .............................................................97 Be prepared ..............................................................98 Trade and professional organizations ...........................100 02_799076 ftoc.qxd 8/23/06 10:28 PM Page v CONTENTS v Alumni groups .........................................................101 Volunteer and civic organizations ...............................102 Private clubs ...........................................................103 Online networking ....................................................104 Networking groups and tip clubs ................................106 Barter exchanges......................................................107 Referrals .................................................................108 How not to network..................................................109 Follow up or fail ......................................................111 Just the facts ..........................................................111 9 Public Speaking .....................................................113 Public presentations .................................................114 Seminars.................................................................116 Courses...................................................................117 Webinars.................................................................118 Getting comfortable with public speaking ....................119 Preparing a presentation ...........................................123 Just the facts ..........................................................127 IV Moderately Priced Marketing Approaches .......129 10 Online Marketing ...................................................131 The best online tool: Your Web site ............................132 Digitally communicating your message ........................141 Just the facts ..........................................................148 11 Printed Pieces........................................................149 Must have: The basics ...............................................149 Helpful to have........................................................154 Just the facts ..........................................................166 12 Sales Promotion Opportunities ................................167 Selling to new customers ..........................................168 Selling more to existing customers .............................177 Selling higher value offerings to existing customers ......181 Just the facts ..........................................................184 02_799076 ftoc.qxd 8/23/06 10:28 PM Page vi vi CONTENTS 13 In-Person Marketing ...............................................185 Manning a booth at trade shows ................................186 Setting up appointments and meetings .......................188 Making presentations................................................190 Door-to-door calls ....................................................191 Using sandwich boards..............................................193 Handing out flyers ...................................................193 Just the facts ..........................................................194 14 Telemarketing ........................................................195 Rules you don’t want to break....................................195 Cold calling .............................................................198 Warm calling ...........................................................204 Outsourcing.............................................................204 Inbound telemarketing..............................................205 Teleseminars............................................................206 Just the facts ..........................................................207 V Higher-Cost (But Highly Effective) Marketing Tools ...........................................209 15 Branding ...............................................................211 Consistency .............................................................212 Awards ...................................................................213 Certifications...........................................................215 Promotional products ................................................216 Packaging ...............................................................217 Employee dress and/or uniforms.................................218 Signage ..................................................................219 Sponsorships ...........................................................222 Just the facts ..........................................................224 16 Advertising ............................................................225 Print advertising ......................................................226 Broadcast................................................................232 02_799076 ftoc.qxd 8/23/06 10:28 PM Page vii CONTENTS vii Out-of-home advertising ...........................................233 Indoor opportunities ................................................236 Inserts....................................................................238 Online Advertising....................................................240 Design Do’s and Don’ts..............................................240 Just the facts ..........................................................242 VI Finding What Works and Sticking With It ......243 17 Choices, Choices.....................................................245 The top tier: Selecting the most important activities.....246 Expanding with additional marketing tools ..................248 When to do it yourself; when to delegate ....................249 Just the facts ..........................................................255 18 Evaluating What’s Working and What’s Not...............257 Tracking marketing methods ......................................258 Testing your message(s) ............................................262 Knowing when to stop ..............................................264 Just the facts ..........................................................265 19 Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose ......................................267 One-shot deals are a waste ........................................268 Integrated marketing is the most cost effective............274 Getting better results without breaking the bank..........275 Just the facts ..........................................................275 VII Appendices .................................................277 A Glossary ................................................................279 B Resource Directory .................................................285 Organizations ..........................................................285 Web sites ................................................................286 C Further Reading .....................................................287 Index ....................................................................289 02_799076 ftoc.qxd 8/23/06 10:28 PM Page viii