Leominster Marketing

Marketing.

To some in business this is on their list of “bad words”. Mainly because the word itself conjures up images of dollar signs flowing OUT of their budgets, instead of flowing IN.

Marketing, especially in a small town like Leominster tends to get overlooked by most due to the above reason…cost. Newspapers charge an arm and a leg to run ads, and we all know that a one-time ad is about useless; forcing you to want to run ads for weeks, months, even years at a time.

With profit margins and sales in general shrinking, the ability to set aside a certain percentage of profits to dedicate to advertising is a lesson in futility. So what is a business owner to do?

We all want more sales! And most of us don’t have the cash on hand to afford what we believe to be an effective print advertising campaign. Heck, who even reads the papers anymore, and the ones that do are so conditioned to NOT look at ads, chances have it yours won’t get seen!

So what are we supposed to do???? Give up? Let nature take its course and let whatever happens…just happen?

No! In tough times we need to be flexible and open to new ideas. Someone once said the definition of “crazy” is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. So do something different. Remember, this is YOUR business we are talking about. You have put countless hours of blood, sweat and even tears into building this. You have sacrificed family time, missed out on many “fun” opportunities! I have one word for you….F I G H T.

Fight for your business! If what was working no longer is cutting it, try something else. Marketing is the answer, regardless of whether you want to hear it or not. Marketing does not have to cost you a fortune,  and there are so many ways to market…only limited by your imagination!

Of course I am a fan of web marketing, so naturally I would choose to maximize my web efforts first and foremost. The cost for a website is so affordable now that not having one makes no sense whatsoever. It can be used to inform and educate your current and potential customers, as well as recruit and qualify new leads for you. The cost is minimal in comparison to the lifetime value of a customer. If your competitors have a website, they are stealing your customers, whether you know it or not!

Adamant that the web is not for you and your business? Ok, how about in-store promotions? Email campaigns? Thought about changing your signage? How about sponsoring a local event?

Have a highly visible store-front? How about doing something remarkable and eye catching with a display? Something that jumps out and grabs  attention?

Leominster’s Annual Summer Stroll is coming up this summer, thought about setting up a booth? Where else will you get thousands of LOCAL residents walking into your “store”??? Talk about word-of-mouth!!!

My point here is to think outside of the box. Hell, take the box, stomp it into the dirt, then toss it in the recycle bin. Promoting yourself does not have to cost gobs of cash!! Use your imagination and come up with something that will make you stand out and help spread the word. No one knows your business or has as much passion as you do for it, so get out of your current mindset and go promote yourself!!

FREE Restaurant Marketing using FaceBook

Own a restaurant? Trying to find new ways to attract new customers and/or retain existing ones?

Well I have one of many solutions for you, and this one is FREE!!! Yup, the “F” word. A business owners favorite word. And the answer lies within another “F” word…FaceBook.

By setting up a free FaceBook account, you can create a “fan” page. This “fan page” can be all about your Restaurant.

What’s the advantage of this you ask? Well the power of FaceBook is exponential. Once on, you will be able to network with tons of friends you didn’t even know had accounts of their own, and are immediately exposed to each of THEIR friends. This could result in tons of people reading the things that you write…and follow you on to your “fan page”.

To create a page, you would click here.

The page about your restaurant (fan page) can now be used to announce specials, new meals, discount codes, and general promotion.What better way to get an army of people to see your business!! By the way, you can also easily upload pictures and video right from your computer without any special programming skills.

The sheer scope and range of FaceBook is amazing, and before you know it your restaurant will be packed with customers…most of whom saw it on FaceBook.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE

Creating a “BUZZ” about YOUR Business

Creating a BUZZ about YOUR Business

As small business owners, we ALL want people to go out and talk up our business…unless what you do is illegal, in which case this might not be for you(lol).

We all work hard day in and day out ensuring that our businesses run properly and effeciently with hopes of reaping the rewards and defying the odds of the “most small businesses fail within 5 years” mantra.

We all know the importance of word-of-mouth advertising. Heck, as small biz owners we actually might even consider that our entire marketing strategy! BUT, put yourself in your customers shoes…

Read more

Video for YOUR small business?

As you know, YouTube is a very powerful medium when it comes to video’s. We have all at one point in time gone their to watch a funny video, or maybe look up a “How-To” instructional video.

However, this is also a VERY powerful resource for small business owners! Have you ever thought about putting together a short one or two minute video for your business? If not…you should! The traffic alone is well worth it, along with the fact that you can easily copy/paste code from YouTube right into your blog or website(see example below) and use it as a commercial.

Video is a very powerful medium, and nothing says you have to use actual video. you can use Windows Movie Maker that is most likely right on your computer to make a slide show presentation. You can take pictures of your business, yourselves, logo’s, products…or whatever you can dream up! Always make a title screen with your business name and website and close with that to make a lasting impression.

Don’t have Windows Movie Maker?

Here’s a great tip: Animoto <—Perfect for slideshows! Go there(shhh, it is free)

Feel overwhelmed with how to use YouTube? Check out the video below:

Leominster Marketing Guerrilla Style

Does the picture on the right make you stop and stare? It should, and it is an excellent example of a guerrilla marketing campaign!

One of the best resources available today is the Guerrilla Marketing series by Jay Conrad Levinson.

I first read Guerrilla Marketing back when the very first book came out, and I was amazed at the creativity in my own mind that it unlocked. As you read through you need to keep a notepad handy because you will be simply amazed at all of the great ideas youwill generate!

Guerrilla Marketing is great for businesses on a budget or even NO budget when it comes to advertising. Some of the greatest impact campaigns were Guerrilla inspired, and cost almost nothing to implement. In today’s tough economic times, trying to find money to put towards marketing is nearly impossible.

Guerrilla’s embrace that fact and look forward to the challenge of marketing out of the box. In tough times especially, a business must learn to market themselves. Most cut back and any advertising they did do stops immediately due to cost cutting. That is perfectly understandable, and most “guru’s” that preach advertising in tough times must have forgotten what’s it like to wonder where next months rent is coming from…and how hard it is to pry ad money when you have to make payroll.

Here are some great free tools to help you get in the Guerrilla “mindset”:

http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/

http://www.dailybits.com/17-guerrilla-marketing-ideas-for-your-website/

http://www.bootstrappingblog.com/50-guerrilla-marketing-tactics-you-should-be-using