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10 Ways to Brand Your Internet Shopping Websites
ByChristopher D.
One of the latest reports by a leading website traffic ranking site claimed that they are tracking over 133 million blogs. If you think about all the standard websites as well, this number will be even bigger. The result is hundreds, if not thousands of blogs and websites on virtually every single niche on the web. You can also bet that a good percentage of those will be offering outstanding quality content just like you do, so the competition is fierce. So how can you stand out and market your internet shopping portal effectively on the web?
In a word: Branding
Brick and mortar businesses have discovered the importance of branding decades ago, but on the Internet this is a very new trend (just five years ago you didn’t have that many websites around after all). What follows is 10 ways to brand your internet shopping portal efficiently. Branding your business as an owner is a very effective step into driving traffic to your web portal.
1. Make Your Purpose Known - You must have a crystal clear vision about the purpose of your website, and you must communicate that to the visitors as well. They must know why they are visiting your website. Why it is worth their time. The customer is always asking in their heads, ‘tell me what you have to say quickly so i can decide if you have what I need’ “I am going to write about my business” isn’t going to cut it. What part of your business you are going to write about? What angle you are going to have? Breaking news? Deep analysis? Where will the value to your readers come from? You need to be able to answer to those questions easily. Your aim is to make people associate a concept or thing with your website. If I say online video, you are going to think YouTube. If I say Coca Cola, you’re going to think soft drink. You get the idea. Now you must make this with your own website. It is not easy, and it takes time, but you should always keep this principle in mind.
2. Keeping Your Tagline Consistent - Using a tagline is not mandatory, although it can help if you come up with a really catchy and descriptive one. The important thing, however, is that you stick with it. It’s got stick in people’s heads. If you change your tagline every other month, people won’t remember it, and they might even get confused about it. With most internet shopping portals offering millions of products from partner stores, your ability to choose a niche market is great. Choosing several products of relevance to market online is a great way to start focused marketing efforts to drive portal traffic. If you are going to use a tagline, you could also consider adding it to the title tag of your website. This will make sure that the tagline will be displayed on search engines when users come across your site, reinforcing the message that you want to pass.
3. Investing Money in a Good Logo - Just like medieval castles used their flags to identify themselves, websites are identified by their logos. If you have limited money to spend on design, make sure that the logo is your top priority. These days you can get good looking logos for as low as $100 (obviously though that the more you spend the higher the quality you should get). The logo is important because it is the first thing that visitors pay attention to, and usually it is also the image that will stick on their mind once they are gone. Additionally, whenever people mention your website on a blog, they will consider using your logo as an illustration on the article, meaning that the logo itself will characterize your site even on external places.
4. Having a Consistent Writing Style - There are many studies confirming that the writing part of a blog or website is one of the main parameters that readers use to determine the overall quality of that site. You need to be consistent with your writing style if you want to strength your brand with it. It does not matter if you write bringing your personal experiences aboard or if you try to keep a more neutral tone, the important thing is to be consistent with it.
5. Making the Content Match the Design - The overall look and feel of your design must match the content. If you plan to talk about myWorld, it would be weird to have flowers on the background image, right? Identify what your core audience is going to be, and design around their perceptions and preferences. If you are going to write for professionals or older people, perhaps a traditional newspaper look would be a good choice. If your readers will be younger, a more colorful design could be used. And so on.
6. Maintaining Color Consistency - Make sure to choose a color palette and to stick with it. Colors and moods are very easy to be remembered, so use this in your favor. You could use the main color on the links, on the footer and so on. If you are going to create special images or badges for the website, make them match the overall color pattern. Also, keep a consistent set of font types throughout your blog, website, and other marketing. Online, this is called CSS, or cascading style sheets. Most popular blogs have CSS built in, but others like MySpace, allow you unlimited possibilities, and can clutter and hinder your message and your brand. Throughout the years it is a good bet that you will need to give a face-lift to you design. That is fine, as long as you keep consistent with the color readers will still feel at home, and your brand will be kept intact.
7. Using Your Website Portal’s Name on Social Media - Are you going to use Twitter? FriendFeed? Facebook? MySpace? If you are, you could create an account on each of those services specifically for your website. Then tell your network of friends about your shopping portal and post links. Social networks are a big online trend, and probably one that will last. If you manage to get your site inside those networks, your brand will rejoice.
8. Spending Money on Advertising - If branding was easy, companies around the world would not spend billions of dollars every year on advertising right? It is possible to create a strong downline without spending money on advertising, but paid promotional efforts can certainly make you reach this goal easier and faster. If you don’t have a big budget, you could consider spending money only during the initial period and on the first few months. Use the money to kick start your brand, and after that work with the content, refine your message and use the free methods. One advantage of paid advertising is that it allows you to deliver a specific message to a specific audience. If you purchase a banner on a popular blog, for example, you know who will be reading that, and you can tailor your words to pass your brand to those readers.
9. Use PPC Advertising Networks to extend your brand - Google AdWords is the most popular option under this category, but there are also others. Basically you need to sign up with the network and choose keywords related to what you are selling. The profitability of PPC advertising depends on the general traffic levels of the website and, most importantly cost per click (CPC). The CPC depends on the ability to hook your readers with a simple, effective message. Mortgages, financial products and college education are examples of profitable niches (clicks worth a couple of dollars are not rare), while tech-related topics tend to receive a smaller CPC (sometimes as low as a couple of cents per click). You will receive a higher click through rate (CTR) the better your message can convert interested web surfers into customers. The source of the traffic can also affect the overall CTR rate. Search engine traffic (the one that comes from search engines) tends to perform well because these visitors were already looking for something, and they tend to click on ads more often.
10. Spread it Virally - Branding is psychological, and you will need to get inside people’s thoughts. Sometimes this will inevitably be a numbers game. That is, the more exposure you manage to give to your brand in front of the web surfer, the longer it will stick with them. Practically speaking, use your logo and website address in a many different places as possible. Put the link on your email signatures. Write guest articles for popular blogs and put your website name on the byline. Talk about your website in online forums. Purchase advertising banners. Stamp t-shirts with your website logo on it and so on.
I am an internet marketing specialist working for Market America, a leader in the one-to-one marketing & sales industry. My company, Market America, has paid out over $1.4 billion in commissions to independent business owners using a workable and tested business plan. The work a distributor does translates directly into real income. To learn more about Market America, [http://www.marketamerica.com]visit our website & see for yourself the company that was built on product, & powered by people.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_D. http://EzineArticles.com/?10-Ways-to-Brand-Your-Internet-Shopping-Websites&id=1847661
The Secret to Using Direct Mail in Small Business Marketing
By]Dennis Francis
Many small business owners that I work with equate direct mail with large corporate mailing campaigns. When I ask them if they have ever coordinated a direct mail campaign the answer is usually no. They usually tell me that it’s too expensive and time consuming to try to sell their products or service using direct mail.
I’ve found that the best way to use direct mail is to create an offer that your specific target market will find irresistible. This should be a free offer that requires the reader to take an action to receive his or her gift. Preferably, the prospect should go to the web page indicated on the mailer which requires them to fill in their email contact information in order to benefit from the mailing.
You have now created a leads generating machine. If you can do the research necessary to find your target audience, you will be able profit from your mailing campaign. Here are 10 essential tips for conducting a leads generating direct mail campaign.
1.Start small; test your market with a relatively small sampling of your mailing list. If you have 10,000 names and addresses, start with a 1,000. Test your ad copy, test your offer; be sure of the results before committing to a full blown campaign.
2. Don’t get greedy, know your averages; stick to your averages and make an initial free offer. Your prospects don’t know you from a hole in the wall. You job is to sort through the list of un-proven addresses and qualify the mailing list. That means those who immediately value the offer will stop to take action. Those people have been qualified. The mailing campaign should continue to qualify your list.
3. Once is not enough. If you have experience dating, you know that most people take a few dates to decide if they really like a person enough to commit to “going out”. Most people don’t get married after the first date. Remember that the idea building a relationship with your prospects will pay off very well in the long run if you take the time to pursue them properly. You will need to follow up with your list a few times to let them know that you are serious.
4. Separate your new subscribers; the ones who took advantage of your free offer from the rest of your mailing list. Don’t send them the same mailing with the same free offer again. They now go on your warm prospects list. These folks are ready to see an offer for your retail products or services.
5. Once you have someone on your email list, send them a series of emails. Give valuable information on their topic of interest. Your communication should be brief and lead to a link where they can read more or view more material. If you pitch a promotion to them, follow up if you don’t make the close.
6. Vary your direct mail source. If you are sending letters, send a postcard next. You will want to test postcards the same way you tested letters. People will be trained to identify your mail piece after a while.
7. Always match the look and feel of your direct mail piece to the intended market. Design the mailer in a professional regardless of the style. Be sure to consistently deliver a professional project. If you seriously consider the market you are shooting for, you’ll get the required results.
Learn how to boost your business income from the author of “Double My Revenues In 12 Months or Less” and “Push Button Profits! A 30 Day Program For Making $120,000 A Year On Auto Pilot” Head over to the site and sign up for your free 30 day course now before it’s too late!=> http://DoubleMyRevenues.com/coaching/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Francis http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Secret-to-Using-Direct-Mail-in-Small-Business-Marketing&id=1850618
Three Referral Generating Tricks Can Boost Your Business
ByDennis Francis
Can you continue to do business without ever hunting for a new client ever again? Could you at the press of a button get all the work you want and then some? That has been the Holy Grail of small business owners since I’ve been working in the small business support field. Sure it happens to some people; they have been doing business for 25 years and know everyone in town.
The problem is that most cities and towns have rapid turnovers in population in these times. Our social structure is now more like a river than a pool. If you aren’t constantly updating your client list you will be out of business in a couple of years.
First figure out what an average client is worth to you over the life of your relationship. If you are in a position to help your client over a long span of time, you will find it to your advantage to develop a referral system. Here are three tactics for building a solid referral program from the ground up:
Endorsement letters
You can actually send your favorite clients an endorsement letter to help introduce you and your services to their friends. This works well if you have something free to give to their contacts. Create an endorsement letter and have them read it. Suggest that they make changes to it so that the letter has their “voice”.
Referral Generating Social Events
If you are a member of your local chamber of commerce, you can sponsor an event in your local area. You can also sponsor online events now as well. The goal is to have your network of contacts invite their network of contacts. If you get a few sponsors together, you could make the event more lavish and more successful.
Strategic Referrals
If you have a specific niche market that allows you to identify a small but exclusive prospect list, you can literally develop a support network of contacts that can steer you to your intended target market. For instance if you paint and refinish the interiors of large wooden homes, you might want to get in touch with all the local carpenters and home builders who specialize in wooden houses. You might contact a list of realtors to find out who has plans to upgrade their homes for sale or just purchased and want to re-do the interiors. Developing strong stage two networks is a great way to build business “word of mouth”. Don’t forget to refer your friends to those that have helped you.
You might not live exclusively off your referrals but you will get more of them if you practice these three little used referral generators.
Learn how to boost your business income from the author of “Double My Revenues In 12 Months or Less” and “Push Button Profits! A 30 Day Program For Making $120,000 A Year On Auto Pilot” Head over to the site and sign up for your free 30 day course now before it’s too late!=> http://DoubleMyRevenues.com/coaching/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Francis http://EzineArticles.com/?Three-Referral-Generating-Tricks-Can-Boost-Your-Business&id=1850647
The ABC’s of Trade Show and Exhibit Marketing
By Mel White
Overview
Exhibit marketing is more than just selling from a booth space
Trade shows allow companies to showcase their achievements, build their business, and maintain their competitive edge
You can learn to be a guru. Become certified
Understand and track your Return on Investment (ROI). Creating a well-defined budget is the best method to track and manage your total investment in a particular show
If you need help, rely on your local exhibit consultant or contract with an exhibit consulting firm
What is Exhibit Marketing?
Exhibit marketing is all about marketing your products or services to buyers at expositions, conferences, and trade shows. A successful program will be rewarded with increased revenues, referrals, and industry networking. The goal is to understand how exhibit marketing differs from the other types of marketing.
Exhibit marketing is more than just selling from a booth space. For many industries, it’s about bringing people and companies together to promote accomplishments, stimulate thought, share knowledge, build relationships, spur the competitive spirit, and reward entrepreneurial efforts. Exhibit marketing not only introduces buyers to sellers, but also fuels the competitive spirit by filling a hall with competitors, partners, and suppliers, each with goals and dreams of success. Trade shows allow companies to showcase their achievements, build their business, and maintain their competitive edge.
Exhibit marketing, like any marketing, must be learned through experience and education. It isn’t taught in most colleges and universities, or covered in most reference or textbooks, but if you are new to exhibit marketing, you can learn a great deal about it on the Internet and from your local exhibit consultant before risking a single dollar.
Exhibitors must learn how to attract interest, to be remembered, and to turn prospects into customers. At a trade show, buyers and sellers are overloaded with choices and information. As an exhibitor, your marketing message can be consistent from show to show, or it can be tailored to the show and the location. Good marketing and salesmanship, however, are always involved.
Types of Exhibit Marketing
There are different types of exhibit marketing: retail, business-to-business, and event marketing. Retail shows typically focus on selling products and closing deals directly at the booth. Business-to-business shows focus on forging new relationships that are cemented after the show. Event marketing aims more towards delivering a message or creating brand awareness.
Training and Certification
In the United States, there are two primary trade shows for trade show professionals: The [http://www.exhibitoronline.com/exhibitorshow/2009/index.asp]EXHIBITOR Show and [http://www.ts2show.com/]TS2. These shows offer trade show certification for people wanting to complete a curriculum of classes and seminars. The curriculum aims to cover all aspects of exhibit marketing. The classes are taught by industry experts whose expertise and opinion may vary. These certification programs, along with on-line resources and books, provide enough basic information to develop an effective marketing strategy for your company.
Return on Investment (ROI)
Research shows that attendees recall only 15% of the companies they visit on the show floor. The other 85% are forgotten. The reasons vary. The company may have a weak exhibit or an ineffective sales presentation. Some companies are simply forgotten due to the inherent clutter and sensory overload of a trade show. This research data should be very important to you. You must never forget that show participation is a competition for attendee time and retention. Your ROI is directly related to your attention to, and overall performance in, all aspects of trade show marketing.
Creating a well-defined budget and comparing it against actual expenses is the best method to track and manage your total investment in a particular show. If you sell products in a retail show, then the revenue is easy to tally up and compare to the expenses for the ROI. If your show is one where prospecting, branding, and market positioning are the norm, then the ROI is more difficult to measure. Other benefits are difficult to measure but quite valuable just the same. These intangible benefits may be direct or indirect, and exhibit marketers look for subtle hints of these returns and weigh them against the opportunity cost of not exhibiting.
Using an Exhibit Consulting Firm
If conducting research on the web or taking exhibit-marketing seminars isn’t sufficient, you may want to consider using a consulting firm that specializes in helping companies succeed with their exhibit marketing efforts. Often these consulting firms cover general marketing as well as exhibit marketing. These firms provide a fresh perspective and advice based on years of experience. Typically, they bring a level of seasoned experience along with the desire to find successful marketing solutions for your company.
Survey Service Providers
If you are looking for research information to support your decisions, there are companies that provide research and survey services for this purpose. Speak with an exhibit consultant about which firms the consultant recommends.
Mel White is the V.P. of Marketing and Business Development for Classic Exhibits Inc., a designer and manufacturer of portable, modular, and hybrid displays. Mel White has spent the past 15 years immersed in trade show marketing, having worked for three trade show exhibit manufacturers and personally assisted hundreds of trade show clients. You can reach Mel at Classic Exhibits, [http://www.classicexhibits.com]http://www.classicexhibits.com, through the Contact Page or the Ask Classic email submission form. I welcome your questions and comments and look forward to hearing more about your [http://www.classicexhibits.com/]trade show exhibit marketing goals.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mel_White http://EzineArticles.com/?The-ABCs-of-Trade-Show-and-Exhibit-Marketing&id=1863678
The ABC’s of Trade Show and Exhibit Marketing
ByMel White
Overview
Exhibit marketing is more than just selling from a booth space
Trade shows allow companies to showcase their achievements, build their business, and maintain their competitive edge
You can learn to be a guru. Become certified
Understand and track your Return on Investment (ROI). Creating a well-defined budget is the best method to track and manage your total investment in a particular show
If you need help, rely on your local exhibit consultant or contract with an exhibit consulting firm
What is Exhibit Marketing?
Exhibit marketing is all about marketing your products or services to buyers at expositions, conferences, and trade shows. A successful program will be rewarded with increased revenues, referrals, and industry networking. The goal is to understand how exhibit marketing differs from the other types of marketing.
Exhibit marketing is more than just selling from a booth space. For many industries, it’s about bringing people and companies together to promote accomplishments, stimulate thought, share knowledge, build relationships, spur the competitive spirit, and reward entrepreneurial efforts. Exhibit marketing not only introduces buyers to sellers, but also fuels the competitive spirit by filling a hall with competitors, partners, and suppliers, each with goals and dreams of success. Trade shows allow companies to showcase their achievements, build their business, and maintain their competitive edge.
Exhibit marketing, like any marketing, must be learned through experience and education. It isn’t taught in most colleges and universities, or covered in most reference or textbooks, but if you are new to exhibit marketing, you can learn a great deal about it on the Internet and from your local exhibit consultant before risking a single dollar.
Exhibitors must learn how to attract interest, to be remembered, and to turn prospects into customers. At a trade show, buyers and sellers are overloaded with choices and information. As an exhibitor, your marketing message can be consistent from show to show, or it can be tailored to the show and the location. Good marketing and salesmanship, however, are always involved.
Types of Exhibit Marketing
There are different types of exhibit marketing: retail, business-to-business, and event marketing. Retail shows typically focus on selling products and closing deals directly at the booth. Business-to-business shows focus on forging new relationships that are cemented after the show. Event marketing aims more towards delivering a message or creating brand awareness.
Training and Certification
In the United States, there are two primary trade shows for trade show professionals: The [http://www.exhibitoronline.com/exhibitorshow/2009/index.asp]EXHIBITOR Show and [http://www.ts2show.com/]TS2. These shows offer trade show certification for people wanting to complete a curriculum of classes and seminars. The curriculum aims to cover all aspects of exhibit marketing. The classes are taught by industry experts whose expertise and opinion may vary. These certification programs, along with on-line resources and books, provide enough basic information to develop an effective marketing strategy for your company.
Return on Investment (ROI)
Research shows that attendees recall only 15% of the companies they visit on the show floor. The other 85% are forgotten. The reasons vary. The company may have a weak exhibit or an ineffective sales presentation. Some companies are simply forgotten due to the inherent clutter and sensory overload of a trade show. This research data should be very important to you. You must never forget that show participation is a competition for attendee time and retention. Your ROI is directly related to your attention to, and overall performance in, all aspects of trade show marketing.
Creating a well-defined budget and comparing it against actual expenses is the best method to track and manage your total investment in a particular show. If you sell products in a retail show, then the revenue is easy to tally up and compare to the expenses for the ROI. If your show is one where prospecting, branding, and market positioning are the norm, then the ROI is more difficult to measure. Other benefits are difficult to measure but quite valuable just the same. These intangible benefits may be direct or indirect, and exhibit marketers look for subtle hints of these returns and weigh them against the opportunity cost of not exhibiting.
Using an Exhibit Consulting Firm
If conducting research on the web or taking exhibit-marketing seminars isn’t sufficient, you may want to consider using a consulting firm that specializes in helping companies succeed with their exhibit marketing efforts. Often these consulting firms cover general marketing as well as exhibit marketing. These firms provide a fresh perspective and advice based on years of experience. Typically, they bring a level of seasoned experience along with the desire to find successful marketing solutions for your company.
Survey Service Providers
If you are looking for research information to support your decisions, there are companies that provide research and survey services for this purpose. Speak with an exhibit consultant about which firms the consultant recommends.
Mel White is the V.P. of Marketing and Business Development for Classic Exhibits Inc., a designer and manufacturer of portable, modular, and hybrid displays. Mel White has spent the past 15 years immersed in trade show marketing, having worked for three trade show exhibit manufacturers and personally assisted hundreds of trade show clients. You can reach Mel at Classic Exhibits, [http://www.classicexhibits.com]http://www.classicexhibits.com, through the Contact Page or the Ask Classic email submission form. I welcome your questions and comments and look forward to hearing more about your [http://www.classicexhibits.com/]trade show exhibit marketing goals.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mel_White http://EzineArticles.com/?The-ABCs-of-Trade-Show-and-Exhibit-Marketing&id=1863678
How to Generate 5-10,000 Dollars in New Membership Or Client Sales in the Next 60-90 Days Guaranteed
By Kim Martin
Admittedly This Is A Long Post But If You’d Like To See How To Generate $5-$10,000 Or More In The Next 60-90 Days Then Your In For A Method That Will Do Exactly That If Followed Correctly.
What I’m about to show you is a simple cost effective way to do just that, providing that your staff are willing to use the phone which is ANY businesses most powerful tool (despite this it amazes me how many salespeople would rather have root canal than pick up the phone and make cash generating, lead producing cash register ka-chinging sales call, but that’s for another day).
Okay Get ready, relax in a quite area and make sure your not disturbed get a glass of your favorite beverage here we go.
Your best way of generating new members is to work with the ones you already have, makes sense doesn’t it? Your members have friends, family, relatives, acquaintances, etc why not involve your members who are already (hopefully) raving fans of your customer service in generating more business for you. It doesn’t matter how much opposition you have applied correctly this idea will gain you more new members/clients in record time
Here is an example of what we did to make that happen
We printed out all our current members database and the date of there last visit, we then devised a script that went along the lines of a “Courtesy call” to let them know that we were shutting for 3 days due to renovations for the exciting new exercise timetable we then went on to say that they were welcome to introduce a friend or family for a FREE month of membership to try out these classes with no obligation. However we also let them know that if their family member (living under the same roof ) joined we would give them a half price membership!
On a direct debit membership they could pay by the week for only $8-95 or pay in full for only $395 for 12 months saving $120 odd dollars over the direct debit method. You can tailor this offer to suit your services, it works and done correctly you should pick up some new members easily especially if you extend it to all family members living under the same roof (our conditions)
The other way is to extend several free months to ALL your current members in the form of passes this can be done in lots of different we use ‘lead boxes” in the toilets with a nice explanation of why we are doing this and simply let the members take the passes away, make sure you have a set of conditions including a “use by” date on the back.
The way this works is when the prospective client presents the pass to reception (or rings to inquire) you simply get them to fill out your pre assessment questionnaire (you are getting all people that inquire to fill out one of these aren’t you? It’s imperative that you capture these details).
You then do the full “Dem” and tour, ascertain that they want to get and keep the results that they obtain during the free month and join them up!
Yes the condition of the free month is that weather they go onto a direct debit membership or if they pay in full and leave a deposit you get ALL their details and that includes bank accounts.
They then have a full 30 days to “Trial the Club” if they do not want to continue they simply bring back their copy of the agreements and that’s it, no cancellation fee and they have had a free month worth whatever it is you charge for a month.
Now if it’s a paid in full membership I simply ask the customer to leave a nominal deposit and provide their credit card or bank account details and let them know that if the do not cancel by the due date they then are a fully fledged member, if your staff have done the dem correctly with passion and empathy then getting these details will never be an issue.
For the minority of people that it is, then simply use your best judgment simply let them know that for what we are offering the small inconvenience of providing those details they are getting x amount (whatever you would normally charge for a free month plus the PT sessions) it is part of the agreement to provide all details and that nothing will be debited from their account until the due date.
I have only found about 5% of people balk at this so I endeavor to leave it on a gracious note and offer a free week with no paperwork(apart from the pre assessment questionnaire which they have already filled in) necessary.
Again use your best judgment.
Now we do a number of things to ensure maximum success we’ve learned this by trial and error firstly we give them what we call a focus pack which is 4 personal training sessions which comprise the below its half an hour each and is done of a couple of weeks, needless to say you pamper ALL these people with lots of TLC .
These sessions cost the gym a total of $30 which is what the PT instructors are paid for a total of 2 hours worth of work (with the idea being that the customer will go on to paid PT sessions a t the end)Since most of the people we see are in the de-conditioned” market it’s naturally vital to make sure you give yourself every chance of keeping them at the end and making sure that your prospective new client knows what he or She is doing is part of that process.
The other thing that we do is make very clear that the customer needs to cancel in writing at the club we ask them to do this several days before the month expires.
We take the dates being from the day they join to the same day next month, we also make very clear on the direct debit and the membership form that it is a “One Month Trial” this allays any fears, for the most part that the customer has about giving bank or credit card details.
Which incidentally brings me to the point that if the customer wishes to pay in full and save the difference between a PIF (paid in full) and a DD (direct debit) the we do not fill out a debit form but rather simply write their CC details on the membership form and let them know that on the particular date that the free trial expires unless they have canceled their memberships then they will be debited.
Simple, said in a strong confident manner and having built report throughout the tour you should not have any problem at all with getting bank or CC details.
Lastly what we are doing this time that we have not previously done is this: we are not faxing the forms to the billing company straight away.
The reason for this is the our billing company would send them a welcome to club letter with their terms and conditions notifying them about the administration fee, which of course the customer was told about during the tour.
We believe that this made people nervous and gave the wrong impression so we’ve decided to wait until the last few days meaning that if they have not already cancelled then it will be at least a week until they would receive the welcome letter, by which time they well and truly be members.
Now some of you may think this slightly in the “grey” area of ethical marketing but think about this, they get a very real value of over $200 in terms of service and facility use, we actually do send out a welcome letter within a few days but this is from the sales (read membership) consultant.
We also clearly make it known both on the forms and verbally that there is “No Obligation” the onus is simply on the prospective client to cancel if they so wish. Yes you will naturally have people cancel, but overall followed correctly what you have read will get you lots of new members and can be adapted to a variety of scripts and offers.
Now go and have your BEST month ever!
Kim Martin has been involved in the fitness industry in various roles from being an instructor/owner of a martial arts centre in Adelaide, managing various centres, to owning and managing a marketing company that generated between 70-500 new members in anywhere from 2 -7 weeks. He has personally sold $22,000 in memberships in a single day.
His passion for the industry remains undiminished and he still works in a “hands on” role for a large western suburbs fitness centre (Definition health club)
He both sells memberships and owns the telemarketing company that has generated over $2,500,000 in sales over 6 years for this centre running mini year round promotions where the business gets 100% of the residuals.
His toolkit at http://www.healthandwellnessmarketingresources is guaranteed to get more leads,more sales and more referrals for anybody involved in from of health and wellness occupation from martial arts,Yoga,personal training,fitness centres, massage therapists etc.
Two free resources for you to improve your mind,body and spirit
Please cut and paste the whole link into your web browser
Email Him at [mailto:ccmarketing@optusnet.com.au]ccmarketing@optusnet.com.au for a valuable pack of resources you can immediately use to increase your profits
The webs most comprehensive fitness centre marketing download site at http://www.healthandwellnessmarketingresources.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Martin http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Generate-5-10,000-Dollars-in-New-Membership-Or-Client-Sales-in-the-Next-60-90-Days-Guaranteed&id=1867627
What You Should Know Before Buying Your First Trade Show Exhibit
By Mel White
What You Should Know as a First Time Exhibit Buyer
Don’t let the exhibit buying experience intimidate you
Your marketing objectives and strategy should dictate your exhibit marketing needs
Be prepared for sticker shock. Exhibits can be expensive
Where to buy depends on your goals. Do you need a large custom exhibit? Or do you need a portable, modular, or hybrid exhibit?
Plan ahead. You’ll save money and make smarter decisions
How to Get Started
For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume that exhibit marketing is a new experience. Exhibit marketing is certainly not rocket science. You don’t need a marketing degree to be successful at exhibit marketing. However, it helps to get advice so you make the right decisions.
Buying your first exhibit can, at first, raise more questions than answers. There are different types of exhibits and different types of exhibiting. The best fit will depend on how you plan to use the exhibit, the image you want to project, and the budget you have to work with.
Chances are you’ll purchase your exhibit from a local exhibit company. Exhibit companies have been around for decades and understand exhibits and trade shows. Originally, exhibits were custom-crafted. Then exhibit systems evolved as an alternative to the high cost of custom craftsmanship. Now, there are multiple exhibit categories. Exhibit systems, which includes portable, modular, and hybrid exhibits, are evolving towards custom-crafted exhibits, and custom-crafted exhibits are evolving towards exhibit systems. Both have distinct advantages and exhibit companies work hard to carve out distinct niches along the custom to portable spectrum.
The exhibit (or exhibits) that best fits your company’s exhibit marketing strategy will slot in somewhere along this spectrum. This is where an exhibit consultant can be very useful. Ultimately, an exhibit consultant wants to help you maximize your exhibit marketing potential.
Sticker Shock
Be prepared for sticker shock. Many first time buyers are shocked by the price of even a 10 ft. portable exhibit. Exhibit manufacturing is a low volume, highly specialized operation.
On average, a leading portable will cost between $20 to $150 per-square-foot (psf), a leading modular between $50 up to $300 psf, and a custom from a leading custom house between $100 and $300 psf. The more customized the exhibit system, the closer the price will be to a custom exhibit.
Where to Buy
If you plan to exhibit more than once or twice, chances are you’ll work closely with an experienced exhibit consultant for several years. Shop around and base your decision on more than just price. Exhibit consultants have years of experience about design, marketing, graphics, and trade show tactics. Their knowledge will help you avoid the pitfalls that most inexperienced trade show marketers make. And, there are lots and lots of expensive pitfalls. Working with a knowledgeable trade show consultants will save you money over time.
Most exhibit consultants or distributors work with exhibit system manufacturers. Some distributors are exclusive to a system manufacturer, but most carry multiple exhibit systems. These distributors range from sales-only operations to complex operations that provide value-added services such as design, graphics, rental, and storage. Generally the manufacturer supplies the distributor with exhibit system literature and assists the distributor with design support.
Custom fabricated exhibits are sold direct since custom fabrication houses design and manufacture the exhibit. Storage and graphic production are fairly common with custom exhibit fabrication houses. However, some offer a range of other value-added services such as logistics (i.e., managing the booth to and from the exhibit hall as well as orchestrating the installation and dismantling and other services while at the exhibit facility).
There are other avenues for purchasing exhibits. Some graphics companies have added exhibit sales to their product offering. Some office supply catalogs have included very basic exhibits as well. Usually exhibits from these sources are portable systems in standard “kit” configurations.
Most distributors have websites. Many allow you to order exhibits on their website with a credit card. Design and consultation are traditionally free. Lead times for portable/modular/hybrid systems range from a few days to a few weeks, but rarely exceed five weeks unless the project is large and/or complex. Custom exhibit lead times range depending on the complexity of the exhibit, the time of year, and other jobs already in-house.
Plan Ahead
Planning ahead will save you stress and possibly money. Most importantly, planning ahead will help you avoid making hasty decisions. Some exhibit companies offer a discount for long lead times. This allows them to use their staff and resources efficiently, especially during the main selling season. Planning ahead also provides time to correct errors and make last minute refinements (which are not uncommon regardless of your careful planning).
Define an Exhibit Marketing Strategy
Your exhibit marketing strategy should include your purpose, goals, and final objective. Draft this before you are influenced by budget parameters. Your exhibit strategy should be consistent with your general marketing strategy. Creating an exhibit marketing strategy may reveal what type of exhibit or exhibits are best suited for your company. If your company plans to attend numerous shows back-to-back using a 10 x 10 space, you may want to evaluate portable or modular exhibits. If your company does a number of smaller inline booths along with a few major shows, then you’ll want to consider portable/modular or hybrid exhibits. When the strategy is to make a huge impact at a major industry show, you’ll want to evaluate modular, hybrid, and custom exhibits.
Put it in Writing
Once you’ve determined the exhibit, accessory, or service, request a quote from a professional exhibit consultant. In the case of an exhibit, you might work through several designs modifications and quotes until the exhibit suits you perfectly. This process is generally free. When you’re ready to buy, insist that everything is in writing. Never depend on a conversation. Most sellers know this and will provide you with a detailed written quote.
Mel White is the V.P. of Marketing and Business Development for Classic Exhibits Inc., a designer and manufacturer of portable, modular, and hybrid displays. Mel White has spent the past 15 years immersed in trade show marketing, having worked for three trade show exhibit manufacturers and personally assisted hundreds of trade show clients. You can reach Mel at Classic Exhibits, [http://www.classicexhibits.com]http://www.classicexhibits.com, through the Contact Page or the Ask Classic email submission form. I welcome your questions and comments and look forward to hearing more about your [http://www.classicexhibits.com/]trade show exhibit marketing goals.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mel_White http://EzineArticles.com/?What-You-Should-Know-Before-Buying-Your-First-Trade-Show-Exhibit&id=1868862
Tips For Improving Lead Generation
By Nicola Brown
Lead generation should be at the heart of every successful direct marketing campaign. Whether through telemarketing, direct mail or email, the overriding goal is to convert as as many broadcasts as possible into leads and ultimately sales. By following a few easy to implement tips you can soon have lead generation success.
Use quality marketing data
Marketing to Existing Clients
By Walter Roy
When you are running a small business, sometimes the effort to attract new customers can feel so overwhelming that you can forget all about marketing to existing clients. There are very important reasons why it’s critical that when you put together your marketing plans, you incorporate enough effort into promotions directed toward your own customers.
**How Marketing to Existing Clients Works**
The danger of only offering promotions to potential clients is that you may find that you’re losing your existing clients to competitors. How does this happen? Essentially there are two forces at work when you offer enticements to prospective clients. First, your existing customers may learn about those promotional rates or discounts and become jealous or envious, feeling that they deserve the same discounts. Secondly, they may hear about current promotions with another Salon across town, and decide to take advantage of it.
**How Do You Retain Clients?**
The cost of retaining your existing clientele is so much less than the cost of attracting new business that you’re shooting yourself in the foot if you forget about this critical aspect of making a small business survive. Before you go out searching for new clients, make sure your current clients are treated like royalty. Some ideas to accomplish this include the following.
- Send existing clients an email or a short letter, reminding them of how much you appreciate their patronage, and as a token of your thanks you’re including a coupon for a discount off of their next haircut, or provide a gift certificate for a small free gift, like a bagel at the local coffee shop.
- Produce a regular email newsletter for your existing clients that includes articles or industry updates about the latest hairstyles or fashion and entertainment news. Include updates about your Salon, and include coupons or discounts for loyal customers.
Offering promotions to the larger community is always an excellent way to attract new clients and grow your business, but never neglect your existing customer base. By marketing to existing clients, you’ll be solidifying the foundation of your business as you continue to grow.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Walter_Roy http://EzineArticles.com/?Marketing-to-Existing-Clients&id=1873946
Three Referral Generating Tricks Can Boost Your Business
By Dennis Francis
Can you continue to do business without ever hunting for a new client ever again? Could you at the press of a button get all the work you want and then some? That has been the Holy Grail of small business owners since I’ve been working in the small business support field. Sure it happens to some people; they have been doing business for 25 years and know everyone in town.
The problem is that most cities and towns have rapid turnovers in population in these times. Our social structure is now more like a river than a pool. If you aren’t constantly updating your client list you will be out of business in a couple of years.
First figure out what an average client is worth to you over the life of your relationship. If you are in a position to help your client over a long span of time, you will find it to your advantage to develop a referral system. Here are three tactics for building a solid referral program from the ground up:
Endorsement letters
You can actually send your favorite clients an endorsement letter to help introduce you and your services to their friends. This works well if you have something free to give to their contacts. Create an endorsement letter and have them read it. Suggest that they make changes to it so that the letter has their “voice”.
Referral Generating Social Events
If you are a member of your local chamber of commerce, you can sponsor an event in your local area. You can also sponsor online events now as well. The goal is to have your network of contacts invite their network of contacts. If you get a few sponsors together, you could make the event more lavish and more successful.
Strategic Referrals
If you have a specific niche market that allows you to identify a small but exclusive prospect list, you can literally develop a support network of contacts that can steer you to your intended target market. For instance if you paint and refinish the interiors of large wooden homes, you might want to get in touch with all the local carpenters and home builders who specialize in wooden houses. You might contact a list of realtors to find out who has plans to upgrade their homes for sale or just purchased and want to re-do the interiors. Developing strong stage two networks is a great way to build business “word of mouth”. Don’t forget to refer your friends to those that have helped you.
You might not live exclusively off your referrals but you will get more of them if you practice these three little used referral generators.
Learn how to boost your business income from the author of “Double My Revenues In 12 Months or Less” and “Push Button Profits! A 30 Day Program For Making $120,000 A Year On Auto Pilot” Head over to the site and sign up for your free 30 day course now before it’s too late!=> http://DoubleMyRevenues.com/coaching/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Francis http://EzineArticles.com/?Three-Referral-Generating-Tricks-Can-Boost-Your-Business&id=1850647
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