The Big “O” of Marketing and Advertising
How satisfying is your marketing efforts?
A friend and colleague of mine recently began printing full color, beautifully designed business cards for local businesses. One of his goals was to receive orders from at least 7 local businesses in his first month of printing. For a local business, this is a pretty large goal, especially in his first month. He came to me and asked for my suggestions on how to receive these orders. After pondering a bit, I gave him my ideas. He said, “Are you serious?” I was quite serious.
So many of us follow specific guidelines on how to market our businesses and get our business information out there to potential clients. While this is definitely a wise thing to do – sometimes we lose the big O. Originality! We are absolutely bombarded with advertisements on a daily basis. From billboards to television and radio to URL’s on spice packets that come from our favorite restaurants – it becomes rather easy to tune these messages out. It’s important to make your message stand out from the rest.
My friend did exactly what I told him to do, albeit somewhat reluctantly. He made a personal visit to 20 different companies in our area. First, he swiped business cards from them and took them back to the shop. After creating some sample cards that made the old ones look outdated and dull, he made another visit to those businesses.
He spoke to the managers or owners and introduced himself and his company. He then left each of them with a set of 10 personalized sample cards that they could actually use for their businesses and asked that they call on him when they needed to re-order. Now, what kind of company gives you something free BEFORE you order? Imagine getting a couple of free meals from a restaurant so you can decide if you like their food…it just doesn’t happen. This was original and although my friend spent a bit of his own money to make it happen, he received 10 orders within 35 days. Not too shabby, right?
If you have a business that operates exclusively online, you may not be able to visit a bunch of clients that you’d like to obtain, but you can still be original. Here are some tips on originality that you can use within your business:
- Do something you know your competitors won’t do. Perhaps you’re a website designer. Visit 20 sites a week and compose a very polite, interesting e-mail complimenting a possible client’s website – and then include some helpful tips. Tell them what to do with their website to make it stand out and convert more visitors. Of course, include your company name and business URL.
- If you sell a certain product, get some small samples together and advertise them on your site. Allow your customers the chance to try the product before they buy it. If you believe in your product and know it’s the best, you will most likely get some orders just by letting your customers try it first!
- Hold actual contests, which are free for potential customers. Make them fun and give away free products or services to the winners. This gets people involved and you will probably get some great orders!
While you’re following your checklists, your handbooks and marketing guides, don’t neglect the big O. You’ll be surprised how your message will stick out from the other advertisements if it’s original and different! Good luck and stay original.
