1. Create a weekly e-zine that features valuable information and highlights your customers.

2. Be 1000% proactive. Network. Build relationships and earn referrals.

3. Write something that puts you in front of customers and prospects. Authored articles in your trade publication or chamber magazine leads to recognition. Writing positions you as an expert and an authority.

4. Give a speech or three at civic organizations – and not just about your product, but about discovering and starting your product and your business. Speaking leads to perceived leadership.

5. Blog to show your human side. Make your blog a family affair. Show your person, your personality, your passion, and your fun.

6. YouTube. Video your value proposition. Video your testimonials. Video your philosophy of sales and service. Post your videos on YouTube. Your customers and prospects will find them, and find you more attractive than your competitors.

7. Get involved in your community. Pick one charity or one civic organization to get involved with and assert leadership in.

8. Get Google-able. Your customer is Google-ing you, just like you are Google-ing them. Your one-page website, your e-zine, your article, your speech, and your community involvement will bring your name and your company’s name to the top of the Google pile.

9. Be a value provider, not a beggar, a solicitor, or a salesman. People will BUY if they perceive your value. And they will spread the word, and your name.

10. Create a button with your tagline. You and your team members wear them, keeping a handful in your pockets to give away when someone asks.

11. Carry samples at all times to hand out as needed.

12. Give away samples via your website. The customer will have to register before samples are sent out. Then you have their contact info.

13. Update your website four times a month. It is the single most valuable piece of real estate in your marketing arsenal. It is the first impression in the digital age.

14. Statistics tell us once your customers find your website, you have 10 seconds to engage them. Your site must include the key elements to impact search engine page rankings, as well as be engaging to your customers for each demographic.

15. The digital age has fundamentally changed the way your customers communicate. Your customers are more connected than ever, and expect you to be as well. Static advertising has been replaced with an ongoing dialogue. If you aren’t communicating, they aren’t buying.

16.Host a Holiday Party or Grand Opening, celebrating your new product discovery.

• Doubtful that the an event is worth the effort? Just remember the following paybacks:
  • Your guests will be surrounded by your brand.
  • Guests will converse with each other and since you are what they have in common, will reinforce each other’s buying decisions.
  • A chance to socialize with clients and potential clients.
  • You open your doors to the people who help you keep them open.
  • Make an event an annual and you will become known for your event.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 11th, 2010 at 3:09 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.