You need business and you need it now. You don’t want all this “take a few weeks to work on your brand” stuff. How about something you can do RIGHT NOW to market your business for immediate impact? Because in another month or two, it might be too late.
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| Flickr photo by aperte |
Fair enough. I’ll give you immediate action steps right now, but only if you promise me something. You have to simultaneously work on the long-term stuff. Because these immediate impact tactics only work temporarily. They fix nothing, except boosting short-term cash flow. Do we have a deal?
OK, here goes.
Assuming you have a little bit of money to spend:
Most chambers of commerce offer their mailing lists and email lists to members for a reasonable fee. Contact your chamber and purchase that list. If you’re not already a member, you may have to join. Send out an email tomorrow announcing a special sale or promotion on a hot item. Write the copy in the first person, with a personal invitation to do business with you. Link to a landing page on your website. Offer something free with purchase.
Simultaneously, for the long term…
Commit to a brand promise around which you will build your business identity. Then, brainstorm how you plan to deliver that promise to customers in a unique way.
See this tutorial: Creating an Awesome Brand Promise
Assuming you have no budget:
Shake hands with the Devil and try to get featured on Groupon, the social couponing company. It’s true, I’m not a fan of Groupon for small businesses. You have to give up a lot of profit margin and the benefits are short-term. But you need new customers, and you need some cash flow now. So tap into Groupon’s data base and get some butts in the door. Offer something that customers will fall over themselves for, but not your primary product or service. If you discount your bread and butter for new customers, you’ll never get them to pay full price later on.
Link: Groupon for Business
If you want people to take action immediately, there must be a sense of urgency in your offer. Therefore, you need two elements;
1) Sale or special promotion – These tactics are not about your great service or quality products. That’s your normal offering and it’s currently not working. To get people to pay attention, you must offer something out-of-the-ordinary
2) Time limit – The special offer or promotion expires quickly.
Simultaneously, for the long term…
Map out a memorable customer experience that includes magic spots to drive home home your brand promise. Magic spots are memorable moments in the experience that customers can retell to their friends.
Watch this recorded webinar: Remarkable Customer Experiences
So, what are you waiting for? Press the panic button and get started. You don’t have any time to waste, do you? What else can you do for immediate impact, while simultaneously working on a long-term solution?
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