Monthly Archives: October 2007

Why Do Businesses Use Signs?

October 31, 2007Publicity, Starting Outbrand, signJay

I want to run a sign writing business and need to know how useful is a sign for a business.

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A sign is another form of marketing for a (brick and mortar) business. As a minimum, the sign should have the name of the business. Depending on its size/purpose, contact information, logo, and a tagline might be appropriate as well.

The sign’s color, size, shape, and contents should likewise reflect the business “brand”. All materials that a business uses for its marketing should have a similar “look” in order to create marketing synergy.

What Is A Good Idea For A Motorcycle Holiday Party?

October 30, 2007Products, Publicityparty, saleJay

We want to host a party to say thanks for the business. We own a motorcycle shop. I need ideas for party invitations too. We are a small store, with Harley Davidson only 2 miles away. Harley has parties all the time, its very hard to compete as I’m sure you can imagine. We want to have these folks for dinner and special pricing if they want to shop while they are here.

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Have a xmas bike parade. Outfit bikes with 12v xmas lights and have an informal ride through town, ending at your shop for eggnog, etc. Of course, if their bike doesn’t have lights, sell them at the shop. The ride will catch the eye of pedestrians, and also can garner some great free PR in your local newspaper.

How Can I Do Fundraising For My Political Candidate?

October 29, 2007Clubs + Associations, Publicityfundraising, politics, strategyJay

So this is my first time handling Fund raising events for a State Assembly candidate. I need some advice and direction on how to get donations, sponsorships, and endorsements.

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The positioning statement is first:

Why should someone care for your candidate? What do they stand for that’s unique? Why should someone believe that their issues will be implemented (i.e., do they have a track record of success)? Why would I want this person to represent me, my business, my community? What life experiences do they have that makes me think that they have the skills to be effective?

Next, the target demographic:

Who, specifically, is the candidate trying to attract? Why should they care about their position?

Then, target influencers:

Find people who are socially tied in to the demographic. People that throw parties, people in entertainment, hospitality, former sponsors, people who know what your candidate CAN do matters.

Donors:

Come after you have a groundswell of support. You need to say, “back my candidate, he’s (or she’s) a winner”. You need testimonials.

How Can I Market Custom Designed Cribs?

October 26, 2007Productsadvertising, baby, cribs, strategyJay

We are a small furniture manufacturing company with an output of +/- 100 baby cots per month. We recently had to withdraw from our contract with baby outlets as we could not compete with import prices. Our product can however carry itself if we can reach the end user which naturally are pregnant women but is unsustainable with shops needing to mark up 120%. How do we reach our target market with low volumes of this type? Opening a shop or advertising in every magazine is out of the question because of low volumes. Do we need to rethink our business or just get out?

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A website is ideal for this.

List your products on eBay, Amazon, etc. You’ll be stressing what makes your cribs unique. Get great close-ups photos of your cribs (including some with happy babies/parents around it).

List your products in online baby catalogs (search online for “baby catalog”). Offer to drop ship the cribs for the catalogs.

However, if your direct-to-consumer price still is higher than the outlet stores, you’ll need to focus on what makes yours better. Position your crib as a high-end model and prove it. Prove why it’s better than all the others.

What Are The Latest Internet Usage Statistics?

October 25, 2007eMarketingsearch, websiteJay

Please point me to your favorite, reliable, and up-to-date source for Internet usage metrics such as:

How long does the average person (in the U.S.) spend online each day?
What’s an updated stat on high-speed Internet penetration?
How is this time being spent online? Personal? Work? Surfing? Searching?
Who and how many are using IE6, IE7, Firefox, Safari?
What’s the most common screen resolution for these Internet users?

We want to make sure our personalized micro sites can be enjoyed by all, but if we can’t do that we’d like to figure out what an acceptable level might look like going forward.

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Here are the relevant links:

What Is A Good Tagline For A Travel Agent?

October 24, 2007Names + Taglines, Servicesadvertising, travel, yellow pagesJay

I have had my travel business for over 6 years now, but I never could come up with a great tagline. I would love to get your opinions. My company name is Darlington Travel Center. I specialize in cruises, accessible travel and destination weddings and honeymoons. My agency is full-service.

I am trying to design a great yellow page ad, too. I have never done that before. Any suggestions as to what I should include in the ad? The one I have had since the beginning is a basic 5 line ad. Now I am going to probably upgrade to a Quarter Column Ad.

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Air, Land, and See.
Relax. Leave The Planning To Us
Just Go Away!
We Specialize In Memorable Vacations
We Know All The Best Places

Your ad should highlight your specialties (cruises, etc.) – what makes you unique in your area. Don’t forget a website reference in your ad.

How Can I Market My Lawn Business?

October 23, 2007Serviceslawn, strategyJay

I have looked up marketing on the Internet countless times, and everyone wants to sell you something. I don’t care what kind of a tip it is like yellow page ad or flyer tip. Just something to get people to call. Or is there a web site I could get free information about marketing?

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If you already have clients, then ask for referrals.

When you’re working, make sure your vehicle/clothing clearly has your name + contact info.

After you’re done working, go door-to-door and distribute flyers on the same block (your neighbor at 123 Main Street is using us, and we’d love to have you as a client…)

Target new home owners. Welcome them and give them a gift of a free consultation, etc.

Talk to existing lawn people. Perhaps they have too much work or there are jobs they don’t want and would be happy to pass along to you.

Talk to your local garden center. See if there’s a referral board there.

Hold a free class on “How to Make Your Lawn Easier To Care For” (for example). Really give value. The point is that you’ll position yourself as an expert in their eyes.

How Can I Promote A New Film?

October 22, 2007Publicityfilm, movie, search, strategy, websiteJay

I’m trying to promote a new film for this ad agency I’m interning for…. how should I go about it? Any good ideas ??

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If you’re looking to get web traffic to your film’s site, create teasers/trailers of the film and post on free video sites such as YouTube, Google Video, etc.

Cross-promote it with a relevant partner. If your film is about babies, consider: baby products, new moms’ website/blogs, parenting magazines, etc.

What Canned Responses Should My Online Store Generate?

October 19, 2007eMarketingecommerce, websiteJay

I was trying to find a website that offers free canned responses that I can send out to our customers after they have made a purchase at our online shop (order confirmation-thank you for your order…etc.) also a canned response that is responding to a customer inquiry.

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If you do want to “borrow” some canned responses, I’d suggest modeling them on Amazon. They’ve got the email response language down.