I own a home inspection company ”Inspection Gator” and need a tag line before i start mymarketing campaign. We do a wind range of inspection and have years of experiance in the home construction. My logo is an alligator looking at a house through a magnifying glass.
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Jay’s Answer:
The requirement is for a new NGO launching in concern with GLOBAL WARMING so need a few names and theme/ tag to go along with it. We had hell of options but either these names already exist or the website is blocked. e.g. We thought of H.E.A.T as in Hotter Earth And Troposhere – this one’s already taken.
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Jay’s Answer: Here are some available domain names:
As far as a tagline: you need to define who specifically you’re trying to target, and how your NGO will be different from all other organizations to date. These pieces define your unique offering and is the “meat” of your tagline.
I wanted to solicit your opinion on how to promote a site that I recently launched: www.goosca.com. This site is a social networking platform that allows its users to purchase real gifts for themselves or for other users (without knowing the recipients addresses in the latter case). Our company or affiliated vendors will do the delivery. Users who do not object to receiving gifts from others provide their addresses at the account registration time. These addresses will be kept confidential and will be used only for gifts delivery purpose. In your opinion, what would be the best way to promote the site and its ideas?
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Jay’s Answer: As you know, creating a new social networking platform isn’t hard – attracting people to it is. There are a huge number of sites competing for people (for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites)
It appears that the sole purpose of the site is ultimately ecommerce (and the way you generate revenue) – sending/receiving gifts to people whose address you don’t know. Your privacy policy doesn’t adequately describe the safeguards you place for ordering and storage of confidential user information. Also, sizing / color choices will be hard for people. Ideally, you want to say, send my new friend this thing, and have the friend choose the color/size to make sure the gift will be received in the spirit it was sent.
To build an online community, you first need critical mass – enough people online (of your target demographic) to attract more people of the same demographic via word-of-mouth. The first round can be your friends, people you know in a club, etc. You want a new visitor to visit and see lots of “action” online.
I’d strongly suggest teaming up with an existing networking site that already has active membership, and attempt to integrate your Goosca patent into their environment.
For a new business, it’s much easier to improve an existing offering than trying to create a new one from scratch.
Any ideas on how I can find people interested in a non-franchise business opportunity? Is there a website that I can post an ad for free? Any organizations for non-franchise business opportunity? I set up ergonomics clinics for selected qualified applicants; but have a hard time finding enough people. So far just set up a few clinics in Canada and want to increase the rate of opening new clinics in the USA and Europe.
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Jay’s Answer: It depends on the investment amount & terms you’re offering. If it’s a relatively small amount, classified ads (both print, Craigslist, or on investment websites). If it’s larger amounts, talk to your lawyer and banker and ask them “who you should talk to”. Also, create a simple one-page website advertising your opportunity. It’s inexpensive and may help find the person looking for exactly what you’re trying to sell.
I have recently decided to start a small business in party/wedding favors and have been pondering over a suitable business name for months, everything i think of has been taken. I just cannot move on until i have a name. I am looking for something very classy and modern. I thought of bedazzled and savvy but this are in use, also occasional favours, again in use.
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Jay’s Answer:
Also – depending where in the world you’re located (take-away can connote eat-at-home food in some countries):
I’ve recently started a small business marketing company.My focus is to help small businesses in local markets reach more people and improve their brand. I’m located in Columbus,OH. I’ve put together a website (www.mentlowinc.com). I guess I’m at a point as to how I should present the company. I want to know what services should be offered compared to doing this for a large company. Mainly where should I start, I’m not very experienced so I’m aware that may not help. But I feel if I get one client right now I’ll learn under fire! How did you get it started?
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Jay’s Answer:
Let’s start with your website.
The first thing (viewing it on a Mac/Firefox) was that the clock in the upper left is underneath your logo.
Your tagline (“Where small businesses come to grow”) isn’t quite right: small businesses don’t necessarily want to grow – they may want more clients, more income, more reliable income, etc.
The first paragraph begins awkwardly (“What we at Mentlow Inc. want to do is provide marketing and promotion as well as business development”). Your prospective clients don’t care about what you want to provide – they only care about what problem of theirs you solve. Also, “want to” means that you’re not yet doing the work.
As a fellow marketer, you know that they key to finding clients is to focus on a specific niche and get to know it well. The services you should offer are those that your niche needs (and can’t get anywhere else). So, what’s your niche? Small business? Small local business? Small local business in a specific industry? The narrower you get, the more value you can potentially offer: people want to hire specialists that know their needs intimately (and can address them effectively).
Since you don’t have experience, get it. Volunteer with not-for-profits to get some experience (and help them out). Next, have a reason for people to connect with you – regularly publish a newsletter that’s full of useful information (either write it yourself, or republish other’s articles with permission).
Improve your website from a Yahoo standard template to something a little bit more professional (it’s just like dressing nicely for a party – you want to dress to impress). Get rid of the counter. Put your contact information prominently on your site: in your banner and/or footer.
That’s what I did to get it started. I also had to learn patience – not everyone will need your services the first time you meet them. The key is to be the name they think of when they need your services (or someone needs a referral).
We offer companies a benefit enhancement program in form of employee discounts & perks. Having formed unique partnerships with several dozen name brand merchants, in order to pass on to potential clients and their employees corporate discounts as if they are part of large purchasing group.
Part 1. Need a powerful and precise company statement that I’d place on front page header.
Part 2. A strong & unique company tagline to place under the logo.
Company name is AffinityEngine. Few of the taglines i’ve come up with:
Some of the headline statements i’ve come up with are:
Both the statement and tagline must communicate a powerful and extremely precise header statement that relays value, benefit to them and their staff, and ease of use of my solutions to their HR headaches.
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Jay’s Answer: Some tagline feedback: In general, you don’t want to repeat your business name and you do want it to focus on the key benefit to your customers:
Some headline feedback: It needs to clearly be talking to your prospects and about their needs.
Here are some ideas for your consideration:
Headline:
I am in the process of opening a drop-in daycare center and am looking for a catchy name and tagline. A drop-in daycare center is a alternative to traditional daycare centers in the fact that it offers flexibility and does not require long term commitments….babysitter cancelled no problem, doctors appointment no problem, need a night out with the husband or a girls night out, never a problem. I will offer a safe, state of the art environment for the kids to have lots of fun. Sounds great..if I only had name to go along with my concept !!!
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Jay’s Answer: Why not “Drop In Day Care”? It says exactly what you’re selling.
Alternatively:
A friend of mine invented a printing process that 3 dimensionally replicates art. You can see and feel the brushstrokes, stippling, etc.
I would like to rep this process in the clothing world, eventually branching out into home and office goods. BUT… Shoes and handbags primarily. I see these as readily accepted by influential women who choose to be associated with “the best of”. The artists are internationally known. I anticipate Europe and Asia to be strong markets.
Competitors are Icon and hand painters. Icon’s printing process has improved, but can not touch the quality of this process, as Icon can only print typical single dimension. Hand painted clothing quickly cracks and peels. Our process has been tested in and endured very well this blistery Wisconsin winter weather.
The thing that excites me the most about the idea of placing museum quality replicas on clothing is that it takes art out of the museums and onto the streets… where the everyday person gets to enjoy, participate in art.
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Jay’s Answer: Why not also work with local rising artists (as well as artists in vacation “destinations”) to get their artwork on other materials. This will allow you co-market with these artists instead of trying to do it all.
I work with life insurance agents. I teach them how to use direct mail, referrals, networking and web to get new clients and keep existing clients. I feel like I’m running out of things to tell them and have exhausted trying to get anyone excited about doing postcard marketing or newsletter marketing.
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Jay’s Answer: Have you researched what has worked? If you can show ROI of a specific technique, then you’ll get a lot of interest. Otherwise, your ideas aren’t any better than anyone else’s.
Life insurance doesn’t benefit the buyer – it benefits the buyer’s next of kin. Therefore, focus on major life events where the importance of family is highlighted: birth, start of school, graduation, marriage, divorce, and retirement. As appropriate, congratulate the achiever, and remind them to keep investing in their family’s future.