Cheap,and,Easy,Marketing,small marketing Cheap and Easy Marketing

Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t

As a small business owner, I know that finding the rightcombination of advertising techniques and marketing strategiesis key to getting the beginnings of a solid customer base.People have to have heard about your business before they canpatronize it, right?It would be nice if you could afford network TV commercials,full-page magazine ads, and an expensive ad agency to handle allthe details, but if you're a small business just getting off theground, this is highly unlikely. Having a huge advertising budgetcan be great, but it can also create a lot of problems.For example, I firmly believe a super-sized ad budget may makeyour marketing boring and ineffective. Why? Small businesses andstartups who don't have much money to spend must rely on good oldfashioned creativity. Since big media ads are out of thequestion, they look for cheap or free ways to market. Thosemethods are often fresh, innovative, and attention-getting.Here are some terrific low-cost ways to market your business (andthey get noticed a lot more than you might think!):* Take extra care in how you answer the phone. Be bright,helpful, and eager to go the extra mile.* Put a colorful flyer in with invoices and sales letters.Highlight special deals that only current and past customers canget.* If your store or office is on a busy corner, stand outside fora period each day and get to know those who pass by.* Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.* Spot radio stations setting up for a live remote. Arrange tooffer free prizes to their listeners (in turn they will mentionyou, even interview you on the air.)* Throw a monthly party at your store or office. Have cake,balloons, even a magician. Invite customers, prospects, andneighbors.* Send a handwritten thank you note after every sale.Another great way to market your business is to figure out WHOyou should be marketing to. Nothing gets sales like good targeteddirect marketing. Targeting is the key. If you send your salesletter or postcard to only those people who are intenselyinterested in what you sell, you will have more customers thanyou know what to do with.Here is an easy way to get super-targeted names. Contact clubsand associations who have members who would be very interested inwhat you sell. Show the leader of the club why his members wouldlove to hear about your business. You can often get a list ofmembers and addresses for cheap or free.Anika designs and sews costumes for dance students. She has anattractive web site and can work with customers just aboutanywhere. Using a search engine, Anika finds several associationsof dance teachers and their students. Two are in her city, onecovers her state, and several more are national.First, she calls the presidents of the clubs in her city. Sheexplains over the phone how her service can benefit teachers,students, and their parents. She schedules an appointment tovisit with the club leader, show samples of her work, and leavesa brochure filled with enthusiastic comments from past customers.She will also leave with the club's mailing list.Many national groups sell their member list at low cost. Onebusiness man I know does exceptionally well getting member listsfrom the local chamber of commerce in cities he wants to target.However, once people have heard about your business, you want togive them an incentive to choose you over your competitor. Agreat way to do this is to promise (and deliver) speedy servicewithout compromising quality. No question, in our hurried world,few things please customers like fast turnaround. Deliver fastand many customers will come to you.State your turnaround time in your marketing materials. If youcan do the job fast, say so loud and often. Recently, I waslooking for an item online. One web site said they could get itto me via FedEx within two days. Another site said they alsoused FedEx, but it would take them 3 to 5 days to get the itemready for shipment. Even though I was in no hurry to receive mypurchase, I picked the one that could deliver faster.But even more than fast turnaround, customers crave helpfulproblem solving. Most customers want to understand your productor service better before they buy. Some get frustrated whileordering. Others feel something is wrong with the product onceit is delivered. Help customers solve these problems. Let themknow you are there to help them and it is easy to reach you.These days when customers are frustrated with companies that keepthem on hold or never respond to email, your helpful problemsolving will make you a favorite.Once you've thrown the name of your business out there, whetherit's through your own inventive marketing methods, targeting apotential group of clients, or a cheap television ad, rememberthat customer service is the key. This will likely make yourclientele return and potentially recommend you to other peoplewho require the same type of service.