Texting to sell...

Another easy business basic tool to help make you successful... 

This post features a product/service that I discovered several months ago. It’s a great marketing tool that can be used with a minimum of effort and at an incredibly low cost.

It  is an easy and inexpensive way for your business to have a digital presence and stay in almost instant contact with your customers. All, without the time and expense of a website, newsletter or blog.

Text Message Marketing is a truly viable way to keep your customers up to date about what you are offering. If it’s a short one day offering, a time sensitive issue or just letting your customer/group know something is available.

Who can use Text Message Marketing? Any of us...

• Insurance agents: Be the one in your office that informs your clients of an attractive new product.
• Retailers: Let your customers know about new inventory or a special limited offer.
• Realtor's: Got a hot new listing? Let a waiting buyer know in seconds.
• Neighborhood Watch groups: Let everyone know immediately of an important safety alert.
• Clubs/Faith groups: Provide members with the latest info, times, places or schedule changes.
• Schools: Inform a class of 20 or the entire student body of thousands...instantly.

Here are reasons why Text Messaging is an effective marketing tool: SMS (Short Message Services) text messaging is the most widely used data application in the world.

• There are over 300 million cell phone users in the USA
• Over 70% of these subscribers use text messaging
• More than 2 trillion (2000 billion) messages were are sent last year in the US
• SMS is more popular on mobile phones than social networking or Internet usage
• SMS works on any phone with or without internet access or a data plan
• 73% of users say SMS is most vital feature on the cellphone

Check the Top 10 reasons why Businesses/Organizations should use Text Message Marketing to promote themselves.

Check out TextByChoice. http://textbychoice.com They are a Georgia/Florida based business. I have met and spent a great amount of time talking with one of the principals. Good people and anxious to help businesses become successful.

Logos... Just Do It and keep it basic!

This is not a post on vision planning, branding philosophy, deep esoteric reasons on what logos really mean. It’s a post to encourage you to look around, spend time doing a little research... maybe less time on FB, and you will come up with good ideas and a solution.

Over a number of years I have witnessed many entrepreneurs struggle with the basics of  how to attract customers. One of the most confounding is the LOGO.

Stop spending days, weeks and maybe months agonizing over a logo!

I promise, if you read this and spend at least a couple of 30 min sessions going to the links provided you will be well on your way to your very own, pretty nice logo. And it's a heck of a lot  more productive than looking up cute puppy pictures or words to live by to post on FB)

You can get tons of ideas and even complete the design yourself. There is no need to spend a lot of time and a lot of money or go to some branding firm 800 miles away. However, when you have a concept you like you might discover you are not able or simply don’t want to do it yourself. That’s fine... Use your networking contacts or go online to find a company or individual to help you. And if at all possible STAY LOCAL! By staying local you have additional opportunities to network and besides that, it’s just common sense. Unless you live in the middle of, who knows where, why would you go 800 miles away to have your logo designed?

So here we go...

SIDE BAR... this is not how to design a logo.

It's just to give you ideas and to show you

it is possible to do it yourself.

Pick a letter in the alphabet (associated with your business name) “R” for example.
Do a Google search on the letter. After the search is complete Google gives you options to select the type of search you want to see. You can look at:

Web (results) Image (results) Maps (results) Videos (results) News (results) and more…Choose Image...

You may be amazed at the ideas you can come up with just from this very simple search.

This was done in 10 min with PicMonkey

Now you're on your way. Don’t stop and don’t get caught up in artsy, cool, esoteric creative stuff. Stay basic, keep it simple and easy to look at. See the examples on this page.

Do another Google search on “logos” (don’t forget to choose image). Do searches on various companies. Stick with the big names you (and everyone else) know. Try Proctor and Gamble.

They have 50 core products that each do a billion or more. Look at the logos. Most are pretty simple. Doesn't that tell you something?

Look at the examples on this post... the classic... m&m, originally written on a coffee shop napkin by the way. How about the Nike Swoosh? You can’t get much more basic... and you don’t have to go outside your own “community” for stuff like this.

Spend the few minutes suggested to look online. Notice magazine ads, watch TV commercials and program intros. The people who do that stuff get paid a lot to do it. Learn from them.

Here are resources (FREE) you can use to design your own.
Google Draw see the SafetSmart logo below
Google Picasa there are some very cool tools Watch this video
PicMonkey (ya, I know, dumb name) great stuff. I have used it a lot.
Pixlr (miniature Photoshop... will do lots of things)

I did this with Google Draw

so easy and flexible...from the TV show with  the same name

Love this!

Most importantly... Just Do it... Don't take months. Don't put off doing what you are supposed to do... And that's getting customers.

TWO TIPS...

1) Do not take offense. I am not trying to offend your religion, patriotism, personal philosophy etc. But unless your target market is a religious, patriotic, political or moral focused audience, don't use symbols that represent these areas.

2) If you need help I will respond. Just click on Your questions/comments TAB at the top of this page. Fill out the form and I'll get back to you, really.

Promote yourself... for Free!

This post is targeted to small, local independent businesses (including home based), organizations, faith based groups, clubs, neighborhood groups etc. ... almost anywhere. There will be additional posts on this topic.

Promote yourself... for Free!

Do you want you, your company, your organization, your group in front of hundreds or thousands? For FREE?

Am I suggesting Facebook, Twitter , Google+, Linkedin, etc? Yes, but (and don’t let anybody kid you) those are not all that effective for your local audience, period! All of those huge numbers (2,267,233,742 visit the world wide web) you see are for worldwide, nationwide etc. (I’ll address this in a later blog). But for now... Use your time for more productive efforts.

How do you get you in front of hundreds, maybe thousands? It's basic. And you can do it for FREE!

Consider The Patch. The Patch is an online news publication and has 900 pluse publications nation wide.(http://www.patch.com/ ) The Patch is doing what is known as Hyperlocal news. So there most likely is a Patch near you.

What can you do with the Patch (and other online and print publications we will address another time)?

… You can Blog for Free (no experience required)... I’m doing it (no snide remarks please). And if I can you can. Just look on the Patch landing page for Want to blog on Patch?. It’s in the center of the page. scroll down just below current Blog posts.

… You can list your events, groups, school functions, faith based news, special announcements etc …FREE. Click on the Events page tab near the top on the landing page for more.

All of this is FREE! And because, in this case, the target audience is Hyperlocal you have a very real expectation to reach Your Target Audience.

Just a few additional points...

Like ALL marketing/advertising/promotional efforts, this is not magic. However, it is one more (and a pretty effective) tool to use to make you, your group, your organization successful.

It is important to read the Patch every day. It has very good information about what’s happening locally. Lots of that information can be valuable to you for business. In addition you will become more comfortable in your efforts to write your Blog posts, gain ideas for future posts as well as learn more about your local community...what a concept.

Notice how long the Blog Posts remain on the landing page (home page). Often for days. Does that mean they are that good? You be the judge. What it most likely means is, no one else has made a blog post. That should give you confidence and encourage you to start writing... there is room for you.

I mentioned earlier, no experience required. With that said, If you can’t or think you can’t write or you get writers block, choose the Your questions/comments tab (top of this page) and submit a note telling me what you need help with. I’ll get back to you, really.

also remembering 

Cause Marketing

"Cause Marketing”

More than any single gain, credibility is what you achieve. And credibility is very, very valuable.


“ The term (Cause Marketing) is used... generally to refer to any type of marketing effort for social and other charitable causes.”
What is required from you for this type of marketing is to simply get involved. Get involved in your community, become a partner with a cause or community effort(s) that results in benefit to the greater community. What benefits the greater group almost always translates to a benefit to the business community and often directly to you, the business supporter of that cause.

Here’s what happens... You sponsor or participate in the local event. Members of the community see your support as a commitment to their community, where they live, in their backyard.

You get back:

Recognition... not only are you recognized by the general population you are also recognized by the leaders in the community. Can you think of any other straightforward way you would get the Mayor/City Council etc to know who you are?

Appreciation... you are appreciated by those who may benefit directly (the cause that gets the money) and you will be seen and appreciated by those who also support the same cause.

Credibility... at this point you are not just another business that happens to be located where they live. You are a business that contributes and supports where they live.

Stay local which, could include national/international causes with local efforts. There are just as many needs at a local level as there are nationally or internationally.

Don’t jump into every cause. Choose carefully, primarily because you have limited time.

As with any effort in the advancement of your business there is no one piece of magic. So stay focused on your business marketing/promotion/advertising.

Now, here is the important part!
With any marketing, the return is almost never immediate. You are NOT going to get magical, amazing, unprecedented returns, period! With virtually any marketing plan you may get a 1% or 2% or 3% return... and that won’t be right away.

So, DO NOT:

Set your expectations to the level of miraculous...

accept outrageous rhetoric of a ad/marketing entity that tells you what they offer is the magical solution.

think any one method of marketing/advertising is the complete answer.

If there is one solution that is miraculous, that solution would be used by everyone...

...response from event inquiry

So, if you don’t think “cause marketing” works... Read this.
Recently I encouraged a client of mine to inquire about a national event held on the local level, National Night Out... here is a highlight of the actual response to the client from the group putting the event together...

Hello!

Wow!  That is really exciting to have inquiries about National Night Out!  We have several ways you can be involved: if you have safety-related information to share, we have tables/booths the night of the event, available for $xx... Finally if you are interested in participating in the planning/recruitment, we would love to have you join us at the planning meetings.

So you think you need a new computer.

Windows 8? Save $$, time and headaches...
ditch Microsoft!

This is not a technical feature comparison. If you are a big time video downloader, uploader, audiophile or serious gamer (isn’t that an oxymoron?). and if you must have the latest and greatest... Stop, DON’T READ ANY FURTHER.

OK, lets start early. Microsoft will soon be telling us how wonderful their new version of windows is... WINDOWS 8.... One of the 'gotta have' features will be the ability to use Touch Screen technology. NEWS FLASH...requires a new computer,

"Unlike other Windows transitions, this is a transition where you generally are going to need a new PC, whether it's a tablet or ultrabook with touch or a notebook with touch or a PC with touch or some derivative hybrid on all the above type of products..." Michael Dell (Dell computers)