A Forgotten Marketing Tool – The PostcardWritten by Sue and Chuck DeFiore
The postcard can be a very powerful marketing tool. Many of our customers and/or students use them in their business. The key is to set up card to market effectively for you. Concentrate on a specific item or niche. When used correctly a post card can become very powerful marketing tool. Be sure front of your card is explicit. It should be clear to your customer what you are selling. A color postcard is a must, unless you are using black and white to your advantage, that is, to make a point. The front should motivate your customer to turn it around and see what you are offering or what you can do for them. The back of your card should make your points in a clear and concise manner. After this is done be sure to give your customer a number of ways to contact you: by phone, by email, by snail mail. If you have a website be sure you mention it here. Remember you need to take a limited amount of space and address main concerns that your customers have or to delineate what you are selling and its advantages. Give your customers reasons to contact you. For example, you have a solution to their problems, and remember make it easy for them to contact you.
| | Creating a Brand that SticksWritten by Eileen "Turtle" Parzek
Most people, when they hear word branding, think logos - but in fact, branding is really much more than that. A brand involves blending image, purpose, and focus of your business, with your core marketing message, and coming up with something which will stick in minds of people who encounter it. As a business or an independent professional, it is who you are and what you do, packaged neatly, clearly, and memorably. A logo is only a tangible representation that works to reinforce a brand.So - what kind of personality does your business have? Is it conservative and solid? Outgoing and fun? Or robust and strong? And, what is your business focused on doing? Whom do you want to work with? How does your business differ from competition? And what makes it so special, after all? Do not try to name every special quality or unique selling point - you can actually build a brand on just one unique quality! Once you can answer these questions, you can begin to create your brand. The question is what you want YOUR brand to leave behind in people's heads. Practically any business or professional can benefit from a strong brand. But branding is even more important for micro businesses and independent professionals because they face tighter competition. A well executed brand and identity can help them compete on a larger playing field, appear more professional, and stand out from hordes of competitors. Once you determine how you want to be remembered, your image and your message will need to communicate that. The image can simply be a consistent look used in all your correspondence, a logo that marks everything that comes from your business, and identity you use on your web site and brochure. The message can be a tag line, your 30 second "elevator speech," and woven through content on your web site.
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