A guide to marketing your small business
Article ToolsShe had a much higher closing rate than her male colleagues who did not offer this honesty.
Why should I give you my business instead of your competitor? Please tell me. I am a customer and I want to know. If your price is higher, tell me why? Is your product twice as strong, does your suit have triple the stitching, do your plants really last longer in the sun?
The more factual, credible and believable are the reasons you give me for dealing with you, the more likely I am to give you my business. Please help me. I am a customer.
Principle 5: Mail your existing customers.
Most people make a sale to a customer and then go out looking to find a new one. Here is a fact you probably were never told before: It is five times (yes FIVE times) easier to sell something else to an existing customer that it is to convert a new one.
The first sale is just the start. There is no business that cannot benefit by some direct mailing and making new offers to their existing customers. You only have one product? Well, in your lifetime, you will probably buy 40-50 pairs of shoes (men only), 5-8 cars, 2-4 houses, and probably paint, carpet, and renovate another 5-6 times. If the first experience with you was good, make sure they come back to you next time your customer needs that same product.
If you have repeat products such as shoes, why not take the customers size, favourite colour, and then mail them with advance notice of new lines? Or with first notice on specials in their sizes? A mens-wear shop reportedly sells more in his "Customers Only" four day sale than in a month of normal trading.
I hope I have provided you with a few ideas and thinking points for marketing your business better. Good Luck, and I hope you are on the way to a more successful business.
Learn more about this author, Thomas Berntsen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:
A guide to marketing your small business
-
1 of 11
The Five Marketing Principles that will make your sales soar.
So, you are running your own small business. You already know
-
2 of 11
Marketing Solutions for Websites
Since SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, establishing a cost efficient procedure
-
3 of 11
by Jean Knill
Personal marketing is something that can often be overlooked or downgraded in the marketing mix. Yet for a small business,
-
4 of 11
by Joe Lee
Growing your business can be easy and low cost. You don't necessary need huge sum of money to grow you business. There are
-
5 of 11
Whether or not you have a huge marketing budget, there are some inexpensive and effective ways to market your product and
View All Articles on:
A guide to marketing your small business
Add your voice
Know something about A guide to marketing your small business?
We want to hear your view. 
Write now!
- How to write effective letters for animal rights
- Actions that would be considered as animal cruelty
- The problem of unwanted horses in America
- Best Hanukkah gifts for children
- Best websites to download Hanukkah songs and music
- How to teach Hanukkah traditions to young children
- Recipes: Buckeye candy
- Decorate your front door for the holidays
- Christmas gift ideas for your girlfriend
- Drink recipes: Homemade Baileys irish cream
- Christmas crafts for children
- Tips for buying an LCD TV
- Best East Coast snowboarding destinations
- The most useful Google apps
- How to throw a great New Year's Eve party
- What qualities define a leader?
- The advantages and disadvantages of workplace monitoring
- Choosing among different methods of communication in business
- The importance of failure
- Improving communication between management and employees
- How to start a property management home business
- Tips for organizing an office Christmas party
- Ways that animal friendly businesses positively impact society
- What are key performance indicators (KPI) or key success indicators
- How much is Tiger Woods’ business image worth?
- What is customer service?
- Great Christmas gift ideas for colleagues
- Ten tips to good customer service
- Is Wal-Mart bad for America?
- Managerial decision making and the decision process
- How to plan an office Christmas party
- Animal friendly products carried in everyday stores
- Ways to improve employee morale and grow productivity
- Economics: Reasons for unemployment
- The benefits of free trade
- Great Christmas gift ideas for employees
- How socially conscious packaging influences brand image
- How companies can leave a lighter impact on the planet
- The most socially and environmentally conscious companies
- How Better World Books is increasing literacy around the world
- A look at Better World Books’ socially responsible business model
- Are business ethics or profits more important?
- How to solve social problems without becoming a non profit company
- What makes a business socially responsible?
- Qualities of a good manager
- Best businesses to start on a shoestring
- How is Starbucks socially responsible?
- The potential business benefits of corporate social responsibility
- The benefits of running a socially responsible and ethical company
- How to start a profitable socially responsible company
- How an organization can act socially responsible
- How to become a Kiva field partner
- The top socially conscious clothing companies
- What is a continuous improvement plan?
- Do ads that use sex to sell their products degrade women?
- Great Christmas gift ideas for bosses
- Creating and managing effective teams in the workplace
- Simple ways to improve leadership skills
- Qualities of a successful manager
- The benefits of cultural diversity in the workplace
- Good excuses for missing work
- Managers: How to motivate your employees at work
- Managerial skills: Acting as a role model to employees
- Tips for providing effective feedback in the workplace
- Writing a personal vision statement
- The characteristics of good business research objectives
- Tips on how to make money without working
- Best salutations for business letters
- What is marketing myopia?
- Tips for motivating employees
- What is a marketing audit?
- External forces that affect success
- Great things to sell on Ebay
- What is the value of diversity in the workplace?
- Understanding the relationship between business and ethics
- How to start a home catering business
- Ways to maximize net profit
- The strategic marketing process
- The sources of professional values and ethics
- How does motivation and perception influence consumer behavior?
- Strategies for effective human resource management
- How to structure commission policy to motivate sales staff
- Business analysis through SWOT: Strength, Weakness, Opportunity Threats
- The challenges of diversity in the workplace
- How the four functions of management leads to business success
- How to write an effective complaint letter
- How to start your own production company
- Differences between pure monopoly and an oligopoly
- Steps involved in the formal recruitment and selection process
- How to write a two-week notice
- A guide to conflict resolution in the workplace
- How to throw a Secret Santa or grab bag party at your office
- How to prepare a five-minute speech
- Effective business training methods
- Work at home electronics assembly jobs
- How to write a recommendation letter
- Financial accounting versus management accounting
- Human resource development: Types of training and development programs
- Globalization: Who benefits from it?
- Tips for effective restaurant management
- The importance of understanding cultural differences in business
- What are the social responsibilities of business?
- How to write a business memo
- Common ethical dilemmas faced by marketing departments
- Leadership: Transactional vs. transformational
- The difference between financial assets and liabilities
- How to write an effective executive job offer letter
- Effects of poor management
- How to tell if you are an effective leader
- Tips for setting employee goals
- Where to raise money for a nonprofit organization
- How to become a good sales person
- Is Business Network International a scam?
- The importance of communication skills in businesses
- How to make money at school as a young teenager
- How to successfully sell your product
- Advantages of going paperless
- What is a SWOT analysis and how can I use it?
- Advertising: Getting celebrity endorsements for your products
- Do-it-yourself Christmas gifts that business associates will appreciate
- Best practices for a company email policy
- Elements of the strategic management process
- Good examples of corporate social responsibility
- Ideas for good businesses with little capital investment
- Business risks in international trade
- The concept of price in economics
- How to set objectives for a team
- A look at Amazon’s business model
- Sales tips: Closing the deal
- How to foster self-initiative in the workplace
- Gender stereotypes used in advertising
- Sexploitation: Ads that exploit women
- The importance of having a company code of ethics policy
- The role of management in business
- Accounting for dummies
- Understanding team dynamics in the workplace
- Job descriptions: Human resources manager
- The importance of a retail store’s design and atmosphere
- Economics: To what extent does the MRP theory explain wage determination
- Understanding the concept of societal marketing
- How supply and demand affect prices
- How to start a bakery or a cookie business
- The function of a board of directors
- The benefits of setting a dress code in the workplace
- The pros and cons of Total Quality Management
- Appropriate behavior at the company Christmas party
- The benefits of constructive feedback
- How Starbucks achieved its amazing success
- How to encourage teamwork in the workplace
- What not to do at the company Christmas party
- Assessing advertising’s influence on body image
- How to write performance appraisals
- How to sell your product to retailers
- The best small business ideas
- The joy of exchanging gifts at the office Christmas party
- Determine financial performance by using horizontal analysis
- Appropriate Christmas gifts for your boss
- What the D2 Russian oil business means to the world
- Opening a Subway franchise
- The proper way to prepare a letter for the United States Postal Service
- Global communication: Problem solving model for businesses
- How to calculate sales tax
- Key account management: Shortcomings and limitations
- How to start a printing business
- Understanding market driven strategy
- ACN and what makes it a pyramid scheme
- How Nike treats their employees
- Understanding the difference between FIFO and LIFO
- What is the impact of new technology in the workplace
- How to type a business letter
- What effect does the global economy have on business ethics?
- Political risks in international trade
- Office ethics: Code of conduct standards for businesses
- Turning around negative employees
- Characteristics of a successful TV commercial
- Company profile: Abercrombie & Fitch
- Conflict of interest between managers and shareholders
- Low-cost way of starting a pizza business
- How to become a corporate board member
- Advantages and disadvantages of bureaucracy
- Comparing expense and capitalization in accounting
- How to structure a letter professionally
- Benefits of listing your company in the stock exchange
- How to find FEIN and tax ID numbers
- How to start an auto repair business
- Maximizing information systems to gain a competitive advantage
- Appropriate gifts for service related employees at Christmas time
- The benefits of cross-training employees
- Ways a new company can keep up with changing technology
- What is a high-performance organization (HPO)?
- The legality of paying using only pennies
- How to write your maternity leave notice
- How to write a letter of congratulations to an employee
- How to write informative papers
- How to send multiple emails to thousands of customers
- Favorite commercial ad slogans
- Management: Effectiveness versus efficiency
- Introduction speech for a speaker
- How to organize and write a business report
- Consumer buying behavior and market segmentation
- How to measure the impact of billboard advertising campaigns
- Understanding the difference between niche marketing and mass marketing
- The most lucrative businesses on the internet
- Implementation of public policy: Issues of theory and practice
- How important are company values?
- The advantages and disadvantages of mass production
- How to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of your advertising
- How to manage stakeholder expectations
- How to get licenses and permits to open a restaurant in the U.S.
- History of Adidas
- Management information system: The center of management decision making
- How to write an applicant rejection letter
- Top-selling products online
- Writing department objectives sample: Sales department
- Management behavior: IBM and Geert Hofstede’s study
Featured Partner
Concepts4Charity has partnered with Helium, giving you the chance to write for a cause. Browse Concepts4Charity ...more
hide