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a) Try to answer the phone by the second or third ring. Taking too long to answer creates an impression of disorganization and lack of interest.
b) Speak slowly and clearly giving your name, your business name and a phrase like, "How may I help you?"
c) Most communication experts agree that a smile on your face translates into a smile in your voice. That's why some shop owners place a mirror next to the phone so that they can see the expression on their own face when they answer.
3) Make use of cross-promotion. Smaller printers are ideal candidates for cross-promotion, an inexpensive and effective way for non-competing businesses to help each other. Here's how it works: John, a printer, works out a cross-promotion arrangement with Laura, a small retailer in the same town. Each agrees to display copies of the other's business brochure at their businesses. The cost? Nothing more than the cost of printing.
There's no need to limit the participants to any specific industry. The combinations for cross-promoting are limited only by the participant's imagination. Depending on the nature of the businesses involved, cross-promotion may include such methods as window signs or posters, discount coupons or personal referrals.
How many businesses in your community are cross-promotion candidates? Probably many. Why not take the initiative and suggest a cross-promotion program with your favorite local business owners?
4) Put networking to work for you. People prefer to do business with people they know. Think about it. If you need a plumber, an attorney or any professional, whom are you most likely to call? Will you call a stranger from a listing in the Yellow Pages or will you call someone you know—perhaps a neighbor or the friendly fellow you met at last week's Rotary meeting?
Service organizations such as Kiwanis, Lions or the Chamber of Commerce are populated with entrepreneurs and professional people, and most are as anxious to meet you as you are to meet them.
5) Tell your story through an attractive brochure. Printers in particular need some form of printed material to provide information to prospective customers. A skillfully designed brochure is one of the easiest and lowest-cost ways for you to grab and hold the attention of prospective customers. Brochures have a longer "shelf life" than many other forms of business advertising, and are often passed from person-to-person and kept for future reference.
A word of caution: While desktop computers and the latest printing technology have made the physical job of producing a promotional brochure a simple task, creating an effective selling message is not a job for an amateur. If you do the job yourself, you should enlist the help of a good copywriter and graphic designer. While this will add to the initial cost of your brochure, the results will make the additional investment well worthwhile.
6) Get more mileage from your business cards. Business cards are among the most inexpensive, yet most underused, shoestring marketing tools. A carefully designed business card functions like a miniature billboard.
Held at arm's length, it registers in the viewer's eyes as apparently the same size as a 30-foot billboard viewed from a distance. And a good business card contains more useful business information than many full-sized billboards. That's why you should make sure that your card is professionally designed and printed on good stock.
Use every opportunity to get your card into the hands of anyone who may be a prospect. Don't wait for someone to ask for your card. Ask for the other person's card, take the time to look it over and then present your own.
7) Grab your share of the best publicity of all—free publicity. Advertising professionals know (but usually won't admit) that free publicity can be just as effective as the best paid ads. Most of your prospective customers will be far more receptive to a simple news item about your business than a typical advertisement.
So, how do you go about getting a piece of the free publicity pie? First, you need to learn what makes a good story. Then you need to learn how to sell it your local news media.
Your news item doesn't have to be of monumental importance to gain a free spot in the media; it just has to be "newsworthy." That simply means there is something about you or your business that the public might find interesting. Here are some newsworthy story ideas about your business:
• Employee news. Many neighborhood papers run columns dedicated to residents of the community. Potential topics including hirings, promotions and special awards are ideal candidates for submissions to these columns. Another area of interest is employees who have unusual hobbies or who have performed public service within their communities.
• Changes in your business. Most newspapers are anxious to run newsworthy items about local businesses. Any time you make a change in your business you have an opportunity for some free publicity.
• Your own activities and accomplishments. Don't be shy when it comes to publicity for you or your shop. If you are involved in community service, invited to speak to a local service club, have an unusual hobby, operate your printing business in an unusual way or participate in any events that have news potential, don't hesitate to grab a spot on the free publicity bandwagon.
You have to seek free publicity actively. The media isn't going to come looking for you. While it isn't necessary to have a "contact" in the local press to get your share, it doesn't hurt. That's another reason to put networking to work for you.
Shoestring marketing techniques such as these may not seem as challenging or exciting as more sophisticated methods for building your business, but they can be an effective and inexpensive way to add dollars to your bottom line. PI
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Cracking the QR Code
Glossary of Graphic Communications, Fourth Edition
