15 Basic Marketing Tools You Will Want to Use – Part 5 of 5

“I keep watching how you and Sharyn do so much to promote Sedona Marketing, and your clients, how can I do that? What are some of the basic marketing tools I should be focused on?”

During the 12 days we were in Costa Rica filming the Live Your List television show (part of the entrepreneurial mini series featuring us as the marketing experts along with Brian Tracy), we were constantly asked questions like these. The usual answer begins with “It Depends” because it varies by company. But there are a lot of tools which are universal to most entrepreneurs.

This question began percolating in my mind when I was getting ready to speak at an event and the person on stage was giving lots (and lots and lots) of marketing theory, but not a lot of helpful information to the people in the room. You would have had to hire him to get the benefit of that. I put a lot of basic, helpful throughout the writing of my last two books: “The Marketing Checklist… 80 Simple Ways to Master Your Marketing” and the soon to be released “The Marketing Checklist 2… 49 MORE Simple Ways to Master Your Marketing.”

So what are the basics? In the last four blogs and this last one, I am going to take a look at The Basic 15, three at a time. If you want all 15, click on the video and watch all of them! You can also check out this topic on an episode of our radio show, The Marketing Checklist that has all of them as well.

BEFORE WE START – This is important: In order to use any of these Basic 15 Marketing Tools, you MUST have a VERY clear idea of who is your main target market and who is your secondary target markets. If we do not know our audience it is going to make most of this an exercise in futility. I have written extensively on demographic targeting of your markets, so you should take a look for those blogs before you begin here. You can also look on the Our Marketing Guy site for more information.

Let’s get back to it with numbers 13 to 15.

#13 TRADE SHOW EXHIBITING AS ONE OF THE BASIC MARKETING TOOLS

I have written about trade shows so many times, it is ridiculous! In fact, here is a presentation I did to a Wedding and Professionals group that was getting ready to hold their own show. The lecture was to prepare all the exhibitors.

Here are the most important reasons you will want to exhibit:
1. When the people walking through the trade show are your target market, it is a great place to exhibit. If your target market are business owners and the trade show has a travel (Where to go on Vacation) theme, it is NOT the right place for you. If your target market is mostly medical professionals, then exhibiting at a Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors of America show is not going to get you any business.

2. If you have an opportunity to sponsor the trade show and are given a time to speak on stage to the audience, that is worth spending money on.

3. If you can easily handle the leads generated from a geographical perspective, it is worth exhibiting. If the show is in Las Vegas and the attendees are from all over the country but you are based in San Diego without a national sales force nor have the ability to easily service nationwide accounts, do not travel to Nevada.

4. If the event is put on by your local Chamber of Commerce and your target market is local businesses, then jump on board!
Here is how to prepare for the show:

1. Have enough human coverage for the show. If it is a full day or longer and you try and do it alone, you are going to have a very stressful day. Even if the show is a few hours and it is a table top, there should be at least two of you. Having that solid lead walk away because you were talking to a lookie-loo who wanted to sell YOU something is tragic.

2. Do not wait until the last minute to prepare your table. Order promotional products well in advance. Want some help picking the absolute best ideas? Call me! 800-705-4265. You should have a flyer created which will offer specials tied to that particular show: “Just for attending the Greater Lower North Sedona trade show, you receive 50% Off your next purchase with this coupon.”

3. Plan on arriving early, because there is a lot of business to be done with other exhibitors and stay late because you do not know what incredible lead arrived at the show late.

After the show:
1. Have your post-show mailer ready to go prior to the show so all you have to do is add the mailing address and a stamp.

2. The best leads should be called within 24 hours of the show. Even if it is to let them know that you are getting their requested information together.

3. All leads should be followed up with prior to 7 days after. I cannot tell you the amount of people who have called me 5, 6 or more months after a show and tried to follow up. I assure you that whatever they were interested in has disappeared.

#14 You Appreciation Program is an important one of the Basic Marketing Tools

I have a good friend naked Kody Bateman who’s quote has stuck with me for many years: “Appreciation will win out over self-promotion every single time.”

Another unforgettable quote, this one from Maya Angelou — ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’
One of our favorite Appreciation Programs is a network marketing company called SendOutCards. It allows us to easily mail Thank You, Birthday, Appreciation, and all manner of real greeting cards along with gifts. VERY inexpensive. If you want to try it for free, go to www.IDeserveItAll.com and enjoy. We can help you build a great business with it, as we have.

You can also create an Affiliate program which rewards clients for referring you. This can be as simple as offering them a custom link to your website where they send people or something more elaborate which requires more work on the part of your client.

 

#15 One of the Best Basic Marketing Tools is to be a Referral Powerhouse

In the past week, I was able to easily make two business generating referrals. First, I had someone post on facebook that they needed a magician for a corporate event. I was easily able to connect them with Glendalf the Magician because his information was easy to pull off of his facebook page. Second was someone sending me an email, asking me if I knew anyone who could move their business furniture. Of course, I instantly gave them CJ’s number at American Dream Movers.

I make it known that I have a very active ‘Rolodex; of business people who are incredible. I can easily lay my hands on their contact information and connect them with the people who are in need of their services. I always look at my social media feeds for these requests.

Here is another tip: Be REFERRABLE! Make it easy for people to find you. Add your phone, email address, address to your business social media pages. There is nothing more frustrating for a Referral Powerhouse than not being given the tools to connect people with.

There are several other ways to be known as a great referral source, but we will save those for another blog.

We have reached the end of this 5-part blog series on Basic Marketing Tools that you can use to promote your business. I hope you have found them all interesting and, more importantly, helpful in getting you down the a successful Marketing Path.

Would you like help with some of these basic marketing tools? Go to www.FreeFromSMR.com and take our online marketing evaluation. You can also register for a 20-minute phone call with Sharyn and me to go over the results.
Or, you can call us at 800-705-4265 and check out more of our marketing blogs at www.SedonaMarketingRetreats.com.

You may even want to read my book, The Marketing Checklist, which is available on Amazon:

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P.S. If you would like a pdf of these 15 Basic Marketing Tools, please complete this form and we will send it out to you right away!