15 Ways To Promote Your Business Part 2

Yesterday we took a look at 7 business ideas for promotion, today we continue the journey with a further 8 ideas for you to sink your teeth into. Enjoy!

COMMUNITY
Nothing brings you to the attention of the people faster-or more favorably-than community service.

Ask yourself how your enterprise can be a “good neighbor” to your community. What product or services could you offer at no charge to a needy charitable organization or nursing home in your area. Hundreds of people will hear about your work in the process.

Why not volunteer for various community causes or if appropriate, step in during community emergency offering products and services to help an organization or individuals in need.

A word of caution here, this is not to be used as a marketing ploy…don’t do this because you can…do it because you care.

COUPONING
Not really huge in Australia, but in other areas of the globe people are very coupon-conscious. Your business and market will determine if this is a good strategy for you.

Test the market: at what level will coupons increase the volume of various product or service lines?

When you get some tentative answers, start distributing coupons that offer a discount on your services. Distribute them to area newspapers, on store counters, in door-to-door- mail packets, at the public library, at laundromats, at any location where people congregate.

BADGES AND NOVELTIES
Ahh the tribal factor. You can easily and inexpensively produce badges, bumper stickers, book covers, and other novelty items for distribution in your area. You can imprint your business name and the first names of the customers on many of these products at little cost and distribute them for free. Or you can tie your novelty program into a contest: once a month, you can offer a prize to any individual whose car happens to carry one of your bumper stickers or badges with peel-off coupons, redeemable at your place of business.

CELEBRITY VISITS
With a bit of persistence, you may be able to arrange to have a local media celebrity, public official, or entertainment personally-even a fictitious cartoon character or clown-visit your service or do an interview with you either in person or virtually. Celebrity draws crowds. You can have them sign autographs, read stories to children, perform cooking demonstrations, or perform any one of a hundred other traffic-building activities. The mind boggles with this one.

GO WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE
Why not attend your local trade fair, or community fairs/festivals and have your own information booth. Online you could partner up to run multiple speaker events via webinars, teleseminars. This promotional technique can work for anyone and has lots of applications.

SCAVENGER HUNTS
Encourage interactivity with your business and brand. If you’re online, create your own little amazing race or scavenger hunt on your website. Offline why not do a new for old discount deal. If they bring an old product…a small appliance, a book, whatever-to you, you’ll give them a worthwhile discount on a comparable new item. There are lots of ways to build community through this process…what could your business do here.

PARTIES
Everyone loves a party. Why not celebrate the anniversary of your business or some special holiday or product release by either a virtual or physical party.
Utilize the social sphere and have a facebook party, or use the hashtag or tweetchat to run a party on twitter. You can have giveaways, lucky customer draws, spotlight your customers…there’s no end to what you can do to create buzz for your business.

SEMINARS
In this information hungry age, people love to receive advice, especially about their personal needs and hobbies. If you sell health foods or run fitness classes, perhaps you can offer “wellness” seminars or webinars during lunchtime to your area’s business community. If you’re an interior decorator, perhaps you can offer one-hour decorating workshops to any group of ten people. If you’re running a printing business, perhaps you can offer tours and layout seminars at your plant.

If you want to increase your exposure among your customers and prospects, you need to get promoting.

By all means, advertise in the media if you can or must. But don’t neglect your greatest promotional asset…Your Mind.  Flex your creativity muscle and ponder the products, services, and events you can offer the community and devise a creative promotional strategy around them.

I hope these ideas have given you some inspiration and fresh ideas that will work for your business. Why not share your experiences or ideas in the comments below.

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