Marketing tips, thoughts and expert advice for small business owners and other professionals
6 Ways to Market Intangibles
Marketing a tangible product – something that can be seen, touched, tasted or experienced in some way – is typically straight forward. You can show the product, demonstrate its value and benefits, perhaps give the prospect a “sample” of some sort, and so forth. But...
Sell to People, Not Businesses
If you are selling your products or services to businesses, here’s an extremely important thing to keep in mind: Businesses are not buyers. People are. After all, “businesses” do not make purchase decisions. It is the people at these businesses who make purchase...
Giving Back
What has your business done for your community lately? What I’ve seen is that many business owners do a lot to give back to their communities on a personal level, but then fail to recognize the benefits of giving back on the business level. Yes, giving back has its...
Marketing a tangible product – something that can be seen, touched, tasted or experienced in some way – is typically straight forward. You can show the product, demonstrate its value and benefits, perhaps give the prospect a “sample” of some sort, and so forth. But...
Don’t Make It All About You
Many companies make the common mistake of focusing their marketing text almost exclusively on themselves. “We this,” “our that,” “we’re proud of this,” etc. While a certain amount of self-centeredness is appropriate, you’ve got to keep in mind the fact that your...
Framing Your Message
If you head over to Costco this weekend, you’ll be able to make a meal out of all the free samples being distributed. Why does Costco do this? Because of the positive “frame” it creates for your shopping experience. The sampling creates a “fun” atmosphere (not an easy...
10 Ways to Check Out Your Competition
Unless your product or service is so unique that no one else is offering it, setting yourself apart from your competition can be key to your success. But how much do you really know about your competitors? Who are they? What do they stand for? How do their products...
Get People Talking about Your Business
When a business goes “above and beyond” to meet your needs, you’re likely to tell the world about your positive experience – and you’ll do so in such a passionate and persuasive way that others will want to buy from that business, too. So it’s no surprise that “Word...
Common Punctuation Errors II
My last article on common punctuation errors was so popular (click here if you missed it) that I decided to write another! As I’ve seen in my editing work, there’s a lot of confusion out there regarding proper punctuation. Where do you put the apostrophe? Should I use...
Headline Writing 101
I have a confession to make. I often struggle with writing headlines. In fact, I can recall more than a few instances in which it took me longer to write a five-word headline than to write the other 450 words on the page! Why? Because the headline can be the most...