Archive for November, 2007

Tradeshows for the new businesses- cost saving but effective marketing

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

The main reason for starting a business is probably to provide services. Helping those who cannot help themselves could also be another reason which is partly true. Is creating a network another reason for running a business? Not at all! A network should be created BEFORE starting a business. The number one purpose of starting a business is to make money.

Every business and organization shares one profit-oriented goal. They would abandon anything that does not bring money. Even items that cost money are also to be questioned. The likelihood of continuing a business that does not incur profit but only covers costs in a long run should be decided by top management and stakeholders. Money is the most important factor that keeps a business going.

One sensitive issue in this area of economics is nothing new. The fact that businesses need to save cost in every way possible in order to make profit can be achieved by getting the lowest price for the best quality. To be able to do this, a business requires intense benchmarking, regular surveying and most of all, a person with a good business sense.

Marketing is an important element in business and it helps create demand for a product. A good marketing strategy should even start before the product is created and is done by identifying the need, desired features and the prime candidates for a market niche. Marketing creates the story and messages that you want to tell a specific group of customers in order to make them understand your product and how it can solve their problem.

An ideal place to start marketing your product is a tradeshow. Not only do your products get marketed to a large crowd related to your industry, you also get to save cost by doing the promoting yourself. Don’t go for an expensive large booth if you’ve just started; choose the low cost type of exhibit displays instead. There are many to choose from and your product will still get noticed without you spending more than you can afford.

A tradeshow is usually comprised of many competitors, suppliers and customers. Therefore, the image of your product is important. Attracting potential customers will rely on how much product exposure they get at first glance. A banner stand is an economical way to market your product but you must make sure that the stand is firm enough so that it won’t fly away with a breeze, fans or air-conditioning. This is equally as important as having an interesting banner with graphic.

Apart from the marketing team, signs and displays should illustrate a lucid message to people who may be interested in your product. Investing on LED light displays is a bad investment as it will create interest in your display and not the product. Overdoing the display will take away the attention from your product. Invest on something inexpensive and quick to make such as personalized printed table top which goes well with beads and other smaller items.

Another cost effective way of marketing at tradeshows is with pop up displays. Some advantages are they are easy to ship and the container can be converted into a small table that sits at the front of the display. This table could then be used to hold literature and other information about your product. Use your imagination and creativity to attract the attention of potential customers.

To invest in a large permanent booth in a tradeshow is unwise, especially for new businesses as dollars can be better spent elsewhere. The smart thing to do is to get a portable trade show display booth. Not only is it easy to be moved and transported, it is also cheaper and can be assembled at any spot.

A good business depends on many factors. However, the fundamental essence of every business is still the same: Make profits, save costs and think wisely before you do anything.

Basic Online Business Techniques…

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

When someone starts an online business, and many do, they tend to think that they know what they are doing. In other words, they don’t have a clue. Everyone keeps telling them that they need a nice looking website, throw some affiliate programs on it, advertise at free classifieds pages, and watch the money roll in. Easy money, right? That’s what they think.

“I don’t need anyone to show me how to do this. It shouldn’t be hard at all. Actually, it should be a walk in the park.” Many people probably think like that. So they advertise here and there. Free classifieds. Free advertising. Maybe some forum posting every day. Free traffic, right?

A few days go by. Then a few weeks go by and they only made about $30 in sales in one month. Many continue to do this and think that if they keep doing the same thing, maybe a miracle will happen.

Not so

It so very true that the online work at home arena is highly competitive. If you are doing the same thing and keep getting the same results over and over again, not only are you killing your potential for online success, but you are allowing other competitors to pass you by. The only thing that you need to do is to stop and find someone who is already succeeding with their online business. Become like an investigator. Investigate what they do EXACTLY on a daily basis that created that wealth for them.

Here are a few good pointers on what you can do to succeed online:

1) Start Getting Educated

Again, find someone who is very successful online and see what they are doing on a daily basis that creates their success. Do some detailed research online as to what methods and techniques are working for them and others. You can not succeed if you keep associating yourself with people who aren’t successful online. So you need to take yourself by the hands and start to associate with successful online friends.

2) You need an Auto-responder

Before I go into explaining this subject, it is important that you know that you will want to work with an opt in email subscribers who will come to your site and give you their personal permission to send them periodic emails. What you will not want to do is to buy email subscribers. If you do buy them and send them your emails, then this can kill you and your online reputation.

Having and opt-in email list will allow you to free up lots of your time because your prospects will be receiving messages from you periodically and automatically. The nice thing about email marketing is that instead of you having to call them each time you want to promote something, which will take you forever, your auto-responder system will be working for you while you go out and have fun.

Imagine having an opt in list of 10,000 subscribers. If you were to call each one of them to promote one of your programs, think how long it will take you to reach all of them. It would be impossible for you. With email, you can contact them all in a matter of a few seconds or minutes. You write one email and hit the “submit” button, and you are all done.

“If I don’t get an auto-responder and email subscribers, will this cut my chances of succeeding online?”

I am not saying that it will, but if you do get one, your income will just keep growing all the time as your subscribers do.

3) Find a mentor

After you find someone who is very successful online, email them and tell them that you will want to work with them one on one if it is possible. Don’t try going into their training thinking that you know it all. Listen and follow each guideline that they are recommending to you.

This person will be your mentor. Your coach and most of all, your friend.

By stepping out and trying a proven way to make money online, you will begin to see that you too can make a nice income online. And the best advice that I can also give you is to never ever give up. A lot of people are making nice incomes online and so can you. Believe in yourself and you will succeed.