| |
| |
|
Advertising Information |
|
|
|
What Does Your Business Card Say?
Business cards are the most underutilized and misunderstood marketing tool in business. Many people spend the bucks for cards and don't make an effort to get them into the hands of those who can hire them or buy from them. Everyday people throw away stacks of undelivered business cards. Money down the dumper. Your goal is to design and use a memorable card and get so many delivered you have to re-order. Forget about those clever articles about what to do with stacks of leftover cards. The only time you should have cards still in the box is when something on the card becomes outdated or obsolete. If you designed your cards as a marketing tool and planned your distribution, tossing unused cards in the trash should become the exception rather than the rule. If one item on your card changes the cards are obsolete and should be pitched. Car dealers are famous for finding ways to save money on business card expense. With the revolving door turnover of salespeople, many dealers stopped ordering individual cards for new hires. They print a master card with color dealer logo and phone numbers and leave a big space in the middle for the new salesperson's name to be penciled in. That way, when the would-be fast talking, glad handing flannel mouth doesn't work out, no new cards need be printed. A swell image: handwritten business cards. It would be interesting to run the numbers on how much money was saved at the printers versus how much business went somewhere where the salespeople appeared more professional. With car dealer margins, one sale would buy a lot of business cards. Worse is using a business card with a black or blue marker blotting out a line of type and a new name,address or phone number written (or typed) above the black line. Ugh! Some people painstakingly cut itty bitty strips of computer labels printed with the new information and stick them over the old just to save a few bucks. Calculate what your time is worth and the savings turn into an expense, not to mention what the "corrected" card does to future business. Dig out that stack of business cards you have been collecting for years and flip through them, you will see at least one with a correction. If you are in any business and venture outside your cubby-hole for any reason, you should carry business cards at all times. You should be able to "whip one out" without diggout out your wallet and digging thru pics of the kids, or plunging to the bottom of your purse past the hair spray. You card says a lot about you. And you say even more about you when you offer your card. Say it in business-like, professional style. For more about buiness cards, get my article "What Does the BACK of Your Business Card Say?" ©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com eMail: BizCardBack@BigIdeasGroup.com Subscribe to "BIG Mike's BIG Ideas" Newsletter subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net
MORE RESOURCES:
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Yellow Pages Ads - Buying Secrets Yellow Pages Ads - Buying SecretsOK- let's agree that many businesses can benefit greatly from Yellow Pages advertising. Let's also agree that few businesses enjoy paying for this "necessary evil". Direct Mail Rules of Thumb First and foremost - You should identify your target market. Target your direct marketing lists. What Happened? Troubleshooting Poor Response from Ad Campaigns Too many small business owners today run ad campaigns that get little to no results, and they have no idea why. When you have the knowledge to troubleshoot the poor responses, you also have the knowledge to make the needed changes so that - next time - your sales improve! Let's take a look at the breakdown of an ad campaign, and how to determine what went wrong. Increase Business By Being Nice I have been reading articles on increasing sales using search engine optimisation as well as writing them for a very long time and I have not seen many which point out the best way to increase sales.The answer is obvious yet often overlooked; you just have to be as good to your customers as you would expect any other site owner to treat you. How to Write B2B Ads That Catch Customers Are your business-to-business ads working for you? If they are not making sales, are they at least generating interest in your company? Are they making an impression on your potential customers by making you stand out in a crowd? If not, then you should take a look at this article and get those ads working hard for you.Don't just fish for customers, catch them!1. How To Make Your Yellow Page Ads Work I hear it often, "advertising in the Yellow Pages directory doesn't work!" I smile knowingly and wait for a pause in the conversation, and this is what I say in response to their claims?"It's not the medium - it's the message?and it's probable the market too!" Blank stares often accompany that opening statement. But they do work - and they work well? IF you know how to use them. Creditability In Advertising I recently saw an ad taped to my mailbox, mind you, my mailbox is shared by many residents of my area. The postal real estate is typically reserved for flyers of lost dogs, cats, small children, etc. Write Attention Getting Advertisements The most important aspect of any business is selling the product or service. Without sales, you aren't generating any income and your business will die. Do I Need Raised Letter or Full Color Business Cards? If you've been searching around for business cards that will best represent the image you want to portray for your business, then you've no doubt encountered many options. The Big Two, as I like to think of them, are "Raised Letter" and "Full Color. How to Write Great Headlines According to experts, just changing the headline of an ad or sales letter has been known to dramatically improve the effectiveness of an ad or sales letter by up to 1700 percent! Yes, headlines are that powerful--and that important!An effective headline will do many things at once. It will attract the readers attention, convey benefits by appealing to the readers self-interest and it will set the stage for what is to come. Developing a Formal Brand Messaging Document Ensure everyone in your company sings from the same sheet of music when it comes to communicating a consistent brand message.Imagine one of your customers calling six different people in your company. Direct Response Advertising; Radio vs TV Radio advertising vs. television advertisingMany new advertisers assume that they should start on radio and "move up" sometime later to TV. The Internet and Beyond - 12 Tips on Writing Better Brochures Every year thousands of online businesses fail. None of them begin with the idea they'll fail, in fact they have high hopes of success, but they fail all the same. The Secrets To Successful Radio Advertising Ask some businesses about radio advertising and they'll tell you it's the greatest investment they ever made while others will tell you it was a complete waste of time and money. So why does radio work for some and not for others? What's the secret to successful radio advertising?Know this: Radio can be a major player in your advertising mix if you know how to do it and I'm about to give you the secrets to successful radio advertising so read on. Radio Interview 101 Different Types of Station ContactReaching radio hosts (for the purpose of trying to get booked for an interview) can take on various forms, depending on the type of station the show is done at. What's best? All of them at the same time, of course. Turn Your Ad Copy into a Goldmine! Today, more than ever, it is crucial that your ad copy explodes the reader's curiosity. Are you interested in simple yet powerful ways to improve your ad copy so your readers will rush to action? Invoking a reader's call to action can be communicated in various effective ways. Advertising: 10 Powerful Secrets To Help You Sell Your Ad Space Like Crazy If you want to sell more ad spaces, you must read and use the secrets I am revealing here:1. Give your customers a discount when they spend over a certain dollar amount for ad space. Brochures - The Ultimate Sales Tool "How brochures can help you stand out from the competition, close the deal, and even build repeat business."Most brochures are nothing more than a collection of a few pictures and a few details about a business. Advertise Where Its Forbidden To The most common way to drive people to your business site is advertising. You cannot succeed without advertising, this is a fact. Media Savvy - How To Lead, Persuade And Influence The ability to lead, persuade and influence are integral skills for effective managers. The capability of telling a story that inspires, motivates and informs is an essential part of this process.
|
| home | index |site map |
| © 2006 |
