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Learning how to handle your business card advertising is one of the primary promotions to consider when going into your own business.
Business cards are the first "remembrance item" you give to someone after pitching your business.
Here are 13 tips on making your business card advertising memorable, easy to read and ready to be acted upon.
1. Business cards must have a two-fold purpose in order to draw customers to you.
a. The first purpose is to act as a "memory jogger" about the conversation you had with your potential client or referral source.
b. The second is to get them to take "the next step" which you suggested or one which you agreed upon.
2. In many ways, your business card is like a mini-ad. It can use a headline, an attention-getting photo or logo, some brief text and essential contact information.
3. Putting a professional photo of yourself on your business card helps those you have talked with to remember you. It links your image to your written name, position and company. Include a company logo, particularly if you are an independent sales person for a well-known company.
4. You'll also want to include a quick phrase of recognition (our is "taking care of your creative advertising") that answers the "What's In It For Me" question.
5. Try to conform to the standard 2" high x 3 1/2" wide size for psychological acceptance as a real business. This size also gives you convenient storage with other business cards. Weird sizes, although creative, may alienate decision makers with traditional business values.
6. Make sure you have some sort of quality printing: either raised type, 4-color photo, glossy paper, smooth cut edges, heavy paper, etc. If you can't invest $100 to $200 in printing your primary business card advertising, why would a client want to invest their money with you? Your goal: to show you are a legitimate business.
7. Caution: don't print your business cards on a laser printer. The big companies don't and neither should you, especially if you want to get taken seriously. (Laser or ink jet printers are great for testing different layouts and designs to show to your business friends for evaluations.)
8. Using the reverse side: Choose paper (or another material) that is easy to write on. Many businesses use this space to record appointments.
Provide a helpful tip. Others list specific product lines or services. Veteran networkers turn the business card over and write about their contact when they get home from attending an event. Cater your reverse side to the buying process that your customers follow.
9. Let's assume you have included essential information that is quickly read. Please recognize that different people have different communications preferences: some like e-mail, others prefer direct telephone numbers, etc. Make it easy for everyone to contact you directly using their individual styles. Respond to their inquiry quickly.
10. Always carry an adequate supply of business cards. Quite often, you'll have a great impromptu conversation on the beach, at a restaurant or on the bus. One of you will say, "I'm sorry, I ran out of business cards." To me, that's poor follow-through for your business card advertising efforts. Some people say it is a forecast of how they will be handled in the future.
Instead, you could tap into your "emergency back-up cards" which are always in your wallet or on your person. At least your new acquaintance walks away with a card, even though it may be slightly bent.
11. You'll find bulletin boards where you can post your business card at grocery stores, diners and other community locations. But remember, this is similar to advertising in a general interest newspaper that may or may not be targeted to reach the audience you desire.
12. A more effective way would be to examine the buying habits of your customers. Find out what kind of person recommends purchases of what you are selling.
For instance, a personal counseling service thrives on references from doctors and other health professionals. The counselors mail an introductory letter, enclose their business card and follow up with a personal request for an appointment.
13. See how your business card compares to others you have collected!
Make your business connection, then confirm your relationship with a business card. These tips will help your business card advertising become more effective.
© 2006 Jon Sinish
This article may be reprinted and distributed as long as the resource information remains intact.
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Click Here for more informationThe Austin Business Journal reported about a firm that ”buys and resells merchandise that has been closed out, overstocked or discontinued…to a wide range of retail outlets, from mom-and-pop shops to multinational chains such as Wal-Mart..”.
Businesses everywhere struggle with changing buying habits, business costs and government regulations.
Fads in clothing, toys, electronics, computers, furniture styles and eating habits change. Consequently, new unsold merchandise takes up warehouse space and ties up capitol.
Surplus liquidators buy inventories of unwanted, obsolete or excess merchandise, often as low at .10 on the dollar, providing a cash injection for the seller. This merchandise is then resold at prices substantially below wholesale. One way to source surplus merchandise is to search the Directory of U.S. Importers and Exporters, available in many public libraries.
Purchased in small quantities these products can be retailed or sold at auctions for substantial profit. And for the savvy surplus finder a substantial payday can result.
Dr. B James C Bruno
info@surplusopportunity.com
http://www.surplusopportunity.com
All Rights Reserved 2003
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Click Here for more informationAny business start-up can be difficult but the online business start-up is more so. Both business owners have the same problems of financing, product selection and marketing. However, the “brick and mortar” business owner has one major advantage over the online business start-up. The conventional business owner can see their potential customers. Their potential customers walk by the windows every day. They may even walk into the store and ask questions. With an online business, other than some hard to decipher website statistics, the only time you know you have a potential customer is when they contact you or order from you. This creates many sleepless nights.
At 2:00 a.m., an online business owner wakes up in a cold sweat. Where are the customers? Have I chosen the right online marketing strategy from the millions that are available? How do I know? Will a sale come in tomorrow or never? There are literally hundreds of concerns made more difficult by the invisibility of the potential customer. The agony of the online business start-up is in full swing. Will there be any ecstasy at the end of the road? What will it take?
Ecstasy will occur once the owner knows the business is successful. The elements of success are actually the same for the “brick and mortar” business as they are for the online business. The difference resides in the feedback mechanisms. The online business owner can’t count on that face-to-face meeting with potential customers when they enter the store or that fleeting glimpse of a customer as they walk by the window. An online business owner must create feedback mechanisms on their website which encourage customers to interact and let him/her know they were there.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get your potential customers to leave you their email addresses? Not only would this help you understand that people are actually visiting your site but it would also be helpful for future marketing efforts. As online business owners, how can we do this?
First, add a simple guest book to your site. Some people will voluntarily sign your guest book, but many will not. So, let’s add a little incentive for the potential customer. How about associating their signature in your guest book with a free drawing for one of your products (like www.sweet-vibrations.com, a one-of-a-kind jewelry site) or a free newsletter on an interesting topic (like www.aaronzwebworkz.com)? In this way, you offer something of value in exchange for their email address. And, it doesn’t have to cost you anything.
There are many free website guest books available online. We use a free guest book from www.htmlgear.com on our website www.obinstitute.com. Check it out!
Secondly, an online business owner can also add a refer-a-friend link on their website. Why not offer potential customers the ability to easily market for you? They may know a friend who would really be interested in your product. That friend might buy something from you, or sign your guest book. The website mentioned above, www.htmlgear.com also offers a free refer-a-friend link for your website. And, again, you can check out an example at www.obinstitute.com. Is there anything else we can add to a website to make our potential customer more visible before a sale? Yes, an online survey.
Thirdly, add an ongoing survey form regarding issues of importance to your potential customers? Most of us find it’s interesting to cast a ballot on an issue and then see what position others are taking. Remember, you have two purposes in mind for this strategy. The first is to make the potential customer and their visits to your website more visible to you. This will help maintain your sanity until someone actually orders. But, secondly, you are developing a website that people will return to in the future. This will increase the potential for sales.
Each time the potential customer interacts with the website, using a guest book, a survey or a refer-a-friend link, the online business owner is building a relationship with that potential customer. The more they like using your site, the more likely they are to return. The more often they return to your site, or tell others, the better your chances of the sale.