Tip for March 1, 2006

Guerrillas Emphasize First and Last Guerrilla Marketers realize that what happens at the beginning and end of an event--like a presentation, sales encounter, or--even--a relationship is more important than what happens in the middle. The importance of this simple lesson was driven home to me last week, when my wife and I entered a local restaurant at 12:30 PM, and the hostess at the door immediately began with a strong negative. The first words out her mouth were: "You know, we're only serving breakfast right now!" which was both accusatory and negative. She followed up with "And we're closing next week!"

Tip for March 2, 2006

3D Web Planning and Copywriting Guerrillas often find it difficult to plan and write web site copy. It is often difficult to visualize the structure of a web site. One way to get around this is to plan and write a web site as a series of linked Word documents, using text boxes to indicate sidebars and other page elements. Working with linked Word documents permits you to quickly and easily jump between pages, and experience your developing text as your web site visitors will.

Tip for March 3, 2006

Konica Minolta Understands the Power of Demonstration One of the online photography forums was describing a very effective display of the anti-shake technology built into the forthcoming Konica Minolta 7D digital camera. The camera is on a continuously shaking stand, pointing at an adjacent sign. The camera's output is fed to a computer monitor. The camera's anti-shake system is turned on and off. When it's off, the sign cannot be read. When it's on, the words are clearly visible. Definitely an attention-getting demonstration that communicates the power of the anti-shake technology.

Tip for March 4, 2006

Three color printing at a two color price One of the best ways to save money is to cover the majority of the "billboard" side of a postcard with a solid color--like yellow, and use black ink for the text placed against the yellow background. To create the appearance of a third color, reverse text set at large size--like the headline--against the colored background. This techniques creates the appearance of a third color--white--where there is neither black nor the yellow background color.

Tip for March 5, 2006

Even Those Who Make a Difference Often Forget a Call to Action Several Guerrilla Marketers, including Will Reed (www.b-smart.net) and Roger C. Parker (www.onepagenewsletters.com), are profiled in Seth Godin's newest book, Bullmarket Sourcebook. The Bullmarket Sourcebook profiles 500 creative service providers around the world who, in Seth's words, "can make a difference" by acting as catalysts and helping clients become Purple Cows in their field. What's interesting, however, is how rarely is a call to action included in the profiles--which were written by the entrants themselves. Most entries are strong on description, benefits, and (often) self-congratulation. But only a few tell readers what to do next. Most list a web site URL, for example, but don't tell readers WHY they should visit the URL. Often, the difference between a Guerrilla or a competitor getting an assignment boils down to the call-to-action incentive that tells the prospect what to do next, like contact Will or Roger and ask where they can download the free 446 page book..

Tip for March 6, 2006

Educating to Plant Seed of Future Sales One of the best examples of proactive market education can be found at www.bhphotovideo.com. Select any camera or major product, and tabs appear for "Accessories," "Features," "Specifications," and "Item includes." Click "Accessories," and you'll find detailed descriptions of every accessory that could increase the utility and pleasure the product offers. The cost (and profitability) of these recommended accessories, i.e., batteries, power supplies, viewfinders, filters, remote cords, lens caps, etc., can quickly convert a low-margin sale into a highly profitable one. Does your web site make it easy to cross-sell and up-sell buyers?

Tip for March 7, 2006

Everyone loves freebies Everyone likes to get something for nothing, so giving away free stuff is a good way to get people interested in your product. Offer a free report, a free information kit, a few free minutes of telephone consulting, or a sample of your company's product or service. If you have confidence in what you're selling, let the product or service do the selling for you.

Tip for March 8, 2006

Questioning to determine problems. Ask "What problems have you encountered with the firm you have been using?" Anyone who has been ordering services for a few months or even weeks has encountered problems. After all we're not dealing with machines, but with human beings. If a person puts you off by denying any and all problems, respond by saying: "You're quite fortunate. When I ask most people who order help that question, the usual response runs from poorly skilled to poor attendance, turnover on long term assignments, no shows, etc. Have any of these situations ever happened to you?

Tip for March 9, 2006

Credit card insight: 67% of credit card users use the same card they acquired while they were in college and they use it as their primary credit card.

Tip for March 10, 2006

Hold a contest Contests bring an atmosphere of excitement to your online business, whether you're operating from a web site or out of an e-mail address. Contests attract people, and since contestants must register, they provide you with the names or e-mail addresses of lots of people. To hold an effective contest, offer a prize worth winning, promote the contest widely, and offer one or more consolation prizes.

Tip for March 11, 2006

Developing hot buttons and buying motives. Question, listen, clarify and paraphrase a prospect's responses to develop hot buttons and buying motives. Question: What adverse impact does it have on you when an employee completes only three weeks of a six week assignment? Answer: It really infringes on my ability to get my other work done. I also handle benefits and when I have to replace an employee who turns over on assignment I find myself taking and making calls to the supervisor and the temp service, when I could be handling other aspects of my job

Tip for March 12, 2006

Since l983, the American population has grown 14%, but there has been a 72% increase in the number of Americans who shop by mail or phone.

Tip for March 13, 2006

Draw crowds with a celebrity Hosting a celebrity appearance will boost interest in your online business, and it adds the celebrity's credibility to your own. Online services know this, which is why they host celebrity appearances every day. But you don't need sophisticated conferencing software to host a celebrity appearance. You can do it from an e-mail address or web site. Find a well-known expert in your business area, and ask them if they would answer questions from an audience for a specific period of time. Then, set up the "appearance" by collecting e-mail questions and then forwarding them to the celebrity, or by reading them to the celebrity over the phone. Finally, return each answer to the person who asked the question, post them on your web site, or compile the answers into a document and send it out to your virtual "audience."

Tip for March 14, 2006

Questioning Technique #1: What I hear you saying is that turnover is not only aggravating, but also causes you to lose valuable time that you might otherwise use to concentrate on handling the fringe benefits function in your department. Is that correct? Answer: That's right. It's really a bummer when you're depending on an employee to stay on an assignment for it's term and instead the temp leaves and has to be replaced. My time is valuable, and a situation of this kind really gets on my nerves

Tip for March 15, 2006

Questioning Technique #2: What are the buying motives? Answer: Loss of time and peace of mind. Ask questions and develop buying motives. You'll find it will either be time and/or money and/or peace of mind. Develop the buying motive(s) if you expect to move to a successful close.

Tip for March 16, 2006

Have you held a grand opening? Your business may be open for weeks or even months before you're really ready to promote it for all it's worth. But when you are, it's time to hold a grand opening. Promote the business in every appropriate discussion group, directory, web site, and publication, and offer special discounts or giveaways to the first 500 or 1000 visitors. Holding a grand opening adds excitement to your business and creates a sense of urgency in prospects who may be interested.

Tip for March 17, 2006

The fax machine, now considered medieval technology by those who use e-mail, was patented in l843 (not a misprint) by Alexander Bain.

Tip for March 18, 2006

Making a presentation? People retain 20% of what they see, 20% of what they hear, 50% of what they see and hear, 85% of what they become involved in. Your chances of getting the sale are 79% if you use visual aids, but only 58% if you don't. Reasons: the brain takes information in at 500 words per minute. People speak at 140 words per minute. Visual aids prevent boredom from setting in.

Tip for March 19, 2006

Have you checked your weapons lately? Once you set up an auto-responder, web site, or even an e-mail box, you tend to think it will work perfectly forever. But things on the Net have a way of breaking from time to time. If you haven't received e-mail for a day or two, ask someone to send you a test message. Send a query to your auto-responder once in awhile to make sure it's working properly. And click your way through your web site every week or so to make sure all the links are working as you want them to.

Tip for March 20, 2006

Guerrilla Jim Mayfield used WAL-MART's strength to his own advantage. Jim is a small town specialty retailer of lawn, garden, feed and seed supplies. So when WAL-MART came to town and the other retailers ran for the hills, Jim launched a clever new media campaign of his own. The campaign said simply, "Go to WAL-MART for paper towels, then come to RAINBOW for your feed." and "Go to WAL-MART for deodorant, then come to RAINBOW for irrigation supplies." Each ad closed with "When you think of WAL-MART, think of RAINBOW AG." During WAL-MART's opening week they also created a sandwich board and handed out leaflets with the line "THINK RAINBOW" in front of WAL-MART. Results? His sales doubled during WAL-MART's opening week, they haven't gone down since, and people still talk about the ads!

Tip for March 21, 2006

The top 10 daily newspapers: USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Detroit Free Press, Dallas Morning News, Chicago Sun-Times.

Tip for March 22, 2006

Gift certificates bring new customers If your product or service is appropriate, gift certificates are a good way to let your existing customers refer new customers. You can issue online gift certificates via e-mail by assigning a unique code number to each one. You can also print paper certificates and send them via snail mail, or include them with an order. If you use gift certificates, promote them all year long, not just at traditional gift-giving times: you never know when it's someone's anniversary or birthday.

Tip for March 23, 2006

How being understanding leads to the close. Be the understanding interviewer. "Tell me about it." "How did you feel?" Identify the prospect's buying motive by placing the prospect back in an unpleasant situation resulting from unsatisfactory service. Learn how the prospect was personally affected by poor service. Get the prospect to tell you about the last time a supervisor chewed them out because the temp "no showed," "had poor skills," etc. Then identify the buying motive or motives. Time, money or peace of mind. Now you can begin to sell benefits

Tip for March 24, 2006

Multipart Newsletter Topics, Part 1 of 3 Topics do not have to be limited to individual newsletters. When addressing a major issue, such as sales incentives, newsletter design, motivation in the face of setbacks, consider splitting the topic of two, or more, individual issues. This provides you with space to develop the topic in more detail. Each issue can explore a different aspect of the topic.

Tip for March 25, 2006

Multipart Newsletter Topics, Part 2 of 3 When sending multipart newsletters, and posting them on your web site, always remind readers of the individual issue's context. On the front and back pages, remind readers that they're receiving one of a series of newsletters addressing a major topic. Whenever possible, remind visitors of the contents of the previous newsletter, and build anticipation for the next issue to appear. These context messages can be placed both on the newsletter itself, as well as the covering letter announcing the newsletter's availability as a web site download or e-mail attachment.

Tip for March 26, 2006

Multipart Newsletter Topics, Part 3 of 3 Use multipart newsletters as the core of Special Reports, teleconferences, e-books, and workshops. Always prepare your newsletters in a way that allows you to recycle the information at a later date, using it as the basis for larger projects. Once you have identified a major topic of interest to your market, and developed a 2, 3, 4, or 5 part series, use the original newsletters as outlines for chapters in a larger publication, or installments in an autoresponder series, e-course, or telecourse. Just be sure you go deeper into the topic each time you revisit it.

Tip for March 27, 2006

Personalize your e-mails Guerrillas recognize and respect the power of personalization. When inviting visitors to your web site to register their e-mail address, also invite them to submit their first name. Then, set up your e-mail program to automatically insert their first name when sending out e-mails announcing the availability of your latest One-Page Newsletter on your web site. "Dear Fred:" or "Dear Mary" is far friendlier than a "Dear Colleague" or--worse--"Dear Customer."

Tip for March 28, 2006

Eastern Mountain Sports Sells its Staff's Competence Jay Conrad Levinson frequently emphasizes that marketing can be free. Eastern Eastern Mountain Sports, at the Fox Run Mall in Newington, NH, has obviously listened. They display a large cork board next to the entry. On it, they display photographs of their staff in various outdoors activities: hiking pictures from the top of a mountain, canoeing and kayaking in remote regions, and winter camping. These pictures, which identify the staff members by name, not only "break the ice" with customers, but nonverbally communicate that staff members are knowledgeable and passionate about the products they sell. Total cost? With the exception of a $10 bulletin board, FREE!

Tip for March 29, 2006

Humanity in marketing: Two young men set down their backpacks and prepared to hitch a ride. One held a sign that said, "Akron." The other's sign said, "To Mom's for Christmas." Guess which one got the ride first.

Tip for March 30, 2006

Reward customers for referrals Mail order music clubs and online services have grown by offering special gifts to customers who refer new customers. You should do the same. Offer a reward--a special discount or a free product--to customers who refer new customers. Satisfied customers are your best marketers, but they'll work harder for you if they get a tangible reward.

Tip for March 31, 2006

The prospect will give you an order only when. . . . . . you show that it is in his/her best interest to buy from you. When you have identified buying motive(s) and can show your prospect how your company can minimize problems that will adversely affect him/her personally - on the job- then and only then will the prospect order from your company. Giving a monologue about your company's features will not make the cash register ring. Answering the prospects unspoken question "what's in it for me" will cause your sales to soar