What you can do to revitalize you business and build buzz for 2006 Revise your web presence. There has never been a better time to expand your online presence. So whether yours is a simple site telling people who you are and what you do, or if it is fully e-commerce compatible, rethinking your web presence and expanding your offerings is a smart resolution. Think about reselling someone else’s product. Making 20 percent profit on someone’s product is better than not making anything at all!
Be Found! Start a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) project on your website. Hire someone to optimize the key words on your web site so that you rank higher in Google, Yahoo and MSN. Be warned though – it often takes up to nine months to really see a difference in your ranking. (We’ll be talking about this in more detail in future newsletters). While you are working on your website ranking – start a “Pay-per-click” campaign. This is where you buy a position on the right-hand side of the search engines (like Google or Yahoo) and you only pay if potential clients click through to your website. For example, if you are currently on page nine of the Google search for “New York Computer Repair”, buy a click through ad that puts you right beside number one!
Build brand buzz. Your brand is your promise to your customers. Not only does your growing business need one to set you apart from the crowd, but you need to build some buzz around your brand, if you want to take things up a notch next year. Here’s how:
• Use Influence: You can build brand excitement about your product or service by asking influential people to mention it, use it and so on. So target some key people in your industry and offer them freebies of your product or service. Even a letter from them later can be marketed effectively.
• Media Strategy: Either hire a PR agency or do it yourself, but either way, make 2006 the year that the press writes about your business.
• Read Everything – and not just your industry magazines! Read the national newspapers, your community papers, national magazines, trade magazines and follow the trends. The media focus on every aspect of living that can give clues to upcoming trends. Business, technology, investments, real estate and interior design, clothing fashions, travel and family living... all these areas and more are subjects of feature articles almost daily. Many times, reporters and interviewers are looking at the latest trends, and a careful listener can spot upcoming trends that could give a boost to their business. Try to tie your product or service into a trend.
• Think out of the Box: Going outside your usual channels of information-gathering may help you tap into trends. Go to the library and read magazines you've never picked up before. Surf around on the internet and type in key words on Google and Yahoo and see what kind of results you get. Start looking out of the box, and you'll be more likely to start thinking out of the box.
• Talk to everyone! Especially people outside of your industry. You’ll be amazed at what you will learn. Outsiders’ perceptions of the industry you are in and products and services they’d like to have can give you some great ideas.
Know your customers better. The more you know about your customers, the better you can service them and the easier it will be to find more customers just like them. Things to discover:
• Their average age, income and location • Why they buy from you and not someone else • What they want from you • What they like and dislike about your business Take the time to chat with your customers. Not only will they appreciate your interest in how they were serviced or how they like your product, but you can also find out what their perception of your company.
And this is just the start! Remember, building your brand and creating a “brand buzz” takes commitment and strategy. Your brand is about a sensory experience for your customers: What does the outside world see, feel, hear, smell and most importantly FEEL when they buy my products, shop in my store and receive my services?
To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Bucaro's Website.
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