marketing for a small business

Any suggestions on how to market the services of a small business?

At past businesses that I have worked at, radio and print ads did not work.
Search engine placement worked a bit. The main way customers came in was
through referrals (word-of-mouth).

--
Robert Anderson

Robert Anderson wrote:
> Any suggestions on how to market the services of a small business?
>
> At past businesses that I have worked at, radio and print ads did not work.
> Search engine placement worked a bit. The main way customers came in was
> through referrals (word-of-mouth).

depends on what you're trying to market and where you are ...


Maren
http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/~maren/palms_etc/
specializing in Job's Tears in bulk and
fresh Gardenia Taitensis seeds (almost year round)

In article <ctpabs02fil@enews3.newsguy.com>,
"Robert Anderson" <nospam@nonespam.com> wrote:

> Any suggestions on how to market the services of a small business?
>
> At past businesses that I have worked at, radio and print ads did not work.
> Search engine placement worked a bit. The main way customers came in was
> through referrals (word-of-mouth).

If word of mouth works, then find a way to super-charge that
effort by rewarding people for referrals.

Other things to consider are yellow pages, direct mail, and
in some cases, movie ads.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

John A. Weeks III wrote:
> In article <ctpabs02fil@enews3.newsguy.com>,
> "Robert Anderson" <nospam@nonespam.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Any suggestions on how to market the services of a small business?
>>
>>At past businesses that I have worked at, radio and print ads did not work.
>>Search engine placement worked a bit. The main way customers came in was
>>through referrals (word-of-mouth).
>
>
> If word of mouth works, then find a way to super-charge that
> effort by rewarding people for referrals.
>
> Other things to consider are yellow pages, direct mail, and
> in some cases, movie ads.
>
> -john-
>

And get yourself in front of more people, so there are more people
talking about you! This means networking. Lots of it.

Look up your local Chamber of Commerce, business networking groups,
professional development groups. Offer to speak, to help out, to
generally make yourself useful.

Win
--
Win Day
Wild Rose Websites
"You dream it. We make it work."
-----------------------------------------------
Building affordable websites : http://www.wildrosewebsites.com
NEW! Website Design Kits : http://www.wildrosewebsites.com/services/kits.asp
-----------------------------------------------

"John A. Weeks III" <john@johnweeks.com> wrote in message
news:ctpm7202vb2@enews3.newsguy.com...
>
> In article <ctpabs02fil@enews3.newsguy.com>,
> "Robert Anderson" <nospam@nonespam.com> wrote:
>
>> Any suggestions on how to market the services of a small business?
>>
>> At past businesses that I have worked at, radio and print ads did not
>> work.
>> Search engine placement worked a bit. The main way customers came in was
>> through referrals (word-of-mouth).
>
> If word of mouth works, then find a way to super-charge that
> effort by rewarding people for referrals.

Yes, it does work. I think because customers are happy with the service.
Thanks for the suggestion.

Any suggestions on implementing a referral program? The service we offer is
one that involves a monthly fee. Therefore, it is a good candidate for a
referral program whereby a customer can get a credit for referring someone.

One problem is that some services cost very little whereas other services
cost quite a bit. If there is a customer who pays, say, 9.95/month and he
refers someone who pays $100/month should the $9.95 customer get a full $100
credit? It seems these are the sort of things that would have to be thought
through ahead of time.

Thanks!

--
Robert Anderson

"John A. Weeks III" <john@johnweeks.com> wrote in message
news:ctpm7202vb2@enews3.newsguy.com...
>
> In article <ctpabs02fil@enews3.newsguy.com>,
> "Robert Anderson" <nospam@nonespam.com> wrote:
>
>> Any suggestions on how to market the services of a small business?
>>
>> At past businesses that I have worked at, radio and print ads did not
>> work.
>> Search engine placement worked a bit. The main way customers came in was
>> through referrals (word-of-mouth).
>
> If word of mouth works, then find a way to super-charge that
> effort by rewarding people for referrals.

That is a good idea. We have been considering the possibility of a referral
credit program. Thanks.

--
Robert Anderson

"Robert Anderson" <nospam@nonespam.com> wrote in message
news:ctpabs02fil@enews3.newsguy.com...
>
> Any suggestions on how to market the services of a
> small business?
>
> At past businesses that I have worked at, radio and
> print ads did not work. Search engine placement worked
> a bit. The main way customers came in was through
> referrals (word-of-mouth).

Who is in your market? Hire a skilled facilitator to conduct one-on-one
interviews about a "day-in-the-life" of your prospective customers. Have a
skilled researcher compose, publish, and analyze the results of, a market
survey. Understand what messages and media will resonate best with them.

--
Roger L. Cauvin
nospam_roger@cauvin.org (omit the "nospam_" part)
Cauvin, Inc.
Product Management / Market Research
http://www.cauvin-inc.com

Robert,

One suggestion is to cross-promote with another established business in your
area that ofers a complementary service or product. That way you can tap
into another businesses clients.

Dan Maynard

"Robert Anderson" <nospam@nonespam.com> wrote in message
news:ctpabs02fil@enews3.newsguy.com...
>
>
> Any suggestions on how to market the services of a small business?
>
> At past businesses that I have worked at, radio and print ads did not
work.
> Search engine placement worked a bit. The main way customers came in was
> through referrals (word-of-mouth).
>
> --
> Robert Anderson
>
>
>
>