As business owners, we all want to sell more of our products and services to new and existing customers. But before we can achieve this goal, it is imperative to understand a few basic marketing strategies for creating interest, trust and desire.

This article gives four important strategies for understanding your customers and building their trust and confidence.

Strategy #1: Your Customer’s Goals Come Before Yours
The only successful way to approach a potential customer is with the honest desire to understand their problems and needs. The days of the “hard sell” are over. Customers have the ability, via the Web, to control the information that comes to them.

To ensure your customer’s goals are met, you simply need to repurpose your main marketing message, also known as your Value Proposition. Instead of placing the focus on selling, explain how your product or service will make your customer’s lives better. Prove it through 3rd party testimonials, free downloadable product guides, tip sheets, and content-based newsletters.

What’s wrong with placing the focus on selling? Absolutely nothing! As a business owner, your ultimate goal is to sell. But you can’t sell unless you first warm up the prospect by showing them directly how they will benefit from your offering.

Strategy #2: Define Your Buyer Personas
The best way to truly understand the wants and needs of your customers is to create your Buyer Personas. A Buyer Persona is a segment of customers or prospects that share similar demographics and interests.

Maybe you have heard of the Soccer Mom or the NASCAR Dad.  While these well-known buyer personas may seem almost cartoonish, keep in mind that they were specifically marketed to by both the Republicans and the Democrats in past elections.

The key to defining your buyer personas is to look at your customer data and find ways to group common characteristics.  Break your customers down into well defined buying categories as best you can. You don’t have to be perfect here, just do the best job with the current data you have. Buyer persona profiles can contain age, gender, income level, occupation, education level, hobbies, and anything else that is meaningful to your business.

Strategy #3: Define Your Unique Value Proposition
Defining your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) is the first step in clearly identifying how your products and services are different from the competition. If you can’t define some unique feature or benefit that makes you stand out, your customers may default to the only other option - price.

You might already have something that makes you stand apart, but if not, then it’s time to discover, define, and create a value proposition from scratch. Be prepared to alter some of your products or services in order to support your vision for standing out.

The first step in creating a unique value proposition is to find out what your competitors do well and then find a way to either do it better, or offer a guarantee that puts you on a completely different level.

Here are a few ways to better understand your competition.

1. Buy from them. This is one of the best ways to determine how well your competition performs from start to finish.

2. Sign up for their newsletter. What types of information are they providing to their customers? Are they offering real value in their newsletter or are they simply pushing their products?

3. Request your competitor’s brochures and catalogs. Does your competitor offer a full year warranty? See if it makes sense for you to offer a 2-year warranty. Your competitor offers a 90-day money-back guarantee? Offer a double money-back guarantee.

Defining your Unique Value Proposition helps set you apart from the competition and communicates your compelling value to prospects and customers.

Strategy #4: Create a Marketing Communications Folder
When a prospect shows interest in your business, what do you give them in order to further develop trust and confidence?

You should be sending them a complete marketing communications folder. I recommend a basic two-pocket folder that has notches on one of the inside pockets for your business card.

Here’s what I recommend you include in your folder.

1. The Compelling Story – Every small business owner should be able to tell a compelling story about their passions and why they started their business. A great story about why you started your business can create instant trust. Try and craft your story so that it appeals to the emotions, is fun to read, and provides a sense of passion.

2. The Business Advantage - On this page, you will want to summarize all the advantages of doing business with your company. Communicate your unique approach, the value customers get when they do business with you, and why your products and services are the best in your field.

3. The Problem Solver - This page should summarize several specific problems and demonstrate how these problems are alleviated with your products and services.

4. The Product/Services Summary Page - Nothing difficult here – simply summarize the various products, services, and package options you offer and list the benefits of each. Use bullet points to quickly summarize benefits.

5. The Testimonial Page - This is the page that summarizes your best customer testimonials. A testimonial is proof that you have a track record of delivering what you promise. Make sure each testimonial focuses on the specific result that was achieved to help the customer with their problem.

Feel free to add other things into your marketing communications folder, but the above items are mandatory.

Taken together, these four basic marketing strategies will help you create the trust and desire necessary to convert your prospects into paying customers!

It can be a great challenge to organize a seminar or conference. To plan a successful conference or seminar, event planner needs a few tools and a good knowledge about what is needed.

Whether your event is free or requires a paid admission, a successful event requires an effective marketing campaign to get the word out about your upcoming event. This is often the most difficult part of the event planning and can require a lot of time and effort. The more marketing opportunities a business utilizes to promote their event, the likely it become to find participants.

A marketing plan is needed so that the purpose of the event is clearly understood. You must understand what the objectives of the event are. Do you need new customers, you need to brand your company, and do you need to spread the word about something new? A company wants to set up an event that will reach its goal, in addition to being fun for the participants.

So here are 6 tips to consider for planning conference.

1. Have an Event Marketing Plan

Create an event marketing plan that clearly defines its objectives, budget and internal and external resources. The plan should be mapped out as specific as possible, but keep an open mind throughout the planning process. Always try to adjust your plans if you find some better ideas.

2. Brand Your Conference and Events

Brand your conference and events in a form and sends a message to the audience and attract their attention. The brand should carry through all the promotional materials, including email, website and materials offered on-site.

3. Use the Web

Having a website or a designated section in your company’s website for information about the conference and event is essential for providing information to attendees. You can provide a wealth of information at a fraction of the cost by sending the information through email. Get your website up as soon as possible – no under construction, please!

4. Offer Discounted Rates

Offer discounts to multiple attendees from the same organization or if you have multiple conferences, meetings or events a year, offer discounts to attendees who participate more than one.

5. Venue

The venue of your conference and events can play an important role in increasing attendance. If most of your potential attendees are in the city, it may not make sense to host a conference in the sub-urban area. If they are spread out across the country, try alternating the conference venue between both of the areas.

Also consider the type of attendees and venue that best appeal to your attendees such as a hotel, resorts or other venues.

6. Promote Your Conference and Events

This is the most challenging part to be success in your conference. You should have a spread of different advertising media to increase the coverage. You can link exchange your website with other related websites such as conference directory or trade show directory. You may also consider to offer a free preview seminar to boost your awareness.

A company must participate in trade exhibition if you want to promote your products to a specific group of people. Normally trade exhibition visitors could be public or any representatives from the companies in that industry. No matter how, the benefit is that only people specific in the industry will be the visitors. This will make sure that you reach your target audience effectively and as well as quantitatively. The other advantage is that you will demonstrate your products to those people who understand the products.

If you are really interested in promoting your products through trade exhibitions, and here are some suggestions for you:

1. Market research - Study your target market to understand their needs and behavior. A market study will help you choose the right tool for the trade exhibitions - demos, products or banner stands. This will also help you to decide which exhibition events that you should participate in.

2. Identify your goals – You should understand what you want to promote – your business or products. This is important to help you to decide how to choose the tools, resources, venue, as well as the actual location of the exhibition space. These factors will govern its budget for the event.

3. After identified your tools, venue, location of the space and your budget, you should have a marketing plan for the event day. This will include the role of each resource that is deployed. The way in which those resources interact will also be determined so that their efforts and resources are fully utilized. This will include planning and preparing for a demonstration or presentation.
4. Once this is done, you should not forget that the exhibition is intended to generate revenue. So, you also must have a follow up plan after the exhibition, this includes questionnaires, feedback forms, etc

Before the exhibition – event planning

It is important to have a marketing strategy planned earlier, such as what promotional materials to be used before, during and after the exhibition.
Besides that, you should inform your existing customers about the exhibition. You should inform them a couple of weeks earlier, thru emailing or traditional mail posting. I suggest you give some special offers or giveaways on the event day. This will definitely attract more crowds to your exhibition booth.

At the exhibition – a good impression

Make sure your booth is eye catching. The display can be enhanced with high quality lighting and audio-visual presentations and graphics display can also provide an impressive overview of the company and its products to the potential customers.
Besides that, please ensure that all the promoters are properly dressed and if possible wear printed T-shirts, this is an ideal way to convey a professional image of your company.

People like to take gifts home from trade exhibitions. This could be any kind of small gifts such as a box of chocolates, a CD ROM or a free sample product.  Do not forget to print your company logo on all the giveaways.
Keep a record of all customers who are interested in your products, try to collect as many information you can such as names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. This will help you to follow up.

After the exhibition – follow up

Do not let all your hard work become a waste. You should follow up those potential customers who were interested in your products or services. You can contact them through emailing or even a simple phone call. Make sure that your website is updated, to reinforce the good impression you made in the exhibition.

When someone says “Disney,” what immediately comes to mind? Whimsical fantasy, endless possibilities, magical neverland and infinite imagination might be adjectives to describe your initial thought. The Disney brand embodies “a magical world where dreams come true.” Disney is an example of a brand that can effectively convey a philosophy consumers want and meets their expectations. Through consistent value, Disney maintains a strong market position.

The goal of market positioning is to find the ideal opportunity in the market based on customer needs, market forces and financial and strategic considerations. Once you find that market opportunity, further develop your product and elevate your brand to deliver outstanding value. To clarify your market position, find an overarching theme, then define the details. To get you thinking about your market position, here are three essential elements of market positioning:

Brand Idea—The idea is an aspirational concept that ties the essence of your brand together. It defines you. The brand idea is your lighthouse–it guides you in the right direction. Consider BMW. BMW’s brand idea is “the ultimate driving machine.” When their team release a new model, all engineering and thought behind the product must work towards unveiling the next “the ultimate driving machine.”

Value Proposition—When a customer visits your store, uses your service or product, what should they expect? Your value proposition is your promise to your customer (see our advice on creating a value proposition).  Once you’ve defined your value proposition, it’s essential that you follow through. The idea being, when customers return, they receive consistent value. Think Apple. When their team launches a new product, it’s expected to be high-quality, simple and creative.

Differentiating Attributes—This is where you claim your individuality amongst your peers. What specific attributes set you apart from others and how does that support your overarching brand idea? Finding how you are different from the competition is key if you’re going to compete. To add value to the marketplace, it’s essential you have a unique proposition. Whole Foods Market is committed to wholesome living. That means in-store and marketing efforts must contribute to that central brand idea. Compared to other grocers who provide low price for low quality, Whole Foods adopts a philosophy of doing good while offering high quality products, supporting fair trade and doing business with local farmers.

Sparxoo, A Branding and Digital Marketing Blog

Many people struggle to understand Twitter at first, while many others often don’t use the micro-blogging service to its full potential. Let’s take a look at how you can improve your Twitter impact with incentives and other great practices.

Be the Face
Firstly, it’s important to build credibility if you want to be taken seriously in any online marketing sphere. You can do this by portraying an image of professionalism but with a hint human personality – this trait is becoming common practice for marketers on the web.

Talk the Talk
Join in the conversation and engage. Industry commentary is important, but make sure your input is noticed. Keep your tweets in the appropriate format, use the right keywords and be Twitter-coherent (i.e. release full press releases in 140 character segments and you’ll be the laughing stock of the Internet).

Don’t Repeat Yourself, Be Quoted
Now that you have a bit of micro-blogging leverage with your credible image and complimenting tact, it’s time to get the platform and your followers to work for you.

If you hold competitions or polls, try to keep it relatively casual. Without detracting from the conversation, include the incentivised marketing tweet as part of the discussion rather than an interruption or distraction.

Get others to repeat your username or link by rewarding a limited number with prizes or freebies. This is easy to track, and will have your message (and more importantly your @username) spread far across the Twittersphere.

If prizes or physical incentives are a little out of your bracket, you can add incentives to your marketing messages by simply adding valuable information. Be it an interesting point to ponder, or a link to a multimedia resource such as a YouTube video or ‘how to’ PDF; you can create these resources yourself or simply sniff out the best of the bunch and share the link.

It’s all about getting your name out there. Try to include popular users by tagging them, or get their attention by retweeting one of their relevant messages. Offer an incentive to these popular Twitter users, and ‘piggy back’ on their audience. You’ll soon see your number of followers and/or traffic increasing.

Picking an SEO agency to help your company succeed online is alot like dating. Even though someone may be attractive, well spoken, and appear genuinelly interested in you, there’s still an off chance they have hidden motivations.  South Florida seems to attract an awful lot of “talkers”, and in many cases, they domainte the markets in which they lay claim.  From car repair to marketing, in Miami, looks can be especially deceiving.

But as superficial as many Miami marketers may be, when it comes to selecting the right Miami SEO agency, there are several questions you can ask to quickly asses whether or not a potential service provider is as tough as they say they are.  Many of your questions about a prospective search marketing agency can be answered simply by using search engines themselves!

When I first discovered search engine optimization, and realized how powerful it really is, I knew absolutely nothing about the difference between white hat SEO and black hat SEO.  I knew nothing about keyword research, competitive analysis, linkbuilding, or even how to properly use Google Insights for Search.  It took me quite a while (and quite a bit of trial and error) to learn the ropes…and thankfully, I learned the difference between premium SEO’s and posers before I got any of the companies I worked with into trouble.

As a result of my experience (as I spent quite a bit of time interviewing SEO’s before I actually became one), I developed a set of questions to tell whether or not the agency I was interviewing knew what they were talking about.  By the fifth round of edits, my questionaire had become pretty strong…and very effective in sifting the wheat from the chaff. I hope it helps you to find the SEO agency best suited for your needs.

1. “What can you tell me about your linkbuilding practices?”

Cutting right to the chase is a good bet for putting a prospective SEO agency on it’s heels.  Odds are, if you’re talking to an account executive, they will have no idea how to answer you.  And if they do, they’ve probably received a little training from the in-house SEO, if he/she even exists (you have to consider the possibility that the potential SEO agency is outsourcing their work overseas for pennies on the dollar).  You’re looking for pretty specific answers with this question, and the sales person you’re speaking with should be able to answer very concretely without confusing you.  Linkbuilding is the fundamental element of SEO, which means, it takes great skill to do it properly.  If the candidate your screening mentions they comb through competitor backlink profiles, seek out blogs relevant to your niche for links, investigate quality forums or directories, and mention developing content, sponsorships/partnerships, or blogging - they’re on the right track.  If they fall back to “directory submission” or come up with some confusing monologue about blogging which doesn’t really make any sense….it’s time to promptly move to question two…

2. “Do you offer any sort of guarantee for #1 rankings?”

When an SEO worth his/her salt hear’s this question, they should know how to respond.  “No!” It may come as quite a shock, but SEO agencies which guaruntee first position rankings on google (or a bunch of search engine’s you’ve never heard of) are most likely tring to scam you.  The bottom line is - no one controls the search engines…and quality SEO takes time for the results to kick in…and there are never any guarantee’s. This is where the black hat equation kicks in.  For a couple hundred dollars (even though you may be charged thousands), a devious SEO can buy their way into a linkfarm full of junk or spam links…which will result in a temporary boost for your website to the top of the SERPS…but then have disastorous consequences. Once your site gets plastered with spam links and builds a junky link profile (usually for generic terms you shouldn’t be able to rank for without significant work), Google will likely ban your site from the search results - and it’s very difficult to get reincluded once you’ve been booted! Bottom line: if the SEO you’re qualifying says they “have a special relationship with google”. “can guaruntee #1 rankings”, or “already own that search market”…it’s time to hang up and start over.

3. “Can you tell me a little bit about my domain’s authority?”

A good SEO should be able to analyze your domain on the fly and identify some key things right (if you already followed respectable SEO practices) or wrong with your site.  Ask them how they check your backlink profile on the spot…if the answer isn’t Yahoo site explorer or a linkdomain query…something isn’t right.  A good SEO can employ a variety of tools to get a read on the effectiveness of your on-site SEO practices, the strength and diversity of your link profile, and even who your competition is in the SERPs.  If, at the most basic level, the SEO agency you’re speaking with can’t provide some sort of analytic report about the state of your web presence, you’re barking up the wrong tree!

4. “Can you tell me how competitive my search market is? I want to rank for terms related to ‘insert primary keyword here’.”

The SEO agency you hire should spend a considerable amount of time investigating the comeptitive landscape in which you’re trying to compete.  In order to figure out what it’s going to take to help your company rank competitively for prominent search terms, quite a bit of investigation is necessary.  Competitive analysis is a cornerstone of effective SEO, which means your SEO agency better well be near expert level in sizing up the competition and learning to use their hardwork to you advantage. An experienced SEO should be able to determine how competitive your search market is (as well as the primary keywords for your search market) while they’re on the phone with you. Remember, linkbuilding is the heart and soul of quality SEO, which means competitive analysis has to be done right the first time. If your prospective SEO can’t walk you through a brief competitive analysis….you shouldn’t waste anymore of your time.

5. “Can you explain what kinds of analytics you use? How do you quantify your results?”

It’s not just about the rankings anymore.  Odds are you aren’t and won’t be an expert in keyword research anytime soon, but you should be well acquainted with the keyword variations in your respective search market.  There are often mainstream ways to say something…and the proper way to say something (i.e. homeowners association management is the same as property association management….they’re basically synonyms…but completely different words to target in the search arena) and your SEO should know the difference. Prominent rankings for comeptitive key phrases is a must have goal…but the focus of your organic campaign should be on earning natural traffic over time. Most traffic from search engines to websites comes from “long tail” keywords…and your prospecive SEO should be able to explain that to you.  They should also be able to explain a concrete strategy for implementing, monitoring, and reporting web metrics affecting your domain.  Google Analytics is the industry standard, and at the minimum, it should be utilized in bi weekly reports. It’s important for you to set realistic benchmarks…and your SEO should be able to help you understnad the difference between realistic results, and cloud talk.

6. “Can you name ten search marketing celebrities?”

This may seem like an off beat question….but it’s actually VERY relevant. The search marketing industry is a close knit group of professionals…and they don’t take kindly to people who tarnish their name.  In the physical world, you are what you eat…in the search marketing world…you are what you read.  Constant learning is a natural part of a professional SEO’s job, which means they should be well read on the latest search industry news and be up to date on the latest information as cited by the search marketing industry A-Listers.  With a little due diligence, you can figure out who the key players are for yourself….and it’s something your prospective SEO agecny should affirm.

Of course, the tride and true method to learn about your prospective web agency is from the search engines themselves.  Google the company’s brand…look for your SEO’s name, and ask if your potential SEO uses a standard avatar everywhere.  Most professional SEO’s have extensive social media presence…and it’s pretty easy to tell who’s involved and who isn’t.  Twitter page hasn’t been updated in weeks? No friends on linked in or facebook? No company presence in the SERPs? no reviews?  If it seems suspicious…at all…it is….and you should keep looking.

Ultimately, you have to trust your gut when making this sort of decision.  It’s not easy…and it is very much a commitment.  To refer back to the dating example I made earlier…if it feels right…and the feeling is mutual….that’s a pretty solid indicator you’re on the right track.  Trust is the key component of any relationship, and in the marketing world, trust takes time to establish.  From day one, your SEO agency should provide a full service solution for your needs…and be able to work with you…not for you. Remember, you’re entrusting your brand to a digital lobbyist…make sure it’s who you want on the grind helping to build a prolific web presence for your company.

With the profusion of social networks that make contacting and connecting with people child’s play, it is easy to dismiss trade shows as relics of a bygone era. But this is not true. Trade shows are far from becoming redundant and are still an essential marketing tool for businesses. However effortless it may be to interact with clients and prospects through the Internet, it doesn’t even come close to replacing an actual face-to-face connection.

One of the main reasons for this is that people are more likely to buy from a company that they can put a face to and are more likely to trust products that they have actually seen. People and companies alike are more than what is said about them on a Web site. Trade shows give consumers a chance to personally assess the company and the people who work for it. Also, if the Internet is the only way a business reaches out to customers and prospects, then its communication abilities are limited. Face-to-face communication allows a business the freedom to try different ways of selling a product, receive instant feedback from prospects and solve prospects’ problems on the spot. Trade shows also give a business the chance to do all they can to distinguish themselves from their competitors right in front of prospects.

Having said this, there are some companies that have eschewed trade shows and prefer to interact with prospects in their own way. Apple is removing themselves from the usual round of conventions where they normally exhibit, like the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual trade show. For important products, Apple now tends to hold its own launch events or press briefings where it can control the timing and conditions around those announcements. The corporation feels more free to make announcements when it’s ready to do so, not when a certain event happens to fall. But it should be noted that even though Apple has removed itself from trade shows, it has not ignored the importance of personal communication. The launch events and press briefings ensure that the personal connection is present. And really, Apple is such a strong brand that consumers are willing to try out its new products even if they haven’t actually seen them.

So, you have decided to participate in a trade show and you have even set up your stall. Now what? How do you ensure that your stall stands out from the hundred other stalls there? Fortunately, that is a question that is easy to answer:

- With three seconds or less to impress the people walking by your stall, you have to ensure that your stall is as interesting and straightforward as possible. It is important to have simple yet bold graphics and text on your display. This way, people walking by are attracted to your stall and, at the same time, they can easily discern the purpose of your business. Remember: Less is more.

- Make sure that you have enough trade show giveaways for your visitors. The products should be useful, interesting and as relevant to your business as possible. One suggestion would be to divide your products into two categories: low-cost, generic ones (promotional pens, custom stress balls) that you can give to anyone who visits your booth, and higher cost ones that you can give to people you know are serious prospects. This way, you won’t make a hole in your pocket by handing out top-of-the-line MP3 players to everybody who visits your booth, but at the same time, you can still impress prospects that you know will become serious customers.

- If possible, organize games or contests at your stall, preferably something unusual or creative. This is an easy way to attract passersby. Even people who haven’t heard of your business will visit your booth if it looks like fun!

- Ensure that your stall is as large as possible so people are not put off by lack of space. Also, lighting is an extremely important factor in attracting people. Affirm that your stall has ample lighting and focus spotlights on areas that you want people to pay attention to.

Your stall does not have to be hi-tech to be interesting and unusual. All it needs is a little bit of creativity and you can make sure that you get as much publicity as you like, as well as maximum return on your investment.

At ePromos, we sell corporate business gifts and promotional products, and the difference between the two can be subtle. Sure, some itmes may be considered promotional advertising gifts, but both are products imprinted with a logo and/or message designed to have an effect on a target audience. In both cases, the item is given away, making it a gift, and it contains your message, making it advertising. This article will help you distinguish between an imprinted business gift and a promotional product and help you understand how that affects product selection and imprinting.

Your Goal Is the Difference
Ultimately, the best way of distinguishing between a business gift and a promotional product is to look at the goal of the item. If your primary goal is to thank your customers and your secondary goal is to ensure improved brand recognition and awareness, that’s a business gift. If your goal is to reach new prospects, introduce a new service, drive traffic to your trade show booth or get someone to open up your direct mail, then promotional advertising is the correct strategy.

Product Selection: Price, Type and Style
In general, corporate logo gifts will be more expensive items, since they’re typically given to your top customers and they need to reflect the importance you place on your relationship with these consumers. This doesn’t mean they have to be extravagant, in fact, that’s typically not a good idea, but they need to be something of value, or they’re not a very good gift. When selecting a type of gift, consider the context it will be used. For example, will it be used in the office, at home, or while traveling? In terms of style, you’ll generally want an item that is clean-cut and of high quality rather than something flashy. Putting these three factors together will help you focus on the best gift choices.

For example, if I wanted visibility in an office setting, I would send out a gift that is professional and stands out compared to other things I would expect to see on my customers’ desks, either something they weren’t likely to have or something that is high-quality which can replace what they currently had. This could be a clock, a photo frame, a desk organizer or even a nice pen. If my own desk is a decent example, it wouldn’t take anything expensive to become one of the nicest things on my desktop, just something that’s useful, tasteful and of good quality.

For promotional advertising, the message is something other than just “Thanks!” Standard pricing and product selection rules aren’t as useful here because there is such a wide array of promotional products that are suitable for specific types of clients. The key considerations in this case are finding a product that fits into your budget and allows you to reach the audience you wish to reach, and finding a product that will appeal to this audience and tie into your message. Although it is nominally a gift, it’s a promotional advertising gift with the emphasis on advertising - think impact, not heirloom.

Imprinting Considerations
If you’re sending a business corporate gift, I would always recommend branding it as tastefully as possible. In general, a simple logo is best. You’re thanking them, so they already know who you are and what you do. Going overboard with imprinting designs can make a relationship with a client feel fabricated or desperate. Laser engraving, embossing/debossing and tone-on-tone printing are all great ways to include your logo on the advertising gifts without harming its appearance or value. However, when imprinting for promotional advertising, a logo is almost never enough. If you’re just printing a logo on an advertising item, chances are you haven’t clearly defined your business objective and that needs to be set in stone first. Creative imprinting will make a big difference in the impact of an advertising product, so use multiple imprint areas if available and come up with a message that ties the product to your campaign or your organization’s value proposition.

”As far as customers are concerned you are the company. This is not a burden, but the core of your job. You hold in your hands the power to keep customers coming back – perhaps even to make or break the company.”

As the owner of a construction company, I often heard negative comments about the industry and contractors in general. One comment I heard over and over again and still hear, even in another part of the country, is, “No one will call us back.” Or they tell me, “When we do find someone do to the work, they don’t show up when they say they will or they don’t follow-through.” These negative comments affect our entire industry and they affect each one of us as owners.

The best part about these negative comments and the image many customers have of our industry is that we can change it. We can create and grow companies that strive to develop excellent customer service and follow-through. My mission for our company was to provide quality craftsmanship and detailed project communication and follow-through every time. I built my company with a commitment to being the type of company that followed-through every time and that made every effort to DELIGHT my customers in order to keep them coming back. We can only be as successful as our follow-through and our commitment to DELIGHTING! our clients.

In today’s business world, there are many choices. Customers can pick and choose who they want to do business with and who they will refer to their friends. There are many companies to choose from and if we don’t stop and take a look at why a customer should do business with us or what they want from a contractor – we may lose them to someone who takes the time to figure it out.

Being in business is not easy – it’s work – hard work. Yet it can be the most rewarding thing in the world. But in order for us to grow and to reap the rewards of our risks, we need to put our customers first. The secret to success is to treat all customers as if your world revolves around them. And it should revolve around them because without them you don’t have a business.

Some Ways to Delight Your Clients and Keep Them Coming Back:

1. Return all phone calls and emails within 24 hours. Customers want to know you are responsive to their needs. If you are away, leave it on your voicemail.
2. Get to know your customers. Customers want to know you care. Be interested in them, ask questions and get to know them. You are dealing with something very important to them – their home. Treat them as friends you care about and let them know you appreciate them.
3. Deal with problems immediately. Customers don’t expect us to be perfect. They just want to know that we’ll fix problems in a timely manner when they arise. Ignoring or putting off dealing with an issue only makes it bigger. It also annoys and frustrates the customer. Angry customers are not good for the bottom line. Be proactive when it comes to problems or mistakes – your clients will be delighted that you did.
4. Say thank you. Write thank you cards, send a gift at the end of the project or find another way to let your clients know you appreciate them. They are important.
5. Ask your clients what they need. We sat down with clients at the beginning of a project and asked them what their needs were. Often we can delight our clients by doing very simple things – all we need to know is what those things are.
6. Have fun. Being in business for your self should be fun. If we are having fun and loving what we do - our clients feel it and it’s contagious.

As you work in your business this month, look for new ways to DELIGHT your customers.

What is the best social media marketing strategy that you and your company can take in order to see a great deal of measurable and profitable results? Should you have the goal of increasing web site visitors, social media is a wonderful way to assist you in making it happen. The one glitch is this can be hard to do for a person who is not familiar with social networking. It can take a lot of time. Low cost is one of the main attractions in going to an experienced firm. They give all the benefits of the best social media marketing and it is trouble free.

Getting more people to your website won’t be that tough. There are a number of ways to increase traffic to your website. The largest source of traffic for your website will likely be the search engines. Many millions of websites with many millions of users are available to you through proper placement on a search engine. How would you make certain the search engine features you prominently as against the seamless array of other sites?

The best social media marketing strategies will provide solutions to this issue in a number of ways. To start with, Google and other search engines rank your site by how relevant and credible it is. The value that your website has is the amount of single largest determinant in this value for your site and the quality of the incoming links. The more incoming links there are to your website, and the more often they are used, the better your website’s score will be.

Social networking helps increase the traffic to your site by placing good links that people want to click all over the internet. You can offer direct page links, signature and links in your profiles when you actively joined different communities. All of these quickly add up and begin boosting your site’s profile.

But the best social media marketing does much more than that as well. You will thereby increase the social networking community exposure and referral traffic. You will find and deliver prospective consumers straight to your website - and essentially for free, not like many other expensive PPC or mass advertisements.

By using the best social media marketing principles, that allows you to grow your brand in a niche focused community. Over time people will learn to associate you as being a good source for quality information. The trick in accomplishing this is to get your name out there as much as possible.

Increasing web site traffic is a very achievable goal, and it doesn’t have to eat up all of your time or all of your energy and money. Pay off in clear, quantifiable results come from hiring experienced and knowledgeable firms with a background in applying the best social media marketing strategies and techniques.

You can get the answers to the three most commonly asked questions when it comes to the Here Are The Best Ab Excercises You Can Use Without Spending Money for your small business, you can go to this social media marketing website for the answers.