Rob’s Huge List of Free Marketing Ideas

General Ideas

• Never let a day go by without spending a little time on at least one marketing activity.
• Set aside a percentage of income to spend on your marketing.
• Make sure you have well defined marketing goals that you can review and adjust quarterly.
• Start a file of ideas that you can pull from for later use.
• Make sure that you always have your business cards with you.
• Supercharge your business cards and use Plastic Business Cards that feel like a credit card
• Create a Custom Nametag with your company name and logo on it and wear it at important networking meetings & events.

Target Market

• Keep up on trends that could influence your target market, product, or marketing strategy.
• Read as much as you can about your industry, your prospective customers industry, and marketing trends.
• Start a file with your competitors advertisements; study them and see if you can get ideas that you might be able to use.
• Find out why your customers picked your company over your competitors, ask them if there is anything you could do to improve.
• If you lost a client or sale try to find out why the prospect went with the other company, find a way to fix that in the future.
• See if you can identify a new market.
• Subscribe to industry newsletters and blogs.
• Join an internet forum that is related to your industry. You will find people sharing information that could come in useful to you.

Education, Resources, and Information

• Start a marketing group. Once a month meet up with other business owners to discuss ideas that will benefit all of you.
• Go to a marketing seminar.
• Read a marketing book.
• Subscribe to a marketing newsletter or Magazine.
• Join an association or organization related to your industry.
• Hire a marketing consultant to brainstorm with.
• Look outside your industry and learn from marketing techniques they use.

Marketing Communications

• Make sure you keep in contact with your customers and your prospects. Send thank you letters, keep them up to date on your products, or call to see how business is going.
• Send out a postage-paid survey card with your invoices. It will provide valuable feedback on how your customer sees you.
• Remember, business cards aren’t meant to stay in the box. Pass them out!
• Give prospects two business cards – one to keep and one to give to someone they know.
• Have business cards and marketing materials that are specifically targeted towards each group that you are going after. Remember one size does not fit all!
• A good way to keep your name in front of people is to give out a poster or calendar to your customers and prospects.
• Print a slogan or a short description about your business on your letterhead, fax cover sheets, emails, and invoices. Make sure it is a powerful statement that will capture the prospects attention.
• Develop a website on the Internet. Having a website is an absolute must. You will be surprised at the number of people your site will pull in at 3 in the morning.
• Create a signature that can be used in all your email messages. Your signature should have of your contact details, your web site address and key information about your business that will make people want to contact you.
• Include testimonials from satisfied customers in all of your marketing materials.
• Don’t send direct mail in plain envelopes, use colored or odd shaped envelopes to capture your prospects curiosity.
• With Direct mail you have to think outside the box. Your direct mail materials have to capture your prospects attention before it hits the garbage can.

Media Relations

• Update your media list so that press releases are always sent to the right media people.
• Start Writing! Submit a column to your local newspaper, local business journal, or trade publication.
• Send newsworthy press releases.
• Publicize your notable accomplishments
• Be a guest on a radio or TV talk show.
• Get a publicity photo for your press releases.
• Consistently study newspapers and magazines for PR opportunities.
• Submit tip articles to newsletters, blogs and newspapers.
• Create a press kit and make sure you keep it current.

Customer Service and Customer Relations

• Don’t ignore your clients once you receive the order. Make sure you follow up.
• Return phone calls as quick as you can.
• Set up an email system to auto-respond to your customer inquiries.
• Record a memorable message or tip of the day on your voice mail message. Don’t leave the same old I’m not in right now. They know your not there the second the hear your machine.
• Ask your clients what you can do the help them.
• Be a resource. Be the person to go to.
• Take prospects and clients out to a ball game, show, or another special event.
• Hold a seminar for clients and prospects.
• Send handwritten thank you notes.
• Send birthday cards and seasonal greetings.
• Send helpful articles to clients and prospects with a hand-written note and your business card.
• Send a book of interest to your client with a handwritten note.
• Redecorate your office. Make sure it somewhere that your client wants to be.

Networking and Word of Mouth

• Join a Chamber of Commerce
• Join a business organizations.
• Join or organize your own a breakfast club with other professionals to discuss business and network referrals.
• Host a holiday party.
• Hold an open house
• Have a grand opening.
• Send follow-up letters to attendees after you attend a trade show or networking event.
• Make sure you check our calendar to stay on top of all the latest networking opportunities

Advertising

• Advertise when you don’t need the business. Advertising should never be something that is brought on by a lack of business.
• Get a memorable phone number, such as ours 702-253-SIGN.
• Give away advertising specialty products such as pens, calendars, mouse pads, or mugs.
• Mail bumps – photos, samples, pens, and other inventive items to your prospect list. (A bump is something that makes the mailing envelope bulge and makes them curious about what’s in the envelope!)
• Create a direct mail list of your hottest prospects.
• Consider non-traditional tactics such as bus billboards, wraps, and popular Web sites.
• Think outside the box, don’t just do the same old thing. A pizza restaurant got a 30% increase in sales – by converting its flyers into Post-it notes that looked like UPS delivery notices!
• Wrap you vehicles. If you really want create some buzz then vehicle wraps are the way to go. In as little as ten minutes, thousands of potential customers can see your vehicle. So why not give them a reason to call you. Check out some of the Vehicle Graphics I did here in Vegas.
• Wrap your office. Project a message on your place of business. Wrap your windows with a full color graphic that will make customers want to come in. Check out these Window Wraps here in Las Vegas.
• Code your ads and keep records of results.
• Improve your company’s signage and directional signs inside and out.
• Invest in signs that will make your office or storefront window visible at night.
• Create a new or improved company logo. Something that reflects who you are.
• Above all, don’t look cheap. Your advertising reflects who you are. The image you put out there is going to determine how well your advertising campaign works for you.

Sales Ideas

• Start every day with some calls. Make sure you follow up with who you meet the day before.
• Read newspapers, business journals, and check networkinvegas.com for new business openings, personnel appointments, and promotion announcements made by companies.
• Give your sales materials to your lawyer, accountant, printer, banker, temp agency, office supply salesperson, etc. (Expand your sales force for free!)
• Put your fax number on your order forms for easy submission.
• Follow up on your marketing efforts with a friendly telephone call.
• Extend your hours of operation. This is a 24 hour city, make sure your customer has some way of reaching someone.
• Make reordering easy – use reminders.
• Display product and service samples at your office.
• Remind clients of the services you offer that they aren’t currently using.
• Take sales orders over the Internet.

Marketing Resources

Richardson Graphics Marketing Company