15 Marketing ideas to get you started

Focus on customer needs
Customer details are key
Cut the costs and make more money
Fine-tune your marketing skills
Some Marketing specifics

Focus on customer needs

1. Step into customers' shoes. When writing content for leaflets, brochures, websites etc. everything you write should be designed to meet the needs, wishes and hopes of your customers. The main focus of all of your copywriting should be on the benefits to the customer.
   
   
2. Do some market research. When did you last research your competitors to see what they are up to? Do they have that unique selling point? Are their products cheaper or better quality than your own? Don’t guess, go and have a look, pretend you’re a shopper. They may have already been to look at your business.
   

   Customer details are key
   

3. Use a guestbook. This is a great way to capture names, addresses and e-mails free of charge. You may feel uneasy about asking for customers' details but, if they have recently made a purchase with you, they are obviously happy with your products and, are therefore usually happy to give you this valuable information. The guestbook allows you to send new product lists or information to customers who are interested, or have purchased from you in the past.
   
   
4. Keep an accurate and up-to-date database. A quality database is possibly the most important marketing tool have. It will tell you what customers are buying and at what price and it will tell you where they live. This means that you can target your chosen products to the right target markets saving you time and a great deal of money.
   

   Cut costs and save money
   

5. Think carefully about your design and print. There are huge savings to be made when designing and printing marketing collateral. Make sure that you have shopped around for the best deal before you go ahead.
   
   
6. Use e-mail. It’s free, you can use it as little or as often as you like and it's measurable. Why not send e-mails to your customers with general free information about an individual product rather than a hard- sell? Why not send an e-mail saying ‘Happy Birthday’? How powerful do you think that would be?
   
   
7. Look at your prices. If your customers are happy buying your products or services on a regular basis, then they have made a commitment to using you. Reviewing your pricing structure will not necessarily put them off but could make a big difference to your bottom line.
   

   Fine-tune your marketing skills
   

8. Put some thought into your Marketing. You can make the best widget or provide the ultimate service, but if you not promoting them to the right market, at the right time, and at the right price, you will not succeed. Spend more time and effort on your marketing skills and stay ahead of the competition.
   
   
9. Sell the benefits. Focus your marketing material on the benefits that your products or services offer, rather than the features. Customers don’t want to read a long list of technical terms, they want to know what your product or service will do for them.
   
   
10. Review your home page. If your home page tells the reader all about you and what you do, change it. People will know what you do already because they will have searched for a particular item or product and you will have been in a list of similar businesses. Change your front page to promote the benefits of your business and start selling. Include the ‘about us’ somewhere on your site but not on the opening page. Remember, your front page is an advert for the benefits of your services or products not an autobiography.
    
    
11. Follow-up regularly. Making your business stand out from the competition requires some effort and some great ideas. What will make you stand out from the rest? Following-up a sale with a phone call, letter or e-mail could make all the difference.

    Some marketing specifics
    

12. Don't advertise for the sake of it . If the results of your advertising can’t be measured, how can you be sure its working? There are better ways to generate business than an advert in a newspaper. If you are measuring the success of your advertising, what are you doing to make it work even better for you?
    
    
13. Think about branding. Branding isn’t just about a logo or name. A brand symbolises how people think about your business, which will help in their decision-making process.
    
    
14. Direct mail. Probably the best form of marketing but it can also be the most expensive if you get it wrong. Take great care when using direct mail as a marketing tool and make sure you plan the campaign carefully. You will benefit greatly if you do.
    
    
15. Write a newsworthy item. Getting free newspaper coverage is often very difficult to do but there are some simple steps to follow to have a better chance of having your article published. Write an informative or newsworthy article and stay away from the hard-sell until the end of your piece.
    

Apple Pie offers help and advice on all of these areas of business growth, and a great deal more. Contact us and we will be happy to help you and your business reach its potential.