All posts tagged customer acquisition

Pros and Cons of QR Codes for your Micro Business

By | September 22, 2011 | Micro Business Tips Thursday | 3 Comments

In this week’s edition of Micro Business Tips Thursday, we wanted to find out how popular QR (short for “Quick Response”) codes were among the micro business community. To help get some answers, we asked our Facebook community the following question:  How have you effectively used QR codes in your marketing? If you haven’t used QR codes, why haven’t you?

We received some great feedback that really told us a lot about QR code use and where it stands as of today. After looking through the variety of answers, we chose to highlight these two answers as they showcase the positives and negatives of QR codes: 

“I think QR codes are great. It makes it easy for a customer to go right to our company website, to get instant information about a product, or directly to a site to buy our product. With a QR code, a simply scan, and the customer is gets to you instantly! Otherwise, they would have to type in a url, etc…QR codes are GREAT!!” ~ Dee Watson Keywood ~

“I think QR codes are like 8-Tracks. Some people find them trendy, but I don’t think they have staying power. I find them irritating to use, so I don’t use them in marketing pieces. I’d rather type in a URL than open an app, scan a code, wait for something to load, etc. The codes are novel but I don’t find them more effective than giving out a simple URL, which can also be committed to memory.” ~ Jessica Leeburg ~

To see the rest of the feedback, click here.

Has your small business used a Quick Response code to help drive traffic to your company website? Or do you feel it’s not an effective way to reach your customers with information? We’ve love to hear your feedback in the comment section below!

Be sure to tune into our Facebook page next week for your chance to be featured on this blog.

What’s Been Working Lately to Drive New Customers?

By | August 18, 2011 | Micro Business Tips Thursday | 12 Comments
drive-traffic

In this week’s edition of Micro Business Tips Thursday, we asked the Vistaprint Facebook community about recent marketing tactics. While the summer months can be difficult for marketing and driving new business, the show must go on, right? So to find out what has been successful this summer, we posed the following question: What is the most effective thing you have done to drive new customers over the past month?

We again received a ton of great answers, but there was one that stuck out to us above the rest. So thank you to Carolyn Lemons Larson of Bennett Larson Photography for your response:

I like to send out thank you notes to people who have shown us even the slightest favors, especially in business (such as receptionists with whom we have spoken – trying to get to the decision makers, etc). And it seems like every time I stay on top of the thank you notes, and send out a batch of them, then suddenly more business starts coming our way… even from people who haven’t received a thank you note yet! I get a little lax about the thank you notes sometimes, but I sent out a batch of them at the beginning of this month, after skipping several months, and now new business is flowing our way. Also, we started setting daily sales goals starting this month, and we are reaching them. I think it has to do with having an attitude of gratitude, as they say. Not to mention our fine website and other great products we recently started buying from Vistaprint! Thanks so much for all your great products and services!

To see all of this week’s entries, please visit the post on our Facebook wall.

To continue the discussion, what have you done to attract new customers to your business in the past month? We’d love to hear in the comments below in the comment section.

Be sure to tune into our Facebook page next week for your chance to be featured on this blog.

How To: Buy a Direct Mail List

By | July 5, 2011 | How To, Marketing | 2 Comments

Many micro business owners have found success in creating a direct mail marketing campaign to help build brand awareness and obtain new customers. Whether you are promoting a new feature of your business, notifying folks of a sale or simply letting your target audience know you are open for business; direct mail marketing can be a great tool for getting your message out. Simply put, receiving mail at home puts the advertiser’s message in the hands of the consumer at a time the receiver is more likely to read it as they review the rest of the mail.

While some may say the process can be a confusing, especially obtaining a targeted mailing list, it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few tips to help guide you through the process:

Research: Like everything else you look to do within your micro business, be prepared to research different companies and their offerings. Connect with other (non-competing) business owners to see who they purchased from and ask about their experience and results. It’s important you don’t purchase a list blindly, given the investment needed for designing, printing and mailing.

Ask Questions: Once you have selected a vendor, you’ll want to learn more about their services and how they operate. When researching a specific list to purchase/rent, questions you may want to ask are:

  • How was this list obtained?
  • When’s the last time the company updated the list?
  • If the number of undeliverable emails exceeds X%, is there a buyback amount (refund)?

Certainly you may have other questions, but these are just a few that may not come up in your initial planning stages.

Identify the Right List: As you are looking at different mail lists to purchase, be sure you match your existing customer profile as closely as possible before you rent a list. If you are just getting your business off the ground and do not have any customers you’ll need to look into investing in some basic marketing research to determine your appropriate market. In addition, look to rent your marketing lists as this allows you to test and measure the effectiveness of the list and can be more cost effective.

Don’t forget as you are going through the direct mail process you want to create a campaign that will make your investment worthwhile. Here’s a helpful post we put together a while back on how to create an effective flyer to incorporate into a direct mail campaign.

Has your business utilized direct mail marketing to help grow your business? What recommendations would you share with fellow micro business owners?

Image courtesy of momentummarketing.wordpress.com

Promoting Your Micro Business around Independence Day

By | June 27, 2011 | Marketing, Micro Business Tips | No comments

Like many folks, you’re probably looking forward to the upcoming Independence Day holiday as a chance to relax with family and friends. For many micro business owners though, this holiday can be a great time to gain some brand recognition through a variety of unique events (parades, public gatherings, etc.) that are going on in the community. Having an entire community in one spot can be a great way to help maximize your efforts, no matter how minimal they may seem.

As with all holidays though, we must remind you that the holidays can be a difficult time to reach consumers as they are focused with other activities. You don’t want to act so aggressive with your marketing efforts that you are turning off potential consumers to your offerings. It’s important you manage your expectations for marketing around Independence Day.

With that said, here are a couple ways you can help promote your micro business over the Fourth of July holiday:

Take advantage of town events – Chances are there is a parade, festival or other local event happening in your town or a neighboring town to celebrate Independence Day (just check your local paper for upcoming events). While these events can be filled with fun activities for your family to enjoy, they can also provide a great atmosphere for building brand awareness for your business and networking a few potential leads. If there is an option to set-up a booth during an event, this may be a good way to promote your products or service. There may also be sponsorship opportunities associated with a parade or festival that can help build awareness. No matter the case, make sure you are wearing your company T-shirt and hat (if applicable) and keep plenty of business cards on you, as you never know when a potential customer may turn up. In a nutshell, just being present and opportunistic can help you land a customer or two without being seen as aggressive.

Handouts – Building off the town events idea, think about different handout items you can attach your business information to and pass out to crowds as an act of goodwill. Many companies have attached a small sticker with their company name, website and contact information to items such as candy, popsicles and bottled water and hand them out within crowds. You may find the more refreshing options such as popsicles or water more receptive during the hot July days.

Host a party/get together – Leading up to Independence Day, perhaps your micro business can host a party at your building (if you own/rent commercial space) or set-up a party at a public area like a park. A great way to help get the word out is to invite your existing customers to the event as a thank you for their patronage in 2011 thus far. Also encourage them to bring a friend to learn more about your business in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. Also offering an incentive or prize for folks to attend can help attract folks to your party. It’s important you are not too pushy and “over the top” with your sales pitch as you will likely drive folks away. Make sure you have plenty of take away items (brochures, magnets, business cards, etc.) that folks can take to help keep you top of mind.

There are just a few ways you can help grow your business over the summer holiday season. How do you plan on marketing this Independence Day? Please take a minute to share your success (and not so successful) Independence Day marketing stories with us!

Micro Business Roundup

By | June 24, 2011 | Micro Business Roundup | No comments

Happy Friday everyone! We hope you had a nice week. The weather continues to vary here in Massachusetts as we creep closer to Independence Day (be on the lookout for a special holiday post next week). In between meetings and projects we were able to identify five articles from the past week that we felt would be of use to your micro business. We hope you find something fun and exciting to do this weekend and please enjoy this week’s edition of the Micro Business

How Do You Engage Your Customers? – As many micro business owners know, engaging with your customer base is one of the most important aspects of making your business a success. It’s one aspect of your business that, with hard work and dedication, can put you ahead of your competitors who may have more resources. So how do you get better?  This New York Times article takes a look at one company that uniquely engages its customers and how you can incorporate some of their ideas into your micro business.

77 Percent of Small Business Owners Love What They Do: Do You? – Do you love your micro business and what you are doing? According to recent survey results we put out, and featured on SmallBizTrends.com, more than three of every four of you do. But the author takes that stat and offers some important reminders about loving your entrepreneurial spirit. We were drawn to the point that “Just because you love it doesn’t mean it’s not hard work.” Those who are parents can relate with this way of thinking.

10 FREE Sites to Help You Improve Your Writing – No matter what type of micro business you are involved with, you probably notice you do a lot more writing then you may have expected. Business plans, marketing collateral and legal items are just a few items you need strong writing skills for. For those who struggle with writing, or are simply to looking to improve, check out this round-up of sites from Bukiki.com to help you improve. As a helpful reminder, it’s always a good idea to have someone else read over your writing whenever possible.

Giving good interview, or how to get a reporter to eat from your hand – Has your micro business been interviewed by the local newspaper or television station? It certainly can be a nerve racking experience as you want try to balance getting your company message out while not sounding over promotional, or say something stupid. To help get you prepared for your next time (or first time), check out this post from CrowdSpring.com on how to control and give a good interview. While we like all the tips offered, we highly recommend staying in control and focused while being interviewed.

Customer Service has to be a Culture – No matter how small or large your business may be, customer service is the lifeline that helps keep your business running. Without it companies are destined to fail no matter how strong the products are services may be. This fifteen minute podcast from TECAclub.com chats about the three R’s of customer service: Repeat referrals and requests. How do you show strong customer service?

Image — Chron.com

Micro Business Roundup

By | June 10, 2011 | Micro Business Roundup | No comments

Hello everyone and happy Friday! We hope you had a great week. We’ve had an eventful week with our Lexington, Massachusetts office being named to the Boston Business Journal’s Best Places to Work list as well as being included in a great Inc. Magazine feature on bootstrap marketing tips. With the temperatures continuing to rise as summer rolls on, we hope you have an enjoyable weekend and please enjoy this week’s edition of the Micro Business Roundup.

Image courtesy of socialtimes.com

Should You Advertise In A Newspaper? – One of the oldest and classic forms of small and micro business advertising is traditional newspaper ads. But with the ever expanding possibilities of internet marketing, is this old fashioned technique still a valuable form of marketing for your budding business? Steve Strauss, a leading small business expert, seems to think so and he explains why in this recent Open Forum blog post. Have you taken out a newspaper advertisement for your company? What was your ROI on it?

Three Ways to Raise Prices Without Losing Customers – It’s an issue that businesses large and small deal with at one time or another. The economic struggle of balancing supply and demand can be tricky to determine. This Entrepreneur.com article looks at three ways your micro business can raise the price of your product or service without losing your customer base. We were drawn to becoming a leader in your space as the best option. It’s no secret that a seller’s reputation is part of the sell, and improving your expertise can help move your product/service to a higher price point.

10 Time-Savers That Aren’t Saving You Anything – For many micro business owners, one of the biggest obstacles faced when running their business is having enoughtime to get everything done. While there are many tricks and tools out there to help keep you organized and more time efficient, are they really helping? This recent post from MenWithPens.ca talks about ten time-saving tricks that may not be helping you stay efficient with your time. Do you have a tip that you found ended up costing you more time rather than saving?

5 More SEO Strategies for SMBs to Avoid – While we’re always sharing tips and tools to help build your SEO muscle online, we came across this interesting post from Smart Biz Trends about tips to avoid. Have you fell into one of these pitfall strategies? What was your experience? Are there any other strategies you would add to the list?

Improve Your Business’s Cash Flow with Technology – As many know, poor cash-flow management by a micro business owner can lead to the failure of a business. So how do you improve your cash-flow? Ken Yancey, chief executive officer of SCORE put together this short list on Businessweek.com of how you can easily progress your cash-flow.

Does Your Micro Business Practice Sustainability?

By | April 20, 2011 | Micro Business Issues | No comments

“Going Green” and “Eco-Friendly” are two common terms among many businesses of all sizes. But why are companies looking to go green and achieve sustainability? Besides the obvious answer that managing a more green company is good for the environment, many companies are seeing a request from existing and potential customers for more environmentally-safe products and services. In addition, some efforts can help save a micro business money while not adding a lot of time or energy to everyday duties.

So what does sustainability mean? Simply put, sustainability is exercising a way of living that does not endanger the current and future social, environmental and economic resources around us. The more sustainable people are as a society, the longer the planet Earth will be able to support human life.

Image courtesy of whyismarko.com

But my company is just a tiny micro business; do my efforts make much of a difference one way or another? In a word, yes! There are nearly 25 million micro businesses in the United States that operate at a similar size and speed you do. Imagine the impact that 25 million businesses can have on the environment if they are all practicing sustainability.

Sustainability holds a lot of value to a micro business looking to attract and retain customers. In fact, according to a 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study, 80 percent of consumers were likely to switch brands, which are similar in price/quality, to one that supports a cause, such as recycling. That is 80 percent of your existing and potential customer base that you could be affecting based simply on how sustainable your enterprise is. In addition, a 2009 GMA/Deloitte Green Shopper Study showed 54 percent of shoppers say they considered sourcing, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, product use and disposal when selecting products. How do your sustainable elements stack up? Because just over half of your potential customer base are interested in your efforts within this space.

So what can your micro business do to become more sustainable while not disrupting your everyday endeavors for business growth? Here are a few suggestions:

  • Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle: Be conscious of what you are throwing away. Can the item be used for another project within the business? Can someone else benefit from this item? Is this item recyclable? These are all questions you should be training your staff to ask, as well as advocate yourself. One popular idea among small companies is to resell or donate older equipment such as computers and other electronics to budding entrepreneurs, perhaps at the local high school or college. Not only are you discarding your unused items, but you are building goodwill towards donating rather than throwing away.
  • Invest in Reusable Items: Does your micro business use disposable cups? Perhaps you can exchange those cups with mugs. While the initial cost may be more than a sleeve of cups, the cost over time will be significantly lower. What about plastic bags?  Does your micro business use them? Perhaps you can create custom tote bags that you can pass out to your existing customers to not only entice greener living, but also provide some free advertising for your business.
  • Don’t Give Up on Print Advertising! Using postcards for direct mailing, networking with business cards and note cards with product information are still valuable assets to your marketing mix. However, instead of creating these materials with traditional stock paper, think about switching to 100% recycled paper. With modern technology, quality is not lost when moving from stock and recycled paper.

In addition to being sustainable, you want to make sure you are promoting your efforts. You shouldn’t be over-the-top, but a simple note in small writing on your marketing materials that reads “This product is made with 100% recycled paper” is a good way to let customers know of your efforts. You may even want to designate a page on your website to list what your company is doing to be more sustainable.

How does your company practice sustainability? Do you believe this is an important practice in attracting and obtaining customers?

The Sticky Side of Guerilla Marketing

By | March 21, 2011 | Micro Business Tips | No comments

As we have discussed before, micro business owners have a marketing spend of about $500 annually to help promote their business. While marketing resources such as email marketing and direct mailing are still available at this budget, many entrepreneurs are left to different avenues to help promote their rising business. Many owners look to create buzz around their company with guerilla marketing tactics.

For those not familiar with the concept, guerrilla marketing was created as an unconventional system of promoting a business or event. As an alternative of a big marketing budget, this form of marketing relies on time, energy and imagination. The goal of guerrilla marketing is to create buzz for your company’s product and service which in hopes will turn to sales lead. The term was created by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing.

Image courtesy of loprestiventura.com

Stickers and magnets can be quick, easy and affordable options to create a creative guerrilla marketing campaign that helps bring attention to your micro business. Here are a few quick ideas you can implement with stickers and magnets:

  • Conferences/Events: Set-up a promotion where you give away a prize to random attendees who are wearing your business sticker. As more people visit your booth to enter and get their sticker to wear, the more people without stickers will want them. As a reminder, make sure the sticker has information (name, offering, website) that can link people back to your micro business.
  • Around Town: Create some eye-popping magnets that include your business name, contact information and what you sell. Unlike stickers, which are permanent and unwanted many places, a magnet can easily be removed. Even better, potential customers can take the magnet home as a reminder of your services. Some unique places to stick magnets would be bus stops, phone booths, bathroom stalls, inside buses, on other businesses (that do not compete with yours) and many other areas. The idea is to be creative about where you place them. Like your business cards, keep some magnets in your pocket at all items as you find new areas to place them.
  • Your Car: Many micro business owners utilize their automobile as a moving billboard for their business. You can create large magnets or bumper stickers to place on your car. Given that real estate space on these items may be tight and you want your lettering to be visible, stick to the basic information. While other information like a website address would be great, it may be hard for potential customers to remember. You should make sure customers can remember your company name and find you online easily.

As an important reminder, your guerrilla marketing efforts should NOT break the law or cross the line of tastefulness. While magnets can be removed, stickers are more prone to leave permanent blemishes. The last thing you want is your business tied to an eyesore that turns people off to your business. Always think about the legal ramifications of your guerrilla marketing scheme.

Has your company executed a guerilla marketing campaign? What were the results?

Building an event around your brand

By | March 11, 2011 | Micro Business Issues | No comments

Earlier today, I attended the Foursquare and Pepsi MAX lot. The two companies partnered to build an event around their brands. Patrons received free Pepsi and were able to take pictures to share on their social profiles. While that was refreshing, Foursquare brought in a game dynamic to their portion of the giveaway. To get the free t-shirt you had to play the schoolyard game foursquare. This interactive component made visitors get involved with the brand’s game aspect.  It also made users understand what the brand was about which is a great takeaway that you should look into adding into your events.

This post contains a video, please click here if you can’t view it.

Sales Referrals With Great Customer Service

By | November 2, 2009 | Micro Business Issues, Perspectives | No comments

telling_a_secret_2174521This guest post is part of our ongoing Small Business Perspective series, and is written by Monique Wakefield, owner of Paws-n-Tails in Dallas, TX.

Some people are reluctant to go to someone new without having some information about them first. Putting yourself in the customer’s shoes, ask yourself if you would you rather go with a brand you know a lot about or one that you have never heard of. If you think about it, all the great brands have had at least two things going for them: 1) a great ad campaign; and 2) people generally say good things about, or otherwise endorse the brand. Read more…

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