Friday, and We’re Just Getting Started

Employees who draw paychecks work in a slower mode on Fridays. Not us. In fact, today is just as full of opportunities as other days in the week.

Today was teleseminar day in my office. One of the ways I make marketing information available to solo owners is by interviewing industry experts and recording the session on a CD. Today’s guest is a professional organizer named Fern who I met at a business gathering. Fern uncovered dozens of ways solo owners profit by being organized. In 30 minutes, she saved me hundreds of dollars by making me re-think my strategies.

I know that other soloists will save money using Fern’s tips and can’t wait for the CD’s release. The way we met is typical of what business owners do: get out and go to breakfast and lunch meetings to learn how like-minded solo marketers get the work done.

There’s no winding down for us, even on a Friday, but we do know how to relax and recharge to prepare for the productive week ahead. Part of my plan? Getting out and photographing ways that other people market their businesses. Ideas are all around you. Look for some this weekend and integrate whatever’s useful.

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October 28, 2005 | Filed Under Networking, Recent Entries | 1 Comment 

Conference Watch

Two upcoming conferences sure to feature loads of marketing options are:

Ad Tech Expo
November 7-9, 2005
New York, New York

Portable Media Expo & Podcasting Conference
November 11-12, 2005
Ontario, California

Register to attend the free exhibit areas if your budget doesn’t allow you to attend the entire event. I used to think that exhibitors had nothing to offer a solo marketer, but that’s not true. You’ll exit with at least one idea to capture your market.

More conferences are listed on the SoloBusinessMarketing.com Web site.

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October 27, 2005 | Filed Under Conferences, Recent Entries | 2 Comments 

Retail Selling, Solo Style

Retailers will have a hard time making money this holiday season, so say the pundits who track consumer trends. Weather-related storms seem to have already put a damper on sales. If that’s true, then retailers will have to devise marketing strategies that makes customers feel they can’t live without buying something.

This is nothing new. Retailers have long complained about how larger retailers take the lion’s share of business. To stay solvent, they’ve had to market by creating monthly ideas to draw in customers.

How does the solo retailer fit into this equation? Plenty of them manage stores in large and small communities as well as online, which are more controllable because there’s no physical store to maintain.

The central ingredient never changes: 1. Know your customer. Then mix in the following:

2. Stock tried-and-true items that are proven sell no matter what the economy.
3. Create private and public events that draw people in, such as food fests and contests that bring in adults and children. Recruit high school and college students to help on a temporary basis. Youthful people attract more youthful people with expendable cash in hand.
4. Maintain an open and steady relationship with the local media to get free publicity that encourages new and veteran customers to keep coming back.
5. Add free gift coupons and other incentives on your Web site to increase your online traffic.

Marketing options will continue to twist and turn, just like weather patterns. Keep your customers updated, and make your environment fun and irresistible. Prove the pundits wrong all the way to the bank.

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October 27, 2005 | Filed Under Marketing News, Recent Entries | Leave a Comment 

How Much is that Marketer in the Window?

An entrepreneur has been selected by Verizon to live her life in a Philadelphia storefront for the next 21 days. If she succeeds, her reward is $10,000 and publicity as she launches her new business.

Living in a glass house can’t be easy, and it promises to be interesting, as the budding business owner will face numerous challenges posed by her host.

Check out the story.

Twenty-one days doesn’t seem long, but the hoops she’ll jump through will probably make the time inch along. It’s certain a great example of marketing “in the box.”

I’d try for the prize. Wouldn’t you?

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October 26, 2005 | Filed Under Marketing News, Recent Entries | Leave a Comment 

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