Often, it is not the large-scale, costly promotional campaigns that turn a small business into a success story, but the little, imaginative things that cost almost nothing: placing a terrarium with an exotic animal in your store will ensure that neighborhood children force their parents to enter; hanging a mirror in your window case will make people stop and look; using irregular shaped envelopes can turn an otherwise mediocre mail-order campaign into a success. Whether you are a retailer, wholesaler, or an Internet entrepreneur, here you will find ideas that will help you get the most bang for your promotional buck.
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Ron E. Gielgun is the author of 121 INTERNET BUSINESSES YOU CAN START FROM HOME, and 1 BUSINESS 2 APPROACHES: HOW TO SUCCEED IN INTERNET BUSINESS BY EMPLOYING REAL WORLD STRATEGIES. He is editor of an online magazine for Internet entrepreneurs, and an Internet marketing consultant.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Best Promotional Tactic Is Beating Your Competitors' Price but How?
Anyone can contact a wholesaler and buy items for resale at the wholesaler's usual discount. The problem is getting the items at a price low enough to undercut your competitors. For example, it is very hard to find consumer electronics at good wholesale prices, and so it is nearly impossible for small entrepreneurs to compete with the large chains. The trick to getting good deals (wholesale) on any product is to buy it in quantities greater than you need for retail, and then sell most of it to other retailers. For instance, if a wholesaler sells a roll of film to retailers for $4.00 a unit in quantities of 50-100 units, you may be able to get this film for $3.00 a unit if you order 10,000 rolls. You sell 8,000 rolls to other retailers for a little under $4.00 (or they will not buy from you), but the 2,000 you have left can be sold at retail for $1.00 less than your competitors. This is a win-win situation. This tactic will allow you to advertise cut-throat prices and turn your promotional campaign into an immediate success without using any gimmicks.
It's The Unconventional Bird That Catches the Worm
So you have flooded an important prospect with dozens of letters and telephone calls (all intercepted by his secretary). So you have sent the CEO of a multi-million dollar company information kits and video cassettes and invitations to your trade show booth. But nothing came of it. Busy CEOs are inundated with hundreds of proposals a month, and to stand out from the crowd you will need to be imaginative and original.
So how about invoking the ghosts of the past? Instead of shooting your presentation with a video camera, use a super-8 one. How will the prospect be able to watch your presentation? Simple. Send him a super 8 projector. Very few people will be able to pass up a package that contains a super 8 projector loaded with film. Chances are, window shades will be tilted closed and lights in the room will be turned off as even the most unapproachable CEO in your industry will plug in the projector and watch your presentation.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The box idea works!,
By
This review is from: 222 Ways to Promote Your Small Business on a Budget (Paperback)
Let me tell you the box story: I received a strangely-shaped box from RPS. It was tall and looked like 3 or 4 posters could fit inside, rolled-up & standing upright.
I opened it to find something wrapped in plain, brown Kraft paper. (NO -- I didn't order any porno or sleazy stuff! ) Inside were 2 books I had requested from Actium Publishing to review. The box thing was a suggested promotional idea straight from this book. Right on page 27, Gielgun, suggests that a package in an unusual shape will catch the eye of a customer and make them focus on what it is you're sending them. He suggests using an ice cream box & enclosing sales materials that might begin, "We just wanted to sweeten your day." You can get white cake & cookie boxes from bakery supply houses. Or gold boxes; that would be attention getting! How about those Chinese food take-out boxes? They're not expensive. "A New York based entrepreneur has sent half-envelopes to his potential customers. He cut regular # 10 envelopes in half and sent only one side (glue-sealed at the "open" end) to prospects. The reply rate to these bisected envelopes was 20% to 30% higher as compared with the whole ones." (p. 27) The box is the reason this book is being reviewed so soon. Once I got it open I just had to start thumbing through the book -- the bright red cover helps, too -- and ideas kept catching my eye. Next thing I knew, I'd gone though almost 2/3 of the book! From there, writing this review was easy. I'll never underestimate the power of provocative packaging again. Broken into 11 chapters, the tips are organized in areas such as: => mail order => trade shows & fairs => overseas => wholesale => cold calling => online => & more When I say tips, don't think I mean 1 or 2 line descriptions. Each idea takes an entire page & many augment the main idea by providing multiple related suggestions. The best way to show how the book works is to give some abridged examples. IDEA --New Broom Sweeps Clean (p. 15) "If your prospects are corporations, and if you want to get on their receptive side, contact the new, rather than long-time employees. Employees who have been with a company for many years tend to stick to work routines and practices which have proven to work for them, and are not very receptive to new ideas." IDEA -- Find Yourself a Moniker (p. 28) "For prospects & customers to remember you, the name of your business may not be enough. Develop a professional handle that would convey in a catchphrase the essence of your business. " Example: 'The Tune-Up Maestro' for a car repair shop. This works because I can't forget a course (the Clinical Action Guide) I bought from Drew Eric Whitman, DRS -- 'Direct Response Surgeon'. He even went so far as to have his sales materials carry a picture of him in surgical scrubs, masked, & holding a scalpel. IDEA -- Make Your Competitors' Advertising Budget Work for You (p. 94) Here's a simple way to take customers away from your competitors: accept their coupons, and make it known that consumers will get from you the same discounts or incentives your competitors offer in their ads." IDEA -- First Year Club (p. 102) As the owner of a business start-up, your first, most pressing goal is the creation of a solid customer base. One way to create repeat customers from the very start is by offering new customers a 5% discount for life on all your products and services." IDEA -- Business That Close Down No Longer Need Their Telephone Numbers (p. 114) This is a little know fact, it seems, or how else can we explain the millions of good phone numbers that go to an early grave together with their owners every year? A business telephone number almost always has some life left in it." If a rival business goes down the tubes, get that number as your own. I don't want to give away too much here because Gielgun deserves that his book be purchased. Just let it be clear, these ideas & all the others are more detailed than I've written here. The reason I say this book's level is beginner/intermediate is it's almost 50-50, for me at least, between ideas I've come across before & those totally new to me. The low price makes it affordable to the more experienced marketer. But, if you're a very savvy marketing maven, this book is probably too elementary for you. As with all things Internet related, there's nothing new in the 'Online' chapter of the book. It's useful only for the newbie.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
VERY HELPFUL,
By Peter Holtz (Worcester, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
This review is from: 222 Ways to Promote Your Small Business on a Budget (Paperback)
Not every idea in this book is right for everyone, but you'll always find several dozen ideas that'll work for you, and each one of these alone makes purchasing this book a worthwhile investment. Some of the suggestions in this book are so simple and make so much sense it made me wonder how come I never thought of them myself -- there are opportunities around us that we simply don't see until someone points them out to us.
5 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Number 223: Market YOU!,
By
This review is from: 222 Ways to Promote Your Small Business on a Budget (Paperback)
This book has some great tips, but when it comes to achieving corporate and community visibility, nothing replaces a *personal* publicity plan. To position your small business, you have to position YOURSELF. It's inexpensive and critical to your success in the marketplace. Bottom line is that people have to know who you are, what you stand for, and why they should do business with you.
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