In 1975 Paul Simon wrote and recorded a hit song, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” The chorus included:
Make a new plan, Stan
You don’t need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free.
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don’t need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free.
I’m not offering advice on how to leave a lover, but I am suggesting 50 ways to promote your business, so Stan and Roy and Gus and Lee can start exploring the possibilities.
1. Prepare and distribute periodic press releases about your business or industry.
2. Learn the ins and outs of social networks, and use them to market and sell your products and services.
3. Post product information or what you have to offer on YouTube or other free sites on the Internet.
4. Update or prepare a brochure describing your products and services.
5. Prepare a portfolio of sales and services you have provided to satisfied customers.
6. Compose a newsletter offering advice and suggestions along with news about your business.
7. Send routine periodic follow-ups with prior customers.
8. Write articles for local/national publications.
9. Use cross-promotion: Partner with a complimentary business to provide mutual referrals.
10. Read Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson.
11. Join and be active in a service club such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions.
12. Offer to be a speaker at events, service clubs, universities, volunteer organizations, libraries, etc.
13. Make sure that close friends and relatives have a supply of your business cards and brochures.
14. Join a leads group.
15. Spiff up your website. Check your competitors’ sites to determine their approach for customer attention.
16. Write blogs and have satisfied customers write blogs.
17. Consider media advertising.
18. Consider supporting charity events.
19. Become the expert and let the business editors know you are available to respond to their questions.
20. Gain industry certifications.
21. Join industry trade organizations.
22. Attend trade shows (you don’t need to exhibit, just walk around).
23. Join the Chamber of Commerce and serve on the small-business committee.
24. Make sure you have several two-minute “elevator” speeches available depending upon the contact and opportunity.
25. Brainstorm marketing ideas with employees, family and friends. Set a goal of one new idea per day over the next 30 days.
26. Solicit the help of your suppliers.
27. Hold an open house. It may attract some new customers.
28. Extend your business hours.
29. Sponsor a local kids’ soccer, baseball or football team.
30. Look into inexpensive give-aways, such as snack-bag closure clips or similar products embossed with your business’ name.
31. Advertise in your church bulletin. It’s usually very inexpensive.
32. Offer potential customers free counseling or advice about your products or services with no obligation to buy; offer product samples.
33. Adopt the Southwest Airlines model: Everyone is committed to customer satisfaction.
34. Encourage employees to participate in growth-strategy planning.
35. Reward successful ideas.
36. Treat everyone as a customer, including co-workers and vendors.
37. Establish customer service times three.
38. Conduct annual customer surveys.
39. Consider direct mail advertising.
40. Place magnetic signs on your cars or trucks promoting your business whenever the vehicles are on the street.
41. Cold calls work, so make 10 a day and teach your staff to organize their days to make similar calls.
42. Referrals work, so offer incentives to your customers if they refer new customers.
43. Customer and prospective-customer contests work, so put together a contest with a gift that is suitable for your area, such as gift cards, gift baskets, and/or discounts on products or services you sell.
44. Organize and sponsor your own golf tournament and donate all of the proceeds to a local charity.
45. Advertise your business using a customer’s testimonial and/or a picture of you and your client.
46. Consider using commission agents to help you sell your products or services.
47. Freshen up sales letters, brochures and other collateral materials. Send to prospects and competitor customers you have contacted.
48. Send your customers and prospective customers clips or copies of the articles that have been published about your business or services.
49. Publicize the unique things or unusual things your business does and send out press releases with your pictures or other artwork on a regular basis.
50. Use the backside of your business card to describe your products and services — anything but blank.
tvscore240@yahoo.com
C. NORMAN BECKERT Idaho district director of SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives
