Posts
12895
Joined
8/17/2006
Location
Golden, CO, USA
Edited Date/Time
1/25/2012 2:52pm
What are some of the avenues you find efficient in marketing your business? I'm just starting a business of my own. I have some ideas of how to work the sales opportunities, but since I'm a rookie, I figure I'd ask the old pros.
You are starting a small business and supporting Obama? Interesting.
My business started out as a sign shop. In the sign business, the vast majority of your business comes from other businesses. And, over the years, I've found the yellow pages to be the only advertising investment that actually pays dividends. This is primarily because people don't even think about signs until they need one. And unless they already have used a sign shop that they are happy with, they just look in the phone book. However, if you do a good job with a sign customer, they will just come back the next time.
For the motocross graphics business, we have marketed primarily through meeting people face to face at the track and through advertising at tracks and through sponsorship programs.
If you are selling MLM stuff, I can't help you there. I think their marketing has to be deceptive in some way to get people suckered in.
I already have a bunch of experience within the same business environment, but it's just that I've never tried my hand at my own business in it. So, I think that if I hear what you guys have found successful for yourself, I can envision how it would integrate in my business environment, and I can make my own decisions what would work and what wouldn't.
So, don't think of me...think of what unique things worked well for you.
Oh, Steve's got the idea. I typed this while he was posting. Good info, Steve.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
If you could pinpoint just a slight idea of the direction you are leaning to go, the business owners on this board could not waste their time typing about things that you decide are irrelevent.
There are books and books that can be written about self employed marketing....just asking you to narrow it down a little.
Make friends with everyone that you do biz with, let them talk about themselfs as much as they want and once they consider you a friend it will be hard not to do work with you. Relationships are the key to any biz.
My biz went into a different direction then when I first started because of oppertunitys I created through hard work and relationships.
The trouble with preconceived ideas of what I need, when these business owners have little to no experience in my operating environment, can prevent an extremely useful idea to present itself.
all businesses need the same types of marketing. stand on a mountain and scream loud enough so everyone can hear. or some may call it beating the streets.
be able to state why your business is better/differant in one or 2 sentences.
krispy kremes model was that they have never wasted money on conventional marketing, they would give product away and get people hooked on their stuff.
Also, it takes a lot of happy customers to give you a good name.
It only takes one unhappy customer to destroy years of what you have built up.
Good luck.
http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/index.jsp;jsessi…
Pit Row
ok...my best advice--Find people who believe in your business, get them to invest. If you truly believe in it--you can sell it with ease. Any doubts...you won't.
Always get other people (sheep) to take the risk on your pipe dream. It's the American way! Ask any broker.
Never let one person own more shares of the company than yourself. It can get ugly.
http://www.salesgenie.com/LandingAd/LandingAdSb.aspx?bas_vendor=63963&g…
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