Good marketing makes your enterprise grow. That’s why major corporations have entire departments devoted to marketing.

Yet your marketing strategies have to be continually honed and updated. Marketing does not have to go beyond your town, your county, or your state. But it can go national or even worldwide. Marketing can be limited or limitless in this age of the World Wide Web.

And even if you can’t afford a marketing department or to have one person in your organization handle marketing full time, you can still get your company’s name–plus your products and services–out there.

Here are some marketing techniques you can try. You don’t have to do them all. You might want to do just a few to start. But remember: Marketing is essential to your success. In marketing, no news is bad news. You want the buzz.

BE A NEWSMAKER

Is there something of interest happening your business that the community should know about? Send out a press release about it.

Some topics for press releases

Did you recently:

• hire a new employee?
• expand a department?
• promote an employee?
• name an employee of the month?
• land an important client?
• open a new office?
• add a new service?
• add a new product line?
• start a new promotion?
• sponsor a Little League baseball team?

All these things are worthy of a press release, at least to your local weekly newspapers and to the business page of the daily newspaper that covers your area. Local weekly newspapers are usually happy to hear about your news and daily newspapers often have columns that cover these types of local business happenings. These press releases get your name out to the community, let people know your business exists, and work as an inexpensive way of getting some ink.

If you’re doing these things anyway, why not let people know about it?

Photos with a press release always draw people into the story about your business, but even if you can’t send a photo, it’s worth sending a release.

People often ask why a particular business is always in the newspaper. It’s because that business lets the paper know when something newsworthy is happening. It doesn’t have to be big news, just news.

The benefits

Getting in local newspapers is invaluable. Lots of times the local newspapers will even use your company’s name in the headline. What great free publicity! The more people see your business name around, the more likely they are to turn to your business when they need the products or services you offer. Being seen in local newspapers adds legitimacy to your business name. You can frame the articles and display them in your place of business. It shows that your business is a mover and shaker. Think of your business in the same way an athlete approaches his sport: You want to do anything within the rules to get an edge. Outpublicizing your competitors is within the rules.

GET KNOWN AS AN EXPERT

You’ve worked hard to develop a business. You’ve learned all you could about your business. You know all the ins and outs. Now it’s time for you to display that knowledge, to share it with others. Become known as an expert in your field, so when anything happens in your field, and anybody wants to know about it, you’re the one folks contact.

Let’s say you’re in the security business. When security issues make the news, are the local newspapers or radio or TV news departments contacting you for your insights into what’s going on? They should be.

How it works

If you’re an expert in any field, chances are news organizations are going to want to contact you to get your opinion on what’s happening when news breaks on that subject, either on the local or national scene. News can break in any field, and if reporters or producers want knowledgeable comments on the subject, they should know that you’re the go-to guy or gal. Even if you think you’re running a business that would never be contacted by a news outlet, a story could break that could fit your expertise perfectly.

Say you’re running a baseball card store. Why would the media want to contact you, you might wonder. What if a newspaper, radio or TV station wants to do a story on how steroid use in professional sports is affecting the sale of sports memorabilia like baseball cards? You should be the one they call.

There are more media outlets today than ever before, more stories printed and aired about current topics than ever before. So more experts are needed to fill that space and airtime, answer important questions, shed light on hot topics–everything from child care to addiction, behavioral problems to the latest tech devices, living green to ways of saving money. Think about it: The media needs an expert to turn to in almost every field. Today the public wants to hear from somebody who is an expert in a particular area, not just from a news commentator.

Why are you reading what someone else in your field is saying? Shouldn’t you be the one being interviewed?

Establishing yourself

So how do these media outlets know to call you?

Because you’ve established yourself as an expert. How? Speak about your business and the latest trends in your field before local organizations, including:

• community and civic groups
• churches and other houses of worship
• schools and PTAs
• senior citizens’ groups
• business groups like the chamber of commerce
• trade associations

You can speak before these groups on an annual or a semi-annual basis. Most groups are happy to hear from someone who would like to present a free program. Talk about something in your business that is topical, something that people are hearing about in the news. Give them your take on the subject. Let them ask questions, and be ready to answer the tough ones. Show that you have solutions, that you really know your topic, that you really know your business.

Bring some material along that you can hand out to people about the topic you’re discussing. Preferably, distribute something you have written on the topic, with your name, your company’s name, and all your contact information printed on it.

Send out press releases each time you speak. They may not always get in the local newspaper or on TV, but the press release will keep reminding the local media that you are out there talking about this topic. Make sure you include the date, time, place, and topic of your talk, and which group you are addressing. Always include a way for the media to get in touch with you (including by phone and by e-mail). Make sure your press release contains your company name and what your company does. Try to send a press release out after your talk as well, highlighting some of the key points you brought out in your talk.

Write an op-ed

If something major happens in your field of expertise on the local, state, national, or global stage, send out a short op-ed piece to your local news media about the topic and your views on it. See if your local newspaper would be interested in having you write a guest column on the event or trend. If not, you could write a pointed letter to the editor about what happened. Be sure to sign your guest column or letter to the editor with your name, your title, and your company’s name. Your letter to the editor may not always get published, but the editors will see your name and that keeps your name on their minds.

Editors will put your name and contact information on file, and when they want to do a story on the topic, they will have a reporter contact you. When a big story breaks, there usually isn’t time to start looking for experts. So reporters are going to go to the experts they know, people they’re familiar with. Any time you do get quoted, that’s free publicity for you. It puts your name out in the public, ahead of your competitors. You’re not only viewed as being in a particular business, but as someone who really knows your field. It’s the all-important credibility factor.

If the news media goes to you for your opinion, then when people in the community need that expertise, they’re going to turn to you as well.

Keep in mind that the media can tell if you really know your stuff. So stay on top of all the trends, have the latest information at your fingertips, be on top of your game at all times.

The benefits

If you’re an expert and your views are out there for the public to see, that will translate into additional business. It’s not being a publicity hound, it’s just good marketing and good marketing is a sound business practice. Prospective customers and clients can’t avail themselves of your talents and expertise if they don’t know you exist.

SEEK OUT FREE LISTINGS

There are more free listings for businesses and services than ever before. Are you taking advantage of all these free listings? You should be.

A free listing is free publicity. It’s worth taking the time to research the free listings in your area and make sure your business is listed. Free listings are available in the brochures, newsletters, and websites of non-profit organizations and government agencies, on municipal websites, and in business directories.

Where to find these listings

• Websites promoting a particular town or county often include listings of services and links to the websites of companies offering those services, especially if your company offers a free service of some kind, like a home energy survey.
• Websites of non-profit organizations like animal rescue groups might be looking to include the names of companies in the immediate area that work with animals, such as obedience schools, doggie day care centers, kennels, and groomers. Neighborhood watch programs are happy to include links to area locksmiths, security services, and emergency clinics.
• Sometimes local weekly newspapers or pennysavers will run free listings of businesses or services offered in a particular area.
• Realtors and town clerks publish newcomer’s guides that are given out free to people who move into the community, and area services are listed in these guides. The guides help newcomers get acquainted with the area. These are good places to be listed, and editors of these guides are usually looking for information they can include in these publications. It’s a way of getting your business name out to people as soon as they move into the area.
• If you provide a service to a targeted group, sometimes these groups have a tool they use to communicate with their membership. Do you have a business or provide a service of particular interest to senior citizens? The local senior citizens’ group might have a newsletter that contains a list of these businesses or service providers. Have a business or provide a service that new moms might be interested in? Many communities have groups for new moms; some hospitals sponsor these groups as well. They, too, might have a newsletter or do mailings or e-mailings to let members know about a business or service in their area that caters to them.

Once again, it may take some research to find these groups, but the time you spend will be well worth it, when you see new customers streaming through the door.

The benefits

These free listings often go to a targeted audience, a mailing list or group of people you otherwise couldn’t get to. May not even know about. If the listings are contained in a brochure or newsletter, it’s printed at no cost to you. If the brochure or newsletter is mailed out, the mailing doesn’t cost you anything. If it’s e-mailed, it’s sent to e-mail addresses you probably don’t have, wouldn’t have a way of getting, and it probably will be opened by the recipients because it’s coming from a person or an organization they know and trust. Providing this information to these lists is actually doing something to help the community or the organization you’re providing it to. It’s a completely win-win situation.

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR BUSINESS CARDS

You do business in lots of places. You get to know many people. Will they help you promote your business if you help promote theirs?

Have a special business card printed up that not only has the essentials, like your business name, address, phone number, website, and e-mail address, but also lists the services you offer and the type of products you carry. Use both sides of the card if you have to. Carry a lot of these cards with you. Always keep a supply in your car. Then leave the cards wherever you do business, especially in places where there’s a lot of foot traffic.

Where to put these cards

Think of all the places where you do business every day and see if you can display your cards there.

• The local coffee shop.
• The newspaper store.
• Restaurants you patronize.
• Your hair salon or barber shop.
• The local pizza parlor.
• Your drugstore.
• Your doctor’s office.
• The liquor store.
• Your veterinarian’s office.
• The dry cleaners.
• The local hardware store.

Any business where you have a special working relationship might let you display your business cards, and you can offer to display their cards in return. The possibilities are limitless.

Don’t forget to print up this same kind of business card for your employees, and ask them to put them out wherever they can. Increased business benefits the whole company.

The benefits

Exchanging business cards is a simple, inexpensive and effective way of getting the word out about your business. Not only are you gaining free additional exposure, but these other businesses are, too. You both can get new business by spreading the word among an array of different customers, people who you might not come in contact with any other way.

In addition, you are providing another service to your customers by letting them know about a business in the area that they may need. People are always looking for referrals, and this is a great way to help them out.

This allows you to network with other businesses as well as networking with potential customers. It’s basically a form of word of mouth advertising.

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER

These are some surefire ways of marketing your business. Sound like a lot of work? It really isn’t.

Once you set up a solid marketing program, after a while it will take on a life of its own. Sure, you’ll have to tweak it every now and then. But once you get into the swing of sending out press releases, knowing who to contact in the media, making sure the media knows how to contact you, identifying promising speaking opportunities, having your written material ready to hand out, and knowing where to put out your business cards, your marketing campaign will become a fully functioning component of your business that will probably take a minimal amount of your time but will have a major impact on your client base.

Look at all the work you’re putting into establishing your business. Isn’t it worth the effort to market it as well? Your business is your product. Marketing is how you sell it.

Niche markets enable small companies to compete with the giants. Niche businesses can provide their customers with a variety of choices in a specific product or service area. Companies seeking to appeal to a targeted sector of customers are now focusing on a narrow line of products, like lotions and soaps, plus sizes, skin care, chocolate, sneakers, condiments, vitamins, organic food, surfboarding products, natural cosmetics, mature women’s clothing, and natural pet food. Combine the targeted products with quality service and you have a winning formula.

It goes back to the days of the corner hardware store, a place where customers could go to get whatever they needed to fix something, and also find a knowledgeable store employee who could give them some advice on how to do the job. National chains just can’t compete with that. Big box stores are trying to serve everyone in the community by offering just about one of everything.

The niche market has a different appeal, concentrating on a specific product line and the customers who need those products.

One of the fastest-growing niche markets is the sneaker market. Big chains can’t offer every type of sneaker and all the brands customers are looking for. That leaves the door open for sneaker stores that can entice their customers with sneakers designed for running, walking, tennis, volleyball, basketball, cross-training or lots of other activities. These sneaker specialty stores can also fill their shelves with sneakers in an array of colors for the fashion-forward sneaker aficionado.

These niche stores fill a very important need. For instance, there is a whole market opening up in clothing for husky children. In the past, this was a totally overlooked market. But there is a real need for this type of clothing, and parents and kids are not going to find what they’re looking for–certainly not a wide-ranging selection–in a big chain store.

These niche stores generally have well-trained employees who know the products they sell, and if they don’t have an item in stock, they know where to find it. Return customers are critical to these businesses; satisfied customers are a must. The standard big chain answer to a customer query–”Whatever’s out there is what we have”–just won’t cut it in a niche business.

Paying attention to customers, knowing what they want, and offering free services that chains might charge for, such as home delivery and assembly–that’s what drives customers to these businesses.

Not every niche business will be successful in every region, and that’s where a good business school education comes in. Business schools teach students how to conduct market research to determine if there is a customer base and customer interest in a particular niche product and to identify those customers and reach out to them. Demographics figures into this process as well. There may not be a need for two sneaker stores within a 10-mile (16km) radius, so why open a second one? However, perhaps that area doesn’t have a store that caters to holistic shoppers, might need one, and you could tap into that niche market. Finding the right niche product and opening up a business in the right locale are as important as providing good customer service.

But what if an area can sustain two niche sneaker stores or two niche clothing stores–or even more? Then it might be worthwhile for someone to consider opening up a distributorship for that niche product to serve these stores. That propels the growth of the entire niche industry.

Here’s something to think about: While the big retailers reported a somewhat disappointing Christmas 2007 season at the cash register, sales at niche retailers were reported up during the same period.

Now that Americans have some extra stimulus package cash coming, retailers are hoping you’ll feel flush. Consumers this year are expected to demonstrate their love in a bigger way than ever before. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2008 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, average consumers expect to spend $122.98 on Valentine’s Day, up from $119.67 last year. This adds up to over $17 billion spent on Valentine’s Day. And this is just one of the many holidays American’s traditionally celebrate.

Success In The Cards
The old standbys – candy, flowers and jewelry – are making way for fresher options like gift cards an nights out. But cards are still the top choice, accounting for 60% of Valentine’s Day spending. At just a few dollars a card, that’s a lot of paper. In a 2006 study by the International Mass Retail Association estimated the number of valentines exchanged in the U.S at over a billion.

The number of cards given at Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas. Because cards are such a big piece of the business, Hallmark wants to make sure you find just the right thing to say. That’s why they offer over 2,000 Valentine’s card designs.

Getting Women To Spend
Historically, men have spent more on Valentine’s Day. This year’s predicted average is made up of and average amount spent of $163.37 for men and $84.72 for women. But Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers. Women will likely by the cards children give to classmates. Additionally greeting card companies are creating more and more cards specific to children and other relatives.

Then there are our new babies. Blame it on those cute mini-dogs in the arms of all the socialites, or give credit to savvy marketers, but pets are hot. When it comes to expressing sentiment on holidays, pets are no exception. Consumers are expected to spend $367 million on pet valentines this year.

Industries Most Affected
Restaurants – Valentine’s Day beats out every other day of the year except for Mother’s Day. Over 45% of Americans plan to dine out, either as a couple or with the whole family.

Candy – Walk down the candy aisle at your local grocery store and you’ll see how sweets suppliers are cashing in on every holiday with specialized packaging, including holiday specific wrap and bundling products together in a basket-like offering.

Flowers – It is easier than ever to make sure you never forget a holiday. And convenient to order online. To help, sites like BigDates.com and American Greetings ask for key relationships and important dates and then send reminders for every possible gift giving opportunity.

“Valentine’s Day is a great time to get creative with gift options,” said National Retail Federation President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Most people agree that it’s the thought that counts, but shelves will also be filled with traditional gifts for those who want to celebrate the old-fashioned way.”

Yeah right, the thought. That’ll make your girlfriend happy. Play it safe and buy the card.

High Tech Retail Requires Special Skills

Wal-Mart suppliers use sophisticated software programs to access to sales data online in real time. Suppliers need account reps who can make constant decisions about the information they receive. Under-performing sellers must be replaced with new items based on the numbers.

Basic category management skills for Wal-Mart suppliers include the ability to work with software programs like RetailLink and ProSpace as well as the analytical skills to use the date received. Students use technology to optimize allocation of products, identify inventory problems, design displays, and instantly see the effects of changes.

Growing Talent Through Targeted Education

Wal-Mart requires its suppliers to maintain an office near their headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Having all that talent in one geographic area pays off. Wal-Mart has worked closely with retail experts from among their suppliers and Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) to design education targeted at training potential retail analysts.

NWACC provides software training as well as education in other aspects of Category Management needed for the new world of retail. The program is designed to appeal to those beginning their retail career as well as those looking to change fields or expand their retail knowledge. Fortune 500 companies hire from the pool of analysts who have received education in he retail business, including advanced computer and statistical skills.

Marketing Analyst Certification

NWACC’s Marketing Analyst Program prepares students for the retail industry. In addition to core business classes like accounting and economics, retail students take classes with titles like Merchandising and Data Analysis, Retail Fundamentals, and Internet Resourcing. These customized courses are taught by working professionals in the Wal-Mart vendor community. Students in the certificate program are taught key software programs, such as RetailLink, with the emphasis on practical business case studies.

According to Marshall McCall, Executive Director of Retail Programs, as of January 2008, new student enrollment had more than doubled when compared to the same semester of the prior year. This spring there are 213 students enrolled.
“The enrollments also speak to the quality of real-life instruction provided by the instructors, all of whom are members of the retail community here in northwest Arkansas,” McCall said.

Success Breeds Partnership

In October, 2007, the Wal-Mart Foundation contributed $600,000 to NWACC to help create a new associate’s degree in business management with a retail emphasis. This expanded on the certificate program to provide a sound business education foundation with a focus on retail management and marketing. Students complete four certificates within the degree: retail management, business ethics, quantitative analysis (statistics), and communications.

The retail program benefits the world beyond Wal-Mart too. The skills leaned there are applicable to careers in real estate, marketing, human resources, finance, and information technology. What’s next WBS – Wal-Mart Business School? It may not be far away. In the meantime, if you want to break into retail – get yourself to Arkansas and enroll in community college.

More than 140 million Americans watched the big game, and that figure is about the same every year no matter who the combatants are on the field. That translates into 40 percent of all households. Add to that more than 750 news outlets, giving the championship game tons of free publicity. So if you tie a business or product into Super Sunday, you can get quite a ride.

The National Retail Federation reported that more than $5.5 million was spent on food and merchandise for this year’s game. That means there’s a lot of money made by smart retailers and marketers who found a way for their business to play off the Super Bowl.

So this is where those marketing classes come in handy. For instance, with the media making the Super Bowl a larger-than-life happening, electronics marketers went after the big bucks by convincing folks that there was no better way to watch the big game than on a big-screen TV. For several weeks before the game, big electronics chains ran TV commercials showing happy fans watching a football game on a new, large-screen, high-definition TV, and sales for those TVs rose significantly.

There were plenty of other marketing coups that helped make Super Bowl XLII a big win for business. And not everything was a big-ticket item.

Make note of these clever marketing ploys:

• A group of florists in New Jersey got together and ran newspaper ads, offering Super Bowl bouquets of flowers that male fans could buy for their sweethearts to soften the blow of another full Sunday of football.
• For Super Bowl parties, there were specially printed paper napkins, paper plates, cups, tablecloths, streamers, even centerpieces with the Super Bowl and team emblems emblazoned on them. There were also mylar balloons, in the shape of footballs, with the Super Bowl logo on them. Your theme party was complete.
• There were souvenirs galore, and not just at the stadium where the game was played. All kinds of retailers got in on the action–grocery stores, bookstores, even pharmacies were all selling Super Bowl souvenirs, including programs, T-shirts, caps, buttons, blankets, and bumper stickers. Many of those retail outlets sold the souvenirs as a way of getting customers in the store, discounting souvenir prices if you bought a minimum dollar amount of their core products.
• Many manufacturers tried to distinguish their products by paying for permission to print the Super Bowl logo on their packaging, making these products stand out from the competition and a natural fit for the big game. Some manufacturers even created special Super Bowl point-0f-sale displays for their products that were placed in supermarkets and discount chain stores.
• Food. We can’t forget the food. Nachos, subs, pizzas, buffalo wings, potato chips, pretzels, soda and beer–all fan favorites at Super Bowl parties. Takeouts and delis were buzzing.
• The Wing Zone, a national buffalo wings fast food chain with stores in 25 states, reported selling 1 million wings for Super Sunday. The business jumped right on the back of the Super Bowl and ran ads encouraging fans to pre-order their wings. Fans could pick up their wings, but if they ran out, the store had a delivery service all set up to rush a new supply over to any Super Bowl parties. Now if some clever marketer can only thing of something to do with the rest of the chicken.