Small Business Marketing Manual

Forward:

08/30/04

This book was written ten years ago in 1994 prior to the popular commercialization of the internet. Many of the concepts outlined here are still very useful and can be applied to any small business. Using these concepts in addition and in conjunction with internet based marketing can create very effective results.

- WW

Chapter 1:  ON LOCATION MARKETING

COST: VARIABLE
We are going to discuss five types of in-store marketing:

The Telephone
Suggestive Selling
Bag Stuffers
Signage & Store Displays
Decor

The Telephone

The telephone is a powerful marketing device. Whenever a customer calls your business they should be greeted the same way. First you should thank them for calling, next you should identify your business and/or yourself and finally you should mention any specials or promotions going on.

One very important thing is to keep it short! People are usually in a hurry so they don’t want to sit and listen to some drawn out spiel. Here is an example of a good phone greeting:> “Thank you for calling The Fashion Firm,all our shoes are half price this week.”

Another: “Thanks for calling Pizza express. This is Bob. Would you like to try our Steal of a Pizza Deal?”

Always be courteous. A phone call is often the first contact a customer has with a business. First impressions are very important. In a business relationship the first phone call can make or break a sale and win or lose a possible repeat customer.

Suggestive Selling

Suggestive sales are simple and effective. Every time someone buys something, suggest an accessory or complimentary item or service. Large companies have spent lots of money to research this form of marketing. Statistics prove that suggestive selling works.

I’m sure you’ve been asked:  “Would you like fries with that?”

This should be fairly obvious but to make it affective, you must do it without fail.

Bag Stuffers

If your customers receive a bag or any kind of package then you should use bag stuffers. Bag stuffers are simply a flyer that you attach to the outside of the bag or box that your product comes in. They are much less effective placed inside the package because they are less visible.

Your bag stuffer should contain the following:

1. Your name, logo, phone number, and address.
2. A Coupon or an announcement of a sale, details of an upcoming promotion or some kind of incentive to come back.
3. Artwork is optional but will make your stuffer more appealing.

All your packaging should have something of this nature affixed to it.

Signage & Store Displays

Signage is an important aspect of on location marketing. Outdoors you should have at least one large sign with your name and logo displayed.

The outside of your location should be painted in your color scheme. If you have a large wall, have a sign painted directly on it. Colorful artwork will draw attention to your business. A lighted sign is good even if you don’t have evening hours, people will see you at night and be aware of your location.

If you have store front windows you should have window displays that change at least every six weeks. Windows are a good place to put signs advertising specials or promotions. You should be able to get poster board signs made at your local; copy shop.

Your business hours should be easily read from the outside of your business. Don’t waste space, but don’t clutter either. Remember signs are not ads, use the minimum amount of words possible to describe your business.

Indoor signage is important too. You should have signs that tell what kind of payments you will accept. Do you accept credit cards? What about financing?

A Display is simply a way to present merchandise or present a service. A display could be a pyramid of dog food cans or an outfit on a mannequin.  Displays are used to give an extra push to specific merchandise.Use signage and displays to announce upcoming sales, promotions, etc. That will give your customers an extra reason to come back.

Decor

Your business decor is very important. The inside of your business should be clean and pleasant. The interior should compliment the products or service you offer, not distract from them. Unless you have a special place in a customer waiting area, you should never have a television set on.
Talk about distracting!

Good lightning is essential.

Music can be a nice touch, as long as it’s not overbearing.

If you keep music playing have a small speaker installed outside your door. This will spread your atmosphere outside and draw people in.

APPENDICES:  Marketing Plans

APPENDIX A:

Restaurant / Food Services

• Announce daily specials in your phone greeting.
• Have servers suggest appetizers, drinks and dessert.
• Include coupons and new menu items on carry out bags and doggie bags. These can also be distributed along with menus to all the businesses in the area. People are always looking for somewhere new to eat lunch.
• Use signs inside and out showing daily specials or special menu items.
• Expand the decor of your restaurant to add to the total experience. If you have a bar area put in video games, a juke box, televise sporting events, or invite small music groups during dinner. One very popular restaurant in Columbus has a flute player and cellist perform during dinner in add ambiance. A macrobiotic cafe in Detroit has a solo acoustic guitar player perform for lunch.
• If you have a family-oriented restaurant, give away balloons with your logo on them. Kids love balloons. See advertising specialties.)
• Offer “dinner for two” specials, group dinners, etc. on your menu.
• Have your customers sign up for your mailing list to receive monthly coupons.
• Hold drawings for free lunches and dinners. Leave a fish bowl for people to drop their business cards into for the drawing.
• Promote business lunches. Offer incentives such as reserved tables, service from the head waiter, or having the head chef come and cheek on the guest. Put this information in a brochure far local businesses. When they want to impress a client they will know where to take them in your Yellow Pages ad, mention your best and most unique dishes.
• Co-Op advertise with local retailers: “Come down to the Main Street Cafe, have lunch and shop at Barbara’s Fashions. Mikes Antiques etc.”
• Sponsor local theater and musical entertainers. Invite them in a free dinner after their performances.
• Advertise your specials in local entertainment publications.
• Use coupons/flyers as inserts in a 2-3 mile radius of your location.
• Have after dinner mints and matchbooks with your restaurant name printed on them.
• Give away dinners for contest winners on a local radio station.
• Have eye-catching artwork on your menu. The price of short-run full color reproductions has come down drastically with the introduction of color laser copiers. A full color menu can add much to the ambiance.
• Print placemats that can he colored with crayons to keep the kids busy while waiting for their food.
• On your customer’s birthday give them a free birthday cake with candles and have your servers singing happy birthday. If it’s their twenty-first birthday, give them a free cocktail or bottle of wine. Just put a sign in your lobby that says “Let us know if it’s your birthday!”
• Make your customers feel special.
• All servers should wear similar outfits (if not uniforms). Everyone should wear name tags at all times, and smile at all times. The first thing servers should do when seating a customer is to introduce themselves. This is a golden rule.

APPENDIX B:

Bars / Nightclubs

• Announce drink specials in your phone greeting, announce specials and upcoming events on your answering machine, and use your number as a hotline for weekly events.
• Have servers and bartenders suggest mixed drinks and pitchers, etc.
• Have a sign at your enhance announcing drink specials and upcoming events.
• Make an area for video games, bar type games, juke boxes, pool tables, televised sporting events, a karaoke machine.
• Bring in live music, have local clothing stores hold a fashion show in your club.
• Giveaways are a little different when dealing with bars and night clubs. The best thing to do is give away a round of drinks to your regulars every once and a while. In a bar, your regulars are a large part of your business and probably bring in more customers than you would expect. Treating them special will have definite positive effects.
• Co-op advertise with local clothing stores and eating establishments that your clientele frequent.
• Advertising in local entertainment publications and on radio stations is the best avenue for bars and night clubs.
• Announce your weekly agenda, what kind of music you will have on a specific night, what D.J. will be playing bands, drink specials (most states do not allow prices to be advertised)
• Bring in guest D.J.’s from neighboring cities.
• Get key chains for your regulars for free admission or just to give away.
• The best thing to do is promote special promotions for different nights. Here are a few examples:
  • Ladies night - Ladies get in free and get special drink prices until midnight.
  • Men’s night - No cover charge, have a female revue. Waitresses in bikini’s.
  • Mug night - Bring in your own mug (up to a certain size, say 32 oz, ) and fill it with draft beer for a special price.
  • Theme nights - Pick a wacky movie and have people who dress up as a character from the movie get in free. Play parts of the soundtrack throughout the night.
  • Two for one night - Make drinks Buy one, Get one free up to a certain time. This can help pick up business on a slower night.
  • All you can drink - Beer and well drinks for one admission price.
  • Mexican night - All Tequila drinks at a special price.
  • Import night - Specials on imported beers.
  • Reggae night, Latino night, etc.
• If you have a nightclub you could use your walls for gallery space, have a monthly opening with different local artists, have an opening reception a few hours before you normally open.
• This way your decor is always fresh and interesting.

APPENDIX C:

IN-HOME SERVICE-HOME REPAIR-LANDSCAPING

• Use your vehicle as a rolling billboard. You can have your vehicle painted or use magnetic signs to display your services, logo, and phone number. This is especially effective when parked in neighborhoods you’re working in. All the neighbors see your name and number.
• Classified advertising can be very effective for this type of business.
• One of the most effective ways to market this business is by going door to door and dropping off door-hangers or flyers. Offer a coupon and list your services on the flyer. If possible use pictures of successful projects you have completed. Customer testimonials are also very effective. For instance “Johns repair service fixed my leaky gutters in no time at all and the price was right.” - Bob M. neighborhood resident.  This way you can hit the specific neighborhoods you want to work in.
• Find a pizza or other food delivery service in the area you want to work in. See if you can do some co-op advertising with them.
• Every home you do work for should go on your mailing list. Every month you can offer a special and send out postcards notifying your past customers. You can also buy mailing lists for specific zip codes.
• Inserts are also good for reaching certain areas.
• Mention your specialty in your Yellow Pages ad.

APPENDIX D:

RETAIL MERCHANDISE - CLOTHING - GIFTS

• Announce sales in phone greeting.
• Suggest accessories
• Compile a mailing list by having a giveaway. Mail out monthly announcements of sales, etc.
• Change indoor signage and displays regularly.
• Mention what makes you unique in your advertising, including the Yellow Pages.
• Co-op advertise with other retailers in your immediate area. If you get enough people involved you can purchase an entire page in a weekly paper and promote the area you’re in.  For example, the ad headline could read: “Great Shopping at Fifth and Main” and then divide up the rest of the space to give each participating business section.
• Sponsorship works well with retail business. The important thing is to sponsor events that appeal to your customers.
• Classified ads can work well for specialty items. Classifieds are ideal for clearance merchandise. Offer gift certificates through other non­competitive businesses. If you are close to a florist, make them available to the floral customers. If someone is getting flowers for a friend, have them offer a package that includes a gift certificate for your store. The florist will make money by purchasing the gift certificates from you at a discount.

Copyright 1994