Tuesday November 16, 2010 6PM

Cheap Marketing Ideas for Your Business
For all you business owners in the Colorado Springs area I will be speaking on more cheap marketing ideas at the Black Chamber of Commerce on Nov 16, 2010 at 6PM. Ways to market your business and yourself when there is little or no money in the budget. It's at the Southeast YMCA on Jet Wing Dr. in Colo Springs. There is no cost and they love guests to come, everyone is welcome. This is my 3rd visit to their meetings and you will leave with some new ideas to use in your business. No reservation just show up and ask what room the chamber meeting is in at the front desk. See you there.

Street Smart Ideas

So where do you find these "street smart ideas" to make you a leader rather than a follower? They are all around you, just take the time to look. When you visit another business observe what you like and don't like about how they operate and treat customers. It does matter whether it's a difeerent industry than yours, ideas are easily interchangable. Also, check out many different websites to what is attractive and informative that you can use on your site. Check how often they make changes to their site especially to the home page. New ideas are everywhere and you just need to pay attention.

Some of the largest corporations in the world never had an original idea or innovation. They just enhanced, improved and did massive promotion of ideas they found elsewhere. When you see something at another business that you feel that you can use in your business think of how you customers and prospects will perceive it. Then make adjustments to the idea so it fits you business. New ideas that can benefit customers, provide better service, reduce costs and increase profits are everywhere if you are observant and ask questions. More on this in chapter 92 of my book "The Jelly Bean Principle"

Street Smart Ideas

Ways to Have Fun at Work

.Listen to upbeat music while doing easy tasks
.Hold meetings outdoors
.Join a team that supports local charities
.Think from a different angle
.Brainstorm for new ideas
.Bring donuts or candy to meetings
.Organize a potluck lunch
.Be yourself and smile
.Start an in-house blog
.Ask fellow employees about their interests
.Give praise to a job well done
.Wear something silly on casual Friday
.Have a 5 minute game to start a meeting
.Do something outside-the-box

The Unpredictable

Events or situations that you don't expect to happen and they can hold back or bring your business to a standstill. Having a cintingency plan can get you back to normal faster.
.Weather related-Tornados, hurricanes, heavy rain or snow
.National disasters-earthquakes and tsunamis with physical damage
.Volcanos and floods-may happen with little warning, save life before business
.Man-made disasters-terrorist's attacks, wars and military action
.Fires-prevention is the key but if it happens start insurance claims qiuckly
.The economy-downturns can & will happen so be ready to adjust and wait it out.
.Accidents-chemical spills, train wrecks, plane crashes are unfortunate but do happen
.Crime scene-if close to your business it can temporarily close you down
.Employee injury-major job related injuries acn bring a business to a halt, make safety a priority
.Utility outages-they seem to happen when you are most busy, can you have a backup plan?
.Key employees leaves-always cross train employees so this will not be a setback
.Your death-this will happen to all of us but have a transition plan ready

Doing Business in Australia

.Men should wear a conservative dark business suit and tie
.Women may wear a dress, business suit or skirt and blouse
.Shake hands when meeting and leaving
.Don't over hype yourself, your company or products
.Sightseeing and sports are good conversational topics
.Exchanging business cards is common among professionals
.Opinionated discussions are respected and entertaining\
.Be and active and intent listener
.Australians are very friendly and open but directness and brevity are appreciated

Ten Marketing Mistakes

1. Trying to outsmart the market-You can't make customers buy but you can change your offer
2. Loss of focus-failure to pay attention to your customers objectives instead of your own
3. Lack of marketing-You must keep promoting your products and services in good and bad times.
4. Underestimating repeat business-the only way to grow your business and survive in tough times is repeat customers
5. Poor customer service-treat customers with honesty, promptness, respect and a smile.
6. Failure to test-whether it's direct mail or launching a new product, monitor the early results before you make a big investment
7. Give up on publicity-free promotion for your your business does not happen every time keep trying with new ideas
8. Failure to watch competitors-Know their changes and offers when or before they make them. Check their website often.
9. Failure to change-when the market changes don't just sit there and watch, be on the cutting edge
10. Not being street smart-everything doesn't happen like the textbook, learn and succeed by doing