Develop an effective benefit message and you’re well on your way to building your company’s entire marketing program. After all, you need focus to create success. Without it you can wind up expending effort without getting the reward (income, that is) you’re looking for.

Start with these three ingredients:

Gather the information and chart it. What you’re looking for is a hole where there’s a customer need that you address and hopefully, the competition doesn’t.

Found it? That’s the core of your message. Found several holes? You’ll need to prioritize.

Now, write alternative introductory sentences. Remember, they need to be customer-benefit oriented, that is, they need to explain what the customer GETS. Got your alternatives ready? Here are seven questions to ask of potential benefit messages. They’ll help you find the promise or message that will get you the most mileage:

1) Is it meaningful?

This is where knowledge of the customer comes into play. Your benefit message should be based on the real needs of the people who use your products or services.

2) Is it sustainable?

Establishing your unique position doesn’t happen overnight. The message you choose should be based on what you can deliver long term.

3) Is it believable?

Can you keep the promise you’re making? For example, if your benefit message centers on “superior service,” do you understand what your customers’ expectations are? Are you committed to making good on this promise over time?

4) Is it unique?

Often there are many providers of a product or service. How do you set yourself apart from the rest of the pack?

5) Is it concrete and easy to understand?

If you ask your audience to think too hard, they probably won’t! Simple, straight-forward messages work best.

6) Is it in your own words?

If you’re going to be saying this as an introduction to your business, you need to be comfortable with the words and phrasing. Practice saying messages out loud to test them.

7) Is it attention-grabbing?

You can’t bore someone into buying! Use words that demonstrate your passion, your understanding of client needs. Use words that engage interest.

Test your message with prospects. Watch for their reactions. Ask what they like and don’t like. You might get stuck. If that happens, a marketing and communications consultant can craft alternative benefit statements, provide an objective viewpoint, even handle the up-front research.

About The Author

Claire Cunningham, president of Clairvoyant Communications, Inc., has 20+ years’ experience developing and implementing successful business-to-business marketing and communications programs. Sign up for Claire’s monthly newsletter, Communique, at www.clairvoyantcommunications.com. Claire can be reached at 763-479-3499 or e-mail to claire@claircomm.com

1. Spend money on decent quality business cards. Home made cards just don’t compare to the quality of professionally printed cards. Your cards reflect your business - do you really want your cards screaming cheap!

2. Always hand out two business cards – one for the prospect and one for them to handout to a colleague.

3. Enter your business cards in Free Lunch draws at restaurants.

4. Make your card unique in size, shape or texture. You want your card to stand out from the crowd. There are very nice folded cards that will provide more room to detail your services.

5. Leave your business cards everywhere you go – leave one on the table in a restaurant, post a few on community bulletin boards.

6. Tuck one of your business cards inside of library books – especially books related to your services. Perhaps someone who is researching databases will decide to save him or herself the trouble and will hire you instead!

7. Include business cards with your invoices, or bill payments.

8. Quite often, you will see vehicles lettered with their business info parked in parking lots – tuck your business card in the window on the driver’s door.

9. Are you attending a trade or consumer show? Use your business card as a ballot for the many draws and contests through out the event.

10. When handing out a business card to a prospecting take the time to write a personal message on the back of the card. This could be a promotion or discount or even your cell phone number. This personal message can make the prospect feel special and will save your business card from the dumpster.

11. Make your business card useful. On the backside of the card, include a calendar, map, or even keyboarding shortcuts. Something that will encourage the prospect to hold on to your card.

© 2004-2005 Tanya Beaudoin o/a Office on Demand, All rights reserved. You are free to use this article in its entirety, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify Mrs. Beaudoin as to where the material will appear. The attribution should read: “Tanya Beaudoin, B.A. is a virtual assistant who specializes in e-solutions (including graphic and and web site design) and administrative support for small businesses and non-profit organizations.

Please visit Tanya’s web site at http://www.officeondemand.ca for additional business related articles"

Big and Yellow ‘M’ reminds you McDonalds… ‘DELL’ with oblique E reminds you famous ‘Dell’ computers…

No matter somebody is a beginner or a well established business person, they need to make their products familiar to the people. With so many products and services in the marketplace, what makes your product so unique and familiar?

More simply ‘How will your potential prospect remembers you?’.

Simple answer would be ‘Some uniqueness in your business’. This is otherwise called ‘Branding’.

Two important false believes about branding are:

No matter the business is small or big or local or international, try to make it unique in someway, so your visitor or customer will remembers you.

How to brand Your Business?

1. Logo:

If you are not a graphic designer, hire a professional to create one for you. Your logo should reflect your business, easily understandable to viewers, good colors which don’t lose their quality when you transform them to other media.

2. Tagline or statement below your logo:

This should breif, understandable and go with your business model. Like:

"Logo designing at An Affordable Price"

or

"Logo designing for both Small and Large Businesses"

3. Domain name:

Make it unique and make it familiar to your visitor.

See the name Registerfly.com. They branded it all over their web site like ‘fly through domain registration’, ‘flypack’ etc etc. And their other web sites like whofly.com… Everything goes with or like ‘fly’.

4. Unique advertising methods:

You know… when I want to buy my Dell, I just went through PC Mag and bought recent issue to check out the prices and models. Ofcourse I can go to their web site too. But I think I am so accustomed to see the ads in PC Mags.

5. Good Customer support:

Have you heard of word of mouth? It is so influential too. You will get potential target customer. People will always be impressed by good customer care. They’d love to tell about you to their friends and relatives about your service(s).

6. Email Branding:

Put Your ezine name in your email subject lines. Put your logo in the email message body. Let your subscriber knows that email came from your company.

Here is a service for email branding: http://brandedemail.onletterhead.com/products.aspx

7. Your Product:

Create an unique product. Develop it to an extent that some day if somebody think of your product they will remember your name or company. Or vice versa. This takes little bit time and patience. But sure one can be successful…

Final word: Any other methods you know? Well… I’d be glad you found it

About The Author

Radhika Venkata

Subscribe to ‘EbookBiz Magazine’ which is completely focused on ebook business and Internet Marketing. Receive FREE Ebooks with Resale rights every month!

http://www.ebooks-world.com/freetosell.shtml

Webmaster Resources: List Your product, ezine or web site free!

http://www.webmasters-central.com/

Advertising and promoting your business is expensive, so it’s important to get the most from your advertising budget. That means understanding how to get the most from your ad agency or graphic designer.

Let’s start by understanding the difference between agencies and designers. Typically, a designer will work on specific projects under your direction. For example, you may request an ad design for your Halloween event, and give the designer your copy (the text) and the party theme. You are responsible for booking the ad with the newspaper, getting flyers printed, having posters made, etc.

An ad agency plays a more active role in planning the promotion of your events. They can work with you to plan your ad schedule, suggest the right mix of promotional tools to reach your audience, help you evaluate the effectiveness of your promotions, and negotiate ad rates and printing rates on your behalf. They can also help with choosing promotional themes and writing ad copy. Of course, you will pay more for these additional services - but you may actually save money by letting your agency do your negotiations and booking.

Whether you are working with a designer or a full-service agency, it pays to plan ahead. If you can plan your advertising a year in advance you should be able to lock in much better ad rates. Leaving a couple of extra weeks when printing flyers will save you "rush printing" charges. And giving your designer extra lead time will almost certainly get you a better looking result!

A typical small agency might require final "concept and copy" at least a week in advance of newspaper deadlines, four weeks in advance of distribution for printed materials like flyers (to avoid rush charges), and six to eight weeks in advance for complicated projects (such as die-cut and folded invitations). Many business owners don’t understand why final copy is required so far in advance… they ask the designer to do a design, and add the text later. But in a good design, text and typography are very important to the look of the piece. So if you want your advertising to look good, plan on providing the copy when you give the job to the designer.

The above lead times allow time for the client to proof the final artwork, and make minor corrections, based on a single design. But when working with a new designer, or when promoting an important event, you may want to see several design concepts, and possibly several versions of the artwork. This can add one to two weeks to the schedule (more for very complex ads), and of course will cost more than a single design.

When ordering the work, make sure the designer understands your market and the image you are going for. For example, you may look at a design and say, "That’s not cool enough for our market." Another business manager may look at the same ad and say, "Whoa, that’s way too weird for our customers." Show your designer ads you like (and don’t like) to help them understand the look you want for your business.

But what if you don’t like the designs your agency produces?

Well, you obviously shouldn’t run an ad that you feel really damages your image, doesn’t convey your message, or isn’t what you requested. But at the same time, avoid the temptation to micro-manage the design. You are paying your designer for their professional skills; their judgment is probably better than yours when it comes to layout, typefaces, color choices, etc. Also, if designers feel that the work they do for you is going to be extensively changed, they won’t give you their best efforts.

So find an agency or designer whose work you like, and trust their design sense. If you find you consistently don’t like the work they’re producing, talk to them about the problem, and if necessary find another design firm. But don’t spend your time trying to "fix" the designs.

It’s also very important that one person from your business deals with the design firm, and has final authority on all design and copy decisions (many agencies will insist on this). If a designer is getting conflicting input from several people, they can’t do a good job for you. If you need to, talk about the design with everyone at your business who is involved in the decision… but select one person to convey your feedback to the design firm. (A good design firm can schedule meetings with clients where everyone can contribute ideas and feedback - as long as one person represents the client when it comes to final input and decisions.) Note that this can be complicated when co-op advertisers or sponsors are involved. Typically the person or company being invoiced provides the input, unless they specifically designate a different person.

So far we’ve talked about printed advertising and promotion, but for most businesses, the internet has also become an important promotional tool. Print design, web design, and e-mail promotions require different skills and tools, so you may use different firms for each. However, there are some advantages if you can find a single firm to handle all your needs. The design firm can make sure that your print and web communications project a consistent image. And you will only need to provide your event information and promotional goals to one firm, who can then make sure that the print ads are placed, the website is updated, and the e-mail invitations are sent. Some firms can also handle other design tasks, including menus, signs, and promotional items.

Typically, in order to get this range of services, you’ll need to work with a mid-size agency or design firm. There are advantages and disadvantages to choosing large or small agencies:

An individual designer (free-lancer) or very small agency can give you personal attention and often lower rates. But you will need to work around their schedule if they are out sick or on vacation, and you will need to find a new designer if they change jobs. Individuals and very small agencies probably cannot provide a complete package of design services.

Mid-size firms give your somewhat less individual attention, and may charge a higher rate than free-lancers. But on the plus side, they can provide a broader range of services, and they have several designers on staff so they can accommodate your needs even if someone is out, or if you need a lot of work done for a key event.

Large firms can offer a full range of services and a large staff to meet all your needs. Unless you are a large account, you will probably get little personal attention. (In fact, in a large firm, the smaller accounts are often given to junior designers and trainees.)

So, how should you choose?

Above all, find a firm whose work you like! Ask for samples and references, and if possible meet with the designers before making a selection.

Decide if you want to hire a design firm (and manage the ad planning and placement yourself) or an ad agency to provide more assistance with your promotional planning (most ad agencies will also provide "design only" packages if you prefer).

Find a firm that is large enough to meet your needs, but small enough to care about your business. We typically find that local, neighborhood businesses are best served by free-lance designers or very small firms; regional or metro-market businesses do well with mid-size firms, and major national companies get the best results from large firms (and can afford to pay for them).

Talk to the firm about how you will measure the effectiveness of your advertising. It’s a good idea to try different types of advertising over time to see what works best for you. Consider coupons and special offers to measure how many people are responding to your ads.

Remember that even the best advertising campaign gets stale over time. Plan for (and budget for) occasional reworking you advertising. Most designers respond very well to an opportunity to do something new for a client, and you will get the best results from both your design firm and your customers if you freshen your advertising every 6-12 months.

Thanks to LunaGraphica Inc (http://www.lunagraphica.com) for input and suggestions on this article! Lunagraphica is a boutique advertising and design agency specializing in the arts, entertainment and youth markets.

Bob Nicholson / WYGK Consulting provides business, technology and strategic consulting for small businesses, internet start-ups and entrepreneurs.

Visit http://www.wygk.com

Now that everyone has conformed to Living Your Brand on the Web, Part 1, it’s time to add a couple of tweaks that will further reinforce your brand.

Tweak #1: Your Signature File

A signature file is the simple text that, once activated is attached to your email automatically. It is the simplest and the most effective way to get a message across. Some are funny, some are serious and some consider another point of view, but in any case, any professional should use one and keep it updated.

Every signature file should include complete contact information so customers can contact you in their time. A signature can also include a tag line that reinforces your company’s brand. Consider the following two options:

Good Signature File:
Mark Wilson
President, Wilson Widgets
876-555-1234
mark@wilsonwidgets.com
www.wilsonwidgets.com

Better Signature File:
Mark Wilson
Wilson Widgets
"We’ve Got Your Widgets Right Here"
876-555-1234
888-555-9876 toll free
876-555-4321 fax
www.wilsonwidgets.com
Office Hours: M-F 7a-7p

One step further, allowing employees to add a personal message of their own, and it makes for fun reading.

Tweak #2: Subject Line Words of the Email

There are only 40-60 letters to grab the attention of a perspective reader, so choose wisely. Get to the point and give a synopsis of what the email is about. Short, clean and simple is the rule of thumb here. Don’t use words like Free, Fun, Pictures, Warning, or even non-alphanumeric’s (*%&#@) that could be confused with spam. Simply state the message and allow the reader to read on.

The purpose of this is to get as many eyes as possible on your company’s message and brand.

Glenn Geiger is the Director of Interactive Services for Pixallure Design LLC, http://www.pixallure.com. Glenn has worked in Web site design, development, systems administration and management since 1987, including work for DynCorp, Accent Software, GlobalKey, Inc., and Digital Equipment Corp.

This article may be freely distributed as long as the author’s bio is included with an active link to http://www.Pixallure.com.

I got another one of those calls the other day…Can you make me a brochure?" Many business owners have been sold on the notion that they need a tri-fold brochure or they are not in business. Forget it…everybody’s got one and no one uses it.

Your potential clients need an education. They need to know how you are different. (The typical tri-fold brochure simply confirms that you are the same.)

Every small business should create the following pieces of information and format them in a way that allows them be printed inexpensively and updated often. I like to call this approach, the Marketing Kit. Your marketing kit starts with several professionally printed pieces that are the framework for up to 10 or 12 different educational documents. The core components are:

1. A pocket folder - A multi-use workhorse, this piece alone, if designed well, can send the message that you are in business to stay. (This one will cost a little but it has many uses)

2. A marketing template - This should be a professionally printed piece that carries your logo and contact information but is different than your letterhead. This is the base piece then for the following pages that insert into your pocket folder. Your actual marketing files can be MSWord type documents that are laser printed. This gives you the ability to change and update your content and also allows you to tailor your marketing kit content to specific prospects.

Some combination of the following pages should be created for your marketing kit.

+ The Difference Page - Hit them with how you are different and shower them with benefits of doing business with you. Don’t tell them what you do. I like to keep this one to the top 3 or 4 things that you do that your target market will value. Think benefits that are unique

+ A list of services - Okay, now tell them what you do or what you offer.

+ Case Studies - Pick representative clients or industries and outline how your product or service solved someone else’s challenge. People learn in different ways and case studies allow them to see themselves getting relief. I think this format works well. State the situation, the problem, your solution, the result. Over time you can collect more and more of these and draw upon the ones that fit an industry or problem that in relevant to your prospect.

+ Testimonials - Get quotes from real live clients and create a page titled - "See what others have to say about us." These quotes can be some of the strongest selling tools you have. New technologies make it easy to create audio and video testimonials too.

+ Process Description - Show them how you do what you do. Create detailed checklist and flow charts that show them how you keep your promise. In many cases you have these anyway but by making them part of your marketing you can demonstrate how much more professional your organization is. These also help you justify why you charge a premium for your services. Many people underestimate how much really goes into delivering a quality product or service. So show them.

+ Your Story - Many companies have interesting or even gut wrenching histories. Tell them your story in an open, honest, and entertaining way and you will win their hearts as well as their heads.

All of the above pieces can, in many cases, be word processed files that are laser printed onto the template I described above. You can learn even more about how to use this unique tool here

This format allow for very inexpensive printing and a great deal of flexibility when you need to update, change or even personalize your magnificent marketing materials.

Want to quickly create your own magnificent marketing materials. Join me as I coach up to 10 other small business owners through the process of creating marketing materials that educate and sell. Once a week for 4 weeks we will meet via teleconference to create and critique your written marketing kit content based on the above article. Each participant will also receive a workbook, feedback and real-life example marketing kits produced by John Jantsch for his clients. Find out more by sending an email to mailto:john@ducttapemarketing.com?subject=Marketing_Kit

Copyright 2004 John Jantsch

About The Author

John Jantsch is a marketing coach and creator of the Duct Tape Marketing System. You can get more information about the Duct Tape System and download your free copy of “How To Create the Ultimate Small Business Marketing System in 7 Simple Steps” by visiting http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com.

OK, so you took the plunge and purchased your internet domain. Good for you! Now what? According to Google.com there are about 8,058,044,651 current web pages. That’s billion with a "B"! So how do you stand out?

The first thing you should do is stop using a free email service. More often than not, a potential client will delete your email if they are not familiar with whom it is coming from. Think about what you do with emails that you are not familiar with. Having your domain name in the "From" field lets them know that it is you and your business that is calling on them. Plus, don’t you want your business name in front of as many eyeballs as possible?

If you use a free or fee-based email service (Hotmail, Yahoo!, AOL, Earthlink, etc.) then at least make it work for you. Having an email named wilsonwidgets@hotmail.com is much more identifiable than wilwid123@hotmail.com and again puts your companies name in front of the client. If you choose to send email via one of these services then most people will assume that you do not have a web presence and that can reflect negatively on your brand.

The best way to present your identity to your clients via email is to make sure that they are reading what you are sending out. If they delete it then they never read it.

In many cases, email accounts come free with standard hosting of your domain, so it makes zero sense to not have your own personalized email account.

Bottom line: If your email address doesn’t convey any meaning about you and your business, every email you send will be a missed opportunity.

Glenn Geiger is the Director of Interactive Services for Pixallure Design LLC, http://www.pixallure.com. Glenn has worked in Web site design, development, systems administration and management since 1987, including work for DynCorp, Accent Software, GlobalKey, Inc., and Digital Equipment Corp.

This article may be freely distributed as long as the author’s bio is included with an active link to http://www.Pixallure.com.

Let’s face it - most brochures go straight into the bin. But if you know the big mistake to avoid, as well as the secret to make people keep your brochure - and read it, over and over again - you’re laughing.

The big mistake I’m talking about is that brochures too often focus on the company itself. They describe, in great detail, the company’s commitment to excellence, how pro-active the company is, how many awards the company’s products or services have won and how innovative they are.

Prospective clients, of course, couldn’t care less.

Prospective clients want to know what’s in it for them. They want to improve their bottom line. They want to make their lives easier. That’s what’s important to your clients. To get their business you must fulfill their needs. And that’s what your marketing materials must communicate - how you can help them. And don’t just tell your clients about the benefits of your services - show them. Nothing is more convincing than a good demonstration of how you can help. So use your company brochure to do just that.

By offering information your client can use, you’ll demonstrate the benefits of your services and create a "value added" brochure. The more useful the information, the stronger your demonstration will be. For example, if you’re a web design company, include a section: "Top 7 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Web Designer". Then outline problems bad web design can create. Explain how your client can spot inferior service. If you’re a printer, give some advice on "How to Get The Best Results From Your Printer", possibly with tips on formatting text and graphics.

A "value added" brochure accomplishes several goals:

1. Your prospective clients will keep your brochure. Your name will be in front of them every day of the week.

2. By providing free, useful advice, you start building a relationship based on trust.

3. You establish yourself as an expert in your field. If your prospective clients have questions, chances are they’ll get in touch with you to ask.

About The Author

Frauke Nonnenmacher is a copywriter who specialises in clear, easy-to-understand technical copy and educational materials. For more information, please visit her web site at www.creativecats.com.

frauke@creativecats.com

Branding used to be a fancy business word, but it is becoming more and more used in everyday business meetings. Finally! For decades, big corporations have used in-house, very well paid brand managers - someone in charge of managing everything that relates to the brand, including design, package and partnerships. You’ve heard enthusiastic talks about branding, but you are still not sure if you should get a brand management plan going for your business.

Do you need one? Any company with the intention and potential to become or to remain a top competitor in its field needs to develop a sound branding strategy. And that’s where the brand agency comes in. If you have a small or medium size business, you may not be able to pay a high salary for a full-time brand manager. If that is your case, you can benefit from working with a brand agency, and gain access to brand management consultants, plus an entire creative team available to work in various projects - from graphic design to web design, Internet marketing, advertising, media planning. Instead of working with multiple vendors that are unaware of your branding needs, you work with one single partner dedicated to create a stronger, more valuable brand.

Can I fire my marketing team? No! Some people think a brand agency would do away with marketing jobs. In fact, your brand agency would not replace your marketing department, but work with your marketing and sales people to provide them the tools they need to market your services more successfully, while advancing your business image.

How much does it cost? Working with a branding agency is surprisingly affordable. Think of this: how much it would cost, per year, to have an in-house creative department, plus a well-paid brand manager? That could easily cost your business $200K and more in payroll, equipment and lease expenses. With an experienced branding agency you only pay a small fraction of the costs of maintaining such a high-level team, but you still have full-time assistance. Besides, a branding agency can save you thousands of dollars a year in printing and production costs, through its suppliers and partners.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

For Everyone Who Has Ever Struggled Sorting Out Benefits From Features - "SWAT Them!"

SWAT is not actually an acronym. It is a compaction of the question "so what?"

You see, one of the biggest problems that even experienced copywriters and marketers fall into is being clear on what benefits their product or service actually delivers to their customers.

SWAT provides the solution.

Here is how it works:

It is pretty certain that the same benefits will occur many times over as you run through this exercise. That’s fine. These are the ultimate benefits you have been looking for. These are the benefits you will ’sell’ to your customer.

An example

I wear a pretty cheap and tacky diver’s watch. Its features include:

Now for certain prospects this list of features is pretty powerful on its own. Principally young men who like to dazzle their friends with the latest gadgets and gizmos.

But let’s try to figure out some marketable benefits for a wider audience.

"Water proof to 50m"

So what?

You can wear the watch while diving

So what?

You can be sure it is waterproof enough for all day-to-day use

So what?

You can put the watch on and forget it - no matter what you are doing

So what?

Accurate time keeping -anytime, anyplace.

So what?

???

Your thought patterns would obviously be different to mine. But I am now stuck. The question "So What?" doesn’t lead me to another statement. No matter. I am pretty happy with the last couple above. Either of them talks to me of the real benefits the watch could bring.

Now I would need to go away and do the same thing for all of the other features. When I first did this exercise I ended up with over 120 benefits (and this for something that is definitely pretty cheap and tacky). I am not going to do that here again.

The benefits that kept repeating were the go anywhere, do anything, super accurate timekeeping.

I was able to produce 30 plus benefit driven headlines. And I had no difficulty in sorting out the benefits from the features.

And all in a little over an hour.

Seems a pity that I don’t actually sell watches.

About The Author

Keith Longmire is the owner of JKL Business Growth Solutions. JKL specialises in bringing main stream business improvement and marketing solutions into the reach of smaller businesses.

http://www.jkl-small-business-marketing-solutions.com/