Part 3 – Continued from Offline Marketing with Business Cards, Flyers And Brochures
Your friends and family know other friends and family who you do not know. You should make sure that your friends and family know all about your business and are willing to tell others about it. Chances are that unless your online business is pornography, most of your friends and family will be glad to help you with this endeavor.
A great deal of business is had by word of mouth. Think about it – when was the last time you needed some work done on your car or on your house? What did you do to find the person to do the work? Most people will turn to friends and family and ask them if they know anyone who does this type of work. There is no better marketing than viral marketing. Word of mouth does better than any other type of advertising. So it sure pays to get your friends and family in on the act.
Make sure that you talk to your friends and family about your business and explain to them exactly what services or products you provide for others. Be sure to tell them that you are successful in this business and how much others are enjoying what you have to offer. Friends and family are just like anyone else – more apt to proudly proclaim about a successful business than one that they think is a failing enterprise. Be sure that you give them your business cards and then ask them to do just as you do, and give your cards out to others who may be interested in your services.
Your friends and family will probably not be as diligent about giving out your cards and discussing your business as you are, but if you continue to talk about your business with them, without making it the central topic of every conversation that you have with them and never asking about them, they are more inclined to help you get customers. When they hear of someone who can use the services and products that you provide, they can give them your information or your card. This is how you can spread your marketing efforts.
You can even encourage customers that you have had in the past to do the same. One way to get others to listen to what you have to say is through testimonials from other customers. You can offer discounts to customers who bring in any business. You can even use this tactic on your friends and family as well. You can provide them with something for free in order to get them to better promote your business. Cable companies do this all the time by asking you to get friends and family to join up by offering you free cable for a month. You can use this same marketing tactic for your online business.
Another way that you can get friends and family into the act is to have them host a party where you can explain your business to others. This is similar to hostess parties that are still used today to sell a variety of different products that are usually part of a multi level marketing plan. Again, when you make your pitch to those at this party, you should always stress that you are offering something that can help them. Take the focus off of your business and put it onto others. One of the oldest and still used phrases in the marketing world is that success is gained through helping others get their needs filled. You never want to come off like a carnival barker when you are trying to promote a business, especially when you do so at a function that is hosted by one of your friends or family.
Make sure that everyone you know understands what you do and how you can help them achieve what they want. The more people you know, the better your business begins to grow. Not only does this help your business, but it also helps you as well. Too many people who have online businesses complain that they feel insulated from the outside world as they work on promoting their products online. Everyone likes to feel connected to other people and marketing your product in this way, continuing to gain more friends and business associates, is one of the best ways to not only attain success for your online business, but also to broaden your horizons with others.
In some cases, you may find that you can share marketing tips with others who are also in business. You can provide them with what they need by way of customers, such as sending clients over to them, and they can do the same for you. Most successful business people network in this way, especially professionals such as doctors and lawyers. No matter what type of online business you have, you can use social networking off line as a means to promote your business.
It starts with friends and family and then goes on from there. The more people who know about your business, the more chances you have of acquiring customers. Remember to keep in touch with existing customers and offer them incentives so that they can also recommend you to others as well. Once you learn how easy viral marketing can be, especially offline, you will start to see a vast improvement in your online business.
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