Marketing Links


		Guerilla Marketing Many people are familiar with Jay Conrad books on Guerilla marketing that ascribe to the theory that small business's only advantage is the way it can use unconventional means of marketing and advertising to realize success. Website: www.gmarketing.com Small Business Deloitte and Touche LLP brings to the Web this site especially for small business. Pay particular attention to the articles on buying or selling a business, but there's also discussions about acquiring a franchise, expanding your business, taxation, and more. Website: www.dtonline.com/ba/ba.htm Attitudes For Selling For a quick course in how to sell, this is the place. Alan J. Zell bills himself as "the Ambassador of Selling," and freely shares many of the articles he has written on the subject. The articles are worth while; be aware that Mr. Zell liberally puts into practice what he teaches on this site, where he promotes his seminars and pamphlets for sale. Some of the material is written specific to certain industries or categories such as trade shows, government, information services, volunteer organizations, or arts and crafts. Website: sellingselling.com This free weekly webzine has articles for sales, sales management, marketing, customer service, sales trainers and business owners. Articles are contributed by more than 100 sales professionals, trainers and consultants. 10 - 12 fresh articles are added every Monday morning, and there are more than 1,000 articles in the free archives. Additional resources include tips from readers, access to free "teleclasses" from the Sales Academy, and ideas from featured sales experts. Website: www .salesdoctors.com This is an information-packed site for sales professionals. At its heart is a free online publication, Brass Tacks Sales & Marketing Newsletter, which is also offered by e-mail delivery. Here you will find a deep well of articles from current and archived issues with a lot of practical advice and ideas for improving sales performance and marketing techniques. There are some services and products for sale through the site, which provide the support for the free material. Website: www.letstalkselling.com If you need to find a list of daily or weekly newspapers that have Web sites, look no further, you've just found it! There's also lists of magazines, TV, and radio stations. This site even gives away mailing lists for magazines and newspapers in mailing label format. What a deal! If you need more specialized tools or more detailed information, you can purchase the products in various formats. Website: www.gebbieinc.com/index2.htm Researching Competitors Whether you are researchng competitors identifying suppliers, or developing a targeted mailing database, this could be a useful resource. From 370,000 manufacturers' profiles you can target a search using 15 searchable information fields, including company name, product, location, company size, job function, and SIC codes. Print or download company profiles, summary listing reports, or personal mailing labels. Users may opt for a monthly subscription or a pay-as-you-go plan. A free trial is available. Website: www.harrisinfoonline.com The four digit extension on the Zip code can save you time and money. With it, the USPS can get your mail delivered faster and sorting bulk mail using the Zip+4 can reduce postage costs. Website: www.usps.gov/ncsc/lookups/lookup_zip+4.html The Yellow Pages are a staple of any business or office information infrastructure. Search either the business type (from Yellow Pages headings) or business name (free-text) to locate any business in the U.S. BigYellow allows users to restrict searches to geographical areas and automagically truncates and handles various punctuation marks common in business names (apostrophes, dashes, etc.). This system is forgiving enough that it lets you narrow your search using your existing results. The results are displayed with the company name and phone number. The address is hyperlinked from that entry. Website: www.bigyellow.com/search.rote Database America For those with interest in direct marketing, this tool builds customized mailing lists on the Internet drawing from information on 11 million businesses and 165 million consumers. Search using SIC codes, geographic location, number of employees, sales, and stock exchange to define a list. A preview of sample records is shown after a search has been completed. Ordering can be initiated online. The People Finder will help you track down individuals with as little information as first and last name coupled with a state, or just by the phone number. Of special interest is the Small Business Forum which offers an online class called "University of Direct Marketing." Website: www.databaseamerica.com/html/index.htm American Demographics The publishers of the magazine by this same name bring you a Web version at this site. Searchable archives of articles, market research reports, marketing tools sources, a newsletter of demographic trends and forecasts, and online conferencing are among the resources you'll find here. Website: www.demographics.com/ Marketing - Frequently Asked Questions How should I market my business? What is marketing mix? How do I define my customers? Do I need to hire an advertising agency? How often should I evaluate my competition? How do I determine my competitive advantage/position? Are there any resources available to assist me in writing a proposal? A bid request requires me to carry a bond, what does that mean? How long does the bid process typically take? Should I change my pricing strategy for contract bids? Do I need to be incorporated to bid? Q: How should I market my business? A: Marketing strategies vary depending on the type of business that you have and your target market. When researching your target market, you’ll identify the likes and dislikes of your customer base. This will help you to know how best to reach them. Marketing is a fairly broad topic; you’ll find a lot of valuable information in the Marketing Mall directory. Q: What is marketing mix? A: The primary characteristics of a marketing mix are the "4 P’s." They are product—the right one for the target market; place—all activities involved in getting the correct item to the target market; promotion—communication to the target market about the merchandise; and price—determination of the price that will best attract buyers and make a profit. Q: How do I define my customers? A: Your customers or target market is the group of people at which you aim all your marketing efforts. People with common characteristics set them apart as a group. The more statistics you have about a target market, the more precise marketing strategy you can develop. Q: Do I need to hire an advertising agency? A: Hiring an advertising agency depends on the type, size and financial structure of your business. Initially, it may be a good idea to investigate the methods of marketing your business as discussed in many of the Marketing Mall articles. An ad agency may be helpful if you can afford the additional expense or if your product or service demands carefully placed ads to be successful. Frequently, agencies will charge for their services but are able to make media purchases at much lower rates than individuals businesses can negotiate on their own. Q: How often should I evaluate my competition? A: There’s no pat answer here besides at least once a year. The frequency of your need to evaluate the competition will depend upon how dynamic your industry is, how active and powerful your competition is, the ratio of potential customers to competitors in your field, etc. Q: How do I determine my competitive advantage/position? A: Prepare a competitor analysis. Analyze the strength of the market, list your competitors and include a summary of their products, their strengths and weaknesses, their objectives and strategies. For more detail about preparing a Competitor Analysis, see Competitor and Issues Analysis. Q: Are there any resources available to assist me in writing a proposal? A: Yes, proposal writing courses are offered at most junior colleges and universities. Additionally, some consultants specialize in writing proposals for both the public and private sector. You should understand: why you’re writing the proposal, why you want to develop a relationship with this company, how this contract fits into your marketing plan, if your product or service meets clients’ needs and your return on investments. Do your homework and research the company. Understand its internal and external culture and its supply management (the latest buzzword for purchasing) process. Knowing the right people within the company helps, but, just as important, know the right questions to ask! Proposals can be as short as a one-page letter or as long as the client specifications dictate. Q: A bid request requires me to carry a bond, what does that mean? A: A bond is an instrument issued by an insurance company but is not a form of insurance. A bond is credit that is extended in the form of a third party contract. It is collateral to guarantee that you have the financial capability to do the project. This collateral is used to compensate the client if you don’t deliver on your contract promises. Q: How long does the bid process typically take? A: It varies depending on the product or service and whether you’re dealing with the public or private sector. Frequently, an RFQ (request for quote) or an RFP (request for proposal) will stipulate the time frame for receiving bids from potential vendors and when the project will be awarded. The bid process can consist of many steps including bid announcement, a pre-bid hearing, a bid opening meeting, bid evaluation, bid award, contract negotiation and in some cases, many more steps in the process depending upon the company or agency and their policies and procedures. The bid process can take up to a year before all the necessary purchasing, legal, accounting and project management paperwork is complete and the project work begins. You need to know the bid process/timeline for each company and agency and learn how to navigate and negotiate your way through the supply management maze. Q: Should I change my pricing strategy for contract bids? A: There are as many reasons to change as there are not to change your pricing strategy. You should be clear about your reason for bidding on every contract and know what benefit any contract will offer you and your company. A few questions to ask yourself: Why am I bidding on this contract? Will I be the prime contractor or subcontractor? Is there a possibility of developing a long-term relationship with this client that will provide a consistent, dependable income stream for six months or longer? Is there an opportunity for repeat business? Do the numbers work? What impact will this project have on my staff and project management philosophy? Are the deal and players in sync with my value system and my company’s culture? Do the tradeoffs make sense? What does my "gut" say vs. my brain and the potential dollar signs I see Answer all these questions and weigh all the factors. However, if you have a good business plan that is a "living document" that outlines your management, marketing, financial and operational strategies, you already know the answer. Q: Do I need to be incorporated to bid? A: You don’t need to be incorporated to do business or to bid. Incorporation is a business organization structure decision. Your attorney and accountant can help you make the decision regarding incorporation as a business form. A bid and corresponding contract document may have additional legal or accounting requirements that would make incorporation a better form of business for you. Understanding your target market, its bid process and requirements will also help you to decide if it is better for you to be incorporated. Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith SPIN Selling - the Fieldbook by Neal Rackham (the SPIN Selling book outlines the research and the method. The Fieldbook has lots of exercises and is more practical for application.) Building a 100,00 Member Community By Referral Only by Joe Stumpf Tape # CU99=MS2 Tapes can be ordered from Sound Images, Inc. Phone: 303-649-181 Internet Marketing Dr. Ralph Wilson Newsletter