Revitalize Your Business To Increase Your Sales

copyright 2004 Bob Leduc

Is your business going through a period of slow or no growth? Here are 4 low-cost ways you can revitalize your business - and increase your sales.

1. Promote A New Use For Your Product Or Service

Find and promote a new way customers can benefit by using your product or service. You will immediately attract a new group of potential customers. You will also capture customers from your competitors who cannot provide or do not promote this new benefit.

For example, I recently saw a promotion for a well-known marketing course normally sold to individuals. The promotion targeted sales organizations and offered a special group purchase plan. It stressed how the course would increase the sales organization's productivity and income.

2. Use A New Method Of Advertising

Test some new methods of advertising to attract a fresh group of prospective customers.

For example, print your best small ad on 4 by 6 inch postcards and mail them to a list of prospects in your targeted market. Postcards cost very little to prepare and send. And your promotions will not be seen by competitors who see (and copy) them in most other media.

Tip: Continually test new marketing methods - and old ones you never tried. You can reach more prospects and generate more sales with a variety of marketing methods than with just one or two.

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If you are interested in marketing, you may want to head over to: "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards" , this is one of the best resources for using postcards in your marketing.
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3. Generate Some Non-Paid Publicity

Publicity is what you get when someone else promotes (or you get them to promote) your business. It establishes more credibility with prospective customers than advertising and generates sales at a much lower cost.

Look for ways you can generate some non-paid publicity for your business. For example, contact non-competing businesses serving customers in your market. Offer to publicize their products or services to your customers in exchange for their publicizing your services to their customers.

Caution: Do not expect non-paid publicity to replace the results you get with advertising. Use it to supplement your advertising. You control where and when your advertising appears. You cannot control where or when you get publicity ...or whether you get any at all.

4. Convert Your Customers Into Publicity Agents

Satisfied customers can be your most effective publicity agents. Give them an incentive to tell their associates and friends about the value of your products or services. An endorsement from them is much more effective than advertising - and it is much cheaper.

For example, ask your customers for referrals. Offer to reward them each time one of their referrals becomes a customer. Your reward can be as simple as a credit toward their next order or a unique bonus item.

Every business goes through periods of slow or no growth. When it happens to you, use these 4 low-cost marketing tactics to revitalize your business - and increase your sales.

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Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience in generating low-cost leads. He recently wrote a manual for small business owners, "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards", and several other publications to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more info: mailto:BobLeduc@aol.com