Cornerstone Consulting – Helping Businesses Leverage: ERP Systems, On Demand-Software as a Service, Cloud Computing, Online Marketing, Social Media Networking, e-Commerce Web Stores, Mobile Commerce & Optimal SEO Website Design
FREE ADVERTISING
An old canard that withstands the test of time: “No matter what your line of business is, no sales means no business.” In the final analysis, whether you are selling products or services, you must constantly market your wares. Another old canard: “Free advertising is the best advertising”. In this very difficult economic environment, free advertising should rise to the top of your marketing tactics. Consider these virtually free marketing/advertising tactics: (a) reward clients or customers who refer business to you and (b) to enhance the image of your enterprise, conduct onsite or webinar demonstrations or seminars about (i) the products/services you sell and/or (ii) issues that should be of interest to a significant percentage of your client/customer base. Both tactics could generate the best type of free advertising, namely, good word of mouth.
“Word-of-mouth marketing is the most cost effective means of reaching current and future customers, and the most important interaction driving product purchases (emphasis added). Because of its powerful reach, relatively low cost, and the credibility it enhances, WOMM is a powerful tool, particularly in a recession.”
PROMOTING YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET
From the informative article linked below: “These days many people search for local businesses on the Internet. To make sure they find you, include on every page of your website the street address, zip code, phone number, and the five or 10 other local community place names your business serves. If you can, include place names in the title tag, too. When you seek links to your site, you should request links from local businesses with place names in the communities you serve and complementary businesses in your industry nationwide. Also create a free listing for your local business on Google Places for Business. That way your business can show up on a map when people do a local search.” You’ll find a wealth of similar suggestions for promoting your local business on the Internet within the article.
See: WilsonWeb.com Article – The Web Marketing Checklist: 37 Ways to Promote Your Website
GOOD BUSINESS RESULTS SELDOM OCCUR VIA CHANCE
Keeping track of projects via a project management plan is critical to the successful completion of important tasks and the plan remains an essential piece of documentation. Knowing when things have to be completed and by whom gives everyone a clear idea of what’s ahead. Deadlines are less likely to be missed and people are more likely to know their roles. Plus, each project, through careful documentation, can become a useful case study for future assignments. It isn’t an exaggeration to state that everyone in an office is a project manager. Of course, the higher individuals rise on the staffing chart, the more complicated and/or more numerous are their projects. The phrase “manage or perish” comes to mind as does “failure to plan is tantamount to planning to fail.”