Jump Out!

Out of the shadows and into the hands of customers should be the goal of every business. The problem for some is how to break away from the norm and get recognized. Recognition comes in many forms from sex appeal, colors, images, sounds, rhythmic sounding slogans, icons, etc. When it comes to marketing think, think, and think more.

3 seconds is all we have to grab the attention of a new customer. The message we send has to be short, to the point, and memorable.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Before and after pictures: Great to display your work. Painter, organizer, dentist, etc.

2. Slogan Rhythm: "Keep your clutter in the hands of the simply organized mother"

3. Animation: Talking lizards, stacks of money, etc.

4. Star Endorsements: Find a celebrity who uses your products or services and ask for them to publicly endorse you.

5. Colors: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/ defines the meaning of colors and what the colors represent.

For more information on how to stand out visit http://www.printplusmore.com/.

Got Image?

Remember the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words"? How many times have you been driving down the road passing signs or store fronts and have thought to yourself, "what were they thinking". Ever stopped and asked that owner of that same store the question why did you choose that name or logo?

We all have ideas as to how we “think” our product or service should look, feel, or grab customers, but the reality is unless we have a background or proven track record in being successful with our ideologies, we need to hire the “right” talent to help us grow our businesses and define our images.

Think about what comes to mind first. I was driving one day close to the downtown area and as I looked to my left there was a cartoon like sign with an image of a females hips showing. She was wearing short shorts and a white mid drift top. The name of the business was Bandaids. Now the image alone gives you one thought while the name takes you to several other thoughts. Those thoughts turning from happy ones to maybe some that give a negative visual. Another

Think You Know SEO

SEO is a fancy acronym for Search Engine Optimization. So what is SEO exactly? Think of it as your online business card. SEO is the most important, yet most neglected element of a website. Without website Search Engine Optimization companies actually lose traffic to their sites as potential customers are unable to locate them.

You want your website to be striking to the search engines so they will give you a top 10 rankings in their search results. These search engines send out crawlers to look for websites who think you are credible and then they use an algorithm to determine where you should rank. Crawlers rank your site based on meeting particular criteria and strategically place your site within their search engine results.

One of the misnomers people have about SEO is they believe having a new website or domain will automatically give them high search engine rankings. The truth is search engines reward older domains in the manner of giving them higher rankings.

Hiring an SEO consulting firm rather than relying on your own knowledge gives you the advantage on the web by increasing product and client awareness. A better way to justify the added expense of hiring an outside firm; can you afford to lose business?

Increase Customer Rentention

Retaining customers is as easy as asking them for their feedback. Businesses spend thousands of dollars trying to bring in new customers, but often make the mistake of not working towards retaining customers. The old addage "It takes money to make money" can be applied to customer retention. So what is the best way to retain customers? Ask for their feedback on products or services received and ways they feel these products or services can be best improved upon.

Simple survey or comment cards are one of the fastest ways to learn from customers. Surveys or comment cards can be issued directly from a cashier or service represntative, be inlcuded inside delivery packages, can be located on the bottom of customer receipts, or can even be added to telephone hotlines. Some businesses offer suggestion boxes located in plain sight for customers to immediately drop their thoughts and opinions in for processing. A few dollars spent on printing, survey design, or survey telephone lines with a few added dollars spent on processing these feedbacks WILL increase revenue.

For businesses who desire a faster more efficient return on customer feedback tend to rely on professional surveying companies to gather statistics. Survey companies gather information based on specific questions provided to them by "The business". The business then controls the number of questions asked, the wording of the questions, provide targeted lists for the company to contact. The data then is gathered over a specific period of time and statistically packaged for the business to review and decided where improvements need to be made. Now hiring a survey company is a bit more costly on the business, but considering the original cost to earn the business of a new customer versus retaining a current one equates to pennies on the dollar.

To entice customer feedback offer value to the customer by giving them an incentive. Try offering a dollar or percentage discount, a chance to enter a drawing, or offer a free gift. Along with the surveys ask the customer for their permisson for their comments to be posted or published for others to view which will increase customer awareness.

For more ideas visit http://www.printplusmore.com