Harness the Sales Power of Niche Marketing

The major challenge for the small business marketer is discover what motivates their target audience, and then to speak as directly as possible to those fears, desires, goals, priorities, and needs. This article offers some insights into how to capture people's attention, get them interested in your product or service, and soften their sales resistance. It presents some new angles, fresh ideas, and thought provoking concepts.

Keywords:

target marketing, niche marketing, sales and marketing, direct marketing, marketing strategies, sales objections, direct mail marketing, marketing resources, marketing tools

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Copyright 2006 Joel Sussman

The key to attracting new customers to your business, whether online or off, lies in understanding a few simple things about how the brain works. Usually at an unconscious level, people are constantly scanning their environment to separate the relevant from the irrelevant, the safe from the potentially hazardous, the desirable from the unappealing. The major challenge for the small business marketer is discover what motivates their target audience, and then to speak as directly as possible to those fears, desires, goals, priorities, and needs.

But it Worked in the Movies

You’re only kidding yourself if you think you can be all things to all people. That insidious form of self deception falls in the same category as ‘If you build it, they will come’. Woody Allen is quoted as saying that ‘Eighty percent of success is showing up’, but bear in mind that comedy (and sometimes drama) is often based on exaggeration. Showing up -- which can range from creating an Internet presence to attending networking meetings -- is a good start, but it generally won’t get you too far unless you throw in a dash of originality, competitiveness, and a strategic plan of action.

Since people are constantly looking for specialized information, services, and products, a strategy worth pursuing is to devote at least 50% of your marketing efforts to reaching niche markets. Granted, marketing is no more of a ‘one size fits all’ endeavor than anything else, but what isn’t going to change is the fact that people are generally drawn to things that are customized, personalized, or otherwise geared to their personal preferences.

Are You Talking to Me?

Considering that your prospective clients and customers are continually scanning the Internet, the media, and their environment for information that’s relevant to them, why not tip the scales in your favor by tailoring your marketing message directly to the different niche markets you’re trying to reach? Whether it’s senior citizens, new homeowners, parents to be, recent graduates, newlyweds, or frustrated job hunters, capturing people’s attention can sometimes be as simple as recognizing them as individuals or as a member of a specific demographic group.

For example, have you ever inadvertently ignored someone who was saying to you ‘excuse me’ or ‘you dropped something’; but if they called you by your name, you’d immediately snap out of your haze and pay attention. Again, it’s just a matter of breaking through people’s filtering systems and being noticed. That’s often the number one step to effectively marketing your products, your services, or yourself. Actually, I’d break that down into three parts: get noticed, connect with your prospect, and put them in a receptive state of mind. If you convey the impression, right off the bat, that your service or product is tailor made for their needs, wants, or specific situation, then you may have fulfilled all three requirements in one fell swoop.

Once you’ve clearly and compellingly presented your case for making your prospect’s life easier, more secure, healthier, more comfortable, prosperous, convenient, happier, or more problem free, your remaining challenge is to anticipate objections, lower sales resistance, and inject your offer with a subtle, yet perceptible sense of urgency. If you’ve painted a vivid, benefits-filled picture of your service or product, their motivation to experience those advantages will help you convert them from a prospect to a customer.

Creating Power Phrases is as Easy as 1, 2, 3!

It's difficult to reach your buisness goals if you don't have the right materials and/or the information to help your buisness reach the success it's capable of. This article explains the power of phrases, and the easy ways to generate them.

Keywords:

marketing, power phrases, advertising

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Simple phrases can carry an impacting wallop! The key...keep it simple, yet powerful. Power phrases work because they effect the emotions of the reader. They allow the reader to FEEL the benefits that your product or service offers them.

Let's face it, we make emotional decisions about our purchases and then look for the logic to back it up. Hey, even the logic makes us FEEL like we've made the right choice! Yes, we'll use logic to justify our purchases, but the real motivator is the emotional impact the purchase evokes.

The Secrets to Creating Power Phrases
1. You want to become a pro at creating phrases that spur the customer's desire for your product or service? Write a list of all the benefits your product or service has to offer. Simply combine one or more benefits with high intensity action words and you're ready to go!

Here are some examples to get you started:

" Quick! Easy! And Rock Bottom Prices!

" Work You'll Love, More Money in Your Pocket, and More Time to Spend It!

2. High Impact words like: quick, easy, low-cost, enjoy, love, and help are key to creating statements that create dramatic word pictures in your customer's mind.

3. Many of the most powerful power phrases are made up of 3 words or groups of words in a series. These 3 word grouping produce a dramatic effect that emblazons itself into the mind of the reader. Some examples that might work for you are:

" "Save time. Save money. Get rapid results!"

" "Fast! Easy! Dirt Cheap!"

" "Sit back, relax, enjoy!"

" "Power, Performance, Endurance!"

Hey, it doesn't take a genius to create phrases that jump off the page, and demand action from the reader!

Financial Incentives for Your Business to Use Solar Power

When it comes to running a business, much of the necessary focus is on the bottom line. Many businesses, however, fail to realize they can seriously cut energy costs by going solar.

Keywords:

business, bottom line, net metering, tax credits, solar energy, no interest loans, energy costs

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When it comes to running a business, much of the necessary focus is on the bottom line. Many businesses, however, fail to realize they can seriously cut energy costs by going solar.

Tax Incentives

Federal and State governments know the best way to initiate change is to provide an economic benefit. When it comes to energy, governments try to make the use of solar energy as economically attractive as possible to businesses. This is done through granting tax incentives in the form of tax credits and deductions. Depending upon which government agency is involved, federal or a particular state, corporations can get tax credits and deductions ranging from 10 to as high as 35 percent of the cost of purchasing and installing solar energy systems.

Net Metering

On top of the tax incentives given to businesses for going solar, a majority of states now offer incredible cost savings through net metering. Net metering refers to state laws that require utilities to purchase power generated from solar systems used by businesses at the same price the utilities would otherwise charge the business. If the business is producing energy in excess of what it is using, the energy is sent into the utility grid and the building power meter actually runs backwards. Since many businesses are closed two days a week, this effectively means the utility is buying the power on said days. Net metering is an incredibly effective means of slashing utility costs.

Solar Loans

Businesses can gain further benefits through going solar by taking advantage of government solar financing programs. These loan programs offer incredible terms in an effort to promote the use of renewable energy and make sense for both new construction and renovations. Typically created as state programs, these “solar loans” offer financing for the purchase and installation of the equipment. The loans typically have seven to 10 year terms, and are offered as no interest or extremely low interest financing. Combined with the economic benefits of net metering, such loans make the decision to go solar a slam dunk.

Each state tends to handle the promotion of alternative energy in different ways and with different benefits. When combined with federal programs, businesses can reap a financial benefit from using solar energy sources.

Coal Helps America Through Power and Jobs

You may not realize it, but the coal industry plays a large part in the U.S. economy.

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Coal Helps America Through Power and Jobs

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You may not realize it, but the coal industry plays a large part in the U.S. economy.

One major way coal affects the economy is through electricity. The majority of America's electricity comes from coal. So when coal prices are low, like they are right now, electricity is cheaper and the lower prices spur economic growth.

Electricity is a crucial part of American life. In fact, it is a $200 billion a year commodity, making it the largest commodity in the United States.

When the prices for large commodities, like electricity, stay low or go down, inflation stays low. So, commodity price fluctuations prove to be strong economic indicators.

The lower electric rates from low coal prices can affect inflation rates now and in the future. And low interest rates can help protect the savings and investments of millions of Americans.

In addition, new technology is linked to electricity usage and thus the economy. The increasing purchase and use of technological advances, like computers, cell phones and personal data organizers, greatly increases consumption of electricity from coal. Therefore, when consumers purchase these items, they drive the economy in two ways: with their purchase and with their electricity usage.

America's need for electricity from coal can also be seen in the almost direct relationship between electricity use and economic activity. For example, every 1 percent increase in the gross domestic product has caused about a 1 percent increase in electricity demand.

In addition to electricity, coal affects the economy through job creation, revenue and taxes. The coal industry and related business have created more than 90,000 jobs in the United States alone and almost 1 million jobs worldwide.

Thirty-seven billion dollars, or nearly 1 percent of all the earnings of Americans, comes from coal-related work.

The value of coal produced in the United States each year is nearly $18 billion. Coal mining has a combined direct and indirect impact of $161 billion annually on the U.S. economy. This is $596 for every U.S. citizen.

California and New York are two of the states benefiting most from coal, yet they are not home to any coal mining. In fact, every U.S. state benefits economically from coal.

Coal businesses pay more than $11 billion in federal taxes each year. Nine billion dollars in coal revenues go to state and local governments annually.

Bringing Architects and Their Partners Together: The Power of a Secure Extranet

Summary: Architectural firms have increasingly been using extranets to send and receive documents in a secure environment.

Keywords:

extranet, document sharing

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An extranet is a private network within which document sharing can take place by specific groups of users outside the organization through a network administrator. An organization may allow authorized customers and partner’s access to the system after verifying the usernames and passwords.

The extranet: Enhanced document sharing and collaboration

Architectural firms have increasingly been using extranet to send and receive documents in a secure environment. All the relevant information about a particular project can be made available to all the individuals who are part of the project, be it the clients or other partners in the venture. Construction companies can access the CAD drawings and plans immediately, without much waiting. It also enhances the relationship with the clients who can receive the relevant documents and send their approvals accordingly.

Outsourcing Extranet Services

Some firms have not shown interest in implementation of the extranet because of the complexity involved and the high cost of installation and maintenance. It requires purchase of equipment, the necessary hardware and software for its implementation and training to maintain the system. However, there are hosting companies to whom the implementation and maintenance of the extranet can be outsourced. These hosting companies, also called application service providers (ASPs) not only provide the technical support, they also provide all the security measures required to keep the data secure. An architectural firm need not worry about the purchase and installation of any hardware or software installation or setup. The hosting company also provides maintenance and training to the staff. The firm just requires paying a fee to the application service provider for all the services it renders.



Advantages of an extranet

Extranets allows all the team members working on the project, be it the employees, vendors, suppliers or clients to share the design plans, documents and hence collaborate online. This aids in a better customer service and prevents unnecessary lengthening of project schedules. A lot of money is invested in any architectural venture and all the delays lead to substantial amount of money going down the drain. An extranet gives a platform to the workers to perform multi- site collaborations. Since all the data exchanges take place in real time, there are chances of less rework. With the usage of extranets increasing, special software packages have been developed specifically for the architectural firms. They support project management, e-mail management, accounting and scheduling. An extranet not only enhances the process of decision-making but also improves the relationship among clients and partners.

Do Not Overlook the Marketing Power of Craigs List

An article to help provide ideas about how virtual bankruptcy assistants can market their services to attorneys nationwide. Written by Victoria Ring from 713training.com

Keywords:

virtual assistant bankruptcy paralegal home work start business marketing attorney legal law VA

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I was never so shocked when I discovered the marketing power of Craigs List. Under the LEGAL JOBS category of Columbus, Ohio I posted the following:

Title:

Seeking Bankruptcy Attorneys

Posting:

Certified Paralegal and Bankruptcy Specialist is seeking to form alliances with one or more bankruptcy attorneys who enjoy working on the debtor side of bankruptcy law. I have 31 years experience in the legal field (1977) and have personally built several bankruptcy practices from the ground up for attorneys out of state.

Being in the Columbus, Ohio area, I would like to work side-by-side with one or more attorneys in building a highly profitable debtor bankruptcy practice. I have all the skills and marketing knowledge, I just need the attorney.

Contact Victoria Ring personally at 614-875-4496

Compensation:

More than $500 per hour

Less than 24 hours after posting this announcement (which did not cost me one penny), I received a call from an attorney on my cell phone. I called and left him a message but he did not call me back. About three days later I received another call from a Columbus, Ohio attorney but he also did not return my call either. At the time I thought that Craigs List was not going to produce any results. But it did not matter because I had no money invested anyway.

However, one week later I received a call from an attorney who was so excited about talking to me that he asked if I could be at his office in an hour. I explained that I would not have time to put on office attire and he said, "I don't care. Come in your bath robe. I need to speak with you immediately." So I dropped everything I was doing and drove to his office. (I had on my blue jeans of course.)

When I got there I met a very kind and compassionate young attorney who had never worked in bankruptcy law before. I thought to myself, "This is going to take some time because I will have to train the attorney plus build him a practice." But within a few minutes I found out this was not going to be the case at all. Instead, I had stumbled into a gold mine.

After being seated in the young attorney's office and after 2 or 3 minutes of "chit chat" in walked an attorney in my age group (50-60 range,) He had worked in debtor bankruptcy for 25 years and we both knew many of the same people. The experienced attorney said he was tired of working in bankruptcy and wanted to set up the young attorney in his own practice. He said he was receiving 10-15 referrals (new bankruptcy filings) every day because the world of bankruptcy is getting ready to boom. I agreed with him.

Inside Scoop for Virtual Assistants: Due to the increasing amount of foreclosures as well as the increase in gas prices, millions of people are moving from their homes. They are moving either due to a foreclosure or to be closer to work and cut down on their gasoline usage. However, people normally move during the summer months (May, June, July and August) when their children are out of school. So this summer (2008) should be a record year for bankruptcy filings due to the foreclosures and rising costs that force people into bankruptcy. Therefore, make sure you have the skills and knowledge to provide the much needed services of preparing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions. I cannot stress enough how rare this skill is. And the more you work in the bankruptcy field, the more you will realize this fact.

Needless to say, I got the job. I now work virtually for a young attorney here in the Columbus, Ohio area. I decided to do my own client intake interviews because I can get more detailed information about a case when I am sitting face to face with the clients. I also have been promised 50-60 bankruptcy petitions per month - about $15,000 and the amount could quickly grow. This will allow me to hire people and give jobs to people who truly need it.

Additionally, the attorneys were both so happy about finding someone with my skills that they asked me to work for them exclusively. I said, "If you can keep me busy and at this level of income, I will not seek work from another attorney in the Columbus, Ohio area. However, I will still travel and set up attorneys in their bankruptcy practice because I enjoy doing this." They saw no problem with this arrangement.

Now tell me - who do you know who is out there looking for a job that can walk into an attorneys office and within 30 minutes receive: (1) A job paying a minimum salary of $180,000 per year; (2) An office of their own to conduct client interviews; (3) The ability to work from home; (4) The ability to name their own terms? Not many people. But YOU can do the same thing that I did. It may take some practice and you may make a few mistakes in the process, but I assure you - the SKILLS you have preparing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 petitions is in high demand. I am living proof of it.

I urge you to go to http://craigslist.org/, sign up for an account and start posting free ads to the legal categories in your city and state, surrounding areas, or even other city and states 3,000 miles from you. It doesn't matter where you live or where the attorney's office is located. Your skills are in high demand and if you believe that with all your heart, you can and will succeed.