Small businesses benefit from virtual training
From ARA Content®

Ask small‑business owners from coast‑to‑coast and they’ll tell you one thing: their top priorities are making sales and growing their businesses. The trouble is, small‑business owners are rarely marketing experts and it takes special know‑how to create campaigns that successfully propel a business forward.

Many small‑business owners lack the time needed to learn about marketing. And for some, the cost of traditional instructional programs can be prohibitive. Increasingly, savvy small‑business people are turning to “webinars”–online seminars hosted by experts such as author and small‑business expert Kim T. Gordon–to get the ideas and information they need to succeed.

“Small business owners need step‑by‑step, affordable marketing help they can put to use immediately in order to grow,” says Gordon, who is the author of four books including “Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars: The Top 50 Ways to Grow Your Small Business.”

“In today’s intensely competitive marketplace,” continues Gordon, “getting the winning edge means finding new customers while keeping your current customers coming back for more–all without breaking the bank.”

In her six‑part Maximum Marketing Webinar Series, Gordon addresses business‑building marketing tactics particularly beneficial to small business owners. She offers practical training, and these are four among her tips:

1. Target the right prospects

To generate leads and sales, target your best prospects and reach them when they’re in the right frame of mind to accept your message. Develop a profile of your target audience and familiarize yourself with the media–from newspapers and directories, to radio and television programming–that’s most likely to reach them when they’re in a receptive mood.

2. Master online marketing

No matter what type of business you own today, your marketing program must have an online element to be successful. It all starts with a great Web site, and then you can add e‑mail, search engine marketing, and other smart components, such as online advertising.

3. Follow three rules for buying advertising

First, identify the media that reach your target audience with the least waste. Next, re‑evaluate that list of media and refine it to outlets that are seen as sources of information on what you market. Finally, choose media in which you can afford to advertise often enough to achieve penetration of your target group.

4. Upsell current customers while winning new ones

While you’re wooing new customers, don’t forget to reward your current ones as well. “Referral campaigns and customer rewards programs are the yin and yang of customer acquisition and retention,”Gordon says.

– ARA Content