One of the best ways to increase our sales is to put some thought and a little bit of effort into the marketing and promotional materials we give our prospects and customers. The thought we put into our business is reflected by those materials, and our customers do notice. Here are 5 low-cost ways to promote your business with product presentation & creative business builders.
1. Business cards - make sure you have some! They should look professional & include (at the very minimum) your name, phone number and web site, if you have one. Including your address is recommended, as well as your email address.
Take this up a notch by putting your business card in a 3 x 5 cello sample bag with a piece of candy to make it pop! Here’s one idea:
2. Catalogs - If you can’t afford them, try to print out fliers of your current specials or offers or something similar. Some companies provide documents generously prepared by other consultants and submitted to their Yahoo group, for example. Be sure to see what’s available along these lines to save money on catalogs. That way, you can print them yourself!
Now, take those up a notch too! Catalog bags are a great way to get lots of packets together in advance of vendor fairs, trade shows, deliveries, and prospect visits. I’ll be back soon with some tips on presenting fliers & brochures! Stay tuned!
Make sure your catalogs have your Name, phone number and the catalog EXPIRATION DATE, if applicable. If you have an ordering web site, by all means, include it here. I don’t know about you, but my handwriting hasn’t improved with age. Labels would be a good low-cost investment here…yes, LABELS!
Inside the catalog bags, you can include your business card (even if you put them together as in the photo above), your current catalog, and samples ~ oh yes! Samples!!
TIP: Do your best to include at least one sample for a current sale item in your catalog bag! Customers want to see, smell, and touch what you’re selling. Including several samples can get expensive, so try starting out with 1 or two. These types of catalog bags, with samples in them, are called “lumpies!”
3. Labels - Labels are another inexpensive way to save time and make your catalog kits and other marketing materials look more professional. As I said above, my handwriting isn’t very good and I don’t like punishing my customers with it, so labels are a must for me. But why use plain white labels when for a little bit more–you can make your labels stand out!
4. Delivery Day - Delivery day is another time to shine! Some of the larger direct sales companies offer consultants brown paper delivery bags. yuck! I have been to some arts & crafts shows, etc where the seller handed me my purchases in those plastic grocery bags!!! Oy!
Never fear - you can deliver your items with style without spending a bundle. Put a smile on your customer’s face with more professional merchandise bags:
Now see there? Aren’t those much nicer than brown paper delivery bags from your company? Notice how you can juuussst make out what’s inside this frosted merchandise bag? That builds the anticipation! Don’t forget to put your catalog bag in there too!
5. Thank Your Customers! Want your customers to remember you with a smile? Follow up with each customer! That’s right. After you make a delivery, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to make that next sales goal. But remember, your past customers can be your best customers! Follow up with them, make sure all was well with their last order–and ask for their next order!
Customers like to be appreciated, remembered and taken care of. That’s why I suggest finding something special to *give* your customers. You can give them a small gift on their birthdays, after a certain number or dollar amount of purchases, or even for holidays and special occasions. Just letting them know you’re thinking about them with an extra little gift will go a long way towards promoting your business.
Some ideas? There’s lots of promotional products out there of a useful nature that would fit the bill perfectly. Such as:
Get the idea?
Hope you enjoyed this post! Got some ideas to add? Post a comment! =) I’ll be back with more soon! Let me know what areas of promotion you’d like to hear more about. Vendor Shows? Home parties? Craft shows?
Have a Blessed Day!
Sylvia
