The Business Pod's Blog

Since the 19th century business cards were widespread among people of all classes with a business to promote. The earliest form of business cards, known as tradecards, were used as advertising materials and as maps used to direct the public to the merchant’s store. Today business cards are among the most important marketing material that every business must have.  The business card is perhaps the best salesman that you can have. That is why it is essential that it contains much more than your name, address, and contact numbers and services. It should be designed keeping its purpose in mind – that is it being a powerful sales tool.  So let’s start with the design. If you want to create a business card that contains a photo with gradient colors you can try using a glossy finish to ensure that the cards are printed as good as they look on the screen. Or else, you can get disappointed with the print out.    Now let’s come to the strategies you can utilise in busi...

Have you created a core marketing message to use throughout all of your marketing efforts? I'm not talking about some catchy slogan or play on words using the name of your business or the service you provide. It's not some meaningless phrase like "we do it right" or "quality service you can trust." Anybody in business can say those things and they're really basic expectations anyway. A core marketing message clearly and concisely communicates what you're out to do and for who. It speaks to your ideal target market and gets them to respond and seek more information. So many small business owners and professional service providers never take the time to create this for their own business. Most are creating a new message with every new "marketing campaign." They're constantly trying new ideas. And each new idea becomes a new chance to try and come up with that home run message that gets the phone ringing off the hook like never be...

Key visitors to your commercial pages include web robots that crawl the internet and catalog your content. Having proper HTML source code, plus the right combination of text and graphic presentation, is just one secret to success. Proper code may mean higher robot ratings, and the "look" is equally important. Once a new prospect finds your web site, you have 5 seconds to get them to stay. As a small business web site owner, you may have asked "Why don't we get any hits?". Did you know web pages can load and appear correct with improper or deprecated HTML code? A browser may ignore your mistakes, and display what it thinks you meant, and it may look great. Web robots may not be as forgiving. Following is a list of 8 basic elements for good search engine placement that need to be considered in your design and web site promotion. For details on code issues from the worldwide authority, visit the World Wide Web Consortium to view DOCTYPE and other quality st...

1. Email (opt in) If you're not sending your own personal email newsletter you're missing a huge opportunity.  I don't care if you're an employee of a Fortune 500 company or a self-employed consultant.  You MUST develop you own email newsletter. An eZine will allow you to build your relationship, credibility and trust with the people that subscribe.   Provide them useful, unique and pertinent information and watch your sales skyrocket. 2. Pay-per-Click (PPC) Pay-per-click or PPC ads are a very effective and cost efficient way to drive prospects to your website.  Whether it be a one-page sales letter or a "squeeze page" for them to sign up for your ezine, PPCs are an easy way for you to build awareness. By using PPCs you can achieve laser like focus on your target market by using specific keywords.  Then run ads for only those keywords.  The benefit is when the prospect clicks on that ad they are not going to a general site with all kinds of garb...

Should Small Businesses have a web presence? In one word, yes! The internet is the most effective marketing tools in existence  nowadays, have the capability of reaching far more people than any leaflet drop or advertisement in the local paper ever will.  Should you produce your own website? It all depends on your skills, if you have the ability to produce a site that looks good, then go ahead, it will save you money and will work wonders as a marketing tool. However if your skills are limited or non-existent then we'd say no. Why?because if your site doesn't have a professional look to it, then it is going to reflect badly on your company's image.  Do you need to spend lots of money? It really depends on the size of your website, if you're looking simply get a presence on the internet, then you can easily get something for around £350 if you take the time to look, if you're really getting into the idea of being online and effectively having your shop exist...

Marketing tactics can be extremely complex or quite simple. Ironically, the simple tactics are the ones that are most effective and successful. Value-added headlines, informative content, and visual appeal are simple tactics that can drive conversions and sales. For example, one simple tactic is to make it quick and easy for web visitors and customers to view information on your website. Allowing adequate white space, creating short sentences, and keeping enough space between words, sentences, and paragraphs will make your site more appealing. In addition, the strategic use of keywords and keyword phrases will attract search engines and keep site visitors scanning your content. Words that demonstrate how your product adds value will capture attention and focus the reader on “what’s in it for them”. And these are also valuable search engine optimisation techniques that will drive visitors to your website. Simple marketing tactics A very important tactic is to make eve...

Successful marketing tactics begin with the end in mind. After all, if you don’t know where you’re going, how do you expect to know how to get there? That makes it essential to understand exactly what the customer wants and anticipate their needs long before they begin a search for a product or service. But how do you really know how to visualise the future?  What can you do to turn your small business into a huge business with high profits, high conversions, and high profits ? Start by knowing your customer This is the #1 marketing tactic that every marketer must know, believe, and understand. It’s not enough to have a general knowledge of the market and the customer. It’s vital to know the audience and relate directly to their needs. It’s about anticipating their next move and then their next move after that. And it’s about appealing to their emotional needs. Understanding the customer begins with a clear picture of who they are and what key characteristics th...