Marketing

Halloween is increasingly popular. Last year, seven out of ten Americans reported they planned to celebrate the holiday. And, retail spending reflects that enthusiasm. Sales of Halloween-related products increased by nine percent in 2011, to reach $6.86 billion in sales. Although the National Retail Federation hasn’t released its 2012 predictions, there is no reason to expect a decline in spending.

Even if you don’t sell costumes, stage makeup or lawn decorations, you can still scare up some business at Halloween using these tricks:

Decorate.  When planning decorations, remember you want the atmosphere to appeal to your customers and prospects. That might mean employees dressed (and acting) as zombies; it might mean using cheerful ghosts and cute black cats. Know your audience before sprucing up your storefront. (more…)

Getting the press your business deserves comes down to building relationships with writers and having a compelling product or service. There are many ways to generate buzz for your business, but below we’ve provided three to generate traction without breaking the bank.

Analyze your competition

Are any of your competitors receiving endless amounts of press? Find out which journalists are writing those articles and how you can build a relationship with them. Make sure you only email them when you have something interesting to say. Writers can’t stand pitches that are completely self-promotional. (more…)

Labor Day is well behind us and whether you want to believe it or not, 2013 is fast approaching. The end of the year is typically the busiest time for many businesses, but it can also be the perfect time to host an event.

An event can give your business or organization an opportunity to create intimacy and make a more personal connection with those you come in contact with. When you invite customers and members to a special event, you’re building relationships the old-fashioned way — with personal, face-to-face contact.

Now is the perfect time to start planning for your end-of-year events. Here are some ideas for events that businesses and organizations can put together to bring in customers, clients, members, donors, prospects, and others: (more…)

This article is the second in a series on Internet Marketing for Beginners. In the first article, I discussed setting a proper online goal. A website should either generate sales, leads, or support for an existing customer base.

This article will focus on the first goal: Generating Sales.

Some of you may think ALL websites should generate sales. However, in my opinion, only a few should consider that their goal. When I say, “generate sales,” I define that phrase as allowing someone to put a product in a “shopping cart” and paying for it online. The merchant has only to ship it at that point.

The majority of you don’t need a shopping cart. Basically, those who sell high-priced items or services rarely need a shopping cart. Examples would include realtors, repairmen, consultants, etc. (more…)