Marketing Tip #195

Is your marketing proving more challenging today? I hear from a number of marketers that they are having major difficulties acquiring new customers. So in today's blog post I wanted to talk a little about new client acquisition and some marketing tactics you can use.

Tactic #1: Referrals. This is something this is largely overlooked but very effective. Reach out to your current customer base and ask them for referrals. Even better, provide an incentive for signing up and/or referring new customers to your product or service.

Tactic #2: Introductory Pricing. This is usually called try before you buy and is a great way to get people started. Offer an introductory fee that is a fraction of what it normally costs for a month of your service. Or offer first time buyers a 30% discount. All you need to do is break even on the first purchase as many of these customers will become repeat buyers.

Tactic #3: Offer Value Add. One of my favorite tactics is to offer a free guide or work shop. This equates value to you, your service, or your product. Offering something that gets people engage at little or no cost is paramount to success.

Try these marketing tips to see if you can drum up some new business! After giving it a try, be sure to comment below so that others can learn from your success.

Today's Marketing Tip: Protect Your Website

This week, my main website, MarketingScoop.com was hijacked. Apparently someone thought it would be fun to place some malware on my site. As a result, Google shut down MarketingScoop and sent me some pretty disturbing messages. As of this morning, new files have been uploaded and Google notified, but we're still waiting for the site to be released by them.

I'm sure we'll be good to go by tomorrow but I sure learned my lesson. Back up your site weekly and make sure that your host has the required protections to keep spammers out. MarketingScoop has been online for 5 years and never had a single issue related to security. Clearly no one is immune.

So today's marketing tip is simple. Back up, be secure, and if an issue strikes, make sure you have competent people to help you resolve what ever comes your way. I know that I couldn't have succeeded without the help of talented and qualified people!

Marketing Tip #184

Marketing Tip: Limited Quantities

When something is scarce, it costs more. If you really want that item, product, or service, you need to move quickly before they are all gone! Consider using the element of scarcity in your next marketing campaign. This can be done in a variety of ways.

If you are running a promotion, make sure it has an expiration date. Individuals will want to take advantage of a discount or promotion before the end date. This helps you make the most of your promotion and drive an optimal number of responses.

Advertise the fact that you have a limited supply. If someone really wants what you are offering, they are going to want to move quickly. Offering a VERY limited supply can make people response even more quickly.

Publish that you only have a certain number of products available. Some promotions say that only the first 20 people will be able to receive something or that only 100 dolls are available. That drives action and action drives sales.

Consider placing a limit on your supply or managing your promotions around a specific date. Limiting your availability, creating scarcity is a great marketing tactic!

Tweet This!

Twitter... it's the rage - everyone is doing it. Even me (@mfleischner) but what's the point? After about a week of actually tweeting, I think I'm beginning to understand this phenomenon. It's all about connectivity, real time information, and technology.

The benefit of much of our technology is that it brings us closer, gives us a window into someone else's world. This factor can't be underestimated. There is real value in following someone you respect, can learn from, or brings you closer to your goal.

My recommendation is to start following people who you are curious about or can learn something from (inside your industry or out). Follow their posts and links, read what they're reading and find value. This can help you stay on top of your game, learn, and grow.

Are you finding other Twitter benefits?

If you've discovered other benefits of using Twitter, then let us know. Be sure to comment on this post. In short order, I'll be adding the "retweet" functionality so that readers can post this information to Twitter.. until then, be sure to comment. -thanks!

As a frequent blogger, I often get solicitations via email as well as information on new products or services. I've been on the lookout for social media related "stuff" and found this one particularly interested with regard to what's new in social media marketing...

uVizz is the first platform for user-generated advertising on social networks. It gives social network users the ability to create videos for advertisers that cause buzz. The videos then spread among users on social networks around the world. What makes our system unique is that we reward the users for their roles in video creation and delivery. They'll be referring the videos to their friends who they think will be interested.

By doing so, advertisers are able to have their brands included in social network conversations. uVizz works for any budget (large or small), allows advertisers to specify demographic requirements for video views, and enables them to lock in the cost of an actual user exposure. Advertisers have complete control over the video approval process and can start a campaign with as little as $100.00.

The clear advantage for advertisers when using uVizz is the "Unique Video View". They are only charged for a view when a user watches a video for the first time and meets the advertiser's defined demographic profile (age, gender, and location). Should a user meet the demographic profile and want to watch the video multiple times, the advertiser is charged only once. All other views by that person are free. We're able to provide this because users will add uVizz to their social network profiles, which enables us to know who they are and their demographic information. We track them in the system and know what videos they've created, watched, and referred to their friends. The charge for a Unique Video View is just $0.15.

We’ll be launching uVizz on June 15th. We'll be live with Facebook, Twitter, Bebo and Friendster. During the last few months, we’ve started signing clients and ad agencies from around the world. The feedback we’ve received has been fantastic. The agencies are very impressed with the way uVizz will enable their clients to safely integrate user-generated videos into their marketing strategies.

I'm not big on endorsing someone else's product without using it myself so if anyone begins using this new application and can comment via this blog, please do so! To learn more, visit http://www.uvizz.com