You Are Your Best Marketing Weapon

YOU, the small business owner, are a powerful marketing force. It’s your idea, your passion and your knowledge that created the business. You are the face, personality and charisma of the business.

You have seven powerful tools as a business owner that are often underutilized.

Your elevator speech should give your name and business, along with a memorable “hook” or tagline. It should be no more than 60 seconds long, and focus on the benefit you provide to prospects and the value you’ve provided to clients. Your elevator speech should spread passion and enthusiasm. Make sure you choose every word with care—you’ve only got 60 seconds. Practice it enough that it flows naturally without sounding memorized. You’ll want to sound conversational, and be able to make minor tweaks seamlessly to adapt to the event and the person with whom you’re talking.

Your business cards should be good quality, not flimsy. Get them made just for you. Templates and free cards look cheap and won’t give the impression you want. Get a unique logo and show the personality of your business.

Make sure you include all your contact information—especially email address. I can’t tell you how annoying it is to want to contact someone after an event to do business with them only to find that their business card doesn’t have an email address. I don’t want to go to your website and fiddle around trying to find your email address or deal with a form email. No email address—you miss out on opportunities. (You say you don’t want spam? Being contacted is part of being available for business. Why miss contacts you do want?)

Use your card as a tool. Write notes or referrals on it when you give it to your contact, or write a specific way you can help. Write yourself a reminder of how to follow up on the card you receive. And always have your cards with you!

Use the online profiles you’re given with club memberships or that come with your social media to make a real statement. Use a good, current photo and fill in your bio completely. No one wants to do business with an empty bio. Don’t mistake it for a resume-it should focus on benefits and highlights. Remember that it’s a great way to let other people find you by listing prior employers and alma maters. Avoid jargon, and target your message to your intended audience. Let your personality shine through. Let people get to know you and offer valuable information.

Make your professional association and club memberships really work for you. Take advantage of the online profiles and directory, get value from the discounts and perks, and make sure you use all the advantages you’ve paid for with your membership. Take a visible role and be active. Commit to a few organizations and then go often and make yourself a valuable resource. Give generously by being an answer resource, leading programs and serving on committees. Connect and refer, making it your job to be the bridge between people and organizations. Be the first to volunteer or see a need and fill it. Your leadership will be noted.

Get more from your social media by using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other sites to find connections and resources. Use your “window to the world” to give recommendations and referrals and to share useful information. Search for people you know from business or club memberships, or from prior jobs or your alma mater. Reconnect and offer to be a resource. Participate in online groups and show your stuff with great answers and helpful posts. Leverage the “six degrees of separation” by noticing who your friends are friends with and asking for connections. And avoid the temptation to add friends indiscriminately just to run up a big number. On Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, friend people who have demonstrated some shared interest in your topic, such as a group membership. On LinkedIn, friend only people you actually know.

Create more value from your speaking engagements and personal appearances. Ask the groups you participate in if you can be a speaker. Lead workshops and offer to provide seminars. Make sure your appearances include a way to build your opt-in list by offering a follow-up bonus to the people who attend. Ask the program coordinator for referrals to other groups where you might also be a speaker. Make sure you promote your appearances before and afterwards by sharing video or audio links and sending press releases. Above all, go to every event with a plan for how it will help you build your business and a goal for what kind of value (qualified leads, product sales, etc.) you will receive that day.

Engage in strategic community involvement. It’s great to volunteer to help organizations in the community, but if you’re doing it for business (not personal) reasons, then make sure people link you to your business by always wearing a logo shirt or driving a company car with magnetic or silk screen signage. Contribute logo merchandise when asked for gift items or prizes, and if you sponsor an event, get full value by having a nice sign or banner made. Take a leadership role and choose opportunities to volunteer that showcase your business talents. For example, if you’re an accountant and you want more accounting clients, volunteer for the finance committee, not the publicity committee. You only have a limited amount of time to volunteer, so choose your organizations not only based on sincere interest, but if it’s for a business goal, take a hard look at your ability to make connections that will lead to sales. Publicize your involvement on boards and committees. Look for ways to lead and innovate. And make sure you network with volunteers and leaders to get the most out of your investment of time and talent.

Make the most of your seven powerful tools and watch your business soar, even when the economy is tight.

By: Gail Martin

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Gail Z. Martin owns DreamSpinner Communications and helps companies and solo professionals in the U.S. and Canada save money and get results through exceptional writing and marketing. Gail has an MBA in marketing and over 20 years of corporate and non-profit experience at senior executive levels. Gail hosts the Shared Dreams Marketing Podcast and the Shared Dreams Become Reality group on Facebook. She is also the author of The Summoner, The Blood King, Dark Haven and Dark Lady’s Chosen fantasy a