Branding – no I’m not talking about using a red hot iron. The kind of branding I’m talking about large companies have been doing for years. But now small businesses are beginning to understand the value.

Branding Your Business

Your brand is your business identity. Done properly, consumers don’t even need to see your business name to recognize your business. I’m going to date myself and for some of you youngsters, you may not recognize these. For the rest of you, see how many of these you can guess.

Stronger Than Dirt

Plop Plop Fizz Fizz

A little dab will do ya.

Where’s the beef?

Takes a licking and keeps on ticking

Every things better with ____________ on it

Okay youngsters – here are a couple for you.

Just Do It

_____ gives you wings

Your in good hands with _____

Many of these slogans are decades old but you can instantly recall the company it represents. That’s Branding!

You are probably saying, “My business doesn’t have a huge advertising budget nor a Madison Avenue Ad agency to create catchy slogans.” That’s correct but for a local business, a catchy slogan isn’t the only way to create branding. Diversity and consistency are.

Consistency means using the same company identity in everything you do. Your website should have the same look as your business cards which should match your company vehicles, which should match your brochures and print advertising. The goal of consistency is to have instant recognition of your business without having to see the name.

I will cover diversity in the next post so stay tuned.

800biz.com is a website design company that specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and online marketing.  For more information visit our website at www.800biz.com.  To findo our how to reach local customers in the zip codes you want to target,  visit www.localadlink101.com

You’re going to need one to catch all the business that will come your way. Chose referral marketing as your primary advertising, and watch your business grow into the whale you know it will be.

Referral marketing is about getting great recommendations from those you who know you. Let them make the introductions, and then make these people happy, too. Create relationships. Offer help. Be sincere.

Once you have a strong foundation, keep in touch. Regularly let them know they can ask for help anytime. Remind them of this in a meaningful way, and you’ll stay on their minds, bringing you even more business.

See how this works? Before you know it, you’ll have a huge group of business prospects who will take your calls.

These people are priceless.

Do you have a system for staying on their minds? Regular contact creates trusting relationships. Relationships are what bring business your way.

OK. Now you’re on board with the necessity, how can you make this happen?

The Mechanics of Keeping in Touch

Be honest. How many relationships can you pay attention to at any one time? Count them up. Short of giving up sleep, I’ll bet no more than 30 or 40 quality and interactive relationships are all you can manage.

Need to find the time to do this? How about substituting endless phone calls and lunches with personal cards sent through the mail?

Studies show that greeting cards are the best way to keep in touch and show sincere interest in people.  Who in the business world does THAT? Not many.

Ever get a card from a dentist thanking you for letting them clean your teeth? You mean money to them, and should show appreciation for your business. I’ll bet you’d be a loyal patient and refer them to all your friends.

How do you feel when you get an unexpected card in the mail? It puts that person in your thoughts. When it happens on a regular basis, and they’ll be on your mind when other’s need what they have.
See where this is going? See why card sending is such an integral piece of a strong but simple marketing program?

Painlessly and Inexpensively Make This Happen

Here’s a story from the owner of one of the biggest law firms in Chicago. David employs a full-time assistant whose sole job is to send 6,000 cards per month to clients. Can you imagine how much work that took?

That poor assistant had to:

1. Keep a schedule of who to send cards to and when
2. Manage an inventory of note cards
3. Hand write individual messages
4. Get the boss’ signature on each one
5. Stuff envelopes
6. Buy and apply stamps
7. Get cards to the post office

A chunk of this had to happen every day. It did not come cheap. Between supplies, stamps and his assistant’s salary, David was spending about $10,000 a month on cards.

Why do you think David wanted to send all those cards in the first place? They built his multi-million dollar legal business! He kept in touch with clients who loved his services and sent referrals to him.

How’d you like an enormous business like that built on a “house of cards”??

You Don’t Have to Have a Personal
Assistant to Send Out Your Cards

Here’s YOUR process. Run to the store, find a card, pay up to $5 for it, write a message, search for their address, put the card in an envelope, find a stamp and run it to the post office. Whew! No wonder most of us don’t send cards!

How about if we streamline the process? Here you go!

Online greeting cards!

• Send real cards, in your own handwriting from your computer, click your mouse and let a card company print it, stamp it (with a real stamp), and take it to the post office for you.
• Better yet, what if you could send a series of personalized, heartfelt cards over a period of time, with one click of a mouse?
• You can even do this over and over with the same card and the same basic message, but your recipient only sees that it was written just for them.

You just created personal greeting cards in a matter of minutes.

Imagine the number of people that you could be able to stay in touch with, not to mention the number of referrals that would flood your way because of all this contact!

Some of you may have heard there is a recession going on (it’s been in all the papers!)  But since November, my business has skyrocketed!  This little card service increased my business by 200% during a time when everyone is pinching pennies. I share it with all my clients and it’s working its magic for them too.

See for yourself. Go to:
www.unlimited-referrals.com

Try it out. Give me a call at 520-861-4821. I’ll answer questions or walk you through the process if needed.

I’ll warn you now, the biggest problem for system users is picking out the card you want to send. You’ve got 14,000 cards in the company’s inventory AND an unlimited number you can create with your own pictures. Making up your mind is the tough part!

Walter Hailey was a mediocre life insurance salesman until he developed a system to generate more referrals.  His simple system generated more the a billion dollars in sales in 8 years.  So what was this business changing system — he went to people he paid money to and asked them for referrals to their other clients and customers.

Think about it.  If you approached your accountant or insurance agent and asked for referrals do you think they would say “No”?  You pay money to them to provide you with products and/or services and they feel an obligation to help you.  Do you think these would be good quality referrals?  Of course they would.

This might be awkward to do in person, so here’s an easy system to help speed the process along.  Use a greeting card.  Make up a card with your picture and ask for referrals in a professional and  dignified way.  Send one to every person you spend money with.

SendOutCards is the perfect tool to help you automate this system, as well as other traffic generating ideas.  For a free test drive, visit my web site at www.unlimited-referrals.com.  The information you fill in is kept strictly private and only I see it.  Send a couple of free cards on me.  Or give me a call and I will walk you through the process, answer any questions and help you get started.

We send and receive emails by the dozens in a day.  Text messages fly through the airwaves with the greatest of ease.  It takes only a few minutes to send a email or text message.  So we think we are doing so well when we communicate with our customers that way.  Or even better, we let our customers know how much we appreciate them with an email or fax.  Now that’s personal!

But when it comes to appreciation and building solid relationships, progress is not always a good thing.  How many emails did you delete today?  How many voice mails did you erase?  If you want to truly be remembered for your thoughtfulness, mail a personalized greeting card.  Statistics from the US Postal Service says that less than 30% of the people expect to get anything personal in their mail.  So imagine how impressive it will be when they receive a greeting card from you.  And if the card has their picture on it, that card is never going to get thrown out.  It will stay on their refrigerator or desk, reminding them of you every time they look at it.

If you would like the ability to create personal greeting cards using your own photos, handwriting and signature, contact me for a free test drive.

Have you ever had someone give you a gift or do something nice for you?  What was your reaction?  It’s human nature to want to do something in nice in return.  If it’s in the context of business, we want to do something for that business.  Businesses often send a “Thank You” letter or card after a sale.  But how many send a card of appreciation 6 months or a year later?  Oh, we are good about saying we appreciate your business and we have a special sale right now so give us some more of your business.  Those are the cards and letters that get tossed in file 13 as just another piece of junk mail.  What I’m talking about is sending a card or note to say “I appreciate you and am honored you choose to do business with me.”  This unexpected act of appreciation is a powerful tool.  Will you get a response every time you send one?  Of course not, but the effect is long term and long lasting.  Human nature kicks in and they want to return the gesture.  That may mean actively referring you to friends or co-workers, or maybe making that purchase now instead of in the future.

So why don’t more of businesses do this?  The answer is time.  It’s a time consuming process.  It’s hard to track and manage.  So while everyone agrees it’s a good idea, most businesses never do it.  But there is a service that is quick and easily manageable.  If you would like to see  just how easily you can start putting appreciation to work for you, give me a call or email.  I will arrange a 10 minute demonstration for you.

Given the choice, which is more valuable to have — a prospect from an ad or a referral from a satisfied client or customer?  In my case, I will take the referral every time.  My credibility is much higher and the chances of closing a sales is far greater.  In today’s economy, the new business is much harder to come by so you need every edge you can gain.   Referrals give you the edge over the competition.

I recently read an incredible book titled, “The Referral of a Lifetime” by Tim Templeton.  It teaches a system to develop your relationships and cultivate a limitless source of referrals.  One key component is the “Keeping in Touch” phase.  “Business happens on a personal level after a professional impression has been made.”  When was the last time you read a newsletter from your CPA or someone else you do business with.  But if they remembered your birthday by sending a card, that makes an impression.  What if they sent you a card thanking you for your business through the years?  You are much more likely to refer them to your friends and/or customers.

The second phase is the “Web of Appreciation”.  If someone that you sent gave a referral to sent you not only a card of thanks but a gift, you would be impressed, appreciative and, more likely than not, you would  send more referrals their way.

The key to creating a system like this is it must be automated.  Most business people are already pressed for time and can’t find the time to manage a cumbersome system, so it won’t happen.

SendOutCards is the perfect answer.  You can automate your cards, even scheduling a series of cards to send at regular intervals.  SendOutCards has an assortment of gifts and gift cards you can include with your card, in any price range, from a $5 Starbucks or BlockBuster Gift card to gift baskets and gourmet foods.  All from your computer and sent in less the 2 minutes.  Test drive the service by sending a couple of free cards on me by going to www.sendoutcards.com/800biz.

If you would like to download a recap of this book, click here.

Do you dread the task of sending holiday cards?  How would you like to send out all your cards in five minutes?  With SendOutCards, you can do just that.  Put all your addresses in a spreadsheet format and upload them to your SendOutCards account.  Create your holiday card with your own photo and  personal message in your own handwriting and signature.  Select everyone that you want to send a card to and click send.  Your cards will be printed, stuffed, stamped and mailed for you.

If you would like to try SendOutCards, give me a call and I will set up a free test account for you.  Or you can visit my web site www.sendoutcards.com/800biz and click the big Send A Free Card button.

Harvey Mackay’s book, “Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive,” devotes 1 lesson to the dynamic impact of sending note of appreciation to customer, clients, vendors and service providers.  In our high tech world of gadgets, emails and text messages, the impact of actually mailing notes of thanks or congratulations have been all but lost.  How many emails have you deleted today?  How many voice mails or text messages?

While a note of thanks or congrats sent via one of these methods is appreciated, it’s read, deleted and soon forgotten.  But a greeting card with a hand written note inside, mailed in an actual stamped envelope, will be read and often saved.  Especially if the card has a photo of your client, product, location or something personal to them.  A greeting card with a sincere thank-you or congratulations is remembered long after it was received.

If you are looking for an easy and affordable way to send thank you cards, check out SendOutCards.  To see how easy it is to use, go to www.sendoutcards.com/800biz.  Click on the big, red “Click Here To Send A Free Card” button and have your speakers turned on.  The audio will talk you through the process of sending a card.

With all the buzz about social networking on the web, we shouldn’t neglect our existing customers, clients and prospects.  The stronger your relationship with prospects and customers, the more successful you will be.    The simplest acts can make all the difference.

Sending a greeting card is one of the best, proven ways of maintaining and growing those relationships with your customers and/or clients.  A card saying “Thanks for your business”, “Thanks for the referral” or even “Happy Birthday” tell them you care about them as a person.  You didn’t just “take their money and run”.  Sending a printed greeting card as opposed to a e-card has a significantly higher impact.  Nowadays we get so much spam and even phony e-cards that contain viruses, no one opens them unless they are expecting the card.  But when they receive a printed greeting card in the regular mail, they will enjoy the thoughtfulness and will often keep the card on their desk.  They are will remember you for this small act over all your competitors.

SendOutCards is a great vehicle to do just that — send out printed greeting cards.  You can choose from 13,000 cards already made up or design your own using your art work or photographs.  You can even add your own handwriting and signature to personalize the card even more.  Cards are printed on high quality, recycled paper, stuffed, stamped and mailed directly to your customer/client.  With the contact manager, you can even be reminded on birthdates and anniversaries in advance.

To try SendOutCards for free, go to www.sendoutcards.com/800biz.  Click on the big, red “Click Here to Send a Free Card” button and have your speakers turned on.  The audio will talk you through the process of sending a card.