Make Your Business Event A Real Success!

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Business Events|Make Your Business Event A Real Success!One of the great things about running a business in the modern world is that there have never been so many different ways for you to promote your business. The sheer number of marketing methods available to you means that you’re never going to be in a position where you can’t find the customers that you want to connect with. Of course, just because the marketing options are there doesn’t mean that you’re going to find all of them useful. However, a lot of modern business owners seem to be neglecting a lot of the more traditional marketing methods available to them. One of the most useful yet most overlooked has to be the live event. Any kind of live business event can be an amazing opportunity to not only promote your business and its products but to connect directly with customers and investors as well. Of course, it also comes with its own share of challenges. With that in mind, here are some ways that you can make sure your business event goes off without a hitch.

Start planning early

If there’s one thing that you most definitely cannot do with any kind of event, it’s playing the whole thing by ear. The truth is that if you want to be sure that your event is going to go off without a hitch then you need to plan and plan carefully. Make sure that you leave yourself enough time to figure out every aspect of your event and iron out the kinks. If you don’t leave yourself enough time you’re going to end up panicking and you won’t be able to make your event as amazing as you really want.

Know your audience

One of the most important questions that you have to ask yourself is: who is it that’s coming to your event? Is it going to be exclusively customers? Or are you going to have investors in attendance? You need to make sure that you know who the attendees of your event are going to be so that you can best tailor their experience. Investors are often going to be more interested in the cold, hard facts of your business whereas customers are more interested in products and entertainment. Finding a balance between those two and finding ways to intertwine them is often your best bet.

Give attendees something to take away

The biggest issue with a lot of business events is the fear that your attendees are just going to forget about it as soon as they leave. In order to avoid this one of the best things that you can do is to give them something to take away. From badges to custom air fresheners for cars, any kind of souvenir will work. That’s especially true if it’s something they’ll keep using since it will constantly remind them of your event.

Of course, an event is just one way to promote your business. The truth is that you are likely to need a whole variety of different marketing methods to make sure that your business has the presence it needs among potential customers. The key is to pay attention to the demographics that you’re aiming towards and do your research on the kinds of marketing methods that are most effective and drawing them in.

10 Offline Marketing Methods You’ve Probably Never Considered

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Offline Marketing|10 Offline Marketing Methods You’ve Probably Never Considered Digital strategies dominate much of the marketing methods used today, and online forms of marketing are deemed to be the only way to get results. While this can be true in certain industries and specific target markets, there are also many effective offline marketing methods available for you to use that you have probably never considered.

The digital age means that we use the internet for most things, but successful marketing can be achieved by offline means as well. Some people assume that offline methods are now outdated and aren’t as effective as online strategies, but by being creative and carefully thinking about your methods, you can create an effective offline approach.

Offline marketing methods are sometimes more popular amongst small businesses as it allows them to promote their products and services to their local communities. However, offline marketing tactics can also be successfully used by bigger and international companies to promote what they have to offer. Here are 10 offline marketing methods you probably have never considered using before.

Branding Products

Don’t underestimate the power of the freebie. Whether it is a company branded pen or keyring, or even a hat or T-shirt that features your company’s logo, making your presence known physically is a great way to get information across to potential customers. People are visual beings, and 90 percent of the information our brain receives is based on what we see, so branding products is a great method of offline marketing.

By using companies such as CustomEnvy, you can brand nearly any product with your company logo and name, for example, phone cases, apple watch straps, and beach towels. You could give away branded products to your customers so that when they use their products around their friends, you are getting additional exposure for your business.

Sponsorship

You will be surprised at how effective sponsorship is as a form of offline marketing, especially if you sponsor an individual or event that is well-known, either locally or nationally. Sponsorship is a great way to get your presence across to specific audiences and interact with your target market.

For example, if you sell sports clothing and products then you may think about sponsoring the local football team where your brand name is more likely to be witnessed by sports fans. Just like how a big company would want to sponsor an award ceremony or international event such as the Superbowl, for example, where the exposure is massive!

Creative Business Cards

A business card may sound like an old-fashioned form of marketing, but people still like to have a physical copy of a company’s details to hand. However, you should make sure that your business card is creative and different.

By investing in some quality and well-designed business cards you can stand out from any competitors and make sure that your brand sticks in their mind rather than anyone else. You should be sure that your business cards are clear and direct so that they reflect your company and values.

You can make individual business cards for each employee so that customers have a direct line to a member of staff if they need to contact them. This is not only more convenient for customers, but it also shows that you are a professionally run business.

Unique Packaging

Some of the biggest brands around are well-known because their packaging is different and stands out from other companies. For example, leading beauty company MAC has become well-known for their product packaging, and their black lipstick cases now stand out from any other beauty brand.

Similarly, if your product is to be sold on a shelf, then you want to make sure that it stands out from all the other items it is placed next to. It can sometimes be difficult to be noticed amongst hundreds of other products but aiming to be eye-catching is an important offline marketing technique.

Discounts

Offering discounts is a great way to market your business offline as people love to think they are getting a good deal. You don’t have to offer too much of a discount, but sometimes it can be worth it just to get customers through your door initially.

For example, if your target audience is older people, you may consider offering senior discounts on certain days in order to get your product talked about. By providing specific clients with special discounts, you are increasing revenue while also making your customers feel special and privileged.

Networking

Networking is important in most professions nowadays, and offline marketing strategies are no exception. There are many different opportunities for business to network with potential customers, without being online. If you are based in a small town, then you should consider hosting networking events so that you get to meet the local people and make them aware of what it is your company does and what you have to offer them.

You may also consider setting up a local business group if one doesn’t already exist, where you become friendly and collaborate with other small businesses in your area. This is a great way to set up a small network of businesses and spread the brand identity and products of your business.

Provide Expert Advice

If you have a company in a field, then you can offer expert advice to help people and you should advertise this. While it may not directly create more revenue, it is likely to increase potential customers in the future. Offering expert advice is a great way to help others while also getting some attention to your business.

If you have a small local business, then you should consider going on a community radio station to answer listener questions while also getting some publicity for your brand. Similarly, you may consider establishing workshops to your customers to help them with any problems they may have. People are much more likely to buy/use your products if you are known for being a helpful company.

Digital Signs

A good old-fashioned sign is a great offline marketing strategy as it gets you noticed by hundreds of people every day. Billboards have been used for years, by both small and big businesses, as they have proven to be successful.

By using digital techniques and creative designs, you can develop innovative signs to make people aware of your business and get them familiar with your brand identity and logo. While billboards can sometimes be a bit pricey, they are a good way to use a marketing budget, as the exposure it gives your company can be priceless.

Attend Trade Shows

Depending on what sort of industry your business is based on, you may be able to attend trade shows to get offline attention. At a trade show, you can promote your brand and the different products you have on offer. This is a great way to interact with your target audience as all the people who are most likely to buy your product are all in one place.

You can combine a trade show strategy with the use of branding products, as offering something for free is a sure way to get people to flock to your stall. Here you could provide a goody bag to give to the trade show attendees that have your logo on the side with sweets, information leaflets, and special discounts in them to encourage future customers.

Advertise in Printed Media

Many people still look in their local newspaper for services and products that they require, so using printed media to promote your business is an effective offline marketing strategy. Similarly, you could ask your local paper to feature events you are holding as well as discounts and write-ups about what your business does.

Local print publications are still popular forms of communication and media, especially amongst communities, so it is a simple but effective way to get you valuable and needed attention. You should try to develop a good relationship between you and the media because it may come in handy in the future.

Whereas marketing has shifted to online and digital forms of promotion, there are many effective ways that you can develop your offline marketing strategy as well. While it is important that you have a strong online presence, you shouldn’t neglect your offline attempts at marketing either.

Older people tend to be more susceptible to offline marketing tactics, as they spend less time online than young people do. However, if you are advertising at local events or international occasions, then you can be sure to get exposure to a range of different people who may be interested in what you have to offer.

The key to a good marketing strategy, whether online or offline, is to spend some time considering where your target audience is most likely to see your adverts and focus your time and money on those environments. Interacting with potential customers is also important, as it will make your business stick in their mind for the future.

7 Ways to Raise Awareness about Your Non-Profit Organization

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Marketing for Non-Profits|7 Ways to Raise Awareness about Your Non-Profit OrganizationPeople rarely donate money to charities they’ve never heard of, and they certainly won’t donate to causes they don’t know about. This is why raising awareness is essential for fundraising. The standard methods of raising awareness include sending out mailers and hosting events, but these can be expensive, and you’re competing in a crowded sphere. The best solutions are affordable and unusual. Here are five ways to raise awareness about your non-profit organization.

Make Use of Social Media

Social media has an incredibly wide reach. Nearly three billion people use social media daily, and more than four fifths of Americans have at least once social media account.

Dust off your organization’s social media profiles and start posting stories about what you’re doing. One of the best things about social media is that you don’t have to get in the business of creating new content. You can maintain an active feed by sharing news related to your cause and any mentions of your charity in the news. This means that when school kids wear your shirts at a fundraiser for your charity, or a celebrity brags about donating to your charity, share the story on social media to help get the word out.

Get – and Give – Some Swag

One way to reward donors is to thank them for their donations. A better solution is to give them swag like T-shirts, key chains and bags branded with your charity’s logo. They’ll feel appreciated. And when they wear it, they’ll be promoting awareness of your charity. You can build awareness of your charity and your swag by taking pictures of your employees, your donors and your volunteers carrying it. Giving swag could create more visibility than you may imagine and even generate a lot of interest for your cause completely by accident.

One example was when PGA star Rickie Fowler wore a custom button to honor a young fan that died of a rare disorder. He wore the pin every day of the PGA tour, resulting in many photos of him and the pin showing up in media. You can learn more about this story and how a simple custom button could help your business get tons of attention not only online, but from everyday people wearing them as well.

Don’t forget to give away branded swag at community events to raise awareness too. This will attract people to your booth, and you can use the give-away as a way to discuss your charitable cause. Give your volunteers custom buttons to show that they’re members of your team, and encourage them to give away buttons as a way to create awareness. Make sure that the buttons are attractive too so that people will actually want to wear them.

Have a Photo/Video Contest

A photo contest or video competition can build awareness by generating social media attention with relatively little effort on your part. Just give people a topic and the rules for entry, such as asking them to wear a custom button with the charity’s logo on it in an unusual place or in a major public event. You can generate interest and entries by offering a cash prize for the top entries or giving away free swag to creators of the most creative entries. You’ll get extra points if you link the contest with a hashtag so that it can get trending in its own right. Funny or outrageous content could go viral simply for the entertainment value.

Challenge People

You could get the ball rolling by making it a challenge, getting people to compete with each other for a cause. You can combine this with a photo contest, such as showing how much food they collected for your charity or the number of volunteers they could get to come to an event. Make it a competition to do as much as possible for charity.

Provide Valuable Content

Search engines give extra weight to valuable content. One way to keep social media followers engaged is to offer them valuable content aside simply soliciting for money. They may share valuable content about the cause that your charity supports with friends and family. Informational articles could become highly trafficked content in its own right, while the mention of your charity on the page increases awareness of it. Create how-to videos or infographics, and they could be widely shared by people who simply want to educate others. Note that when you create this content, you should share it via your organization’s social media accounts.

Publish a Press Release

You should also never overlook the power of press releases. While they’ve been around for a while and are certainly not flashing, just a professionally written and enticing press release could give your charity a lot of visibility, especially on the local level. This is why it’s very important that you include the name of your municipality in the title so that local media might pick it up. Also, try to have a special event or achievement attached to it to create more buzz.

Organize or Sponsor Live Events

Just like press releases, live events are a great way to build a relationship with members of your community. Check what type of events perform the best where you are and create your own. Also, make sure that it aligns with your cause.

However, you don’t want to focus solely on lecturing people about your cause. Try to make the event as enjoyable as possible so that people will create a positive connection between the fundraising event and your charity. People are also more likely to give if they don’t feel like they’re getting pressured. And they’ll also be much more likely to post pictures of your event on social media, creating even more attention for your cause.

Managing a nonprofit is tough, and finding ways to raise awareness – and money – without spending a lot of money is a challenge in its own right. However, there are things you can do to raise awareness of both your cause and your charity without spending a fortune.

The Advantages of Private Label Products

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Private Label Products|The Advantages of Private Label Products Private labeling allow companies to sell branded products manufactured by someone else. The item may have been produced by a third-party, but it carries your label and is sold under your packaging. It is a useful way of expanding a product range for minimal investment.

For example, if you run an agricultural business and your customers are interested in purchasing wetting agent chemicals, private label products allow you to focus your efforts on marketing while ensuring your customers receive top-quality goods from a more specialized manufacturer.

Supermarkets sell private label products under their own branding. In fact, in the US, supermarkets generate around 15% of their sales from private label products, as these items are often cheaper than well-known big brands.

If your business is considering investing in private label products, here is some pros behind offering private labeling.

Work with an Experienced Manufacturer

Private label manufacturers specialize in a particular niche. They have dedicated expertise and have invested considerable time and effort in developing a range of products that meet customer needs. Experienced manufacturers spend a lot of money on research and development, an investment that is beyond the reach of smaller retailers and companies.

Private label manufacturers such as AmegA Sciences supply private label products for agrochemical and specialty fertilizer sellers, and turf agent manufacturers. Agrochemicals are their area of expertise, which is a win-win for businesses in that niche. Working with an experienced private label manufacturer like this one who were established back in 1984 means you can take advantage of their expertise (and manufacturing utilities) in your chosen field. Instead of investing time and money in research and development, you can select the products you need and start marketing them immediately.

Reduced Unit Costs

Unit cost is very important. The more a unit costs, the tighter your profit margins are. Spending money researching and developing a new product is a risky endeavor. The product might never make it out of the R&D phase, which means you will have to write off the project. In addition, a competitor might pip you to the post and release a similar product to market before yours is out of the testing phase.

Buying private label products from a private label manufacturer is less risky and unit costs are usually cheaper. You can buy the exact number of products you need, which enables you to maintain a minimal inventory.

Instead of investing a lot of money in a product that might not sell, you can test customer demand with a small number of products. Once you are sure the product is a good fit for your customer base, you can begin saving money by placing bulk orders.

Sell Branded Products

The beauty of private label products is that you can sell products bearing your branded labels and packaging, which are still manufactured by a third-party. Using the previous example of AmegA Sciences, they often offer in-house design and printing services. Products can be customized and printed with bespoke labels and branding. This speeds up the manufacturing process and ensures your products are ready for market much faster.

For smaller businesses, utilizing private label manufacturing product branding is a cost-effective solution. Instead of paying a third-party or creating an in-house design and printing department, you can opt for product branding as part of the service. The sooner your private label products are ready for market, the quicker your business can start seeing a return on its investment.

Offer Greater Variety to Customers

Smaller businesses often don’t have the funds available to invest in extending a product range. Buying private label products from an experienced private label manufacturer makes extending a product range more cost-effective.

Since good private label manufacturers only operate B2B (and don’t compete with their customers B2C), they can offer a wide range of products and unique product customization options. By working with a private label manufacturer to produce products that fit your existing lines, you can expand your inventory for less and attract a new set of customers at the same time.

If you have identified an underserved niche in your marketplace, private label manufacturing is a smart way to test the market. Work with an experienced private label manufacturer to produce a customized product your customers want. You’ll enjoy excellent quality and fast turnaround times, which means you can expand your product range before your competitors have spotted the gap in the market.

Bulk-Buy Products

Having the option to bulk buy products is one of the many advantages of purchasing from a private label manufacturer. Bulk buying options minimize unit costs and there are often significant discounts available if you want to place a bulk order.

Establish a Unique Brand

Selling only big-brand products makes it hard for a company to stand out in the crowd. By developing a range of private label products, you can differentiate yourself from your competitors, which helps to build a unique brand.

Always work with an experienced private label manufacturer when producing private label products. That way you can build a strong reputation and a loyal customer base.

Top 5 Facebook ads strategies for ecom or dropshipping

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | Top 5 Facebook ads strategies for ecom or dropshipping | Facebook Ads | EntrepreneurshipIf you are looking forward to boost the popularity of your dropshipping business and get more orders, you must take a look at Facebook marketing. In fact, Facebook paid advertisements are in a position to provide outstanding results to you. At Strategy Driven, our favourite course for ecommerce is Franklin Hatchett’s ecom elites course. The ecom elites review on aaronsreview.com goes into great detail as to why you should buy the course.  As an alternative, you can also work with Facebook advertising agencies.

As the first thing, you need to understand that Facebook advertising is completely different from Google advertising. If you are familiar with Google advertising, you will not be able to apply the same strategies in here to end up with positive outcomes. You must be aware about the specific strategies, which can help you gain positive results in Facebook.

Here is a list of 5 such effective Facebook ads strategies that you can follow for dropshipping or ecommerce. All these strategies can provide amazing returns to you and you will be able to go ahead with any out of them.

1. Make sure that you create a sense of exclusivity

Facebook is all about exclusivity. Therefore, you need to make sure that your advertisements on Facebook are also in a position to create a sense of exclusivity. This can provide you with a clear advantage by being on a social media network such as Facebook. You should always provide exclusive content via the Facebook ads. This can consume a lot of time and effort. But when you compare it with the returns that you get, you will be able to have a clear idea about the benefits that come on your way.

2. Highlight before and after

In the Facebook advertisements, you need to highlight the conditions that exist before a specific action and the conditions that exist after a specific action. No matter what kind of a product you are trying to promote with Facebook, you need to take it out of the box and snap a photo to be uploaded to Facebook. Then you need to snap another similar photo after you use the product. Both these photos should be combined and uploaded on Facebook.

For example, assume that you are going to sell running shoes through your ecommerce store. The first thing you need to do is to take out the running shoes, keep them along with the wrapping and then capture a photo. Then you need to take another photo, which indicates a person wearing the running shoes. This photo should be taken with a nice background behind it. If you can follow this strategy, you will be able to get the best possible results out of your Facebook advertisements.

3. Receive benefits from the fame of your competitors

When you are promoting a dropshipping or an ecommerce business on Facebook, you need to pay special attention towards the competition. However, you will be able to take advantage from the fame of your competitors.

Many people worry that having famous and reputed competitors is a disadvantage. That’s because people often tend to go ahead with the brands that they can easily recognize. However, you will be able to talk about those recognizing brands and then tell that there is something even more interesting and better. With that approach, you can promote your product. This will provide you with a better opportunity to grab the attention of your audience.

All you have to do is to upload a post with information related to the product offered by your competitor. Inside the post, you can promote your product according to the above-mentioned approach.

4. Highlight the contrast

You must be selling variant or customizable products through your ecommerce store. In such a situation, you need to make sure that you upload Facebook advertisements, which highlight the contrast between them and the ordinary products available in the market.

You can even do with the help of exact same shoes as well. All you have to do is to introduce the different colors and textures, when your customer keeps on scrolling through. This can give life to an outstanding advertisement in the long run. It can also highlight all the variants that you have got for sale under your store as well.

However, you need to understand that it is not possible to receive effective results by paying attention only towards the colors. You should also take a look at the fonts and background colors as well. That’s where you need to think about handing this over to a professional designer. Then you can completely focus on promoting your dropshipping or ecommerce store on Facebook.

5. Create excitement about products on the minds of customers

Through Facebook advertisements, it is also possible for you to create excitement about your products in the minds of customers. You just need to think the most exciting moment for your customer would be in the product lifecycle. In most of the products, unboxing is the most exciting part. For that, you need to select a product and then promote it via Facebook advertisements. Due to the excitement that you create among customers, they will be tempted to visit the ecommerce store. As a result, you will be able to generate a significant income out of it as well. That’s because you can get more people from Facebook to purchase the product that you offer. It can create a positive impact on the other products available for your purchase in the ecommerce store as well.

Any ecommerce or dropshipping store owner will be able to follow these strategies. Then you can easily end up with outstanding results. You will also fall in love with Facebook advertisements due to the amazing returns that are offered to you in the long run.