I talk a lot about personal growth. Today I want to put out a post about how to grow your business. Maybe you are self-employed, just starting a small company. I could say all kinds of things about what’s important to you about your business, but the thing that is on most small business owners’ minds is “Where here can I promote my business to get more customers or clients?”
This is always the one thing that every small business person is working towards. Or maybe you’re self-employed and thinking “How can I grow my business to make it bigger?” It’s all about growth. Each of us has got something that we do to make a living and each of us usually wants to grow that business.
I speak and write a lot about how to develop an Ideal life. To get to “ideal” we have to work along the way, including promoting ourselves. So today I’m going to give you five ideas to promote yourself, your business, your charity, whatever you’re working on that needs to grow to keep the flow of money coming in.
1. Use social media. I’m not a coach who works with people in developing an online presence but I can give you some ideas on how to use social media to make your business grow. For example, you can use the tools that work with Twitter to post a special about your business or promotion and have it worded in a way that is different each time. You can set it to post about every 20 minutes. Do this three times a week.
On your Facebook page, there is a product for those who follow you on all forms of the social media. Put a code into it that they then bring to you in your store or business that gives them a special deal.
There are tons of ways to promote using the social media. If your company wants to develop a social media program to promote itself, check out my friend J.R. Atkins of Something Different Companies to help you develop a plan.
2. Print up tee shirts to give away. I did this to promote a company I had back east. I worked a lot with people in radio and would give them away at promotional events. You don’t just give them to your friends and family. Yes, they should always get one, but also give them away at events. People love to get things for free. Print them with something eye-catching so people will want to wear them. They will wear them places that you never even thought about getting your name in.
3. Give away free services. I go to several networking events that have raffles and giveaways. If you go to networking events or club meetings, always be willing to give away a free service to people attending there. Don’t fall into the problem that I did, just giving a one-time deal. I used to give away a free session. No one would ever call about that because they were worried that session would be one hour of me giving them a sales pitch. So I now give away three free months of coaching. They now get a foundation for starting life over with a few months of free service. I also treat them like a paying client, so they are not just given leftovers for free. And when they actually get something from it, they can’t wait to tell friends.
4. Be charitable. When working at Starbucks, we once had a local bank come over and buy everyone who came into our store a free drink and a pastry for an entire day. It was a good idea, and word got out. The bank did nothing but buy things for people who were looking for a free drink. I remember people telling how they drove 10 miles to get a free drink and were upset because they had to wait 30 minutes for that drink.
Well I thought about this concept and here is a sure fire way to get people to know who you are and get your message out. Arrange with your local Starbucks to purchase everyone’s drinks for a one-hour period of time. Sit in the Café, while the people behind the counter have a gift card to pay for everyone’s drink. Then when the customer asks who paid for the drink, they point to you and say “That person bought your drink for you today.” In an hour time frame not many people will be driving across town to take advantage of you, and you’re more likely to get the people who are regulars at that business to meet you.
5. Put a sign on your car. This is a method that works for construction workers and many others. They use a magnetic sign on the door of their car. Well, have your own printed sign that sticks to your car panel. Make sure your website, and a phone number are visible so that anyone driving by you can read and remember. Make it eye catching. Something that makes them want to remember you and your business and want to call.
But if you do this, remember that you drive by the world in your car. I would not cut people off or block traffic with your car while you’re advertising yourself. It could give people an idea where you are if you make them mad and it isn’t good advertising when it makes people angry. These signs can be really cheap, around $100.
Check with your auto insurance company to make sure your vehicle will not be considered a commercial vehicle when you do this. You would not want to have an accident and then find out you’re not covered because you were using your vehicle for business.
There you go: five ideas to quickly promote your company or small business and get some people checking you out. I hope these ideas make you think of many more. I hope your business becomes a success.
I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach. It’s time to live your dream, to love what you do and those you share life with. Get ready to be a RockStar in your world.
