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Blenhiem Graphic Design and Website Designers

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Whats in a telephone number?

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Telephone Number - what does it say about your business?

Maybe you don’t think much about your telephone number. I know a lot of people strive to get the easiest number to remember when connecting a new number, but that seems to be as far as most go.  Lets be honest, people don’t remember your business phone number anymore, not with cell phones… there is no need. Honestly, I can’t tell you my wife’s mobile number because it is two buttons away in my cell phone.

But your phone number can say a lot about your business, and your customers notice it.

If you service a local community like Blenheim, or region such as Marlborough, a local calling number reassures your customers they are dealing with a local business and often depending on the industry, this is important to the customer.

If you provide products or services nationally, having a toll free number is telling the customers that you may be out of town, but you value their business enough to pay for their inquiry.  If you have two competing businesses to contact for a product, and one is a toll call, while the other is toll free, which are you going to call first?

International business may be a combination of the two.  Are you going to make an international phone call to place an order? Not likely if their is local competition. Why not have a toll free number in another country redirected to your local office?

What can you take away from this?  Smaller local companies can have toll free national and international numbers, so they appear bigger than they actually are to their target customers.  On the other hand,  large national (or international) companies can have many local numbers to appear as though they have a local office.

What does your business phone number tell your customers?

Photo credit: Alexander ONeill

A great illustration of the importance of first impressions

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I am always searching and reading as much as I can about marketing and branding to make sure we can keep up with the newest and best techniques people are coming up with.

Anyway, I stumbled on this post the other day.  It is a short video that really gets across the point I made the other day in my paint the fence post, about the importance of a first impression.

Head over here now and check out this post… the video is only about a minute long, and totally worth a look:

First Mental Image should draw you in! (video version)

Do something different, Stand out

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A strong Brand is the most important asset a business can have.  Traditionally branding has been considered a part of marketing startegy, but I consider marketing to be a part of your branding strategy.  Here is a definition of branding that I really like and agree with:

“Branding is about getting people to perceive you as the only solution to their problem” Rob Frankel

So how do you build a brand like this?

Companies like Coca-cola, American express, and the Warehouse, spend literally millions of dollars to be the leaders in their markets.  Advertising is an expensive way to maintain market position and branding.

The better way to become number one is to offer something that no-one else offers, Do something completely different from everybody else. If you are already in business, how can you change your industry, if others are fighting coming change, embrace it and stand up as the first and only.

Seth Godin would call this a purple cow…  Something that is so different from anything else, that it gets noticed.

Do something that others will talk about!

Paint the fence

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For a long time I’ve been interested in Real estate, it never ceases to amaze me how many people start marketing their house for sale and the front fence is run down with cracked or flaking paint (or otherwise damaged). How many people drive-by the house and never come in because of that fence? They will never get to see that the kitchen has been renovated if they never come in the front gate.

If the house looks like a doer-upper, what sort of offers do you think it will attract?

First impressions count!

Painting the front fence might only take a few hours, and it can make the house look 100x more appealing. Those drive-by’s may take the time to come in and have a closer look.

What is your customers’ first impression of your business? Does it encourage them to come and seek your products or services, or do they drive straight past to your competition?

Take an objective look at your business, what does your reception area look like? How do people react to how the phones are answered? Is your website up to date? Is your uniform getting a bit tatty?

The good news is most of these things are relatively cheap to fix.

Do you need to paint the fence? [Read more…] about Paint the fence

So what is web 2.0 anyway?

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Web 2.0 is a term that is bandied around a lot these days.  It is a buzz word that is used to describe many services and applications.  But I still get lots of people asking me what it means, and there seem to be many more who don’t quite understand it or the ramifications.

This is the best video explanation I have found, of what web 2.0 is.   It is put together by Dr Michael Wesch, from Kansas State University.  It moves quick, but explains a lot in a short amount of time (4.33 mins run time)

Did you miss something?

The main point is web 2.0 allowed ANYBODY to add information. You no longer need to be a web developer, or a programmer…. YOU can add contribute to the internet. You can comment, add photo’s, videos, opinions, comments, have conversations with friends or someone you’ve never met.   I can video chat with my brother in Sweden while broadcasting a message to hundreds, or thousands of people (potentially even millions).

Can you see how powerful it can be? It is leveling the playing field and creating huge opportunities for the small guys. Your market just got bigger, you can reach a global audience from Blenheim, or Picton or even Linkwater.

All of this is why I am an internet Fanantic

Have you thanked your customers lately?

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Your most important customers are the ones you already have.  Businesses often spend thousands of dollars per year marketing and advertising to attract new customers while ignoring, or taking for granted their current customers.

Existing customers have already chosen to do business with you, the chances they will do again is high if you look after them.

Sending your current customers something as simple as a thank you card could be the best value marketing you could do.  Of course you could also give them a small gift or make them a VIP offer to encourage them back to see you.

I know one business that sends one handwritten thank you card to a different customer everyday.  It is a habit that pays dividends.

To employ this idea, you need to know who your customers are.  Do you have a list of customer contacts?  If you don’t, you should – start building one today!