Stand out on the cheap with superior customer service.

Budget-friendly pocket camcorders like Kodak’s Zi8 can turn you into a globally-renowned business expert.

A simple service can win big in a small market.

By Scott Gerber | Entrepreneur.com

From aquatic sporting goods for dogs to Michelle Obama-inspired fashion websites, niche products and services have the potential to generate big bucks if they capture the hearts, minds and wallets of a dedicated consumer base. Unlike conglomerates that target the masses, niche businesses cater to highly defined markets that are often over-looked, underserved or disenfranchised by larger competitors. With an abundance of available outlets, resources and online platforms, identifying and reaching a target audience has never been easier for small business owners. Are you ready to become the big fish in a small pond? Is your passion unique enough to turn a profit? Here are 5 steps to make your niche business a hit.

Create a Simple Service
A simple service is a singular offering that focuses on the needs of a narrowly defined customer base. Whether you yearn to be the premier manufacturer of dog lingerie or the industry-leading producer of edible Christmas tree ornaments, make sure you can easily answer these questions: Who needs your service? What’s uniquely useful about that service? What makes your service better than your competition? Fine-tune your brand name, website, and marketing tactics to focus solely on selling your unique specialization and expertise. Remember: Focus. Focus. Focus.

Read article…

When the going gets tough, the tough advertise.

By Suzanne Driscoll | Entrepreneur.com

When sales slump due to a slow economy, a business owner’s first inclination is often to cut the marketing budget. After all, one has fixed costs and cash flow can be irregular. But marketing should be the last activity you eliminate or you risk an even faster downward spiral. Advertising your business and attracting new customers should be an ongoing process, and there are many things you can do that cost absolutely nothing. In these times money might be tight but the need for revenue is continuous, here are just a few suggestions.

1. Become the expert
   Submit articles related to your business to the local paper, trade journals and professional organization’s newsletters. Choose a topic that reflects your expertise on the subject and make sure your business is mentioned. You might also find a website that may be interested in letting you host a guest column. Whenever you get published, make copies and send them to all your current and potential customers.
2. Be a great public speaker
   Professional meeting planners are always looking for presenters and workshop leaders for conferences. Research contact names in the Directory of Meeting Planners or start with your local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club. If, like most people, you dread the thought of public speaking, join your local Toastmasters [http://www.toastmasters.org/] club; this is also a great way to meet potential customers. When you do get the opportunity to make a presentation, be sure to collect business cards for a drawing to win a book or other prize related to your business.

Read article…

Social media has its place, but e-mail remains the king of online relationship marketing.

Blogs are a marketing tool you can’t afford to ignore. Here are tips on how to create one successfully.
By Lesley Spencer Pyle | Entrepreneur.com

If you work at home for yourself, whether as a consultant, writer or virtual assistant, you need clients. You already know that marketing is a must. No doubt you’ve heard that blogging is an important tool in your marketing toolbox. It helps you connect with potential customers, and it allows them to get to know you and your work.

If you haven’t started blogging yet–or if you have but you’re looking for blog inspiration–here’s some advice from a pair of active bloggers.

Offer Value. Determine your audience and create useful content. A blog can’t simply be an ad. If it is, no one will come back to your site. Hallie Vanszl, owner of La Retro Gifts, a toy boutique store, just began her first blog. She says her goal was clear: “I wanted it to be more story and less product–with just a mention in a place or two, rather than the majority of the post being related to product.” So while you’ll find the occasional link to a specific toy, you’ll also find her recipe for snow cream, sample love notes to leave in lunch boxes and play ideas for children with special needs.

Show Your Creative Side. Blogs can showcase your ability. Your portfolio of projects for clients may be limited to fairly serious or otherwise “dry” material. You can show those as an example of work for satisfied clients, but your blog can be a place to shine. Show pictures of what you’re working on, describe a particularly successful event or post a personal project that showcases your unseen abilities.

“Besides being another place and way for my name to be out there (and being in the right place at the right time is everything when your door’s always open for more work), my blogs give me a place where I can ‘untether’ on topics just a bit,” says freelance writer Tracy Morris.

If you’re going it alone, avoid these pitfalls.

Twitter is the easiest form of social media to measure, so make sure you’re getting the most from it.

By Marshall Sponder | Entrepreneur.com

The news is slowly sinking in that Twitter can help small businesses succeed beyond answering customers’ questions, networking and providing education. Within a fairly short period of time, Twitter could permanently change how small businesses operate to include hyper-local marketing, advertising, financial information, customer service, data mining, product and service alerts and micropayments.

Immaturity of business models and metrics and ROI questions surrounding social media are making Twitter cumbersome to use for many small businesses, but change is coming as more startups are building Twitter into their business models; meanwhile, Twitter metrics and tracking have also been rapidly evolving. New metric tools such as Twitoaster and ViralHeat are constantly being released to track Twitter’s effect on sales and marketing.

Twitter is the easiest form of social media to track, due to its open interface and data. Any kind of actionable data is worth tracking. For example, business owners can start by tracking how many followers they have at any one time, how many times their posts were shared and how many replies they got. They can also track more complex calculations such as how much their Twitter followers are worth. For example, Hillstrom’s Twitter Quality Score is calculated by dividing the number of followers by the number following, and a score of 1.5 or above demonstrates that a Twitter account is worth following and has quality information and offers for its followers.

Next, track your sales or word-of-mouth mentions back to your Twitter account. Use a URL shortener, to track how often your content appears on Twitter, and tie it back to sales. For example, you can establish a shortened link to a specific promotion and track how many times it has been clicked on and shared, which is important in social media.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/webmetricscolumnist/article202516.html#ixzz0M2A1pEXc

You can save time and money by leaving social media marketing to the pros.

Why pay for clicks when you can actively network with your customers?

By Danielle Babb | Entrepreneur.com

In the “old days” of the internet, most people paid for traditional banner ads or headline ads, or they paid for advertising under what was called a cost-per-click or CPC advertising. CPC advertising used to be the most popular method of advertising out there. But getting statistics on what worked and what didn’t wasn’t easy.

Many people today also market with Google’s AdWords. While this is great for Google, it isn’t always great if you buy words and you don’t see your hit rate go up.

What’s becoming interesting in today’s market are the alternative ways of advertising. E-mail marketing is alive and kicking–mostly through giving away a newsletter with insightful information and hoping readers will click through to your web site. Collecting e-mail addresses and sending valid offers, special events and discounts to those who sign up (and only those who sign up) can be a good way to drive visitors to your site. The monthly newsletters you send out need to showcase you as the go-to expert, but don’t forget to feature some of your loyal customers and fans, too. People like to see their name in lights, and they often forward the newsletter to many others in the process. Make it easy to subscribe–and unsubscribe. This will help you comply with laws and also keep your visitors happy.

Read article…