Top Ten Strategies for Small Businesses

TO CAPTURE AND RETAIN CUSTOMERS

New Issues and Marketing Tools for Small Businesses

There is good news for small businesses whose new business prospecting budgets are tight.

Today, some of the best marketing tools to capture and retain customers can be free or relatively inexpensive, according to the Microsoft Small Business Council, an organization of independent small business experts and entrepreneurs. The Council is helping small business owners to better run their businesses through an ongoing educational campaign that includes Council meetings, online chats and individual Q&A's via e-mail, all sponsored by Microsoft(R) Publisher.

At a recent Council meeting the five members identified 10 cost-effective initiatives to capture and retain customers:

1. BE A LEADER. Write an op-ed piece or an article for your local newspaper. Or send letters to the editor of national and regional trade publications that focus on your business sector. You'll gain visibility in the media for your company and demonstrate your knowledge. As importantly, you can use reprints of articles as marketing tools.

2. CONSULT NONPROFITS. Offer your services, at a low cost, to member agencies of an organization like the local United Way. You'll soon become involved in a strong community networking support system that can generate referrals to your business.

3. SCHEDULE SEMINARS. Working with the media such as your local radio, television or newspaper, you can co-market a seminar where you discuss a relevant business trend, provide how-to information, or conduct a workshop. The media benefits from publicizing the event as a service to its audience and you may pick up clients and referrals from the attendees.

4. SURVEY WITH A NEWSLETTER AND A DOLLAR. Create a self-mailing newsletter about your business. Desktop publishing products for small business, like Microsoft(R) Publisher, make in-house development of these materials easy and cost effective. Include a questionnaire that asks potential clients about their needs and what businesses like yours should be doing to answer them. Attach a $1 bill and mail to customers whose attention you most want. It will be an incentive for them to return the survey. You may be surprised at the response and the leads.

5. 48-HOUR FOLLOW-UP. Most businesses lose the "sale," because they don't follow-up fast enough. If you wait longer than 48 hours to return a call, or suggest that a client act on a certain project, the odds are that the prospect or program will be lost, delayed or forgotten. Follow up can also be in the form of a postcard, brochure or newsletter that you produce yourself. A customer list created in a database product allows you to do a customized mail merge and gets materials out quickly.

6. SELLING THE BUDGET. Ever lost a customer because your bid was too high? Next time, demonstrate the budget's appropriateness. Ask you r clients what the product or service would pull if the DID have the budget. Then show the payback cycle and suggest they finance it against the non-productive parts of their marketing budgets.

7. FAX BACK. Creating two-way communication is essential, and technology enables you to do that inexpensively. For example, by using the appropriate communications software and a program, you can set up pages with information that your customers need and that enables them to request a fax from you with their phone touch pad.

8. PARTNER WITH OTHERS. Align yourself with select small businesses in your community and trade-off your skills. A financial concern might team with a marketing company. You will not only help each other cut costs, but offer clients more services. To find potential partners you can network at seminars or explore the Internet and online services. Chat sessions, bulletin boards and Web sites are excellent places to find "virtual partners."

9. GIVE IT THREE MONTHS. A marketing campaign needs time to work, bus most small businesses abandon theirs after two months if the results are minimal. Stay for three, because it takes commitment, time and usually 90 days to indicate how effective a campaign is.

10. CONSIDER CREATING YOUR OWN WEB SITE. Though it sounds like it might be expensive and complicated, do-it-yourself software such as the Microsoft FrontPage(TM) web authoring and management tool is helping small businesses create professional looking, informative home pages. The process is fast, easy and fun but be sure to update your site regularly. Your business' site should be dynamic and contain new information on a weekly basis.

In addition, all Council members agreed that smart business owners allot time each week for prospecting, and by making it a part of their budget, it becomes a crucial investment. If you'd like to ask members of the Microsoft Small Business Council a question, e-mail dpercifi@edelman.com, or write: Microsoft Small Business Council, 1500 Broadway, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10036.