SoKy Local Business or "SoKybiz"

I logged onto AOL today for the first time in a very long time. I own an account to check compatibility in AOL in my web development. When I singed up I selected the "Small Business" theme and this results in a few tasty tidbits for small business. Most of the content comes from Entrepreneur Magazine (of which I am now a subscriber), and it is quite useful. Many times is vague and I can write three or four volumes to elaborate on the concepts they touch on, but all in all it is thought provoking and interesting.

Today's article was "33 Marketing Success Tips" and it opens with a misspelled word and a little into, but the points are outstanding. Here are some great ideas. As you read the list, first think of a time you have done the idea, then (and this part hurts a little), think of how often you are doing it still. Our businesses are our lives and we should feed them by accomplishing these (and other) tasks more regularly than "Oh yeah, I did that once."

• Hand write a thank-you note to a prospect or customer
• Enter customer or prospect names into a database
• Brainstorm tagline ideas
• Visit a competitor's website
• Write an article to pitch to your local business organization
• Make a list of press release ideas
• Write a press release
• Call a newspaper and ask who the feature editor is for your area of expertise
• Compose an e-mail sales letter
• Call a few prospects or customers to get their e-mail contact information
• Develop a series of survey questions
• Brainstorm advertising concepts
• Write a pitch letter to a radio or TV station
• Get contact information from media outlets
• Plan a renaming of your products
• Work on new product development and introduction ideas
• Invite a customer or prospect to your office for coffee or to discuss new ideas
• Recognize a special prospect or customer
• Discuss a fusion marketing idea with a strategic business partner
• Visit a few marketing-related websites
• Post new information on your website
• Plan your networking calendar for the week
• Call to follow up with networking contacts
• Get price estimates for the printing and mailing of your direct-mail campaign
• Mail samples of your product to top prospects
• Brainstorm ideas for an "enter to win" contest
• Develop a coupon for your product or service
• Rewrite your phone's on-hold message script
• Write an article or other text for your newsletter
• Brainstorm new product or service ideas
• Plan a new customer service activity that will truly delight your customers
• Develop your benefit list and compare to it to your competitions'
• Develop a checklist, top-ten list or other information as a response to a marketing hook

Here is a link to the article.

33 Marketing Success Tips

Practice a few of these must-know marketing tips every day and build up your geurilla(sic)-marketing muscles. By Al Lautenslager

Part of the guerrilla marketing mindset suggests that you should be thinking about marketing all the time. Not just quarterly, not just monthly, not just weekly, but every single day. Really, it's not as hard as it sounds--there are quite a few ways you can incorporate marketing into your daily activities.

It's often said that doing anything for 21 days in a row will eventually turn into a habit for you. And a marketing habit is a great thing for any business to have. So what I'm going to suggest is that you choose three to five things every day that are related to marketing for your business and do them at the beginning of the day before you start fighting the daily fires--and forget all about your planned tasks.

http://www.aol.entrepreneur.com/aolsb/article/0,4558,323781,00.html