Selling Luxury Goods in a Recession

See what America's respected business journal Inc. says when asked: What's the best way to promote our luxury goods? (I reckon it also applies if you offer a service.)

Get the answer here...

The answer is no surprise really:
* Offer/upsell to existing customers.
* Joint venture - partner with a related business to create an event.
* Be present in the right place to be found (location).
* Use social media networks to build awareness and engage prospects.

6 Simple Tips for Effective Promotional Flyers

See these real-life examples

1. Consistent Use of Colours (not too dull; not too many colours).

Don’t try using a rainbow of colours. Usually you should focus on colours that are part of your company’s colour scheme or logo. Figure out what will work best and stick to it. Consistency is the key – but ensure you have a colour that can be used to highlight the important points. Contrast is always helpful in attracting attention.

2. Interesting Main Graphic/image to Grab Attention.

Think about the newspaper. You look at the pictures first, then the headline. Then read the story (maybe). Make sure you use a relevant and interesting graphic, cartoon, picture, drawing or image. Don’t be too clever in your choice of graphic – make sure everyone will understand what the image is and how it is relevant.

3. Use a Clear Headline Stating the Benefit.

Lead with your strongest points. Your headline will grab attention – make the most of it. Think of the most important and attractive words to use such as Free, Save, Bonus, Guaranteed, Easy, Lose, Win, Limited, Exclusive, Easy… and more.

4. Include an Offer.

Give people something to respond to… NOW! Don’t assume they will call you. Give them something they can’t refuse. For many services a free report is a good offeras people want to be educated about what they are buying. Or a free trial. Or a value-added offer (buy 1 get one free). Try to avoid using a straight discount – it cheapens your service or product.

5. Include a Direct Call-to-Action.

Tell people how they should respond. Be very clear. Give them multiple options. People love going to your website to check you out before they contact you. Make sure your website is listed as well as phone, fax or email response options. Make it quick and easy to respond.

6. Contact Details or Location Clearly Visible.

Don’t make recipients hunt for your details – they don’t have the time. Many people won’t be able to read small print, so keep the font size at least 12 point or larger. Make it bold. Make it obvious.

Good luck with your next flyer!

By the way, most of these tips also apply to creating effective advertisements and brochures.

More sales and marketing tips here

Westpac Upsets Advertising Agencies - and why small businesses shouldn't fall for the glitz of 'great ideas'

“In the industry we work in, the person who comes up with the idea is seen as the hero and the person who implements it, second class.” - a statement by Jacques Burger, CEO of The Campaign Palace (a major advertising agency).

Small business owners often get carried away with the excitement generated by advertising creative people and overlook the hugely important aspect of how to implement an idea and get results for their business.

The quote above confirms that agencies usually put emphasis on 'great ideas'. That's not all bad - we need great ideas. But we also need great implementation.

Westpac (a leading Australian bank) has decided they want to be able to get the best ideas, and the best implementation - even if it means working with seperate agencies, and getting those agencies to cooperate and collaborate with each other.

That is a great idea. But it's one that many agencies won't really like. After all, most suppliers (providers) don't like sharing their client with competitors!

Tourism Australia gone wrong - a marketing lesson

Even large organisations get their marketing message mixed. Tourism Australia now says they want a longer term approach for their advertising campaigns. They want to copy what New Zealand and Victoria have done.

Boy... You'd think that with their history, the amount of money they spend, and the expert help they get from advertising agencies (charging a fortune for advice and creativity), they would have made this decision years ago.

But they didn't.

They've been using a bits-and-pieces approach. Trying to hook on to the latest fad (such as the ill-fated Australia movie).

The difference is now they say they wnat their own identity for Australia - like New Zealand has done with '100% Pure' and Victoria has done with it's 'Jigsaw' campiagn - both of which have run for many years.

Lesson: How can you create your own business identify? Be smart... Don't leave yourself to the ebb and flow of the latest fad or market trend.

3 Lessons From Business Survivors

According to a study done by the Small Business Administration (USA), two-thirds of all new small business survive the first two years but only 44% will still be operating by year four.

Here are three very important lessons from business owners who have survived, from an article in Business Week:

Lesson #1 - Recycle money early.
"during the crucial first years I learned you really always need to recycle money back into your business instead of taking money out of it. A new business needs to stay fresh..."

Lesson #2 - Diversfy your clients.
Rather than rely on one type of client for revenue, early on Niemeier decided to make sure he launched a firm with a diversified clientele working on educational, corporate, health care, and hospitality projects

Lesson #3 - Qualify and eliminate clients who don't 'fit'.
"But what I learned from that is that I really had to do a better job of screening and qualifying our prospective clients. Not everybody is a good client and when they don't pay their bills in a timely manner I realized we had to fire them."

Read the whole article.