Marketing and business

TeamGopher asked:

Title: GopherHaul 25 - Lawn Care Marketing Business Show

Show description:

Hello and welcome to GopherHaul 25 - Lawn Care Marketing Business Show

In this episode we will be talking about

GopherHaul breaks the 900,000 view mark! Thank you everyone for watching us!

Lawn Care Business Question:

“I need help selling my accounts.”

Greenmind wrote us “I am selling my accounts this week to a local landscaper. He wants to pay me in 3 payments. Over a 3 month period or 90 days as people stay with the new company. Also he does not want to pay the initial payment until all customers are contacted. Is he buying my business or my customers? Also is the 90 day period normal or am I being to generous, I have talked with several people and they seem to think that he is taking some risk by buying my accounts and thats part of the business and some suggest that I charge more for letting him pay over 90 days.

What do you guys think? Any help with someone with experience in this area would be very helpful. I don’t want to get taking on this transaction. I worked very hard to get and keep these customers.”

A bunch of the Gopher Lawn Care Forum members responded in this post
http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=28;t=7823;

Lawn Care Business Podcast Discussion:

I had a great podcast interview with Author Ken Lavoie. Of lawnguru.net

1. We talked about the pitfalls of buying too much new too soon, Ken calls this ‘Iron Addiction.’

2. How ego effects business decisions and how to control it.

3. Then we talked about what marketing ideas worked and what didn’t.

4. When and how you should integrate your first employee into your business.

5. And this was a fantastic topic Finance, Debt and Growth - “The 50/50 Rule and stay in the black with the 20% Rule!” If you find yourself making a lot of money but at the end of the year wondering where it all went, it’s very possible you are growing too fast. In Ken’s 50/50 rule, he suggests not financing any more than 50% of the equipment price. If you need to finance more than that, you shouldn’t be purchasing the equipment.

Listen to this podcast in it’s entirety at our podcast directory http://odeo.com/channel/412313/view

Join our discussion on this podcast here http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=22;t=7744

Lawn Care Marketing Material Review:

Chuck posted a post card design he was considering sending out and said “Here’s what I’ve been contemplating sending out. I know I have no fancy logo or nice looking lawn photos on it but I can’t fit them with all the text I’d like on it.”

He asked everyone to give him a review of his lawn care marketing material and we got a lot of great responses. If you would like us to review your marketing material, please feel free to make a post and include it.

You can read the lawn care marketing material review here.
http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=8;t=7623

Tips on Buying Used Lawn Care Equipment.

Chuck, a member of the Gopher Lawn Care Forum asked a great question today I wanted to pass on to everyone. He asked:
“I came across this in my local area on craigslist….is 3000 hrs alot for a diesel mower? I know it is for a gas machine but I don’t know..”?

To find the answer to this question visit the discussion here
http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=28;t=7791

Free Lawn Care Marketing Flyer

Chestin gave us a lot of great lawn care marketing tips this episode and to further illustrate how important it is to create a great flyer, he even posted a flyer you can download and edit to use with your own lawn care business. Thanks Chestin!

Visit this post to join the discussion and download the Free lawn care flyer template.
http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=8;t=7521;hl=new;st=40

Book of the Month:

Think Big and Kick Ass by Donald Trump

Conclusion

If our show or forum has helped you, or if you have any business questions, please let us know and send an email or make a post about your experience! I hope all these ideas have helped you expand and grow your business and mind. So until the next time, always remember to Dream it, Build it, Gopher it!

If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts. Also download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. If you are on myspace send us a friend request. We are located at http://www.myspace.com/teamgopher.

BinseyPWG asked:

Underground Rap Doku
PWG-Produktion 2007

ked1987 asked:


Doing a marketing plan for a golf course. Objectives: Increase rounds played, increase awareness. Strategies: ??? Should I use pretty much the same thing or are they going to be much different than my objectives?

djfreex asked:


I want to increase my knowledge in marketing. What are some good sources that explains newest trends and provide examples? Is there a site or a book that analyses marketing campaigns or strategies?

Spesifically I am looking for marketing info applicable to B2B (factory-dealer) environment.

I already know about basic principles and not interested in textbooks or reference books that talks about Marketing Mix, PEST, SMART etc. I am looking for examples, analysis and practical information. Samples of ground breaking marketing approaches. I do not want to read another book about coupons, mailings, prospecting etc.

Jeffrey Zalewski asked:


Without a doubt, email marketing is one of the most cost effective and work smart methods for marketing your business. You can reach thousands of prospects with just a simple click of a button. Yet, most marketers struggle to get effective results from their marketing efforts.

Not only are you faced with the CAN-SPAM Act and being compliant, but the email systems your prospects use can easily filter out your email before they ever see your message. Plus, people are bombarded with an avalanche of emails every day. This makes email marketing very challenging.

The great news is you can learn how to be effective using email as a method of marketing. Your success at using email effectively begins by understanding some very simple fundamentals regarding the use of email. These basics must be learned and applied, especially if you want to tap the true power of using email in your marketing, so you can have a competitive advantage.

As with any marketing method, it will take you time, patience, and consistent tracking of your marketing actions. Just because you have an email address and something to offer, does not mean you will get the results you want when you send an email message. There is much more to it.

As a Certified Training Consultant and Success Coach, I have worked with thousands of marketers over the years. I have also observed through their marketing efforts, as well as through all the emails I receive everyday, that most marketers misunderstand email marketing. Therefore, they get pitiful results. The misunderstanding is not only in how to use email but also in the power email marketing can provide to their business.

In March 1999, I began a track of personal success that helped me achieve a record of consistency in my marketing efforts. In fact, I personally sponsored over 800+ people total, which spanned a record of me sponsoring an average of 10+ people a month for 73 consecutive months.

The success I had did not come over night, nor did it happen with any magical tool. But it did happen with the use of technology including email. The fact is the technology helped me leverage my time and effort so I could focus my time in talking with primarily interested prospects. About 80% of my marketing efforts were connected to online marketing and email played an important part in my entire marketing strategy.

I continue to use email effectively in my business, not only for marketing but also for follow-up and support. The facts prove email works and email is a work smart tool. This is one of the reasons it is one of the 5 methods categories required in the 5 Point Strategy I use in the marketing of my business.

Why do I succeed at email marketing and others seem to fail? Simple - I take consistent action doing the things that work! The bottom line is that I have learned how to use email and unleash the power of email marketing in building my business.

Following are seven tips to follow, which will help you effectively use email in your marketing. Learn these tips and make sure you apply what you learn.

TIP # 1 - Email is Just a Tool

The method of email marketing consists of many tools and email is just one of many tools you will use. Other tools include, but are not limited to, auto responder follow-up systems, instant messaging, broadcast systems, and web sites.

Use email as a tool for leveraging your time and to supplement your communication with your prospects and downline. Do not forget the fact that network marketing is about building relationships and you can’t build relationships unless you talk with people. Regardless of what tools you use in your email marketing campaign, your most important tool in email marketing is the telephone.

TIP # 2 - Understand What It Takes to Get the Results You Want

Type a message, click send, and they join! In the reality, that rarely happens. In fact, over 97% of those marketing online with email are not getting the results they want. Why? The answer is simple, but not easy! They are not adhering to the very basic fundamentals that make email marketing work.

In marketing, there are three critical areas of the marketing mix affecting your results:

1) Your message
2) Your target market
3) Your marketing method

To get the results you want, you must make certain these three areas of your marketing mix are in balance. I one area is out of balance, you will NOT get the results you want.

TIP # 3 - Think Long Term!

Too often we are thinking short term and focus only on the immediate gain. One very important lesson I learned early on is that consistent email marketing and following up with prospects long term makes a big pay off.

I do a lot of market-testing using email and other technological tools. I also use some very basic tools that help me keep a pulse on my actions, ensuring that I am consistently doing what works. To accomplish this task, I track and I recommend you do to.

In my own business, I had done a study about three years after I started using email in my marketing. In this study, the statistics showed I averaged a 12.2%+ conversion rate in the conversion of prospect to new customer/downline.

The real breakthrough for me came from what the study revealed on long-term results. The results in this study proved to me conclusively that the greatest benefits from email marketing efforts come from long-term effort. Here is what my statistics showed and the results are Phenomenal! This study looked at the prospects who entered my email marketing system in the first 70 days of its use. What was discovered was that within 30-45 days of entering the system, 10%+ of the prospects converted from prospect to downline (customer). At the time of this study, of those prospects entering the system in the first 70 days, I also had a long-term conversion rate of 29.72%! The bottom line is, the power is in the follow-up… and email works to supplement your overall marketing efforts. Think long-term!

TIP # 4 - Do NOT Spam!

This is more than a tip, this is a rule you should never break. Spamming is irresponsible and can get you into major trouble. It can also cause a lot of problems. Spamming can ruin your reputation and credibility. Bottom line is do not do it.

With the CAN-SPAM Act, one can also be intimidated as a marketer. This is where you must become a student of email marketing and learn from what we teach you (we invest a ton of money in market-testing and teach what works). You will find, over time you will
master the necessary skills to be effective in email marketing. The extra steps you take in learning effective email marketing and how to get results without spamming, the less likely you will be accused of spam. Being responsible in your marketing is essential and is required if you want to be view as credible in the marketplace.

TIP # 5 - Keep It Simple

While the technologies we have today look great and sound like the next best thing since sliced bread, stick to the basics. You do not need all the bells and whistles. You don’t need video or even audio. But you do need an effective message focused on your prospect’s wants and needs.

Unfortunately, too many marketers do not realize that many people operate with older computer systems. Although you may have the latest technology, keep in mind most of your prospects are not internet savvy and are not working with the latest of technologies.

TIP # 6 - Personalize

People do business with people they know and trust. Personalization in your email marketing will extend a very long way. Use the prospect’s name and even relate to things you know about your prospect and their wants or needs. It is critical that you personalize whenever possible.

When sending email using an email broadcast tool, you can mail merge your prospect’s information into a canned letter, which will give an appearance of a personal letter. However, be careful not to overdo the personalization.

In addition, remember there is a real person on the other end of your email marketing message. With this in mind, periodically email a personal one-on-one letter to your prospect. Remember, people do business with people they know and trust.

TIP #7 - Communicate to Educate

The people you are marketing to have unique wants and needs. They are often looking for a solution for what they want to accomplish, fix, or avoid. With this in mind, it is critical that you communicate to educate.

While you will always have a call to action and will be marketing to generate new and repeat business, the body of your message should be on education. Just like this article, I wrote it to educate, but with an objective to build your trust and confidence in me. The fact is if you find this information valuable, you will naturally want to learn more and will either email me or look up my web site.

This will work in your own communications with your prospects as well. They are eager to learn and when you communicate to educate in your email messages, you will improve your prospect’s perspective of you and what you offer.

That’s it - seven simple and effective email marketing tips! There are more tips I can teach you, but master these first. Take responsibility in your marketing. Most of all, make sure you learn and implement what you learn, then track your progress. Be sure to let me know how this has worked for you.

SCD Marketing asked:


One of the most vital aspects of this recent marketing concept which every business owner should be aware of is that it’s completely free. With the right idea, intuition and planning; viral marketing on social networking websites can return thousands of client prospects to any business website.

Social networking website, as the name suggests, are networks of people and friends who use the Internet to communicate, socialise and share, all through one website. Common websites of this nature are Myspace, Facebook, Bebo and many others.

These websites can be utilized through viral marketing methods; that is the concept of providing marketing material which propagates itself to many other people by giving an incentive for this to occur. For today’s Internet audience this incentive is usually interesting, entertaining and more commonly, not related to the business involved.

This may sound confusing but it’s the system of these networking websites which allows this technique to become effective. For example if a business finds a video which could become popular. If this video is interesting, entertaining or both, it will entice viewers to pass it onto their friends to share it. By adding your website link or marketing message into that video as a footer, or maybe adding your URL to the video description, your business details are being passed wherever the video is sent. This is what makes viral marketing on social networking websites so powerful for businesses of any size.

One important factor must always be taken into account for successful viral marketing and that’s to not flood the media with your material. Journalists, the media and members of the public will value your contributions much more if every one of them has a sense of strong content and a good angle. Distributing viral releases or PR as much as you can will result in people devaluing your presence if the content isn’t worthwhile.

Some websites such as Myspace also offer profiles which can be used to the same effect. Making a profile for your business allows you to add people all over the world as friends, who can see your profile and therefore any marketing message you choose to present. However an interesting, unique angle is often required to make the most effective use of this method. For example using an interesting, make-believe character as the profile owner or offering another, more attention-grabbing incentive for visiting your website.

Should you get professional assistance with social networking campaigns? That’s the question many businesses will ask. Managing director of SCD Marketing Scott Chapman explains:

“One of the great benefits of viral marketing on social networks and anywhere else is that it’s 100% free and can provide fantastic results. Good marketing agencies do have the Public Relations and marketing knowledge to get the right angle for your material, which will result in the most publicity. Whether a person chooses management for their viral campaigns depends on the situation they are in but if the budget is there then I’d certainly recommend looking into it.”

agelntwrk asked:

www.GELFORWEALTH.com

Just look at where the future of business is going.