Custom Coupons!

Okay Folks!

Someone has gotten it RIGHT!  And that business is.....drum roll....KROGER!

I went to the mail yesterday and pulled out an envelope...very uninspired I must say...

I opened it to find a letter (and 20 coupons for EXACTLY the products I use) from the President of Kroger Mid-Atlantic, thanking me, Chris Brown, for shopping at Kroger.

Evidently they HAVE been watching what I (and my wife) shop for, keeping tabs, measuring, and pegging certain foods and products as THE ones I love...

And guess what?....they got it right!

From my Organic peeled carrots, to the Deer Park water, to the Fresh Express Pre-Washed Salads...they GOT it!

And as far as a customer goes.....They got ME too!

Way to go Kroger...I hope your competitors are (or are not) listening!...

Google Business Directory...Get on it!

If you haven't already listed your business on Google's free business directory, which utilizes Google Maps to pinpoint and identify your business location,...you are missing an effective (AND FREE!) way to promote your business.

It's very simple and easy to do. Just gather some information about your business, the words/phrases that your customers use to search for your business through the Google Search Engine, and get started by going to this link:

http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter

The site will prompt you to set up an account, and/or add a listing to your existing one.

The ranking will show up on a search results page adjacent to the "Google Map" located at the top of the organic search engine results, just beneath the Paid search results.

And yet another way to promote your business....

Email Marketing....A great thing?..Absolutely!

I want to tell you how easily influenced I am, but first, you have to know that I fulfill the stereotype of the absent minded gift giving husband to a "T."

I'm very well aware (at some level) that Mother's Day is this Sunday...You MEN knew that right?

And here it is, Wednesday, and do you think I have purchased a gift (well.....I have NOW, but that's just because it's the center of this blog I'm writing as we speak)?

...So the point of this blog is that......

...sitting in my inbox this afternoon was an email from a retailer with a couple of price sensitive and varied gift suggestions, which, until this afternoon, were not even a thought...

I logged onto the site, looked around on a couple of pages, and made my purchase...all in less than 5 minutes....(by the way, that is not a reflection of the love I have for my Mom, or Wife...).

Pretty cool...

So I say, Market to your customers using email!  http://www.iContact.com, http://www.Constantcontact.com are two solutions I've used with great results....

Happy Hunting....and Happy Mother's Day!

Be on Purpose!

CB

Guerrilla Marketing for a Job...

http://online.wsj.com/video/how-to-stand-out-in-a-crowded-job-market/E13BFEEF-799E-4F1F-993F-BEC25CB2C991.html

SEO or PPC? That is the question...

SEO vs. PPC

 

Many comparisons...There have been many comparisons and contrasting points of view written (and discussed!) pertaining to the values of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns when relating to placement of your website (or your company's) on the internet when someone does a search (i.e. Google, MSN, Yahoo...).

And while they are both excellent components of an internet marketing strategy (you've got one right?), the fact is 7 out of 10 searches result in the seeker choosing Organic results (SEO) over PPC results….

There were 189 million unique visitors to internet last year.  How many of them found your site?

This is what they were doing on the internet:

• Social Networking
• Research
• Shopping
  

A key to finding your customers is to KNOW your customers and WHERE they are searching!

Get in front of them...

Rank highly or not at all…

Pay your way to top (of 30 %) or…

Earn your way to the top (70 %)… or…

BOTH...Choose a strategy that emplors both (but do it in a way that's proportionate to the results... 70% SEO/ 30% PPC).

For more info, go to www.imageforward.com.