Over the years I've been watching and participating in small business development, I've noticed that the successful businesses tend to be the ones that are driven by an owner that knows how to execute a plan.
The successful owner may not be overly intelligent, have a cutting edge business idea, or the latest technology infused in his business.
The successful owner doesn't have to be too creative or even a great writer.
Often, this is simply the guy that knows where he wants his business to go and he executes the plan consistently over time without a lot of distraction.
Here are ten not very creative ideas to try in your business if you want to be noticed as standing apart from the crowd.
1. Use frequent press releases. This is one of the most underutilized strategies that pays big dividends that I know.
Get good at distributing press releases and you will have more traffic than most web sites ever dreamed of.
Send releases whenever you have news. (Here's a secret: you can create news about your business and products whenever you want.)
2. Offer something that is unique and valuable at your web site that can't be found anywhere else.
This doesn't have to be a big deal (like a personally authored book). It might be a small report or a free coupon for a nice discount on one of your products.
3. Offer a free series of short articles or "how to" instructions in your niche and load them into a sequential autoresponder.
You can keep in contact, brand your business as giving great value for the money, and capture the name, contact information, and attention of your site visitors.
4. Offer to personally respond to the questions or wants of each customer. Only a few will ever take you up on the offer, but all your prospects will see your willingness to give them personal attention.
5. Develop a valuable and unique give away product (you can create your own, or find one online, or hire someone to create it for you) much like #2 above - but this time - offer it to the subscribers of a newsletter in your niche.
In exchange for their contact information (so you can send it to them), you will offer something of value that will endear the prospect to your company.
6. Lots of people like to participate in contests. Develop your own and capture the names and emails of those who want to play.
You can offer gifts in the niche, cash prizes, or give other premiums that you buy or develop.
7. Create a "review site" in your niche. This is most likely a separate web site from that of your business (although it doesn't have to be.)
You will position yourself as an expert in reviewing the products or web sites related to things in your niche. Of course, your own products and services can be reviewed, rated (highly), and recommended as well.
8. Create a "directory site" in your niche. This is an index or listing of the products and businesses in a niche.
Your own business and products are listed along with all the others. Directory sites take on the appearance of "objective" and impartial and can boost the credibility of your business if listed.
There is software that makes creating such sites a snap. You can also have others contact you for inclusion of their site for a fee.
9. Write a blog about your industry. It can either be a part of your business web site or not, as long as it offers your own products and links to all your business ideas.
In the blog, you will write entries about the wants and problems of your customers in the niche and simply recommend your own products as solutions to your customer's needs.
10. Create RSS feeds at your blog and on your web site. The exposure you can get through this method without a lot of extra work on your part is well worth the effort.
It will be especially valuable if you have a content rich web site and blog. The search engines will send you traffic and the feeds will offer your content to many other sites and customers in the niche.
Sure, these are not new ideas. But they are strategies that will help to get your business and products noticed by your potential customers.
The sad fact is, as powerful as these strategies are, there are few business owners that will take the time to utilize them and profit handsomely from them.
