Last updated January 12, 2005

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Marketing With Action

Traditional advertising is not dead; yet as a business you should be looking for additional marketing techniques to provide a clear path to immediate sales.

Procter & Gamble’s new toothpaste had a tremendous kick-start with an appearance on The Apprentice for a new tooth-whitening flavor. In one week, the Crest web site had 4.7 million hits, the highest level of online interest in a single product launch in Procter & Gamble's history.

Avon Products offers makeovers and samples to show off its new line of color cosmetics. A mobile tour began in July and made stops in 17 cities.

Making products available for testing, tasting, smelling, or experiencing any of the senses can mean big profits for big and small companies. You don’t have to be Donald Trump or Procter & Gamble to market your business with creativity and flare. Start now by considering ways to create demand while fulfilling your customer’s desires.

Think:

• Where do my customers hang out?

• What do they like to do?

• What would they like to get (usually FREE)?

• How can I be different from my competition?

• How will my business get noticed and remembered?

• Can my business use an offbeat approach?

• What are the current trends and how can I relate them to our products?

• Do I market to my own needs or do I really try to understand my customer’s needs?

• Do I really understand what makes my customers respond, or do I just rely on intuition and what has worked in the past?

Harness the power of non-traditional marketing and don’t be afraid to do something different to break through the clutter of traditional advertising.