14BUILDERS' DIGEST| OCTOBER-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2010WWW.BATC.ORGMarketingMarketingA Recipe Made by Members toSatisfy Your Marketing Appetite.Events are a strong com-ponent of our marketingstrategy, because theyallow us to truly interactwith our customers - bothhomeowners and members of the trades.We take advantage of heavier traffic during salesevents by bringing a culinary chef into our stores todemonstrate specialty products, like coffee systems andsteam cooking. Customers see these new types of prod-ucts in action and can start considering how these newproducts could benefit their life.An upcoming fundraiser held in our store not only willearn us positive exposure, but nearly 200 people -- whomight never have checked us out otherwise -- will comethrough our doors. Customers feel good about doingbusiness with us because we support the community.But getting people in the door is only half the battle.The time we get to spend with them is limited, so wereally do our best to leverage it. This involves everythingfrom keeping the stores clean and welcoming to creatingmultiple touch points through updated promotional dis-play materials and high-definition TVs that stream ourcontent. Our stores are one of our greatest assets, so wefocus on getting as much from them as possible. INGREDIENTPROVIDEDBY:Carla Warner,Warners'Stellian

WWW.BATC.ORGOCTOBER-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2010| BUILDERS' DIGEST151. Know your customer.Which, by our definition means notonly educating yourself and staff aboutbasic customer demographics, but ageneral knowledge of their personal lifeand preferences in order to "relate" andmeet on their level. i.e. Can you be aconversationalist on shared topics suchas: hobbies, interests, sports, music,social networking, entertainment, food,and what they think is "cool"?2. Clean Up Your Act!The importance of all "touch points"being sharp & professional. i.e. Insteadof eight handouts and some black &white copies... have one nice profes-sionally written and designed handout.Instead of 12 poorly looking / poorlyfunctioning web pages, have three thatare attractive and informative.INGREDIENTPROVIDEDBY:Todd HollingsworthT & T Designs, Inc.Social media marketing is the "hot"topic of today. But it's more than aFacebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn page.And it's more than just "Twittering"your brains out. Yes, all these pagesand sites are important but what'simperative is the strategy behind whatyou're doing online. Investing in yourbrand online isn't just about spendingmoney, it's about building a presencethat will resound with your customers,and keep them coming back time andagain. Building your brand online willnot only help build awareness and helpraise your reputation, people willbecome invested in it and remain loyalto your brand. Quoting Graeme Russell, a socialmedia consultant and blogger, here aresome tips to help build your brandonline:"Don't put all your eggs in one basket.It pays to build your brand throughmultiple channels. It's important to alsoensure that your messaging is consis-tent with your brand voice throughoutthe various channels you chose to use.By creating and being consistent withyour messaging, will mean that con-sumers will be able to readily recognizeand recall your brand. This has thepotential to make you stand out whencustomers are ready to make an inquiryor purchase."Plan for social media integration.As part of your strategy to bring andbuild your brand online, you need toknow what you want your brand to sayor do. How do you want to interact withyour market and how do you want it torespond? Look first at some of the toolsavailable to help build your brandonline, you need to know what is rightfor you - Facebook http://facebook.com;Twitter http://twitter.com; YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com; LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com. What aboutother niche blogs and forums?Determining what is right for you maytake time and research to identify whoand where your audience is. It's impor-tant to look and listen to what peopleare saying about you and your brand;chances are people are already talkingabout you even if you haven't got apresence on these social media chan-nels. If people aren't talking - start con-versations your-self. Look forwhat people aretalking aboutthat relates toyour businesstype and joinin. It's impor-tant to understand that interac-tion does not mean pushing yourselfon people - be conversational.Treat online reputation building asnetworking. There's not much differencebetween traditional networking eventsto networking online. They're bothabout building your reputation. Tappinginto your offline contacts can help withbuilding your online reputation. Someof these contacts are likely to alreadybe using online strategies of their own;with the right approach they will likelyhelp you. Many people using onlinetools are willing to 'introduce' you totheir contacts, they could mention youand show links to your website, whichwill also enhance your search presence.Plan how your brand will speak.Determine how and what your audi-ence wants to hear; mostly this willcome through your initial social mediaactivity. This will form the basis of yourbrand's online tone. In working on whatyour online voice will sound like, it'simportant to:. Speak with your audience, not atthem - it doesn't and shouldn'talways be about business. . Be consistent with the way youtalk online; be conversational; . People do business with people -have a personality for yourbrand. If you plan a social media strategyand follow these steps you should beon your way to a successful onlinepresence.INGREDIENTPROVIDEDBY:Jack SilvermanBolin Marketingand AdvertisingStep #1: Identifyif there is amarket for yourservices. If thereis, go to step 2.Step #2:Answerthe question,"Why would I buy from you?", in onesentence.Step #3:: Take what your market will giveyou. Don't wish for what it won't.Step #4:Focus on being different, notbetter.Step #5:Don't wait for your customers totell you what they want. Think like Apple.Step #6:Focus on a single strategy buttry LOTS of different ways to market it.Step #7: What are your guarantees? Ifyou don't know them, your prospectsdon't either.Step #8:Involve a young person (under40 and preferably under 30) in the lead-ership of your company.Step #9:Create transparency in every-thing you doStep #10:If it doesn't sell, quit, learnfrom it and try something else.INGREDIENTPROVIDEDBY:Rick StorlieNew Home SalesCoach