Too many owners forget they are the grunt, secretary, research and development, ceo, coo, accountant, advertising, marketing, etc. Gotta think outside the box and really start watching the market, trends of people, time of year, etc.

You spend money all over the place in marketing. But when it comes down to it…there are 2 main things your customers will touch, hands on, that can leave a lasting impression that will gain more business.

1. web site
2. business cards

years ago I went all out and did some super nice, very thick and hard card stock, at least 5 times thicker than average business card. I then had a graphic artist do all the layout and artwork and had it digitized at a very high dpi resolution and then the cards covered in like a clearcoat.

Each card ended up costing me $0.68 cents a piece….way above the normal but I wasn't giving these out in the 1000's. Most were one on one handing out and every single person commented on the card. It held their attention past that "glace and toss the card aside" and that is key.

The web site…again I went all out but I didn't hire anyone. Since I already knew how to do sites I sat down and really thought out what should be on the site. I put down indepth info, prices, why's and how's of my industry, etc. Really beefed it up with info, facts and a ton of pictures to prove my points.

Again I had a high level of comments on the site for ease of use and the amount of info available, many said the site had answered so many of their questions. Doing this showed my customers I knew what I was doing and talking about. And when someone is happy about something….they spread the word.

Each item here, if done right, focused on your market and really thought out on a personal level…can easily increase sales by up to 15% alone.