Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Although the possibilities are endless, here is what I suggest:

1. Find out what promotions your competitors are using and use a better one. for example, if your competitor uses "Buy 2 Get 1 Free", you may want to offer "Buy 1 Get 1 Free". Of course, you may want place limitations as this is merely an example of comparing a promotion.

You may also consider a "punch card"-type promotion where after every transactions, the customer gets a hole punched in a special card you provide. After 5 punches, they get a free site facelift or year of hosting etc. You would have to have a custom hole punch or rubber stamp made to prevent fraud.

2. Compare your pricing to their's and either beat it right away, or offer to beat any price of a competor.

3. Hold weekly design competitions with a free site or discounted services to the winner(s). Perhaps you could tier it into a championship with a Grand Prize of cash, gift certificates, or perhaps a package with an exclusive accessory.

4. You could start out with an ad in local paper. Call for rates and see what you can afford. Local newsletters (the kind you see for free at restaurants and clubs) offer cheaper rates and usually have a large reader demographic. If you need help designing an ad, email me.

5. Become a memeber of your local chamber of commerce (usually around $300). They will provide you with mailing lists for zipcodes in your area. Design a mailer, and blast an zipcode or two with mailer ads. Again, I can help with design...but your a designer!

6. Write and distribute a press release to every newspaper, TV station, radio station etc. Keep doing it over and over untill SOMEONE mentions you!

Well, That's a start! You can alter and elaborate from these suggestions. If you need help with anything else or wish to discuss in further detail, email me at jett_enterprises@cox.net.

Good Luck!

All the advice here has been good. The guerilla and direct, methods will work most quickly it seems to me - but there's still time and work involved.

You'll have to become a field sales rep for yourself. At the local level, I've never known any more effective tactic than direct selling, personal promotions, and referrals.

Take one or more days a week, walk into as many businesses as you can. Find and meet the owner, gather their cards and email addresses, and leave behind something about you that speaks directly to needs you may address for them.

Through this you'll meet many future customers, and you'll find some you think you want to focus on. Develop repeat visit and mail/email routines to stay in their space.

There'll be no substitute for your occasional personal visits.

Then, call on all possible referral sources, especially print shops, PR & ad agencies, publication ad sales people, attorneys (barristers?), accountants, ISP's, anyone who might interact with your prospects at key times.

As your business grows you'll think you need to use such tactics less and less. If you intend to stay locally focused, working with many small businesses as well as larger ones, you just can't forget the tactics that got you there, and the people who will miss seeing you.

I knew a local web designer who took it on himself to redesign existing sites (one or two pages of them anyway) of local businesses, make nice printouts of the pages with his personal copyright on the design, and sent them to the prospect's decision maker. Cover letter, etc. This resulted in some calls, and some business. It was a bit risky in that he didn't know who designed the original...

And I wouldn't promote price as your USP. You could promote the price of a specific type of product, service or project - which confines any discounting to the item - and shields your name from a discounting reputation.

You'll have fun. Good luck!