Cathy Stucker - The Idea Lady

Attract Customers and Make Yourself Famous

Step Right Up

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You’ve probably seen carnival barkers standing in the midway, inviting passers-by to “Step right up and see a sight that will amaze you!” They know that if they succeed in drawing a crowd, even more people will stop to see what everyone else finds so interesting. This technique can work for you, too.

I used this technique when I had a booth at a trade show. I wanted a way to draw attendees to my booth and keep them there long enough to learn something about me and how I could help their businesses. I came up with the idea of offering free five-minute consultations I called “Idea Bursts.”

A large poster next to my booth announced that anyone could get a free five-minute consultation and receive at least three powerful ideas they could use to market their businesses and attract new customers. Lots of people wanted to get their free ideas and, when they saw the crowd around my booth, many others stopped to see what was going on.

My primary goal at the trade show was to get more people on my mailing list, and I easily got the number I had hoped for. The Idea Bursts helped to do that because first they brought people to the booth, then they demonstrated that I had valuable information they could use to grow their businesses.

When you’re working a trade show or other event, remember that there are lots of others competing for attention. Make yourself stand out by offering something unique, fun and valuable.

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How to Get Ideas

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So you hear about all of these people making money with great ideas, and you think, “Well, it’s easy for them, but I’m not creative. I could never come up with ideas like those.” Wrong!

Generating ideas–useful ideas–is a skill and, like any other skill, it can be learned. The more you practice, the easier it will be to come up with ideas whenever you need them. Whether you are looking for a new business concept, ways to improve your products and services, or strategies to get attention for yourself and your business, the techniques here will help you. Try them and see which ones work best for you.

Eavesdrop. Listen to people talking on the bus, at the coffee shop or in the elevator. Build on the snippets of conversation you overhear to create a story, and let that story lead you to a brilliant idea.

Hold a grudge. What annoys you? Chances are it annoys other people, too. Keep track of the things that bug you and find a way to make them better.

Forget everything you know. Too often, we let our biases creep in and influence our thinking. Start fresh, without pre-conceived notions of what you “must” do or what is “impossible.” Be open to anything and everything.

Give advice to someone else. Sometimes we are too close to a situation to see the best solution. Imagine that someone else is coming to you with the problem you are trying to solve. What would you tell them?

Have people ask you questions. Get someone who is not familiar with your situation to ask you questions about it. They may ask things that lead you to an idea that you overlooked because it was too obvious.

Do the opposite. If something isn’t working, consider doing exactly the opposite of what you are doing. It might work!

Get a little help from your friends. Bring together a few of your creative friends and colleagues for a brainstorming session. Start throwing ideas around, and be willing to be silly. Sometimes the best ideas sound a little crazy at first. Record the session so no one has to slow down to take notes. Oh, and having a pitcher of Margaritas on hand can help the ideas flow more readlily.

Hire a professional. Many of my clients come to me for help in getting ideas for their businesses. Sometimes I come up with ideas for them, but often my role is simply to help them find the great ideas that are buried in their brains. A consultant can ask the right questions to steer you to the idea you need.

Borrow an idea. Everyone thinks that their business is not like anyone else’s. The truth is, all of our businesses are more alike than different. Look at what others are doing in other industries and see how you can apply their ideas. By the time you adapt their idea to precisely fit your business it will be unique.

Start creating “it.” You do not have to wait until a concept is fully formed to take your first action. Begin with the germ of an idea and start developing it. As you do, you will discover the problems as well as the opportunities and you will be able to refine your idea as you go.

Use these techniques whenever you need ideas and you will discover that the more you use your creative abilities, the better they will become.

This article is adapted from a piece I contributed to Jim Kukral’s book, Attention! This Book Will Make You Money: How to Use Attention-Getting Online Marketing to Increase Your Revenue.


Create a Testimonial Card

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Have you considered how to make your comment card a solicitation for testimonials? 

You have probably seen hundreds of comment cards from all kinds of businesses. And, you know that it is important to solicit testimonials from happy customers. Have you considered how to make your comment card a solicitation for testimonials?

First, design the card to elicit the kind of feedback you want. Instead of just a few check off boxes for ratings, give lots of room for customers to write. Ask questions such as: What did you like best about (your product or service)? What do you think (product or service) did for you? How could we make (product or service) better? What would you tell a friend who was considering (product or service)?

These questions will elicit positive comments you can use in brochures, on your web site and other places you use customer testimonials. You will also get suggestions that will help you to make your business better and more competitive.

In order to use testimonials from the cards, ask for the customer’s name (and address or web site, if applicable) and ask “May we quote you?” with a check box for “yes.” You may wish to make the name field optional so that customers feel comfortable making suggestions without identifying themselves, if they wish. However, to be most powerful, a testimonial should come from a real person, with a name and city or company attached.

Trade Shows (Without the Booth)

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Setting up a booth at a trade show can be a great way to get in front of your potential customers, especially if you choose the trade show wisely. But what if you don’t have the money needed (hundreds or even thousands of dollars) to rent a booth and set up an exhibit? 

One possibility is to share a booth with a company which complements yours. Do you have an alliance partner who might be interested in sharing a booth?

Even without a booth, you can still get lots of benefits from attending the trade show. First of all, you can visit the exhibits set up by others and learn more about your industry and your competitors. Use this as an opportunity to do effective research and learn everything you can.

But you can also market at trade shows. Here are some ways you can get attention for yourself and your business, and attract new customers, even without a booth of your own:

Long before the show, inquire about becoming a presenter or panelist at one of the educational sessions often paired with a trade show. Contact the sponsor and sell them on your abilities.  (They might even trade you a booth space for your presentation, if you want a booth.)

Before the show, learn who will be there. See if you can set up opportunities to meet with people who could become customers or might be good joint venture partners. Is there a decision maker you want to meet? Call and invite him or her to have lunch during the show.

Consider having some giveaways, just as the ‘booth people’ will. If you have an appropriate item, imprinted with your company information, it could help people to remember you. Don’t give away junk, just to have something to give out. How many times have you returned from a trade show and tossed toys, key chains, pens, etc. right into the trash? Can you give out a product sample?

Work the floor. Many of the people you meet could become customers or alliance partners. And you never know who is listening.  Once, while asking questions of a vendor I was evaluating, someone overheard me talking about presenting seminars. He turned out to be someone who hires speakers! (Of course, the fact that you don’t know who is listening is a double-edged sword. Don’t bad mouth anyone or give away trade secrets.)

Wear a special name tag, t-shirt or costume to attract attention as you work the floor. Some publishers have had t-shirts printed with their book cover design on them. How outrageous you get depends on you, your business and the nature of the event, but these items make great conversation starters. 

Collect business cards from the people you talk to, especially those who show an interest. Make sure you note on the cards where and when you met the person, and what you discussed. You won’t remember all of the people you met by the time you’re back at your office.

Follow up. Call or write to the people you met at the show. If you promised to send something (such as a catalog), send it. Do it right away, but realize that they are getting letters and calls from lots of other companies they contacted at the trade show. Follow up again a couple of weeks later with a note, additional information, or a quick call.

You don’t have to blow your marketing budget to have a successful trade show experience!

Finding Profitable Niches

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One of the problems many new Internet marketers face is figuring out what niche they are going to operate in. It is hard enough to find a profitable niche. Finding a profitable niche that is not overrun with competitors may seem nearly impossible.

The secret to finding a profitable niche? Going deep to find sub-niches that are popular but have little competition. You want to find a niche: (1) that gets a significant number of searches, (2) where it is possible to create web pages or websites that rank well in the search engines and (3) where it is possible to make a profit. 

Let’s say that you are interested in the travel niche. That is a popular and competitive topic. Even sub-niches, such as hotels, air fare, and vacations, are highly competitive. There are lots of people searching on those topics, but there are also many competing sites.

Your next step might be to drill down further into the niche to find long-tail keywords where you can be competitive. Think of long-tail keywords as those that do not get the same number of searches as the top level keywords, but still get enough searches to be profitable. For example, “discount air fare” or “Costa Rica air fare” or “discount Costa Rica air fare.”

Another advantage of many long-tail keywords is that people searching for these terms may be more likely to be ready to buy than those searching for top level keywords. As an example, who do you think is more likely to buy right now: Someone searching for “digital cameras” or someone searching for “Canon Digital Rebel XSi”? Anyone who is searching for a broad term such as “digital cameras” is probably just starting to gather information. On the other hand, someone looking for a specific model of camera has done their initial research and they are much closer to a buy decision.

Another group of likely buyers are those who are facing an urgent problem. Someone who is in pain (physical, emotional or financial) will gladly pay for a solution to their problem.

How can you find out how many searches are done for the keywords you have identified, and what the competition is for those keywords? There are lots of tools that can help you. The Goodle Keyword Tool can show you the number of searches done for keywords, but it will not give you specifics on how many other pages are competing for those keywords. A tool I have found useful for determining both the number of searches and how many competing pages there are is Micro Niche Finder. Although it is a paid tool, it can save you a lot of time and help you identify profitable niches.

By targeting a specific, narrowly-defined niche, you do not limit your profitability, you attract exactly the right customers. Be a big fish in a small pond by seeking to dominate a tight, profitable niche rather than trying to be all things to all people.