What marketing efforts are your competitors using?

• Call your competitor on the telephone and pose as a prospective client.
• Talk to their sales staff
• Ask the right questions and most salespeople will tell you exactly what you want to know about their business. Many salespeople love to talk about themselves and their business. This can help you with your research.
• Collect your competitors’ brochures, ads, and sales letters.
• Record their voice messages and their radio and TV commercials.
• Visit their booths at trade shows and go to their showrooms.
• Also, check out their Web site(s).
  Most Web sites will give you a lot of information about how the company does business with its clients. The site may even provide a list of clients, which can become a great “target list” for your own sales efforts.
  While visiting the Web sites of your competitors, request more information regarding their companies and their products/services. Then, keep an accurate record about how quickly they respond.

How Much Information Do You Have?

The first time that I really became aware of the vast array of information available to me for use in marketing my clients’ businesses, it blew me away.

One of the best sources of information is your local library.
Call the reference desk and ask where you need to look for specific information. The librarians will lead you to many sources that you never knew existed.

Most of the recommended resources may be within the library walls or available through the library Web site. In fact, some librarians will do research for you if you just ask them for their help.

My local list broker, Ted Kelter, Vice President of Burnett Direct of Farmington Hills, Michigan, is a great information source. I call him on a regular basis and pick his brain. Ted has been an invaluable resource when I am digging for information to use to market my clients’ products/services.

His “list” advice and direct marketing expertise have been a very profitable resource for my clients.

I suggest that you call Ted 248-932-7100 or look for list brokers in your area. Get to know them and use their services.

Here are some other information source possibilities: I often consult my local Chamber of Commerce because they know who is new in town, who is leaving town, and why.

The local newspapers are great for monitoring the advertisements that your competitions are running. Also, classified ads in newspapers will tell you who is hiring. Bankruptcy lists will tell you where to buy inexpensive equipment that you can use to grow your business.

Local college business offices are another great source to find out who is hiring. They also can connect you with “interns,” college students who are inexpensive to hire and can bring fresh ideas to your business.

Your local “Yellow Pages” and “Online Yellow Pages” have been a consistent source for new business.

For example: I Look for industries that spend a lot of money in the various “Yellow Pages,” and I offer my marketing services to them. The advertising in the “Yellow Pages” will inform you about how much competition you have and how your competitors advertise their services.

Another great source of information is in the Federal Government reports that are available on the Web. A starting point for finding them is www.LOC.gov (Library of Congress). There are thousands of reports available on many subjects. Some of these reports are free, while there may be a very small fee for others. Also, the Web is an endless source of information that can be found almost instantly. If you can think of it, it usually can be found.

What information do you need today that could help you to market your business tomorrow?

Where are you going to go to find it?

Are You Paying Enough Attention To The Business World Around You?

Do you spend at least three hours per week reading magazines, newspapers, and Web sites that report on overall or “general” market trends? Observe what trends are starting in your geographic area, nationally, and worldwide.

Some recommended sources of valuable information with which you should become familiar are the New York Times Sunday Edition, the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Time, Newsweek, and People, as well as all of your local newspapers and magazines.

Keep an eye out for trends that may affect your business. Things could change very fast, making what you sell obsolete or, on the other hand, needed more than ever.

Study the business trends that are happening outside of your industry for ideas that could be used in yours. Many ideas are transferable from one industry to another, and you may be able to find and implement an idea that is new to your industry.

For example: the ballpoint pen was the basis for roll­on deodorant. Here’s another example: just after McDonald’s started expanding, one of their corporate executives was in his car, waiting to do his banking at a drive ­through window. The executive started thinking, “How could we use this at McDonald’s?” The result was the start of drive­through fast food.

Many advertising headlines are transferred from one industry to another.
Here is such a headline: “I’ll Teach You How To Quickly And Easily Get All The Credit You Ever Wanted.” It could be changed to the new headline “I’ll Show You How To Quickly And Easily Cut All The Steel Pipe You Need To Cut.”

The beauty of doing this research is that your com­petition won’t discover what you have learned or what your next marketing effort will be until it is too late for them. The information that you need to create unique marketing programs is out there waiting for you.

Where are you going to look for helpful ideas from other industries?