10 Small Marketing Ideas

When you get in a rut, you don't try new things that could bring you new customers, give you new ideas, or help your existing customers. Here are ten small things you can try to get a fresh take on your business.

1. Ask your favorite clients who their other favorite service providers are. Then call them and arrange a meeting.

2. Find a related movie or book you could give out to clients. (For contractors, The Money Pit; for medical groups, The Doctor; for advertising agencies Crazy People, etc.)

3. Put some of your marketing material on a CD that people can view on their computers. Include your Web site.

4. Visit the nearest college. Go to the department most relevant to your services and chat with whomever is available. Ask about possible interns, what research is being done, guest lecturing, cosponsoring a seminar, and other activities. Check out their library resources.

5. Put something attention-getting in your office. Have a competition for staff to bring in the most unusual item that visitors will get a chuckle out of.

6. Create a separate Web site for one subgroup of your clients (a niche). Register a good URL for about $10 a year and site it with your main site for nothing.

7. Write a "Letterman" top 10 list of humorous things about the main industry you serve.

8. Create a one-page handout with ten serious tips based on your expertise. This can be used as a handout at talks and for publicity.

9. Figure out three topics for small seminars you could give in your or a colleague's office.

10. List ten nice things you could do for your best clients (for example, a free service, lunch out, or a ballgame).