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  <title>Successful Marketing - Ideas For Business Pros</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?blogId=1</link>
  <description>&lt;p&gt;Welcome to Successful Marketing!  This blog focuses on the use of promotional materials, as well as marketing ideas, to bring you better results from your marketing efforts.  If you&#039;re a business owner, entrepreneur, or marketing or sales professional this blog is for you!&lt;/p&gt;
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    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
  <dc:date>2009-04-09T17:44:14Z</dc:date>
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  <title>Beat The Economy By Adding Value To Your Products And Services</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=259&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;It&amp;#39;s a cut-throat economy right now, and only the toughest businesses will survive.&amp;nbsp; What makes a business tough?&amp;nbsp; Having value build into their products and services that is worth more to the customer than the products and services themselves.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Value doesn&amp;#39;t have to be an expensive item.&amp;nbsp; It may be the repoire or relationship you have with your customers - like knowing them on a first name basis.&amp;nbsp; It may be free gift wrapping, offering to help customers carry packages to their car, or a premium with purchase.&amp;nbsp; It may be no hassle returns or quality merchandise and superior service.&amp;nbsp; It may be a little something extra thrown in the bag for the kids for fun.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Adding value to your products and services takes a little thought, but it&amp;#39;s definitely worth the effort.&amp;nbsp; You&amp;#39;ll reap the rewards in happy customers and ultimately, in dollars.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>General Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2009-01-30T11:07:33Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <item rdf:about="http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=258&amp;blogId=1">
  <title>Why Shipping Can Be A Deal Maker Or A Deal Breaker</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=258&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Does your company offer more than one method of shipping?&amp;nbsp; If not, you should.&amp;nbsp; Shipping is an important part of the sale.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Some people will want to save money on shipping.&amp;nbsp; For these people, media mail might be offered if it is appropriate for your product, or you might offer usps shipping at the regular rate.&amp;nbsp; You might also offer bulk shipping - bundling products together and shipping them for a lower price rather than shipping them separately.&amp;nbsp; And you could offer bulk shipping at a flat postal rate, as long as everything fits into the box.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;But, what about customers who are in a hurry?&amp;nbsp; They may be willing to spend a little more, maybe even alot more in order to receive their products quickly.&amp;nbsp; These customers should have the option to receive their package overnight, or within 2 or 3 business days.&amp;nbsp; If they need it right away and you don&amp;#39;t provide a fast form of delivery, they&amp;#39;ll either go elsewhere or try to find another product that suits their need.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;People are very money conscious today, but they also expect speedy delivery - even if they haven&amp;#39;t chosen overnight shipping.&amp;nbsp; For this reason, offering them several shipping options, and letting them know how soon their product will ship from your warehouse is very important.&amp;nbsp; It can literally be a deal maker or a deal breaker.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>Marketing Your Products</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2009-01-26T10:45:27Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <item rdf:about="http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=257&amp;blogId=1">
  <title>Make More Money By Offering More Ways For Your Customers To Buy From You</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=257&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Have you ever wanted to order something through a catalog, online, or from a mail offer you received and been frustrated by the process?&amp;nbsp; Most of us have at one time or another.&amp;nbsp; And frustrated customers don&amp;#39;t buy.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;You need to have several avenues in place through which your customers can order, even if you&amp;#39;re only selling through the mail.&amp;nbsp; You can&amp;#39;t anticipate what your customer&amp;#39;s needs will be.&amp;nbsp; They may be perfectly happy filling out a form and mailing it back to you with a check.&amp;nbsp; But, what if they&amp;#39;re in a hurry and they want your product right away?&amp;nbsp; Perhaps they have an immediate need for it, one that is time sensitive, and if they don&amp;#39;t receive your product or service quickly their need for it will pass and they won&amp;#39;t buy. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;You can easily solve this problem by offering a 1-800 number for customers to place their orders, preferably one they can call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.&amp;nbsp; When a customer is in a hurry, it&amp;#39;s reassuring to be able to place an order by phone and hear a voice on the other end of the line.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Another way to solve this problem is to allow customers to place orders online.&amp;nbsp; This can even be done if you offer a service rather than a product.&amp;nbsp; When your customer places their order, make sure they get a confirmation page that both confirms their order has been received and thanks them for their patronage.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Offer several ways for your customers to buy from you and you&amp;#39;ll increase your chance of a sale.&amp;nbsp; If you don&amp;#39;t, you&amp;#39;re losing money. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>Customer Relations</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2009-01-22T13:38:38Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <item rdf:about="http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=256&amp;blogId=1">
  <title>Are Your Sales Leads Hot Or Cold?</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=256&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;What do you do when you get a sales lead?&amp;nbsp; Do you set it aside to respond to later - maybe after lunch or maybe tomorrow?&amp;nbsp; Or do you jump on it right now and phone the person back or send them the requested information?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Sales leads come in hot, but they cool fast.&amp;nbsp; People are inundated with offers and ads, about 5,000 of them per day.&amp;nbsp; Their attention is quickly diverted from one thing to the next.&amp;nbsp; This means the longer you wait to follow up with your leads, the less chance there is of them buying from you or even remembering why they were interested in your product or service in the first place.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;When you don&amp;#39;t follow up with leads promptly, you&amp;#39;re wasting your marketing dollars.&amp;nbsp; If you do a direct mail campaign and it brings you 50 leads, you need to follow up with each lead the day you get them.&amp;nbsp; There should be correspondance by mail and/or phone, or the product should be shipped immediately. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;twenty years ago it was acceptable to expect a shipment to arrive in four to six weeks.&amp;nbsp; Today if one week passes and the shipment hasn&amp;#39;t arrived people begin to wonder whether the items were sent or if they got lost in the mail.&amp;nbsp; Likewise, when leads leave a message, they expect a prompt return call the same day - not a week later.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Our world today is a fast paced one and people move very quickly from one thing to the next.&amp;nbsp; If you don&amp;#39;t catch people when they&amp;#39;re interested, you&amp;#39;ll lose them.&amp;nbsp; They&amp;#39;ll simply move on and forget you.&amp;nbsp; Don&amp;#39;t let this happen.&amp;nbsp; Follow up with those leads while they&amp;#39;re still sizzling and you&amp;#39;ll make more sales!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>Small Business Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2009-01-12T10:40:54Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <item rdf:about="http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=255&amp;blogId=1">
  <title>The Easiest Way To Get New Customers Without Spending A Penny</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=255&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Do you know what the easiest way to get a new customer is?&amp;nbsp; Surprisingly, it&amp;#39;s not through any of the usual marketing methods and it doesn&amp;#39;t cost you a cent.&amp;nbsp; The easiest way to get a new customer is through a referral from a current customer.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;People like to do business with people they know, like and trust.&amp;nbsp; But, your prospects don&amp;#39;t know you yet.&amp;nbsp; They don&amp;#39;t know whether they like you and they may not trust you yet, because they have no relationship with you.&amp;nbsp; Your current customers, however, know you, like you and trust you, and they are known, liked and trusted by their family, friends and peers.&amp;nbsp; For this reason, it makes sense to get as many referrals as you can from your current customers because their nod of approval will be far more convincing to their circle of influence than any marketing you could do to that same group of people.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Many businesses overlook the opportunity to get referrals, and instead put all of their efforts into reaching their market through advertising.&amp;nbsp; This is a mistake.&amp;nbsp; While advertising is important, who would you be more willing to believe about trying a new product - an ad or an enthusiastic family member or friend? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Getting referrals is as simple as asking for them, and the best time to do that is when your customer&amp;#39;s transaction with you is completed.&amp;nbsp; Ask them if they are happy with your service or product.&amp;nbsp; If they are, that is the time to ask them for a referral.&amp;nbsp; Then, you can send a friendly letter to the people your customers refer to you, telling them that their friend or family member (your customer) thought they would like to know about your products and services.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;And if you need help writing that friendly sales letter, give Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em a holler!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>Small Business Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2009-01-07T13:28:29Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <item rdf:about="http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=254&amp;blogId=1">
  <title>Are You Leaving Your Customers Out In The Cold?</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=254&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Picture this.&amp;nbsp; It&amp;#39;s new year&amp;#39;s eve, just after midnight.&amp;nbsp; You&amp;#39;re home, and now that the festivities have died down you&amp;#39;re ready to hit the sack.&amp;nbsp; It seems a little chilly, so you turn up the thermostat on your way up the stairs.&amp;nbsp; But, the heat doesn&amp;#39;t turn on.&amp;nbsp; You go back downstairs, play with thermostat some more, and then go out to the garage to have a look at your furnace.&amp;nbsp; It&amp;#39;s dead.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;By now it&amp;#39;s 2:00am, and you&amp;#39;re flipping through the phone book looking for someone to fix the furnace.&amp;nbsp; You&amp;#39;re concerned because it&amp;#39;s a holiday, but as you look through the ads you find several companies that claim to have 24 hour emergency service, and some of them are open on holidays.&amp;nbsp; You begin dialing numbers, starting with the first ad. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Here&amp;#39;s the big question.&amp;nbsp; When you&amp;#39;re calling these companies who claim to have 24 hour service, would you expect a live person to answer the phone even at 2am?&amp;nbsp; This situation is real.&amp;nbsp; It happend to me just a few nights ago on new year&amp;#39;s eve.&amp;nbsp; And I did expect a live person to answer the phone when a company claimed to offer 24 hour emergency service, even on holidays.&amp;nbsp; I was disappointed by every company in the phone book, however, except for one. &amp;nbsp; Only one company had someone answer their phone at 2am.&amp;nbsp; All the others had a machine answer, offering to take my name and number and have someone &amp;quot;get back to me.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; Since it was the wee hours of the morning on a holiday, I guessed that hell might freeze over, and so would I and my family, before I would hear from anyone at any of those companies.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;There is a big lesson here, and it&amp;#39;s this.&amp;nbsp; Little details matter ALOT.&amp;nbsp; The companies with the answering machines probably thought they had their bases covered.&amp;nbsp; But, from my perspective as a customer at 2am, I felt like I had been left out in the cold.&amp;nbsp; I was tired, frustrated and cold.&amp;nbsp; I needed to speak to live person so that I would know that the situation would be taken care of.&amp;nbsp; This wasn&amp;#39;t something I wanted to leave to chance and hope someone would get back to me. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Whatever your company promises to do, whether it&amp;#39;s 24 hour service, free gift wrapping or fresh, hot delivery, find out what your prospects and customers expectations are.&amp;nbsp; You may think you&amp;#39;re fullfilling your promise, but your prospects and customers may feel otherwise.&amp;nbsp; A simple phone call or survey by mail can give you insight that will be invaluable to your company in the services you provide.&amp;nbsp; And if you need help putting together that survey and business letter to mail, Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em is here to help you!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>Customer Relations</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2009-01-05T10:40:32Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <item rdf:about="http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=253&amp;blogId=1">
  <title>How To Move Up To Number One</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=253&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Fact: you can&amp;#39;t lead from the back of the pack.&amp;nbsp; If you&amp;#39;re going to be a leader in your industry, you&amp;#39;ve got to move your business to the number 1 position.&amp;nbsp; It&amp;#39;s easier to do than you think.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;First, you need to figure out what it is that your company does best or the most of.&amp;nbsp; If you sell widgets, are yours the best?&amp;nbsp; Why?&amp;nbsp; What makes them special?&amp;nbsp; Maybe yours is a flying widget, but your competitor has a flying widget too.&amp;nbsp; Does your widget fly higher, faster or farther than your competitors?&amp;nbsp; Then, you can claim that yours is the higher, faster or farthest flying widget, which makes you number 1 for that particular category of widget.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Another way to become number 1, and probably the best way, is to become the best known for providing your product or service.&amp;nbsp; How do you do this?&amp;nbsp; By marketing through as many channels that reach your niche as you can.&amp;nbsp; You might advertise in classifieds, trade magazine, on radio or tv.&amp;nbsp; You might do several direct mail campaigns.&amp;nbsp; You might canvass neighborhoods with door hangers.&amp;nbsp; The point is to do as much as you can as often as you can.&amp;nbsp; Repetition is necessary and from as many sources as possible.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Incidentally, Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications can help you with this.&amp;nbsp; We create printed promotional materials from ads to sales letters to promotional booklets that get results and help you sell more of your products and services.&amp;nbsp; Why?&amp;nbsp; Because the more tangible collateral you&amp;#39;ve got in the marketplace with your name on, the more people will see your name everywhere and remember you.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>Small Business Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2008-12-30T07:20:34Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <title>Where The Gold Is In Your Marketing</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=252&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;With 2009 just days away, you&amp;#39;ve probably been looking over the past year at what&amp;#39;s worked for your company in terms of marketing and what hasn&amp;#39;t.&amp;nbsp; You may be inclined to cut back on your marketing over all, but this would be a bad thing to do.&amp;nbsp; Cutting back on your marketing would also mean cutting back on growth.&amp;nbsp; Do you really want to see your company diminish in 2009?&amp;nbsp; I didn&amp;#39;t think so.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;A better plan would be to analyze what worked and what didn&amp;#39;t.&amp;nbsp; Find out why.&amp;nbsp; Then, tweak what didn&amp;#39;t work or cut it out and replace it with something new.&amp;nbsp; The more marketing channels you have open that work, the more money will flow to you or your company.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Cutting back on your marketing overall is a bad idea.&amp;nbsp; Less marketing will not create more business.&amp;nbsp; Cutting out what doesn&amp;#39;t work may not be necessary.&amp;nbsp; Some of your marketing may just need a little further tweaking to get it right.&amp;nbsp; Discovering the why&amp;#39;s of what&amp;#39;s working and what isn&amp;#39;t is where the true gold is, because it gives you a framework to create a plan from.&amp;nbsp; Once you understand this, you can boldly go forward and create new ways to market your products and services.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>General Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2008-12-29T12:45:19Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <title>The Little Things That Make A Big Difference To Your Bottom Line</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=251&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;A couple of days ago while I was at the mall for my daily mall walk, I stopped into a restroom at the most upscale department store on the mall.&amp;nbsp; This restroom has four stalls, one of which was apparently out of order.&amp;nbsp; Normally, this particular mall gets very little action on the weekdays, and compared to other local malls it gets little traffic even on weekends.&amp;nbsp; But, with the Christmas holiday just over a week away, there was actually a line in this particular restroom.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;The lady in front of me mentioned the stall that was out of order, saying how inconvenient it was and she wondered why such a nice store would allow the stall to go unchecked and remain unuseable.&amp;nbsp; I couldn&amp;#39;t help but agree, and I mentioned that the restroom never does seem to be very clean.&amp;nbsp; For that matter, neither do any of the others in any of the other stores on the mall, but from this store you would expect something better.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Both this lady and myself left that restroom and that store with a bad impression, and it will be a lasting one.&amp;nbsp; This was one of those little details that, handled improperly, created an undesirable experience for shoppers.&amp;nbsp; How could this problem be solved?&amp;nbsp; Quite easily.&amp;nbsp; The store could have the restroom checked by employees every 30 minutes to make sure it is clean, there are plenty of paper towels, and plenty of soap.&amp;nbsp; A problem would be reported to janitorial services which would respond immediately.&amp;nbsp; As an added touch, seasonal flowers could grace the counter top next to the sink, and a bottle of lotion could be placed there as well.&amp;nbsp; To really go the extra mile, a couple of boxes of tissues could be added.&amp;nbsp; This would add to the positive experience of shopping in that store, rather than detract from it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Whether you have a brick and mortar store with restrooms, or yours is an online only shopping experience for your customers, little things matter alot.&amp;nbsp; You need to find ways to go above and beyond the ordinary and what is expected to give shoppers not just a positive experience, but one that they&amp;#39;ll love so much they can&amp;#39;t help talking about it.&amp;nbsp; In the case of the restroom example above, people may not rave about the improvements, but they&amp;#39;ll remember them and enter that store and bring their friends into it if for no other reason than to use that restroom as opposed to any others on the mall.&amp;nbsp; That means they&amp;#39;ll probably browse in that store once they leave that restroom, and browsing quite often will lead to buying.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;How about your business?&amp;nbsp; What can you create, change or fix to give your customers a better experience?&amp;nbsp; Maybe you can offer free shipping and easy, no hassle returns.&amp;nbsp; Or, perhaps you can offer better customer service over the phone or in person.&amp;nbsp; Even something as simple as a thank you card from your company to let your customers know you appreciate their business will leave a favorable impression.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>Customer Relations</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2008-12-16T08:08:45Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <title>Creativity Is The Key To Making More Money In Any Economy</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=250&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Are you finding it difficult to stay focused in the midst of all the naysayers who are down about the economy?&amp;nbsp; There is no shortage of business people blaming the economy for their lack of sales, yet there are a few bright individuals who can see opportunity where the others can&amp;#39;t, or who are creating opportunity where the others are not.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;If you&amp;#39;re one of the complainers, stop.&amp;nbsp; Start thinking creatively.&amp;nbsp; If what you&amp;#39;re currently doing isn&amp;#39;t working, try a new approach.&amp;nbsp; And I&amp;#39;m not talking about lower prices.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;#39;m talking about creating new channels for bringing in leads, and new ways of offering value to customers so they&amp;#39;ll buy from you as oppossed to your competitors or not buying at all.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;The economy is really only as bad as you make it out to be.&amp;nbsp; You can thrive in a bad economy, and you can fail in a good economy.&amp;nbsp; The outcome has more to do with your thinking and creativity than it does with your customers.&amp;nbsp; People buy in any economy.&amp;nbsp; You just need to convince them to buy from you.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;So how about it?&amp;nbsp; What are you going to do differently to bring in new leads and get them to buy from you?&amp;nbsp; How can you change your strategy so that it works better for you?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Need a little help?&amp;nbsp; Don&amp;#39;t forget at Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em we offer marketing consulting as well as booklets, flyers, brochures, sales letters, and more to help you make more money in any economy!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>General Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2008-12-09T11:14:49Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <title>How To Blow The Roof Off Your Sales Without Spending Another Dime On Advertising Or Doing Any Extra Work</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=249&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Would you like to sell more of your products and services, grow your business and make more money without doing any extra work?&amp;nbsp; I&amp;#39;m about to tell you exactly how you can do this using a very powerful, but under-utilized marketing tool.&amp;nbsp; It&amp;#39;s called a testimonial.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Of all the businesses in the world today, only a small handful use this strategy.&amp;nbsp; The secret behind the power of testimonials is simple - what others say about your products and services is more important to prospects and customers than what you say about your products and services.&amp;nbsp; When you toot your own horn, prospects and customers are less likely to believe you than when someone else gives you a recommendation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;General Mills has figured this out.&amp;nbsp; They are now putting testimonials on the back of their Cheerios boxes.&amp;nbsp; They&amp;#39;ve even included a photo of each person who gave a testimonial.&amp;nbsp; And while they should be congratulated for this bold move, there is one thing their testimonials lack which you can learn from and include in yours that will literally skyrocket your sales.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;When you ask customers for testimonials, you don&amp;#39;t just want them to tell how great your company or service or product is.&amp;nbsp; You want them to tell a little story about how your service or product changed their life.&amp;nbsp; You want them to tell what it did for them - the before and after.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;A testimonial that says nice things about your company is better than no testimonials at all, but when you have testimonials that show results from using your products or services it not only lends credibility to your company, it is proof to your market that your products and services work.&amp;nbsp; It is proof because you did not say your products or services work.&amp;nbsp; Instead, your customers have said it and are recommending you to others.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;If you&amp;#39;re not using testimonials in your marketing, you need to start.&amp;nbsp; You should include them in every piece of advertising you do.&amp;nbsp; Simply create a form to send to your past customers, and to give to your current customers.&amp;nbsp; You can include an example on the form of the kind of testimonial you&amp;#39;re look for (results oriented).&amp;nbsp; Then, leave it up to the customer to put it in their own words.&amp;nbsp; It&amp;#39;s also a good idea to give the customer some incentive to write the testimonial and send it to you.&amp;nbsp; You might offer them a special discount or a premium product, available for a limited time to entice them to get the testimonial to you right away. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Once you&amp;#39;ve gathered some testimonials, you should begin using them in everything your prospects and customers see - from your company newsletter to your sales letters and brochures, to your website and your product packaging.&amp;nbsp; You can even use them on the back side of your business card.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;And, when you&amp;#39;ve got alot of testimonials you can have them all put into a promotional booklet which can be handed to prospects or mailed to them.&amp;nbsp; Imagine getting an offer in the mail where there were so many wonderful things people had to say about it that their testimonials had to be printed in a booklet because there were too many to print in the sales letter!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;At Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em, promotional booklets are our specialty.&amp;nbsp; We know how to create marketing that gets results, and when we pair that knowledge with our products, those products get results for you.&amp;nbsp; Contact us today through the Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em website and let&amp;#39;s get started on your project!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>General Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2008-12-04T07:31:33Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <title>Lower Your Prices And Watch Your Perceived Value Plummet</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=248&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;It&amp;#39;s been all over the news - holiday sales are way down and retailers are scared.&amp;nbsp; They&amp;#39;re scrambling to try to come up with a solution, and that solution for most of them is to lower their prices.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;While this tactic may seem wise, it is not.&amp;nbsp; First, when everyone lowers their prices, who will stand out?&amp;nbsp; The one with the lowest prices.&amp;nbsp; And how low can you really afford to go?&amp;nbsp; Most of the time, there is someone willing to go lower, even if it creates a loss for them. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Second, when you lower your prices it devalues your products and/or services.&amp;nbsp; There are people who are willing to pay a premium, even in tough economic times, to get what they perceive to be the best.&amp;nbsp; This goes for everything from blue jeans to birthday parties. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Instead of lowering your prices, why not add more value to what you offer?&amp;nbsp; If you send products through the mail, you could add more value by offering faster service and free shipping.&amp;nbsp; You could also offer free, no hassle returns.&amp;nbsp; If yours is a large store where the customer comes to you to buy, why not offer them a more personal shopping experience, such as a sales clerk who helps them find just what they are looking for and actually waits on them?&amp;nbsp; Even in stores that in the past have been known for their great customer service, I have personally noticed alot of slacking off.&amp;nbsp; So, if you offer personal service it will be something of value and something that is remembered.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Another thing you can do is offer something to go along with your products that will add value to them.&amp;nbsp; This might be a gift with purchase, or it might be an in pack or on pack item. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Don&amp;#39;t devalue your products and services by lowering your prices.&amp;nbsp; Instead, do the opposite.&amp;nbsp; Add value.&amp;nbsp; It will keep your customers coming back.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>General Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2008-12-01T10:07:52Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <title>The Two Main Criteria For Marketing Your Products, Your Services And Your Business</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=247&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;A store at my local mall had a great promotional idea.&amp;nbsp; They had fortune cookies custom made, and the fortune inside the cookie gave the recipient a discount on their products.&amp;nbsp; They failed to properly implement this promotion, however.&amp;nbsp; It seems nobody is flocking to their store to get the fortune cookie.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;This could have been a really fun promotion, but once they had the cookies they simply placed a sign in front of their store which reads, &amp;quot;Get A Cookie.&amp;nbsp; Get Fortune.&amp;nbsp; Get a discount.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; That was all.&amp;nbsp; There&amp;#39;s no real incentive here.&amp;nbsp; It&amp;#39;s boring.&amp;nbsp; Nobody cares.&amp;nbsp; So the people pass by without stopping in.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;What to do?&amp;nbsp; First, the phrase &amp;quot;get a discount&amp;quot; is vague.&amp;nbsp; How much of a discount?&amp;nbsp; 10%?&amp;nbsp; 25%?&amp;nbsp; 75%?&amp;nbsp; Is there a range of discounts possible?&amp;nbsp; Being more specific and telling how much of a discount is more enticing than simply promising a discount. Most people will think the discount is a small one and therefore not worth their time.&amp;nbsp; So, the pass by.&amp;nbsp; But, when you tell them how much they can save, it will do a better job of piquing their interest.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Next, since this store is on the mall, I would have two employees standing on either side of the entrance with a large bowl of fortune cookies in hand.&amp;nbsp; They would offer the fortune cookies to people who approach the entrance.&amp;nbsp; This would get the fortune cookies into people&amp;#39;s hands, and it would attract more people.&amp;nbsp; Everyone wants what someone else has, and when people see other people receiving something, they will want one too.&amp;nbsp; And since it is the holiday season, why not dress the employees up as elves to attract further attention?&amp;nbsp; Elves handing out fortune cookies?&amp;nbsp; Why not?&amp;nbsp; It&amp;#39;s something you don&amp;#39;t see every day, which is what makes it an attention getter.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;The real point here is this.&amp;nbsp; Whatever marketing you&amp;#39;re doing, it needs to get to the people you&amp;#39;re marketing to.&amp;nbsp; Your message needs to be read or heard.&amp;nbsp; And it needs to be interesting so it attracts attention.&amp;nbsp; Whether you&amp;#39;re marketing through the use of a booklet, yellow pages ad, radio commercial or sales letter doesn&amp;#39;t matter.&amp;nbsp; The criteria is the same.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>General Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2008-11-26T07:20:09Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <title>Three Reasons Starbuck&#039;s New Promotions Is A Winner</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=246&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Over this past weekend I visited my local Starbucks.&amp;nbsp; They had a new promotion going.&amp;nbsp; They offered me a free tall drink of my choice for filling out an online survey.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;This promotion is a smart move on Starbuck&amp;#39;s part for three reasons.&amp;nbsp; First, they&amp;#39;re gathering information which will help them serve their customers better and attract new business.&amp;nbsp; This is vitally important for any company trying to survive in a down economy - especially when you&amp;#39;re selling a commodity like coffee that is easy for people to replace with something less expensive or just not drink at all.&amp;nbsp; Water is vital, coffee is not.&amp;nbsp; And while Starbucks may argue that their product is not a commodity because of the experience they create with it, that arguement doesn&amp;#39;t seem to be persuading their customers.&amp;nbsp; The survey will help Starbucks to better hone the experience for customers, thus making a stop at their coffee bars more compelling.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Second, by offering a free drink there is incentive for the customer to complete the survey.&amp;nbsp; Most people probably would not bother completing an online survey without a compelling reason to do so.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Third, when the customer returns for the free drink, there is a good probability that they will buy something else while they are there.&amp;nbsp; They might buy ground coffee, or a pastry to go with the free coffee.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps they&amp;#39;ve brought more people with them who will buy drinks.&amp;nbsp; Or maybe they&amp;#39;ll purchase an item from the shelf to give as a holiday gift.&amp;nbsp; So, in return for the free drink, Starbucks gets valuable information about what their customers want, and they will probably increase their sales as well.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Now the only question is how can you apply this to your business?&amp;nbsp; Perhaps you&amp;#39;ll give a free booklet with a survey inside, and when people send in the survey they get a coupon worth a percentage off your products.&amp;nbsp; There are as many ways to implement this idea as there are businesses to implement it!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up and at &amp;#39;em!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/www.upandatempublications.com&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>General Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2008-11-17T12:03:59Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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  <item rdf:about="http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=243&amp;blogId=1">
  <title>Do You Have The Right Tools For Marketing Your Business?</title>
  <link>http://www.upandatempublications.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&amp;articleId=243&amp;blogId=1</link>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;You&amp;#39;ve got a great product and now you want to sell it.&amp;nbsp; But without marketing it will never happen.&amp;nbsp; marketing is what happens in between the finishing or acquiring of a great product, or putting a service together, and getting the customer&amp;#39;s money.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;There are many ways you can market your products and services, and you should use as many as you can afford or as are appropriate for what you have to offer.&amp;nbsp; These include advertisements in magazines and newspapers, on the radio, television, etc.&amp;nbsp; But, one thing is for certain.&amp;nbsp; You can&amp;#39;t market without the appropriate tools.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Your marketing tools are what you use beyond your advertising to reach out to your prospects and turn them into customers.&amp;nbsp; They are what make the sale.&amp;nbsp; They are an extension of you or your company, and are often something physical that the customer comes into contact with before deciding to buy.&amp;nbsp; Some of the best marketing tools you have available to you include:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Brochures&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Booklets&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Coupons&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Door Hangers&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Flyers&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Inserts&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Newsletters&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Sales Letters&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Special Offers&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Each of these pieces of literature is a marketing tool and should convince your customers to buy from you.&amp;nbsp; If they don&amp;#39;t, the money spent on them is wasted.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;The same can be said for premiums and free gifts or bonuses.&amp;nbsp; While they are not literature, they are used for the same reason - to compell the prospect to act now.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;No matter what kind of business you own, or what kind of product or service you sell, without marketing you&amp;#39;re dead.&amp;nbsp; And without the right tools for the job, marketing can&amp;#39;t happen.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications offers the marketing tools to help you get the results you desire. Contact us through our website to start reaching your customers today!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Kim Hillman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;Up &amp;amp; At &amp;#39;Em Publications&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium&quot;&gt;www.upandatempublications.com &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
      
    <dc:subject>Small Business Marketing</dc:subject>
     
    
  <dc:date>2008-11-13T10:15:22Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>kimhillman</dc:creator>
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