OK, in an earlier article we launched you on a scavenger hunt for Sweet Somethings--small reminders you whisper in your customers ear and let her know what you stand for.

Some small business owners think their products and services can speak for themselves. Dont fall into that trap, no matter what your employees or your suppliers might tell you about how good your product or your service is. Your customers are your most valuable marketing resource--and your most believable. OK, if you can get editorial copy in the newspaper or on the internet written about you, that can be an equally credible source, but it is much tougher to obtain.

So word of mouth advertising--via your customers--is the most cost-effective promotional marketing you have. You want to plant a seed in that new customers mind, using your current customers.

Just like in nature, your marketing message needs to find the right carrier. You need to find a sticky message--and put it in front of as many customers as you can. Just like a little sandbur that sticks to a dogs leg and gets carried for miles, your marketing message needs to stick to the customer carrier.

And that means your brand message needs to be packaged in a way so that it can be easily picked up by your customers.

First, lets write down those brand phrases you picked up earlier when you were on the scavenger hunt. See what the customers are saying about you. This is also a fantastic time to review your features and benefits.

Did you find any nuggets from your customers? Did any of the phrases they say resonate with your own experience? Did you pick up any little gems you can use to refract your companys brilliance back to other customers? Sounds goofy, doesnt it, but think about it--isnt that exactly what you want to do? There are fifty girls in their early-Twenties within a mile of you right now that are every bit as pretty as the #1 Box Office Hollywood actress. They just arent wrapped in as pretty of a package.

OK, once you write down your brand phrases you are going to use, then the next step is to determine where to put them. How about:

• Your welcome mat (you do have one, dont you ?)
• The back of your restroom door
• On a sticker on the back of every magazine in your waiting area
• Matchbooksor todays equivalent (when you find it, let us know)
• Vending Machines
• Any place where customers have to wait
• Drinking fountain
• Coffee machine
• Merchandise shelving. Too obvious? How about on the bottom side of a rack thats higer up?
• Instead of a CautionWet Floor pylon how about creating one that reads: CautionSavings ahead or Caution: Hard hat area aheadFalling Prices
• Chair covers. Do you have molded plastic or folding chairs in your waiting area? Why not have some chair covers made with a few of your favorite phrases on them?
• Inside the lids of your boxes. (Check out a Celestial Seasonings Tea Box in your grocery store sometime. Just look inside for a great example of a Sweet Something.)

There are multiple locations just ripe to plant your message. If you and your staff find even a few, youll be ahead of your competition.

OK, youve found the places. Now, take a phrase and plant it there. Maybe the phrase is a simple, time-worn saying like: Your satisfaction 100% guaranteed or your money back!

You see this phrase often--because it works! It reassures the customer that your small business stands behind your work. And remember, its not just the first time, stray, new customer that just comes in the door you want to whisper a sweet something to. Existing customers have a way of being taken for granted by too many small companies. Sometimes we actually feel the customer owes us, instead of the other way around. This attitude sends more customers packing off--straight to the competition--than all the advertising in the world, combined.

Lets imagine for a moment you are an All Terrain Vehicle store--Terrys ATVs. Besides the farmers and ranchers who use your product on the job, a huge part of what you sell is Fun.

Fun on Sale could be a major theme you use throughout the year in marketing your small business. You dont need to limit this brand marketing theme to just the sales floor where the new models sit or to the banner that hangs outside your store (you have a banner, dont you?)

What about hinting at this brand theme wherever you can? How about in the area where you sell parts, such as spark plugs or tire-repair kits? Maybe a little strategically placed placard back there that says: The sooner its fixed, the sooner you can rev up the fun again. This reinforces the brand of your store as fun, and maybe even puts a little smile on your customers face.

Think of somebody you like. Maybe its a parent, or a spouse, or that guy in 7th Grade you had a crush on. Isnt it just the mere, little things about that person you think about when you remember them? Most life experience is woven from a thousand little threads and its the same with your business and the experience your customer has with it. Bring out your stores personality, quirks and all, and whisper those sweet somethings in their ear.

Remember: Brand (who you are) + Package (your Face to the Customer) + People (customers and employees) = Marketing Success.

2006 Marketing Hawks