Give Your Business a Spring Clean – 8 Tips To Inspire You

@tiptopmgr ...I think you're absolutely right in your assessment. The whole age of the internet is still fairly young and the current older generation didn't grow up using it like the younger generations. The older group is used to shopping at brick and mortar stores since before the internet even existed. However, those currently in the younger group will someday be among the older group, so they will continue with the shopping habits they grew up with, just like much of the older group is currently doing by shopping more at brick and mortar stores.

Although, that's not to say that there aren't online shoppers among the older group. There are many who use computers and the internet for their jobs, so they are more likely to use the internet to shop. It's just that they currently make up a smaller portion of the entire group that shops online. As the younger generation ages, that will certainly change. So, it's still a good idea to use every marketing avenue -- on and offline.

It also depends on what you're selling. If it's something that would appeal more to older generations, then you should market both on and offline, with an emphasis placed on marketing offline. This is where newsletters mailed via the USPS can have a great impact. While postcards are good, too, a newsletter provides more of a perceived value than a postcard that appears to be merely another coupon. The topics you could discuss are numerous (see the Blogging board for topic ideas).

I usually do seasonal one-page, two-sided newsletters with an article related to the season and mail them in an envelope. For example, at Christmas, I've done a story on how Rudolph became one of Santa's reindeer since he's not among the original herd. I'll also include a recipe or two (depending on page length) related to the season, usually going with something different than traditional recipes. For example, a great Thanksgiving/Christmas recipe is pumpkin cheesecake (from the Cheesecake Factory, which is popular among cheesecake lovers). I have also considered providing a crossword puzzle. There are sites out there that help you design one and you could make it a themed one related to the current season.

If it's something that would appeal more to younger generations, then putting an emphasis on marketing online would be more effective, being sure to broaden your horizons outside of the usual social media tools like Twitter and Facebook. Other effective online marketing tools are free classified ads, blogs, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, joining and participating in niche social groups, etc. Whatever you post on your blog may even serve as a press release or an article you could submit to free article submission sites (there are a ton of those, but each have different restrictions, if any, so do your research).

You could even provide them the same newsletter as mentioned above via email, on your blog, and via a link to your blog on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and such. If you don't have a blog (even though you really should), you can use Google docs (a free service) to upload it as a Word or PDF doc and provide the link to that, making sure it's set to be viewable to the public. Also, some webhosts even provide a blog directly on your site as a part of your service (Miva Merchant is one -- I'll share others later when I find them). Even Addoway (a marketplace venue) has a blog section for your store.

This is why it's important that you provide the option to sign up for email promotions on your store's site, as well as Follow buttons (including for your blog). While not everybody will sign up/follow, those who do may not be buying something from you at that moment, but they're interested in doing so at a later date and offering them a discount is a good way to encourage them. The key is to make it easy for them to find you later if they happen upon your site while browsing, whether or not they're currently buying.

Also, while some might say that having frequent sales events is overkill, it is a great way to build traffic to your site while also building a customer base, particularly when you're first starting out. When doing promotions of sales events, whether on or offline, just keep in mind that many online shoppers will be looking for gifts, so you'll want to give them ample time to save and receive the product in time to gift it.

If you don't want to have long-running sales, then you could just have the event for a few days around whichever holiday and offer gift certificates for people to buy in advance or even at the last minute that they can receive via either First-Class mail or email. If providing it via email, just be sure that you provide it as an attachment that they can print so they have something physical to give as a gift. You should also make the email an automated one so they receive it as soon as it's paid for. Of course, this usually isn't possible when selling on a marketplace venue, but you should do it if you have the option because people like instant gratification.

Anywho, I guess this would be a good topic for the marketing section -- maybe I shall copy it there. LOL As it relates to this topic, this is one thing you could be working on during slow seasons so you're prepared. You could even plan out and create newsletters and other marketing material for the whole year so you're prepared in advance and only need to send/post it when the time comes because it's ready to go. One thing you'll find me saying a lot is "work smarter, not harder."