MVA Gives Advice About Customers

It's been awhile since anyone's been able to blog for Mountain Valley Advertising because we have had tremendous success in the past few months. We've been so busy trying to keep up with the influx of orders that have been coming in and with the new addition we're building on; a two-story addition. But we've realized we were doing something right and have learned a lot this past spring.

And what we've learned is that business is all about its customers. How to get them, how to get them to pay for your products and how to keep them. Sounds simple but that's all business really is. Getting that to happen, then, is the hard part - the part that so many people have such a hard time doing. But watch out, I'm about to give you some really helpful advice.

To get more customers, get them to your website. Ask for referrals, find new places to advertise. Getting customers is half the battle. Then you need to get them to buy more often from you. To do that, send your main customer base promotional offers that are time or quantity limited; get them to act now instead of later. Then move them from one product to the next...

The next step is to get them to spend more per each transaction. Adding value to your already existing products is a great suggestion. As well as up-selling or cross-selling other products; offer payment plans for the really expensive ones and there is always the option of increasing your fees and prices. The last step is to keep your customers. It is more expensive to attract new ones than to keep existing ones. And here's how: send out surprise bonus gifts, send holiday or birthday cards, thank people for their business, get them to give a client testimonial claiming their loyalty to you and last but not least, if you go above and beyond for them, they'll stay with you. Always.

Good Marketing is All About Telling a Story

And tell a story, you must. If you are quickly trying to sell something to someone, they may not listen. They may not care. But telling them the story of why they need something will make them listen because no one wants to be left out of the loop.

And the story doesn’t have to be a long one. It doesn’t even have to be a good one. But it has to grab their attention (like any good marketing or advertising does), and once it does, they will at least stay with you until you are done. So the first step is to tell that story!

Next, you need to make them remember your story. Make it fun, creative, valuable, interesting information. Useless information does nothing for anybody.

And remember to do your homework before you spend the money. If the information doesn’t speak to the kinds of people who come across your ad, it won’t matter how much info they consume. Target your ads to the venues you’re advertising in; subway riders aren’t going to see outside billboards.

Free, Helpful Advice from Mountain Valley Advertising

Some friends of mine were asking why we’re blogging and what it’s all about. I told them that it was to start creating a buzz about our brand. And then I got to thinking that if we did ever get loyal readers, what would they get out of our little blog? So we’re going to start giving out tips about the advertising, marketing and printing industries. After all, isn’t that where our expertise lies?

Even though we are an advertising agency and want you to come to us for assistance, we realize that not everyone has the ability to pay for this kind of service and, being a small business ourselves, understand the need for free help about these industries. So without further ado:

A great way to get cheap assistance for small projects are freelancers. They do require payment but it’s not usually very expensive as most are just looking for experience and portfolio building projects. This is a great avenue for someone who is too busy to create a pamphlet, flyer or whatever else on their own. Even if it’s not exactly what you were looking for, it’s something, and you can negotiate the price. Just one piece of advice this time. Stay tuned for more in another post.

Spend Smart, Not More

Hi, it’s Angela; creative director for Mountain Valley Advertising. As I am a creative person, thoughts and ideas come sort of naturally to me. It’s not as important to be creative with your message, as it is to get your message across, creatively. You never want to confuse the consumer. In fact, you want to make your point as precisely as possible.

The ability to be remembered is also an essential ingredient when it comes to advertising. And if you’re not at least trying to accomplish that, then I wouldn’t waste your money. It can be very expensive to advertise in the ways and areas you want and if your ad isn’t targeting the right people or rather, getting noticed by the right people, you are wasting that money.

So, don’t squander profits on an educated guess. Be sure that you know who you want to target, where those people are, how to get their attention and how to get them to remember you.

If I Can, You Can

Hey, yall. Sandra here. I wanted to get in on this new blog thing by writing a post for all you non-technical people out there. Now, I have to say that our website is so easy to use that it makes me rethink everything I thought I knew about computers and such. The term is user friendly, I guess, and we definitely have that all locked up and in the bag! You just click and go – it couldn’t be easier.

My question is, is this how it’s always been and I am just so behind the times? Having a very technically savvy daughter and an even more technically savvy son-in-law, I feel out of the loop most times, although I’m slowly getting to understand more and more. And the Internet craze is starting to make more sense.

I do know how to work the printers, though; in case you were starting to write me off for a stupid old lady. And I figured out how to post on our blog page! Anyway, I wanted to say that I think there is hope for the people who consider themselves technically challenged, as I did for the longest time. Hang in there, friends. If I can do it, anyone can!

Mountain Valley Advertising

My name is Roger Neilman and my family and I run a small advertising business in Richmond, VA. Sometimes working with your family can be frustrating, and sometimes it's the best thing in the world. We decided to start blogging in order to release our aggravations and also to tell about success stories. My wife, Sandra is our office manager and accountant and is the loveliest. And then our daughter Angela is the creative director. Her husband, Ryan, our graphic artist and their new baby boy is a little too young to hold any position except stealer of hearts.

One of our craziest success stories came about a year ago. This man calls Sandra in a hurry, wondering if we can print some flyers off as soon as he gets to the office. A half hour later, he stumbles in throwing the flyer at her, asking her to be as fast as she can. He steps outside for a smoke, to find the package of flyers neatly tied in a bundle waiting for him when he came back inside.

He pays and then tells us he actually was only testing us, to see if we are "customer service oriented". Now, I don't know what business is not, but this man seemed worried about it. Luckily, we pleased him and he's been a loyal customer ever since.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. If you need any advertising/marketing/printing help in the Richmond area, don't hesitate to visit our website or stop by! And I hope you enjoy our family's blog.

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