Quick, cheap and automated small business marketing ideas

Mail and Parcel stores,

Let's face it. You are extremely limited. There are only so many people in your geographical area who are in a position to visit your store - for any reason. Reaching out to them is time consuming and expensive. Offering the right set of products and services is vital.

I recommend that you join the local chamber of commerce and any other organization in your area where you can make yourself (and your store) known to your potential customers. Listen to what they are talking about and especially to what they are complaining about. Adapt your offerings at the store to fill niche voids. Every single store is unique.

You also have to advertise. Advertising is expensive and it's hard to choose where and how. A website is a cheap no-brainer, but just having a website is not enough. Get a Flip HD video camera (http://www.theflip.com/en-us/), record a video introducing yourself and walking around your store explaining all that you offer, and post it on www.youtube.com. Create a link to it from your website's home page. To track the effectiveness of the video, offer a discount on something if they mention your video.

Check out this FedEx video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-DmrgJHSM4&feature=youtu.be

Collect email addresses and use email marketing, it's nearly free and super-effective because the email addresses you have are one-time customers. Start an email newsletter even if you only send it out once per month.

E-mail, Direct Mail and Flyers directing people to your website is a good way to train people to look for your store on-line. After all, it's there 24 x 7.

Here are some interesting ideas and info I have found recently for marketing your business on the cheap and saving money, etc. Nothing beats a handshake though. Get out there!


Small Business Marketing http://bit.ly/cJpxWq

Direct Mail Marketing for Small Businesses | Hostway Web Resources http://bit.ly/cywkeq

Are You Ignoring Email Marketing Because of Social Media? http://bit.ly/aEt4Vv

31 Exceptional Strategies for Marketing to Today's Woman ... http://bit.ly/aOzfgp

Strategic Alliances: Deepen Online Connections Offline — Small ... http://bit.ly/9DhRVR

Sweet Spot Marketing: Successful Marketing Isn't Magic IT'S A SYSTEM http://bit.ly/c0iUSD

Email Marketing Levels Playing Field for Small Business | Business ... http://bit.ly/aw3HmU

Direct Mail Post Cards; Saving Time While Making Money http://bit.ly/bTCqHj

More effective marketing http://bit.ly/8XzvYe

Small Business Marketing Tips: Managing Contacts http://bit.ly/ds8MNB

The articles are to get me (and you) thinking about how to use the tools described. I don't endorse any particular vendor.


Cordially,

--Larry

Lawrence J. Riccitelli
REFUND TECHNOLOGY
Automatic Shipping Refunds
111 Ambassador Avenue
Warwick, RI 02889-1309
larry@refundtech.com
www.refundtech.com
www.refundtechnology1.com
Voice (401) 737-5055
Fax (401) 736-5858
Twitter: @refundtech

Tell a friend about Refund Technology.
Voted: "Best Business Service" - 2007 Associated Mail and Parcel Centers (ampc.org)

Visit us at:
The AMPC Annual Convention in Chicago, April 9, 2010
Annex Brands Trade Show in Las Vegas, April 23, 2010
The Association of Legal Administrators Annual Conference in Boston, May 6-9, 2010
The Retail Shippers Expo Trade Show in Dallas, July 16, 2010
Meet us at "IT"! The 2010 Auto Recyclers' Meet-up and Trade Show in Danville, VA, May 14th-15th

UPS GROUND Shipment Money-Back Guarantee

UPS Ground Money-Back Guarantee Details

"UPS guarantees on-schedule delivery of UPS Guaranteed Ground Service packages to every address in the 48 contiguous United States. In the event the carrier fails to complete delivery or attempt delivery by the end of the scheduled delivery day as published on www.ups.com."

This is directly from the UPS website. Ground shipments are guaranteed to be on-time or you are eligible for a refund.

Click the link below to find out exactly how to get your UPS service-failure refunds.

http://bit.ly/bMyA5z

FedEx GROUND Shipment Money-Back Guarantee

FedEx Ground Money-Back Guarantee Details

"A money-back guarantee applies to FedEx Ground shipments to business addresses and FedEx Home Delivery® shipments to residential addresses within the U.S., and to FedEx International Ground® shipments if you choose the brokerage-inclusive option. If the package is not delivered on the standard scheduled delivery day, you can request a credit of shipping charges.
See the FedEx Ground Tariff for more information on the FedEx Ground money-back guarantee."

This is directly from the FedEx website. Ground shipments are guaranteed to be on-time or you are eligible for a refund.

Click the link below to find out exactly how to get your refunds.
http://bit.ly/bMyA5z

UPS Manifest Credits

Did you know that if you print a UPS label, don't use it and forget to void it, UPS BILLS YOU FOR THE SHIPMENT ANYWAY! Get your money back!

All you have to do is call them up and request a credit for a label billed but not shipped.

The problem is that you forgot about it already. UPS is not going to tell you.

Let us audit for manifest credits for you!

Cordially,

--Larry

Lawrence J. Riccitelli
REFUND TECHNOLOGY
Automatic Shipping Refunds
111 Ambassador Avenue
Warwick, RI 02889-1309
larry@refundtech.com
www.refundtech.com
www.refundtechnonogy1.com
www.automaticshippingrefunds.com
http://twitter.com/refundtech
Voice (401) 737-5055
Fax (401) 736-5858
Twitter: @refundtech

Tell a friend about Refund Technology.
Voted: "Best Business Service" - 2007 Associated Mail and Parcel Centers (ampc.org)

UPS and FedEx late shipment refunds

Do you know that FedEx and UPS absolutely, guarantee the on-time delivery of your Ground and Express packages? It’s true, and when they are more than one minute late, you are entitled to up to a 100% REFUND. Plain and simple.
About 5% of ground shipments and 10% of express shipments are delivered late.
Getting those refunds is not so simple. It’s frustrating, time consuming, tedious work. That’s what we do and we love it!
We will do all the work. You do nothing. We guarantee we will find refunds.
Two service plans available. Pick the one that suits you best for each carrier.
Split Plan - Our only fee is a split of the FedEx and UPS refunds you receive as a result of our work. Billed after you get them.
When your shipments arrive late, we will do all the work to secure your refunds for you. The carriers always refund money directly to you.
We bill you for our fee and get paid after you get your refunds and only if you are 100% satisfied.
There is no additional work for you or your staff. You do nothing different than you do today!
Signing up for our service is quick and easy. Sign up today and we work today.
There is no contract and no other costs or fees. Cancel at any time without risk or obligation.
Fixed Fee Plan - Pay a nominal fixed fee month, and you keep 100% of the refunds. Choose 1 or both carriers.

We will cut your shipping costs - GUARANTEED.

Questions? Please call us toll-free using the Google Voice button at the top of this post or at 888-438-7801 or send an email to info@refundtech.com or visit us at www.refundtech.com or www.refundtechnology1.com or www.automaticshippingrefunds.com.

Voted: Best Business Service - Associated Mail & Parcel Centers (www.ampc.org)

REFUND TECHNOLOGY
Automatic Shipping Refunds
www.refundtech.com
www.refundtechnology1.com
www.automaticshippingrefunds.com
Voice (401) 737-5055
Fax (401) 736-5858
Twitter: @refundtech

Twitter Quiz #2 answer:

Twitter Quiz #2 answer:

FedEx and UPS both guarantee that your EXPRESS shipment will be delivered by the EXACT TIME you paid for. If it arrives 1 second late and it is their fault, you are entitled to a refund.

You paid for a 12:00PM delivery. This shipment arrived at 12:01PM.

Even though nobody complained...

If it's a FedEx shipment, it's FREE! FedEx will refund your shipping charges.
If it's a UPS shipment, it's FREE! UPS will refund your shipping charges.

All you need to do is (A)realize that it's late, (B)call them within the brief window of opportunity, and (C) check your records to make sure you got your refund.

We do all that for you!

Cordially,

--Larry

Lawrence J. Riccitelli
REFUND TECHNOLOGY
Automatic Shipping Refunds
111 Ambassador Avenue
Warwick, RI 02889-1309
larry@refundtech.com
www.refundtech.com
www.refundtechnonogy1.com
www.automaticshippingrefunds.com
Voice (401) 737-5055
Fax (401) 736-5858
Twitter: refundtech

Tell a friend about Refund Technology.
Voted: "Best Business Service" - 2007 Associated Mail and Parcel Centers (ampc.org)

Edit a PDF by converting it to MS Word

Need to modify a PDF? You can convert it to MS Word using an online tool such as http://www.pdftoword.com/. Then make your changes in Word and print it back into PDF by using pdf995 or cutePDF.

I wouldn't use the online converter tool if the document had any sensitive personal information (SS#, etc.). I've used it for general stuff and it works pretty well.

You can also copy the text right out of the PDF document and paste it into MS Word. You will lose the formatting though.

Cordially,

--Larry

Lawrence J. Riccitelli
REFUND TECHNOLOGY
Automatic Shipping Refunds
111 Ambassador Avenue
Warwick, RI 02889-1309
larry@refundtech.com
www.refundtech.com
www.refundtechnonogy1.com
www.automaticshippingrefunds.com
Voice (401) 737-5055
Fax (401) 736-5858
Twitter: refundtech

Tell a friend about Refund Technology.
Voted: "Best Business Service" - 2007 Associated Mail and Parcel Centers (ampc.org)