5 ways to improve your business

HAPPY SMALL BUSINESS APPRECIATION WEEK!! the valley is full of them, and as I mentioned before.. that is one of the most amazing features about the valley.. that it is NOT bombarded by franchises!!! ilovemcallen.com LOVES small business and we want them to GROW!!! we want them to STAY in business! Pink Cactus Marketing & Advertising is the name of our agency.. & ilovemcallen.com is the very first website we launched.. once we grow (which we will... ) we will move on to different cities.. here are some tips from PINK CACTUS MARKETING & ADVERTISING

1- BRAND YOUR BUSINESS :  the BRAND of your business is SUPER important, it should be the first priority BEFORE your logo, letterhead, business cards and EVEN business name. In order to BRAND properly you need to DEFINE your companies identity. A "good" brand tells you WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU DO, and HOW YOU DO IT.

2-LOGO: your LOGO is the face of your business.. is it memorable? i've said this 1 million times to our clients... "does your logo define who you are?" it needs to be CLEAN, not too messy, not too colorful but bold.. it needs to make an impact! once you've established your logo ask yourself this "if a stranger to my business saw my LOGO, would they know what my business is?" if the answer is "NO" then you've got yourself a RE-DO!! ONE OF MY FAVORITE LOGOS!!

3-BUSINESS CARD: we have ALL seen them, and we have all ignored a few.. why do we do this? because it may have been boring, traditional and/or NOT memorable! it's a competitive world out there!! specially for those who live in the valley, we are all competing for the same buck!! soo when you meet someone, let them remember your BUSINESS card, it shouldn't be too busy, nor to wordy.. CLEAN!! less is more! here is a GREAT example:

4-KNOW YOUR CLIENT: I've seen it A LOT! you definitely do not want to be selling sand in a dessert.. you may want to sell one thing but that may not be what your audience wants!! give your client what they want.. ask them, do surveys/polls, do your research.

5- INVEST: there are several things that are worth investing in when you are opening or maintain a business: one of them is ADVERTISING!! specially when opening, I've seen this happen.. soo many times.. people open their business, and they expect to make a profit RIGHT AWAY and then they end up closing 3 months later, educate your customers about what your business is ALL about!!

-ADVERTISE!! ADVERTISE!! ADVERTISE!! this is why i love my clients to death, because I know that I am doing something for their business.. and I am spreading the word about what they are all about!!

-spend money on your business cards (don't go for the cheapest.. go for what is best for you), promotional items are great! such as pens, cups, stickers (depending on the type of your business) 

best part of advertising? it is all TAX deductible!! since it is a business expense!!

( A GREAT PLACE to purchase all of those promotional items, business cards & much much more is at COPY PLUS.. a LOCAL business that offer SUPER DUPER FAST service!! go to our "services" & then go to "printing services" they also have a facebook!!! )

thank you for giving us an opportunity to share these tips with you! we appreciate every single SMALL or BIG business here in the valley, and we would love to SERVE YOU!

- Lizbeth Lilian Muriel