Marketing Home Products

The English writer John Doanne wrote that “no man is an island” and that his well-being depended upon the well-being of others.

While parts of 2010 had me wishing I were on a tropical island, alone with my thoughts and a cool drink, my business was able to thrive because I continued developing mutually-beneficial relationships with professionals in the home, building, and marketing industries.

We are all part of this eco-system together, and even competitors can benefit from each others’ success. Here are some of my tips for developing your business in 2011:

• Join or renew your membership to professional organizations. Even the most established business leader can learn new ideas from newsletters and make new contacts at seminars and other events.
• Congratulate colleagues, potential business prospects, and friends on their success. If you run into a competitor you know, congratulate them as well. Recognizing the accomplishments of others results in goodwill, potential referrals, and a more positive environment.
• Pick up the phone. Social media is a terrific tool, but catching up over the phone indicates that you took the time to make a personal connection.
• Gain market share by implementing a focused marketing strategy. Communicate to your target audience when and where they are most receptive. Hire a marketing firm, if only for short-term projects.
• Ask questions to friends and colleagues in related industries. When people feel valued, they reveal valuable information.
• Donate your time, services, or materials to a non-profit you believe in. Ask for recognition in their printed materials; non-profits are accustomed to this request.
• Try to have fun. You never know what opportunities may arise from a drink or a chat with a colleague.

The Harvard Business Review’s January-February issue, just released, states that multi-taskers may be advertisers’ best audience. It states that “People are combining TV watching and internet use in ways that could be highly valuable to advertisers.” Between laptops,  smart phones, televisions, and tablets, consumers now typically cram as much as 12 hours of media exposure into nine hours of media consumption, the report states.

Sales of existing homes rose 5.6% in November, according to articles in the Wall Street Journal and NPR online today. “Sales have now risen in three of the past four months,” writes Mark Memmott of NPR. The Wall Street Journal notes that “prices stabilized as fewer houses remained on the market.” In a statement, the chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, Lawrence Yun, wrote that “”continuing gains in home sales are encouraging, and the positive impact of steady job creation will more than trump some negative impact from a modest rise in mortgage interest rates, which remain historically favorable.”