The days are long gone when you can open your door or hang out a sign and customers will sweep in. Today, it's all about getting the customers attention and knowing how to keep it. You must be more aggressive, more competitive and more promotion minded.

This does not mean being unprofessional. It does mean getting people to notice your business by being creative and backing that up with great products and better service.

Read a few of my "attention grabbing" promotions, then come up with some of your own. There is no such thing as "too many" ideas!

1. Offer Free gift wrapping all year.
2. Always have fresh, free beverages for customers (coffee, water).
3. Send clever gifts that promote and are tied to your product to radio show hosts. Maybe they'll find it so clever that they'll talk about it on air-free!
4. Put bounce-back (return for a discount at another time) coupons in fortune cookies.
5. Produce an inexpensive take-home "catalogue" of your products or services.
6. Use moving billboards: create bumper stickers to promote your business.
7. Buy low cost cable TV commercials.
8. Do anything to celebrate a holiday. On Saint Patrick's day send clients or prospects donuts or bagels decorated in green. Tell them "This is their lucky day!"
9. Hotels/bed and breakfast: How about a "Leave me alone" instead of "Do not Disturb" sign? Using humor can be very effective.
10. Give a package of wrapping paper and bows to clients as gifts or incentives. It can be Christmas or multi-themed. Promotion companies sell these.
11. Realtors: Have fresh baked cookies or potpourri simmering as prospects enter the home.
12. Send videos or CD's of your company or products in old aluminum trays. Call it their "TV Dinner."
13. Buy wine or champagne, peel off the label and create your own company label on a computer. Use as gifts for clients or prospects.
14. Pick an overlooked holiday to promote. How about Bastille Day? Serve/offer French wine, French manicures, French-fries…
15. Restaurants: Name and consider a theme for "sections" of your restaurant that fit your cuisine: for Mexican use "Hot Tamale" and "Beloved Burrito." For Italian "Mamma Mia" and "Pepperoni." Offer something special in each section, encouraging return visits to dine in other sections!
16. Hold a "Marathon Sale" and keep the store open for 48-72 hours. Start at 6am and offer deep discounts on many products. "Get 'em while they last!"
17. Hold a parking lot sale with lots of merchandise at great prices. Make it look big and splashy. Put up a tent. You'll get lots of drive-by traffic!
18. Send a direct mail campaign with scratch off coupons with a percentage off savings! Print the minimum and maximum amount they can "scratch off." It must be scratched off in the store. This is great for immediate traffic.
19. Hey sports fans: How about a " Million Dollar Hole in One Contest!" Your business sponsors and promotes the event to benefit a local charity. There is a National Hole-In-One Association that sells Insurance for this event and has a contest format. Charge a $1 per ball for entry and hold the event on a weekend. Give hourly prizes for the closest balls. Get a radio station to co-promote the contest with you!
20. If you want to attract female customers, offer free Psychic Readings. Hold this promotion once a month and offer it to each customer that makes a purchase. Invite a different psychic each month. Use this as a VIP thank you for your best customers (no purchase necessary). Put signs in your windows to promote.
21. Send a "Thank You" letter to frequent customers.
22. Start a "Product of the Month" Club. Send or have available a different item for each club member each month. Search your store for appropriate products. A different wine each month, plant, flowers, dessert, cheese, a beauty product. These products are only available to members of "the club."
23. Create your own unique selling image. Wear very creative tie's or hats. Wear different glasses every day or one pair that really stands out! Always wear black. Go by "one name only" (Cher, Madonna), run an electric train on the wall of your store. Do something, anything to make you or your store memorable.
24. Offer a free shoeshine service.
25. Offer what your competition hasn't even thought of.