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Let potential customers hear about your firm with these three sure-fire ideas for raising your company's profile:

1. Teach. One often-overlooked marketing strategy is to offer courses to the public about your company's specialty. Teaching establishes you as an expert and attracts attention to your business. And in most instances, the cost is minimal.

Schools, libraries, local colleges, trade groups and business organizations always need instructors. Or you can sponsor courses and hold them at your place of business.
Design a course that attracts the potential customers that your company is trying to go after. Make the information tie in with your product or service.

2. Join. Take an active role in your industry trade association and urge your top managers to do the same. Consider running for a top elective office in the group or lobbying for a spot on the board of directors. Get the word out that you and your staff are available for speaking engagements at no charge.

You might attract more new business in a month than you could generate from a year's worth of conventional - and costly - advertising.

3. Greet. Develop a brief, compelling "marketing greeting" for your telephone voice mail system. The greeting can introduce a new product or service or it can showcase a long-standing item that you've decided to market more aggressively.

Use Your Heart to Promote Business

Participating in charity fundraisers is a great way to get your company's name out while making a contribution to the community. Most of the time, you get a tax deduction as well. Here are some tips:

In one survey, 58 percent of respondents said they have a more favorable opinion of companies that support charities and 76 percent said they would be more likely to buy a product associated with a cause they care about.

Charities often seek corporate sponsors. It might be a benefit ball or a golf tournament to raise contributions. In some cases, you and your employees can be tapped as volunteers to work at the events.

In selecting an organization, of course, you want to choose a cause that's important to you and staff members. You may also want a charity that appeals to your target market.

A more intensive approach is to actually team up with a charity. This type of marketing began years ago when American Express donated a penny for the rebuilding of the Statue of Liberty every time its credit card was used. The result was an increase in the use of American Express cards, as well as a jump in the number of card holders.

So select your favorite charity and start contributing. Using your heart can equal good business.