Posted by SteveSmith on June 8, 2010 under Business Coaching, Marketing | 
When we think of finding and attracting customers, we tend to think of the relationship from our own perspective. 
After all, it’s what we offer that makes them want to do business with us, right? Wrong! Consumers today have more choices of whom to do business with and what to select from than ever before. And with everyone holding on to their money so tightly these days, the usual marketing approaches have become mostly ineffective when it comes to attracting customers that want what you have and are willing to pay you your asking price.
Attracting Customers is an Age Old Problem:
Since commerce began, entrepreneurs and business owners have resorted to a variety of sales tactics and promotional gimmicks to lure potential customers to their place of business. Not surprisingly, consumers eventually figure out these methods and become indifferent to offers of special discounts, creative pricing strategies, frequent shopper programs, and other limited time offers. Add to this, the sheer number of merchants doing the same thing and you have a consumer that grows numb because they simply don’t see the need to purchase or feel they really want what you sell at the time you want to sell it.
Viewpoint is a Big Part of the Problem when attracting customers:
Small business owners are a proud and resilient bunch! Most have worked very hard and sacrificed enormously to have the business that many times bares their name, regardless if it’s deemed a success or not. They therefore, tend to view all reasons for doing business with them from their point of view: ‘We’re honest’; ‘We’ve been in business 30 years’; ‘Our customers love us’: ‘We have the lowest prices’, etc., etc. While all these statements may be true, they have little effect on enticing people to decide to patronize a particular business. The reason? All these statements are features that benefit the business owner. As an example, ‘We have the largest selection anywhere’, doesn’t speak to anything in particular that a customer may really want.
It comes down to Wants vs. Needs:
When I meet with new business owners, I typically ask them what they do and who their ideal client is. Most will tell me that ‘anyone’ can use their service or ‘everyone’ needs what they have. Here’s reality. Not everyone wants what you have to sell. In fact, people will buy what they really want before they buy what they need. And since ‘Wants’ are driven by emotions, trying to sell people with general feature based statements will not move anyone to purchase anything.
Attracting customers requires understanding how they make decisions:
In the face of numerous choices, people will do one of two things. They either defer the decision all together because
they are too overwhelmed with choices to consider or they will find something specific to make the decision on. What they choose as a differentiation point is unique to what is important to them. For some, it could be convenience; for others it could be variety. But for all, there has to be a specific reason for selecting one business over the next when multiple businesses serve the same purpose. In the event that none of the choices have any particular benefit that the consumer values and the consumer ‘needs’ to make a choice- i.e. a non emergency repair, they will most likely focus on price as all choices appear to be the same.
Marketing to the masses is a huge waste of time and resources:
If you are one of the Fortune 500, you can afford to advertise to the world. Often times, these companies are working on brand or company image. Other times, it’s a simple matter of staying visible as in the case of Coke vs. Pepsi. Here is a factoid that will make your hair curl; it takes approximately $100 million to establish a national brand in the US today. The small businesses that are successful in today’s sea of marketing overload have focused on a particular niche. Niche marketing does not have to be geographically based. In fact, the more specific your client profile is and the better you match up to them with a unique offering they value, the more profitable you will be.
There is no major pill for attracting customers in today’s marketplace:
Like any proven method, successfully attracting customers requires a systematic approach that clearly focuses on what you do that is unique and the benefit your customers will receive by doing business with you. They will buy what they want well before they buy what they need so marketing to their ‘wants’ trumps broad-based advertising every time. They will buy from you if they see a clear reason why you are a better choice than your competition. People are not just looking for products and services, they are looking for solutions. Show them that what you have is the perfect solution for what they want and you’ll never have to ‘sell’ again!
It’s an investment worth making:
If this kind of strategic marketing approach has not been something you’ve thought about or feel you can implement for your own business, get help from a professional small business advisor, preferably one that concentrates on marketing strategy. The investment will far exceed the time and money you could waste trying to figure it out on your own. And when it comes to opportunity costs (the revenue you are not getting now because of what you are not doing to get it) doing the same things over and over is not a successful way to attract the customers you really want.
Originally posted 2010-04-22 18:42:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Posted by SteveSmith on under Business Coaching, Marketing |
This week, I met with 2 very determined business owners that could not understand why their company was not making money. The bad news was showing signs of trouble for almost a year, yet they forged on continuing to do the things they had always done. When I asked them why, they told me that their ‘hope’ was if they ‘waited’ long enough, the economy would turn around and lift their business to profitability. As they sat in front of me, however, they were now faced with closing down if things did not get better in the next 2 months.
TWO MONTHS! They waited almost 12 months thinking that what they were doing was enough to right the ship. Now as they are taking on water, they decide to reach out and get the help they need in hopes that it is not too late.
Our latest economic typhoon is not the first our country has ever experienced and it won’t be the last. In terms of severity, it definitely has been rough. Just about all mainstream businesses have been hit with declining revenues, loss of customers and a steady stream of financial blood oozing out of the front door. Not every business, however, is doing poorly. The fact remains, over 90% of all small businesses fail before their 5th year in business regardless of the economy. It’s not what you think you know that keeps you moving forward, it’s what you take action on.
In my role as a small business coach, I see this scenario played out over and over. Business owners that do not engage in the most effective revenue generating activities, i.e. sales and marketing will eventually lose to those that do. But it is not necessary that you know how to do they things well, just that you realize you need to do them. My two acquaintances had never stopped to think that because they really did not need to market themselves 5 years ago, they could get away with it today. Indeed, the business owners who have always participated in marketing now find themselves totally confused by the changes in the marketplace and the way to effectively market them.
So why do so many people who clearly need the help and are losing money every month that they don’t get the help, so willing to wait in hopes that things improve on their own! It has to do with ‘gradual decline’. When your circumstances change rapidly, the shock will usually get you to take action to rectify the problem- ex. your house catches fire! But when the change comes on slowly, people tend to acclimate to the change while they ponder what to do about it. Sometimes the problem goes away; sometimes you perish with the problem.
Growing any business requires a strategy. Everything you do needs to be clearly defined, well thought out and focused on specific goals that deliver the results you want. If this is not your strength or you find that the game has changed so much that you no longer know what to do, don’t ‘wait’ and ‘hope’ for the surroundings to change- initiate the change yourself.
Let’s put in terms that most business owners understand. Let us say that 2 years ago, your business was pulling in $20,000 per month on average. However, over the last 18 months, the monthly declines have now put your business at $12,000. You are losing $8,000 each month. This is actually very common right now. What would you do or spend to get that $8,000 back? If you knew your business was capable of doing $20,000 a month and there were similar businesses doing this much, how long would you wait to start working your way back to the level you once had?
You can also make the case that with some business segments going away; you may have new opportunities for growth. If you think that are opportunities to grow by $10K to $20K per month, would you be willing to get some help to get there?
It all depends on what you want and what you are willing to put up with if you can’t figure it out on your own. One of the biggest growth industries today is adult education. Displaced workers and managers are spending thousands of their own dollars to get more education in ‘hopes’ of landing a job. Business owners who are struggling now should be doing the same thing to maximize the business investment they have worked so hard to create.
If ’Hope’ and ‘Wait’ are part of your current business strategy, stop and think about what it’s getting you. Then, take some action and get the help you need. The investment will do wonders for the equity in your business.
Originally posted 2010-04-21 03:24:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Posted by SteveSmith on under Business Planning, Management, Marketing |
If you are dedicated to your business, you are probably surrounded by minutia on a daily basis. It’s the little things that are easy to do, fun to do or provide a hideout from the more important things that must be done. However you define it, minutia is the bane of every small business owner that struggles to grow revenues in a marketplace that has kicked the traditional forms of marketing to the curb.
Why is minutia such a detestable yet comforting area to occupy ones time? It has to do with the feeling of overwhelm that is created when the subconscious has too many things to juggle. Your brain is the largest, most powerful computer on the planet and its memory access is unlimited. So when the list of tasks gets out of control, the mind takes over and begins retrieving everything associated with your list in an attempt to get you to focus on the things you need to do. The only problem is the mind has no way to prioritize the list, so everything gets equal weight which means everything needs to be done NOW! Feeling overwhelmed yet?
When business owners start feeling this way, the first reaction is to protect the sanity and focus on easy tasks that bring immediate reward- the minutia. Unfortunately, focusing on the simple, probably unimportant areas f your business simply reinforces the fact that these are important to your subconscious, thereby perpetuating this cycle, over and over again. Instead of making progress by the end of the week, the list is even longer and there’s even more important stuff to be done.
Recognize that the only way to resist the comfort of spending time on small, unimportant tasks is to actively focus on the big stuff. And, do not assume that you must handle it all yourself. If you are going to stay ahead of the daily operations of your business, you must learn to assign the list; either to others or to a specific time slot when you will do it.
One way to gain control over this debilitating behavior is to write down everything that needs attention. Go ahead, make the list as long as you like. Just record the actual task; nothing else. Then, go back and tag every item that can or should be done by someone else. Don’t worry if you don’t have ‘that certain someone’ to do it, tag it as such.
Next, identify all items that have to do with producing revenue. These activities need to get the highest priority. Everything else falls in the minutia category and should be sidelined until your top revenue producing tasks are completed. If some of the minutia are things only you can do, set aside brief periods throughout the day (no more than 30 minutes) and knock off a few at a time. Then get back to the heavy lifting!
Practice this technique regularly and you will train your brain to focus on the important things and resist the need to run and hide when your business starts to overwhelm you.
If you would like to watch a free video on how to ‘Change Your Brain to Change Your Outcome’, click this link and select webcast #1. http://www.businesscoachingthatworks.com/OrangeCountyCaliforniaBusinessCoachingResources.html
Originally posted 2010-04-05 16:35:26. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Posted by SteveSmith on under Business Coaching, Business Planning, Entrepreneurship, Marketing |
The state of our economy has caused more than just loss of financial wealth, home ownership or job security. It has created a tsunami of people starting their own businesses. With the job market casting out thousands of highly skilled workers, technicians and professionals every day, many are finding it incredibly difficult to replace these positions somewhere else.
It seemed like a good idea at the time!
While many people simply succumb to the lack of job offers and give up trying, an increasing number of committed people elect to try their hand at going into business for themselves. Some do this because the job market seems overwhelmingly depressed and starting or buying a business seems like a direction with equal odds of success. Others see the current market shifts as an opportunity to satisfy a long pent-up desire to be their own boss and make their own fortunes. Regardless of the reason, more people today are taking the plunge into business self-ownership than at any point in recent history.
Isn’t Entrepreneur just a generic term for having your own business?
There are many terms for people who go into business for themselves: sole proprietors, self-employed individuals, small business owners or entrepreneurs. While these all seem to capture the individual who decides to have their own business, they are not the same.
Take the term entrepreneur. It has a fancy ‘European’ sound to it but is it a substitute for the other terms? When you decided to take up your own torch and go into business for yourself, did you think of yourself as a ‘Entrepreneur’?
If the term ‘Entrepreneur’ is vague to you or you have shied away from associating yourself with it because you were unsure of what the term implies, here are some guidelines to think about. The term entrepreneur simply means: one who has an idea and takes the financial risk and accountability for the outcome of their pursuits. The real meaning can be better understood in the characteristics an entrepreneur should possess in order to achieve the results they desire.
So, are you an entrepreneur?
Do you see yourself in any of the characteristics listed below? This list is by no means all encompassing but it will give you the ability to check yourself to see if you possess the characteristics that make one in today’s marketplace.
Desire to succeed:
The true entrepreneur never gives up in their quest to reach the benchmark of success they have set for themselves. The real test is not in being successful but in being willing to do it again if the 1st, 2nd or 3rd attempts fail.
Determination & work ethic:
Their relentless desire to succeed is fueled by a ‘dogged’ work ethic. They think nothing of putting in 15+ hours a day pursuing every aspect of their idea. While this level of determination is all but a requirement in the early phase of getting your idea off the ground, it can also be a blind spot in terms of being able to set priorities and stay focused on specific activities that drive accomplishment.
Having an innovative mindset:
Few business ideas today are truly revolutionary. Most are an adaptation of an existing idea. The entrepreneur will frequently borrow an existing business model and make significant improvements to it in order to create a niche that they can grow. They are constantly looking for ways to realize their dreams by innovating what’s already in play, even when they’re not sure that the market is ready for it.
Willingness to go it alone:
Entrepreneurs see opportunities differently than most people and will pursue a course of action that maybe unclear to close friends or family members. Frequently, their community will question their motives, ambitions or even sanity in an attempt to keep them from being hurt by their unshakable quest to see the venture to completion. The true entrepreneur understands this level of ‘loving scrutiny’ and presses forward despite the lack of perceived support for what they see very clearly as their road to financial freedom.
Acting on creative ideas and solutions:
This is one of the key factors that separate entrepreneurs from all other well intentioned business people. Entrepreneurs have an ability to find creative solution to situations that appear daunting and take action on them; sooner rather than later. Their ability to see unique approaches to the opportunities they take on enables them to act on decisions that are critical to the project’s continued momentum. The downside of this ‘go-getter’ mentality can be a pattern of frequent and unneeded ‘trial & error’ because not enough consideration is taken to research and test an idea before jumping into it with all four feet.
Making decisions in the absence of complete information or solid data:
At the beginning of an idea, there may not be enough information available to comfortably decide on a particular course of action. The entrepreneur knows this and is confident in making decisions under these circumstances. They recognize that intuitive thinking or ‘gut feelings’ play a role in forging ahead into the unknown and see this as exhilarating as pursuing the idea itself. The entrepreneur knows that there is no better way to kill a promising idea in the early stages than to become paralyzed in the decision making process.
Jack of all trades:
The entrepreneur knows how to do many things. They also know how to improvise and find others who can fill in their knowledge or skill gap with whatever is needed to keep moving forward. And while this ability to juggle and assimilate to a variety of situations enables to entrepreneur to keep things in motion, the downside is often an inability to accurately assess a true area requiring expertise outside the entrepreneur’s capabilities. In some cases, critical decisions may be made hastily or incorrectly causing unintended setbacks.
In the end, it comes down to this:
While all these attributes are essential ingredients for today’s ‘dyed-in-the-wool’ entrepreneurs, the one main characteristic that separates them from all others who participate in business is their ability to take risks! When most people are confronted with risk (or even hear the word risk) they typically think in terms of what they might lose or how they might be hurt as a result. The entrepreneur understands that reaching previously untouched goals requires risk and they accept this as a condition of achieving success. In the face of a failed attempt (and there are many), entrepreneurs will use the experience as a benchmark for learning before setting their sights on the next phase of their efforts.
So, whether you fit the definition of entrepreneur, sole proprietor, self employed business person or small business owner, take the time to clarify your vision for your business and be ready to experience a world that is unlike any other profession around. The mixture of exhilaration, uncertainty and daily directional changes is not for everyone but if this is your call in life, pursue it as you would life itself!
Originally posted 2010-10-04 21:08:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Posted by ArtConsoli on under Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Uncategorized, Website Marketing |
A few days ago I received an e mail from someone I knew who wanted my help; “Art; … to get this business off the ground, I need your help. Please check out the web site and give me your honest feedback. The good, the bad and the ugly, let me know what you think. Is something missing? Anything specific you’d like to see?”
I responded; “Before I look at your site – please tell me the search phrase or phrases to which you planned your site would come up #1 on page #1 in Google.”
She replied: “Well, that’s a question with a complicated answer. For now, since our site is so new, we are targeting long-string search terms as there is less competition for those phrases. Over time, we do want to be a top ranker for phrases including …. “
After thinking about how to help, I sent her the following:
There are two reasons to create a web site:
1. To put information about what you do in the hands of someone who has asked for information or someone you think might be interested in knowing what you do. Think in terms of a direct mail piece or a replacement for a brochure to be handed to someone. This type of web site is best designed by someone skilled in creating advertising material – which I am not.
2. To provide a glimpse of what you do in front of the millions of people who might want to know you exist. People you don’t know and have no idea where they are. These people enter into Google a search word or phrase to see how closely what pops up on page one (first 3 to 5 results) seems to match what they want. They will then click on the ones that they think will best fit and if the message provided is well written they will contact the business. This is the kind of web site I figured out how to do.
The author of the web site (it is a writing genre) must first and foremost very specifically identify the search phrase the web site is trying to match. This technique is called reverse search engine analysis. Once the author has narrowed down the search phrase (s) each must be “searched” and the top 3 – 5 results analyzed to see if they are applicable competition for your product or service. If they are you have found the right phrase then you have to figure out how to make yours appear higher. Those sites become your template. If the top ones aren’t offering what you are, then that search engine is not the right one.
To illustrate enter either business strategist or business tactics in Google or MSN – you will see that my sites come up pretty high, and check to see how many results were provided on each of those search phrases. The other results are my competitors.
Know what you want to accomplish and demand more from your web site developer.
Art Consoli
www.BusinessStrategyArtConsoli.com www.BusinessTacticsArtConsoli.com
Originally posted 2010-04-06 16:41:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
they are too overwhelmed with choices to consider or they will find something specific to make the decision on. What they choose as a differentiation point is unique to what is important to them. For some, it could be convenience; for others it could be variety. But for all, there has to be a specific reason for selecting one business over the next when multiple businesses serve the same purpose. In the event that none of the choices have any particular benefit that the consumer values and the consumer ‘needs’ to make a choice- i.e. a non emergency repair, they will most likely focus on price as all choices appear to be the same.
