Unfortunately, most people who take their dreams and hard-earned life savings into the marketplace in the form of small businesses are not even aware of some of the most important factors that contribute to, and can even ensure their success.
Contrary to popular belief and much misconception, designing, creating, building, and growing a successful and profitable enterprise that commands a dominating position in the marketplace doesn’t automatically require hard work, frustration, and enormous costs.
There’s no question, and you probably won’t get much debate, that there’s more competition, and stiffer competition than ever before, in nearly every industry and profession. But there’s also more opportunity. Especially for businesses and entrepreneurs whose owners and managers understand a few basic and fundamental concepts.
It really doesn’t matter if you head up the largest corporation in the country or if you run a one-person, home-based business, there are just a handful of things you need to know to gain a competitive advantage in your marketplace. And mastering just three of the most important of these things will enable you to write your own ticket to success.
You and I both know that this year, in this country, a huge number of businesses, even large and well-established businesses, will close their doors, never to do business, or provide their products or services to their customers again. Some analysts say that the major reason for business failure is under-funding – a lack of capital. Others say it’s because of poor business management practices.
And there’s another school that teaches that some businesses are started by the wrong people… that certain people lack entrepreneurial skills, and would be better off working in their respective businesses as technicians or employees, rather than trying to run the business. I do not subscribe to this school of thought.
But when you get right down to it, for a business to even be a business, in the first place, that business has to have customers… someone to exchange their dollars for the products and services the business sells.
You can have all the funding in the world, you can have great management skills, and you can even have a tremendous entrepreneurial mindset, but unless and until you have someone to purchase your products and services in sufficient numbers, you’ll never have much of a successful business enterprise. And you’ll only generate an average income, at best.
Marketing Is A Major Key To Success In Business
1) Most businesses fail because they don’t have enough customers buying from them on a regular basis.
2) Most businesses either don’t attract a sufficient number of new customers, or they let their existing or current customers slip away. And, in most cases, it isn’t always because the owners, managers or operators of those businesses didn’t try.
3) Quite often, it’s a result of not understanding and implementing effective “customer-getting” and “customer-keeping” strategies which is in essence a “marketing plan”.
The bottom line is… If you really want your business to be successful, you’ve got to make getting and keeping customers your number one priority. When was the last time you heard of a company going out of business because they had too many happy, satisfied customers buying from them? My guess is, never. On the other hand, you can probably name quite a few businesses that are no longer around because they didn’t have enough people buying from them, coming back for more and referring others to them.
And that’s where “Marketing” comes in. Letting others know about what you have in such a way that they are compelled… nearly forced to find out more. And then, ultimately, to buy the products and services you offer from you, and not your competitors. Most businesses… no, not most… every business makes mistakes with their marketing efforts.
Some mistakes are worse than others. Some can even be deadly, and if done often enough, or severely enough, can put the very business out of business.
But so much for other businesses. What about you and your business enterprise? How are you doing? Which mistakes are you making that could be holding you back from making the income, and enjoying the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed about?
Remember, Marketing, or the ability to get your message to others about the goods and services you offer, in such a manner that it compels them… nearly forces them to do business with you, is one of the most fundamental, yet misunderstood areas in business today. Properly utilized, effective marketing can skyrocket a business to new and undreamed of heights. Not understood, or under-utilized, a business can sink like a lead weight.
If you can get control of your business and avoid making these costly mistakes, you can expect astounding results! If you only can get a handle on a couple of them, you will still get much better results from your business than you are now getting.
But if you fall short on any of them, and your competition masters them… watch out! They’ll leave you in the dust. And you can’t afford that!
One of the most often repeated phrases in marketing is, “There are three ways and ONLY three ways to grow a business. 1) Increase the number of customers; 2) Increase the amount of each sales transaction; and 3) Increase the number of times customers buy.”
While that sounds reasonable, it’s only partially true. In actuality, there are a number of other things that any business owner can do that will enable their business to be more sustainable and add more profits to its bottom line.
Here are 5 simple, easy to do, but often overlooked or undervalued examples:
Step 1: Control or Reduce Expenses
Getting a handle on the things that drain money from a business’s bank
account is critical. Most businesses have an incredible amount of unaccountable waste, not only in actual dollar loss, but in human capital in the form of lost or wasted time by employees, staff, and even management.
Keeping a very tight reign on all expenditures is not only a smart thing to do but it’s absolutely critical to adding to the profitability of the business. Money, no matter how large or how small the amount, should only be spent after careful consideration and analysis as to how it will contribute to the bottom line profits of the business.
One of the biggest money wasters is in the area of advertising and marketing. Careful testing of ads and promotions should be carried out in small runs before “rolling out” to the entire list of prospects, clients or customers. Direct response ads with enticing and compelling offers should be tested against more traditional image or institutional ads, and measured in terms of quantity of responses and monetary production.
When you consider how much it costs to bring in a dollar of actual profit and then see how easy it is to spend that money without getting a positive return, it’s understandable to see why so many businesses have a difficult time showing a positive balance at the end of the year.
Step 2: Increase Profit Margins
Profit margins are the difference between what a particular product and service costs to make, produce, purchase, or acquire, and what it is sold for, and after deducting sales, processing, fulfillment, and delivery costs. The more steps there are in the process from production or acquisition to delivery, the more room there is for excess costs to creep in, and hence, the lower the margin of profit.
Every effort should be made to monitor, control and slash costs whenever possible. Remember, a simple two-dollar savings on a twenty dollar product can add up to 20 percent more profit.
Step 3: Create A Teamwork Approach
Businesses cannot afford to be run with a “super-star” mentality. Just as in any team sport, to be truly effective, it takes the entire team to make a company run smoothly and efficiently. Want to know how to make any company more responsive to the needs of its customers and prospects? Hold a team meeting. Invite people from every department – sales, manufacturing, accounting, fulfillment, delivery, even janitorial.
Have a brainstorming session and get every idea possible on the table. Don’t be judgmental. Get them all out. Then go through each idea and discuss how it can be used to more fully satisfy the needs of each “level” or segment of customers and potential customers. Sometimes the best ideas come from completely unexpected
sources.
Step 4: Manage Time More Effectively
Every person has exactly the same number of hours, minutes
and seconds in their day. No one has an advantage in this area. It’s true that different people have different jobs, tasks, priorities, and responsibilities, and those all require different amounts of time, but the amount of available time can significantly be increased by simply taking stock of what a person is spending their time on, and then
effectively employing the principle of delegation.
If each person were to concentrate on things that matter most or that only they can do, and then delegate the lesser important tasks to the lowest competency level – that is, the person who can handle those tasks effectively, efficiently and most cost-effectively, there will be more time to focus on the important priorities – the things that can produce greater results and more profits.
Step 5: Increase The Staff’s Knowledge And Competence
It’s not uncommon to call a business and ask a question seeking help or assistance, only to have the person on the other end of the phone act like they had no idea of what the caller was talking about or where to get the answer. It happens all the time.
Knowing how to hire the right employees is becoming increasingly critical, as is ensuring that they’re adequately trained to handle a variety of (oftentimes, unexpected) situations. It’s surprising how few businesses have regular (what seems like) old-fashioned staff or employee meetings. And for those that do, most of their meetings
have to do with administrative duties, and are “reactive” in their approach.
Changing the focus and conducting meetings that more pro-actively deal with difficult situations, how to sell more effectively, and how to show appreciation and concern to customers, will not only improve the morale of the company’s image, but it will also be a contributing factor to the business’s profitability.
Your homework try implementing one of these ideas and let me know how it works in your business.Your comments, feedback and suggestions are always welcome.
It’s no secret that consumers are watching how they spend their money. And with the wide variety of choices your customers or clients have in obtaining similar products and services from different companies, your business must stand out. Ask me any question you have to improve your fourth quarter earnings at http://www.youtube.com/user/profitsmakeover and I will provide you with a personal video response.
It stands to reason that the more skilled and professional you are at meeting your customer’s needs, the bigger advantage you can command, and the more effective and successful you can become even in this down economy but you must take action.
If you’re really going to be effective and successful in this economy, it is vital, that you continually change, improve, adjust, and update your selling skills and service.
It has been said, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
One of the best and most effective ways you can show your prospects and customers you care, is by helping them solve problems in cost-effective and professional manner.
You have the rare opportunity as we approach the holiday season sales end of the year rush to ask me any question regarding your business valued which is a $447.00
Click the link to access to me personally at http://www.youtube.com/user/profitsmakeover
What is that all about? Why did I want you to watch that video?
Because there’s a great lesson in that video that applies directly to how you present your message… the message you want your customers and clients to see, understand and come to the inescapable conclusion that you have what they need and more importantly what they want right now and that they’d be absolute fools to miss out on this opportunity to do business with your company right now if they didn’t contact you to get it.
Too many times business owners, professionals and entrepreneurs try to be subtle or understated in the way they present themselves and their message. And that’s a BIG mistake. You’ve got to be very clear and very plainly let your customers, customers and patients know exactly what you can do for them and what steps they need to take to learn more.
There is no value in hiding or disguising your message because you’re modest or because you don’t want to come across as “salesy.” Do that, and you’ll surely lose opportunities and clients.
One of the most powerful marketing and positioning tools I teach small business owners is what I refer to as the “ProfitsMakeOver Marketing™ Audio Business Card.” The purpose of this “ProfitsMakeOver Marketing™ Audio Business Card” is to provide the listener… your prospective client or prospect with a thumbnail sketch of who you are, what you do, and how you can be of benefit to them.
It should be informational (tell what you do), short (no more than 12 to 18 minutes), a
compelling way to showcase your business (make the listener say, “Wow! Makes sense. I want more information.”)
One of the biggest problems small business owners make when putting their marketing message together is trying to accomplish too many things. The result is that the main message is lost in the clutter.
When your message isn’t clear… when you don’t make a compelling case for what you do… for the benefits your prospect can get from working with you… when you focus on too many things and your prospect can’t focus on the main benefit you provide… they may miss the “moonwalking bear” – the real reason you put the “ProfitsMakeOver Marketing™ Audio Business Card” together in the first place.
If Myspace has restructured that Tom is no longer going to be the face of Myspace because the site has lost its edge to Facebook.
It’s time for you to stop being scared about the economy. Stop listening to the news; change the channel. This is your wake up call.
Do you even know who your competitors are? ProfitsMakeOver’s new cutting-edge research shows that 95% of businesses today are absolutely clueless as to who their ‘true competitors’ are. If your business is in trouble I want to hear from you.
We put together a “Competitive Intelligence Report” that shows you exactly who your competitors are and how to make your competitors hungry for new customers while you literally steal away their customers while they are asleep in their business.
Our 100% results guarantee is like no one else in the business. Is this self-promotion you bet but if you are not passionate and all fired up about what your business has to offer then you need to reevaluate why you are still in business.
Jupiter research forecasts that online retail spending will increase from $81 billion in 2005 to $95 billion in 2006, and will grow to $144 billion in 2010. If you have an offline retail business how will you survive?
If your business is in trouble, I am here to tell you right now there has never been a better time in history to implement simple, easy and cost-effective strategies that can change whether you will remain in business in 2009. Why? Because your competitors are operating out of fear in the marketplace. Take advantage of the situation instead of falling prey to the media hype.
All too often business owners are too close to the problem to find the answer or make that small tweak in their marketing mix that can skyrocket their business from barely surviving to seeing dramatic results to their bottom line profits in 30 days.
Business owners frequently tell me that they have received genuine breakthroughs as a result of receiving another opinion. The business owner was too close to concentrate on looking at and solving the problem that the business is struggling with.
Take these 3 Easy Steps to get the most out of our new ’20 Minute Onsite Business Strategy Evaluation’.
1. Write down the problem, challenge, or situation you want to discuss or that you need immediate help with in your business.
2. What you have done to solve, satisfy, or overcome the situation.
3. The results you have gotten (positive or negative) and what you think the reasons are.
I must confess I an Eagles Fan for over 15 years since I am originally from PA but the Arizona Cardinals story is a lesson to learn in life and in your business.
The Cardinals born in an Irish neighborhood in Chicago 111 years ago have spread football mediocrity from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River to the Sonoran Desert.
While the Steelers had a hometown which took root in Pittsburgh, acquiring the city’s gritty, blue-collar persona, the Cardinals wandered from north to south in search of a home.
Before this season’s improbable run past Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia, the Cardinals had two playoff victories in their entire history: 1) the 1947 NFL championship game against Philadelphia 2) in a 1998 wild-card upset of the Dallas Cowboys.
Here’s the story that grabs at our heart…
The Cardinals were owned by the Bidwill family since 1932, but their lineage dates to 1898. As I understand the story… a group of men going by the name of the Morgan Athletic Club began playing football on Chicago’s South Side.
Three years later, team owner Chris O’Brien, a local painting contractor, bought some faded jerseys from the University of Chicago and, as the story goes, declared “That’s not maroon, it’s Cardinal red.”
Thus was born the nickname that would for decades be emblematic of professional football futility.
The Cardinals’ greatest success did not come until the aftermath of the war, when the 1947 team went 9-3 under coach Jimmy Conzelman and beat the Eagles for the NFL title. Sadly, Bidwill didn’t live to see the triumph. He died of pneumonia in April of that year.
The following season, the Cardinals were 11-1, but lost to Philadelphia for the crown.
Bidwill’s widow Violet inherited the team and she and her second husband, Walter Wolfner, were in charge in the troubled days that led to the move to St. Louis in 1960.
The team was losing money after 37 seasons at Comiskey and wanted to play its games at Northwestern. But Halas had an agreement from years earlier that the Cardinals would never play north of Madison Street.
So in 1960, the move from a mostly indifferent Chicago was made. Bidwill looked at Memphis, Jacksonville, Baltimore and — most of all — Phoenix. Oddly, Phoenix had nearly landed the Eagles in the mid-1980s, before the fans in Philadelphia made so much noise that the team stayed put.
Phoenix officials made sure any negotiations with Bidwill were done quietly. The league approved the move to Arizona on March 15, 1988.
But the team had barely arrived in town before it began to alienate fans. Bidwill set first-season ticket prices at an average of $38, the highest in the league at the time. Although he lowered it a bit to $36 the next year, it still was tops in the NFL.
Bidwill, notorious for his old-fashioned contract beliefs and penny-pinching ways, let some of his best players — offensive tackle Lomas Brown, fullback Larry Centers and linebacker Jamir Miller — get away from that team.
Then the Cardinals had a losing record every season until 2007, when first-year coach Ken Whisenhunt’s club went 8-8.
Bill Bidwill, now 77, smiled broadly as he hoisted the Halas Trophy for the NFC; it was a rare moment of triumph for a man whose many charitable deeds went by unknown. Bidwell’s ownership has long been vilified by many NFL fans in Arizona even though he is described by many as not a ‘flashy person’.
That love-hate relationship Arizona had for Bidwill and the Cardinals is all-love now, and in a city that’s one of the hardest hit by the economy’s problems, it’s a welcome diversion.
Miss America was losing its edge and ratings so it made drastic changes this year.
A Trip Through Pageant History: A Real Slice of Americana reveals the first pageant was held in Atlantic City, N.J. in September 1920 as a way to keep tourists in Atlantic City after the Labor Day weekend.
Miss America 2009 had another first in its complete redesign which gets a big thumbs up from me for recognizing it had to change in order to survive.
Here are some other pageant “firsts”: The only way to improve results is to learn from the past and keep testing in the present. In 1920 there certainly was not nearly as much competition as there is today.
Description: We sent each of the girls a Flip Ultra video camera and a set of 13 questions. Here are some of their best answers. The marketing plan to send each contestant a Flip Camera I have utilized as a marketing strategy with my private clients.
People love to read about stories and even more enjoy reading “Most Embarrassing Moments”. It works to humanize the contestant and be able to connect with her. The winner in this contest is Miss West Virginia for having the most views at the time of this blog post.
There were many strategies utilized in what I have defined as the “Miss America 2009 Marketing Makeover” that will be studied so make sure to follow my articles at Ezine Articles Directory.
The more senses you involve the more of an impact you can make on your audience. Photographs, video and music are very powerful ways to express your message.
