Basic Business Attributes, Do You Have Them?

Basic Business Attributes, Do You Have Them?

Feb 22, 2021 | Marketing

How many times have we heard the saying “we learn from our mistakes”. I have to agree with this saying, and also that the lessons we learn hardest we learn best! I have learned a lot from my mistakes, sadly (for me) most of them were made before the Internet existed as the fantastic networking tool it is today. Today it is possible to read articles or join a forum and get great advice (and not so great advice) from forums. 

While it is great to learn from our mistakes, it is better to learn from the mistakes of others, or by ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ as Newton said.

These are my ‘business mistakes’ I have learned from.

1) Keep your monthly fixed costs as low as possible, and make your number one priority to arrange an equal amount of regular income on a regular monthly basis to cover this amount.

If there was one piece of advice I would give it would be the above, as more businesses go bust due to poor cash flow than anything else!

2) Thoroughly research and bounce off other trusted people, your idea. Market test it as much as possible while keeping the idea as quiet as possible.

3) Get a business plan on paper (not the sort that the bank or enterprise agencies use as they are by and large a load of rubbish (although you will need this for the bean counters). Go to (1) above, and set in stone a solid plan for achieving this. After you hit break-even continue it on to the next target, and so on.

I just used the magic word there, ‘target’. you MUST be sales orientated in business as the owner, if you are not then you are failing in your main duty which is to ensure the continued existence of the business.

4) Do NOT care what others think about you, i.e. what car you drive, etc. ALL of this will change if you stick to the plan and keep your focus on short term targets and longer-term goals.

I just tripped another magic word in business ‘ Focus’.

5) Keep your focus, decide what the targets are, work out how to get them, and focus on doing that. If you need £1000 a month to pay the bills, then this is what you MUST do. If you lose focus of your core objective, you are going to lose out big time, and end up failing.

If you doubt the power of focus, then try this test:-
Get a friend to hold 3 tennis balls in their hand
Get the friend to throw all three at you in one go
Try to catch the balls
Repeat three times. I bet you will not catch many if any at all.

Now get them to throw them again, and this time focus on catching one ball.
Repeat three times
Now you will have caught one ball three times.

It is true in business that you must focus on the core objective, just as with the balls once you catch one, you move onto the next until you have achieved all your goals or at least your most important ones.

Of all the skills needed to succeed, I would say that focus is up there with the top 3 along with enthusiasm and determination.

Customers: The Key To Successful Marketing

Customers: The Key To Successful Marketing

Feb 8, 2021 | Marketing

How well do you know your customers?

What is the primary reason your customers or clients come to you? Or purchase your product or service? What is the Number One problem you solve for them? Do you know? Are you certain? If you don’t, your marketing could be missing the mark, and you could be missing out on sales.

Uncovering Your “Key Selling Point”

This is the Single Marketing Message that is the central message in all of your communications about your business, product or service. It can be difficult for small business owners to determine what their single marketing message should be. Why? Because they are too close to their business. And, because they are viewing their business from their side of the desk.

Keeping your marketing customer-focused can be a challenge

Even if we know we should be looking at our business from our customers’ perspective, it’s often easier said than done. As a result, it is easy to get caught up in all the amazing features of our product or service and the reasons we THINK our clients are attracted or are buying.

But sometimes our vantage point is clouded by our own perceptions and beliefs. And those perceptions and beliefs may be inaccurate. So how do you pinpoint the real reason customers are attracted to your product or service and the true reasons they are choosing to buy?

There is an easy way to stay on track

Very simply, YOU ASK THEM! Okay, I know it seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how often we don’t think of the obvious.

Your prospects and customers (and yes, even your rejecters — those who visit but don’t buy) can provide great insights about the benefits they value most in your product or service and why they chose to buy.

Whether you have a lot of customers or only a few

You don’t have to have a large customer or prospect base to do some research to see if you are on track. Even if you only have a handful of clients or customers, contact them and ask them what they like most about your product or service.

Talk to your Clients or Customers

(1) What is the one thing that got them to purchase?

(2) Have you delivered on that promise?

(3) What do they like least about your product or service?

(4) How could you improve your product or service?

(5) What else (in your business category) do they have a need for?

(6) How else could you help them be successful, be happier, or solve whatever problem your product or service solves for them?

Talk to your Rejecters

If you choose to survey rejecters (which I have done very successfully for years for one of my clients) find out why they DIDN’T buy.

(1) Ask them what product or service they bought instead of yours? And why?

(2) Ask them what that competing product or service offered that yours did not?

(3) Ask if there is anything you could do to get their business in the future? Product or service changes, additions, deletions?

Talk to your Prospects

Do you have a list of prospects — those who have expressed an interest in your product or service but have not yet purchased it? Perhaps they have subscribed to your newsletter or ezine.

(1) Ask them for feedback on your newsletter or ezine content.

(2) What topics are they interested in learning more about?

(3) How can you help them to be more successful, happier, etc?

(4) Find out what they want and who they are

And in all three cases — Clients/Customers, Rejecters, and Prospects — if it seems appropriate, ask for a little information about who they are. Age, gender, profession, where they live, how much they typically spend in your product or service category.

This will help you get a better understanding of your target audience and you’ll know if you’re attracting the kind of people you thought would be interested in your product or service. And if you need to change your marketing strategy to reach a different audience, or to perhaps change your target audience.

It will help you better serve them

The more you can learn about your prospects and customers the better you can serve them. And the more effectively you can market to them.

You may be in for a surprise

I’ve had clients tell me they thought they knew why people were buying from them until they asked. And what they heard surprised and shocked them.

Very often what you hear can help you zero-in on a Unique Selling Proposition that you never thought of. And because it came from the mouths of your customers you know it is compelling and effective.

Don’t change everything based on a few opinions

My only caution is if you only have a handful of customers or prospects to survey, don’t make any major changes or decisions until you are able to validate your findings among a larger group of people.

Or at least test any changes you do make before making a final decision to overhaul your entire business or marketing plan. Common sense is the rule here. Just use your own good judgment and don’t over-react to comments made by only a handful of people.

You can ask in a number or ways – Choose what works for you

There are a number of ways to collect research from your prospects and customers. You can telephone them, email them, mail them a written questionnaire, or you can meet with them in a group (called a focus group) to collect their opinions.

You can be as formal or informal as you feel comfortable. Typically the larger number of clients you survey, the more formal the survey. If you have only a handful of people to talk to, simply pick up the phone and call them.

Don’t be afraid to ASK

Don’t be afraid to ask for opinions on your products or services or how you can serve your clients better. What you find out could be extremely valuable in helping you to build and grow your business.

Don’t forget to say “thank you”

You will also want to consider offering an incentive to encourage your prospects and clients to participate or respond. A bonus, such as a special report, or a discount on a future purchase is a nice way to show your appreciation for them taking the time to respond to your survey.

Without customers, you have no business. How do YOU get to know your audience? Share in the comments.  AND come join us on Facebook: She Grows Virtual.

 

10 Tips to Help You Create a Marketing Plan

10 Tips to Help You Create a Marketing Plan

Jan 29, 2021 | Marketing

What if you’ve taken the time to create a marketing plan but now you’re so busy servicing your current clients that you’re having a hard time keeping on track with your plan?

Is it okay to set the plan aside for awhile? After all you’ve got enough business to keep you busy. And, you’re not sure you could handle additional clients right now anyway.

While marketing may not seem like a necessary activity when your business is going gang-busters, it’s only a matter of time before your lack of marketing starts to impact your business.

Staying on top of your marketing plan, even when you’re busy, ensures you always have a pipeline full of prospects and clients into your business.

While you may be busy right now, if you stop marketing for the next three months, you may find yourself high and dry when it comes to clients, because you’ve stopped the flow.

As an independent professional myself, I can totally relate to being too busy to market. It seems the days are never long enough to get everything on my to-do list done. But as a marketing professional I know I can’t afford to NOT get my marketing done.

So what’s a busy gal (or guy) to do?!?

Here are 10 suggestions … these are things I do and recommend to others entrepreneurs.

  1. Make sure all of your bio’s for social media are filled out. Fill out the about section and your website links along with a small paragraph about who you are and what problem you solve.
  2. If you haven’t already, create a marketing calendar. Schedule all of your marketing activities in the calendar according to how frequently you planned to do them in your marketing plan. If you planned to do something monthly, enter it on the calendar once each month. Weekly? Enter it four times per month. Do this for every planned activity.
  3. Hang your marketing calendar over your desk on a bulletin board or on the wall. Make a habit of looking at it every morning. This way you won’t have the problem of “out of site out of mind.” I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve had whose marketing plans have ended up in a file folder in a drawer. You’re certainly NOT going to grow your business that way!
  4. Try incorporating your marketing activities into your weekly and daily to-do list. Enter the activities as to-do tasks in your calendar or PDA just like all your appointments and other business activities. I do this with all my marketing activities. I use Microsoft Outlook and a Pocket PC and it’s the only way I know I’ll keep myself on track. If something is on my calendar, I treat it like any other meeting or appointment and I do it. For example, every Wednesday, a little notice pops up to remind me to write my weekly ezine. If that didn’t happen I’d either be writing it on Mondays at midnight, or it wouldn’t get done.
  5. Pick one day per month to review your marketing calendar in detail and to look three months ahead. What is coming up that you need to prepare for now? What do you need to transfer into your to-do list or PDA to make sure you don’t forget to do it? I usually do this at the end of the month when I’m doing all my month-end work … things like running sales reports, doing billing, and updating my marketing tracking reports. Make it a habit to review your marketing at the same time you do these tasks. After a few months you won’t even have to think about it anymore, it’ll become a habit.
  6. Consider hiring an assistant or support person to help. If they can take some of the tasks off your plate that really don’t require your expertise, it will free you up to focus on what I call “revenue producing activities.” These are things like working with clients, creating products and services and marketing. I couldn’t believe the difference it made when I hired some help. I didn’t think I could afford it, but now I don’t see how I lasted so long without help!
  7. Repurpose content. The more ways you can use one piece of information, the more content you have and less you have to create.
  8. Build that email list! Period. JUST do it. Create an opt in that gets them a freebie and put it out to the world.
  9. Watch your website analytics. Do you know where your website traffic is coming from? How much business is it bringing in? Do you need to tweak your web copy?
  10. Start a blog if you haven’t already. This is a way to keep your content coming and shows the world who you are and the problems you can solve.

When you find a way to get back on track with your marketing and you do it on regular basis, it really does become a part of the way you do business.

Suddenly it doesn’t seem like marketing anymore. It’s just what you do to run your business. That’s when it becomes effortless.

And, that’s when you know your business will continue to be busy and profitable for the long-haul.

Tell me below your favorite marketing tips. OR if you used one of these tips, tell me how it worked for you below in the comments. Or join our She Grows Virtual Facebook group here.