Identifying your ideal client and your niche market is the basic foundation upon which every successful business is built. Below you will find 7 tips that are guaranteed to improve your business if you apply them.
Tip 1: Understand What Your Ideal Client Really WANTS
One of the biggest delusions that most small business owners make is the belief that everyone is my client. Not true! In fact when you try to market to everyone, you end up marketing to no one.
An additional belief that many small business owners have is that knowing the specific demographic information, such as age, sex, marital status, zip code, etc. is adequate knowledge in knowing who my ideal client or niche market is. This is also not true.
This type of demographic information only tells us the type of client that has a need for your product or service. You don’t want to be selling to a client that needs your product in as much as you want a client who has a want for your product or service. The distinction between needs and wants is huge and one that warrants some additional discussion. Continue reading →
It’s so interesting how people procrastinate. We received almost as many marketing tip submissions the day after the deadline as we did the whole 3 weeks prior…why do people wait? If you want to change your results you must change your actions. Check out this video to see if you still have a chance to get your submission in.
The economy is facing some challenges, no doubt about it. But now is not the time for small-business owners to develop a “recession” mindset. Here are five tips to help you create your own success while everyone else is expecting the worse:
1. Start spending: It may sound counter-intuitive, but hard times call for you to increase some of your expenditures. For example, if sales is the lifeblood of your business, you should consider adding to your sales team by staffing up or investing in a product that could make your sales process more efficient. Or, you could boost morale and positive energy within your sales team by raising commissions for top performers, or giving them gifts that they will appreciate, such as tickets to a sporting event or a concert.
Obviously, this does not mean you should increase spending across the board. Rather, make spending decisions with your customers in mind. For example, if you run a coffee shop, consider going from two baristas to three because your competitors are likely trimming their staff, and you could gain customers who don’t want to wait in a long line.
2. Make friends: A friendly phone call or two to your vendors and creditors is very important at this time. Building rapport and camaraderie with your suppliers can be crucial if your own customers are slow to pay. If you have built a solid working relationship with vendors, in some cases you could ask them to lengthen your payment cycles from 30 days to 90 days, or renegotiate rates.
Keep the phone lines open to your bank as well, and be sure to have a plan in place if you need loans in the near future. If you don’t already have a strong history with your bank, it may be to your advantage to take out some small loans and pay them back on schedule to strengthen your credit.
