2015-07 JULY
Beating the Summer Business Blues with Proactive Planning
It’s summer. You and your employees need a break. Unfortunately, many of your customers are also taking vacations and that means slower sales and a sluggish cash flow. But with effective planning, you can beat the summer blues.
Take a Break – It’s Good for Your Health. Research shows that taking a break from work actually makes you perform at a higher standard. So take that break, get inspired and refreshed, and come back ready to move mountains.
Stagger Staff Vacations. Ask workers to schedule their vacation time in January of each year. Proclaim that all leave is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Stagger your daily staffing schedule during summer. Offer holiday work incentives and support telecommuting.
Peek Into Your Customers’ Plans. Ask customers about their plans. Wish them a happy summer and see if they know their needs for the next few months.
Plan Your Inventory. Negotiate upfront with your suppliers and ensure that you have adequate stock throughout the summer.
Run a Special Promotion. A special offer, promotion or discount also gives you an excellent opportunity to make contact with clients and increase awareness before everyone disappears for the season.
How to execute a Dream 100 prospect strategy
Remember the 80/20 rule: 20 percent of buyers will bring you 80 percent of your revenue. Focusing on the 20 percent will always bring you a greater impact, and it's also much more cost effective. Your top “100” prospects might be only 25 people or it might be 250, but it's always cheaper to go after the best and most influential buyers rather than all the buyers.
This target group needs to hear from you once a month – at a minimum. Most of the people on the list will probably throw your letter away the first four or five times they get it, but remember that you're committed to building a reputation, not simply getting clients. First, send them a letter introducing yourself and offer them something free. Then you're going to continue to contact them every month and you use that opportunity, not just to sell, but to show that you're the industry authority.
One of your top prospects might become your customer for life. How would that change things for you? Keep up the campaign and you may land several new customers over the year. The key is repetition.
- By Phil Gilkes, FocalPoint Business Coach and Trainer
Five Inexpensive Ways to Market Your Small Business
You don't need a large budget to market your business effectively. In fact, some of the best marketing methods are not expensive. Here are five ways to market your small business without spending a lot of money.
Word-of-Mouth Advertising. This is the most effective way of marketing your business and it’s free. Create a buzz and cause people to start talking about your business. Also, people are more likely to talk about you when your product or service stands out from the crowd. Make it different.
Talk to the Media. An article in a local or national magazine or newspaper can give your business a lot of free publicity. Start by talking to your local newspaper or magazine about your business.
Stay in Touch With Customers. Collect customers’ physical and email addresses and send them time-limited offers. Start an e-newsletter filled with useful news and stories about your products and services.
Online Marketing. Set up a website and register it with Google My Business, so that online searchers can find it. You can create a website either for free or inexpensively by using templates offered by such websites as Moonfruit, and Yola. Just remember that websites can make your business look bad faster than making it look good. It takes skill and expertise to create a "site that sells." Need some help with what to say, let's talk.