• Firstly, where is the market, or more basically who has the money to buy the goods and services that you offer and how do you get them to spend it?
• Secondly, why should they buy from you, rather than anyone else?
• And finally how to you get the message to the market about your business and the products and services you offer?
The simple answer to the first question is that you want to do business with “qualified and desirable prospects”.
You want a never ending list of clients who seek you out, who want to know more about the benefits and advantages of doing business with you.
A client of mine has a mechanical services company. They were spending $50,000 a year on radio advertising.
The company was hitting (very unsuccessfully) the whole of the Sydney market and was following up leads from all over the place.
Once the business refined its business target market to 2,000 households in Castle Hill and ran a targeted direct response marketing campaign, his business thrived.
Another client has a successful manufacturing business in the western suburbs of Sydney. He accepted small orders from non repeat customers, orders that chocked up the production process, often taking many hours of management time and causing the business to falter on their service to profitable repeat business customers.
These small non repeat customers often add more cost than they are worth.
There are many stories written about successful small business owners and how they achieved their success. One of the very best books written on this subject is “Slippers” by Mark Blumsky.
Blumsky was able to build a successful chain of shoe stores with strong customer loyalty.
They achieved success with their businesses because they understood that customers need a reason to buy from you. Blumsky broke the mold for selling shoes.
What had previously been a chore became a pleasurable experience. Here are some of the ideas that Blumsky implemented in his shoe stores
• The staff wore brightly coloured shirts in a variety of styles that would change from day to day.
• The store was well lit and painted in cheerful colours.
• Shoe boxes would be stacked out the back.
• Target market was eighteen to forty five.
• Message board out the front of every shop, designed to make people stop, think and smile.
• Water cooler in every shop.
• Everyone that came in was offered a lollipop.
• Children given a balloon.
• The staff had fun and created mischief from time to time.
• Upbeat music was played in the shop rather than elevator musak.
• He was the first to introduce a foot massage machine.
Blumsky followed this up with giving a service that was ten out of ten. They had ten principles that would never be broken because they were critical to the success of the business. These included such simple things as:
• Greet the customer with a greeting such as “Hi” rather than “Can I help You”.
• Offer them a seat, making them comfortable.
• Offer a glass of water.
• Offer a lollipop.
• Get a staff member to clean their old shoes while they are trying on the new ones.
• Bring the customer more than one pair to try on at a time.
• Put the new shoes on for the customer.
• Tell the customer what the shoes are made from and where they come from.
• Explain how best to clean the new shoes.
• Mention the loyalty club.
As you read all this you realize that none of this is rocket science, many businesses do some of these things, but its only the best and most successful that do all of them and keep innovating in this area of a great customer experience.
Finally how do you get the message to the market about the goods and services you have to offer and get good value for every dollar you spend?
There are two types of advertising strategies. Image advertising is meant to remind customers of your brand and the products and services you offer.
Coca Cola and most of the ads you see on television fall into this category. As a small business the most appropriate strategy is “direct response”.
This strategy is meant to evoke an immediate response and compel your prospects to take up specific action, such as making a call to find out more information, or place an order.
There are several advantages of direct response. They are trackable, measurable, accountable and they give you immediate feedback on their effectiveness.
It may take weeks or even months before the prospect decides to talk seriously to you about your products and services.
It is often said that it takes eight touches between you and the client before they are ready to talk business.
Now is the time to review your marketing strategy and ensure that your effort is not wasted. If you need help then talk to an expert.
David Ley can be contacted at david.ley@thextonarmstrong.com.au
