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Here is a collection of marketing-related tips for improving your business results -
suitable for any business, small or large. Use this knowledge to your advantage!
Do you have a question? Ask it here
and have it answered for free.
Visit this page again... new tips are added regularly. See all tips below.
Index
1) Obtaining
a List of Specific Prospects in my Local Area
2) Getting
Email List for Beauty Salons
3) Generating Leads for a Mortgage Broking
Business
4) Selling
Meteorological Products and Services
5) Getting
hypermarket customers to buy more
6) When should I hire a
consultant?
7) Attracting more salon
clients.
8) Monitoring client
satisfaction.
9) Attracting clients
to a new business.
10) Training staff to answer the phone
professionally.
11) Building an email
newsletter and database.
12) Deciding on target market without
expensive research.
13) Various biz tips: sales, staffing, direct mail,
discounting, and more...
Latest Biz Tip
Question:
Obtaining
a List of Specific Prospects in my Local Area
Paul asked: I'm starting my own business, and all I want to do is buy one mailing list of one-family homes valued at $250,000 and up, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Everyone wants to sell me some kind of package. Lost. What can I do?
Answer:
As I'm not in your area I can't tell you exactly what information is available.
However, from my experience that sort of detailed/matched information will only be available if it has been specifically collected previously by a commercial organisation or research company. General government census data doesn't usually match data like the family type with a specific home address (within a specific range of value).
I don't think you should have to buy a 'package' of data but the list you want may be quite expensive, as far as lists go, because it is for upper income households, and must have been pre-qualified (i.e. checked) to make sure the family and home value status match.
Check around for 'list brokers' who may be able to provide what you want. Ask them what they have. They may be outside your area but have suitable list for you. Prices are usually quoted per 'record' (which is per name). Check how recent the list is, and how often it is used (maybe it is over-used and recipients are sick of getting mail?)
As an alternative, why not target tight geographic areas where the home values match what you need, and start a promotional program to attract the right type of client. Your promotional/marketing plan could include the following (Note: I don't know what you will be offering, so not all ideas may be equally suitable):
- Leaflet drops
- Advertising in local papers
- Editorials in local papers based on a news-worthy story you can offer.
- Sponsoring suitable events in the area.
- Speaking to local groups (maybe Rotary, business, special interest groups)
- Website, with key words targeting the area and what you are offering.
- Joint ventures with existing businesses who already have those types of clients you are targeting.
- mail outs
- seminars
- advertising
- email newsletter advertising
- reciprocal links on website
- Building referral network based on building a relationship with the referrers.
Hope this gets you thinking!
Top
Getting
Email List for Beauty Salons
Stuart, I am trying to locate an email list for beauty salons to send them
newsletters about my products and business. I have so far been unable to locate this. Can you help at all.
Maggi.
Answer:
Maggi, off the top of my head I don't know of a specific email list for beauty salons. But there are List Brokers who may be able to give you that information. See list below. Also, you should be aware of the
Australian
anti-spam laws regarding email - so that you are not using details incorrectly.
The other option is to go to the industry association and see if you can:
(1) Advertise in their newsletter to members (print or email).
(2) Access their membership list (possibly as an insert into one of their mailings). I wouldn't expect them to give you members details.
www.impactlists.com.au
www.listbroker.com.au
www.listbank.com.au
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Lead
Generation for Mortgage Broking Business
Stuart, I am looking for help with lead generation for our mortgage broking business. We have tried radio advertising (niche), direct mail, newspaper. However none of these options has been very successful. Most of the business comes from word of mouth and referral (just not enough!)
The business has never been properly marketed. ~ Tracey S.
Answer:
As you know, mortgage broking is an extremely competitive field these days. And it is driven by housing growth and economic conditions (low interest rates). Unfortunately I do not have any quick fix to get you more leads/clients. You mention that most clients come via word of mouth (referrals) - which is fully understandable for this type of service. Unless you have a lot of money to spend, media advertising will not be very productive. I suggest you will need a package of the following marketing tactics:
- Web site that explains your point of difference and contains some helpful information for potential clients.
- A schedule of personal networking activities that gets you in contact with the business owners and investors that you see as 'better' clients.
- Developing introductory material (fact sheet, or case study) that you can give/send to people when you first meet them. this will warm them up for a personal meeting.
- Developing a network of referrers in complementary fields. A few well chosen people will work better than a horde of unknowns.
- Running information sessions/seminars to attract interested prospects.
- 'Keep in touch' program to remind previous clients and suggest referrals.
- A snappy personal introduction that gives people a clear message about what you do and how you are different.
These tactics will attract the right type of client, rather than trying to advertise to 'everyone'.
To help you with this you can use my free Client Attraction Workbook.
Top
Selling
Meteorological Products and Services
Do your homework to get the answers to the questions below. If you follow this structure you will have very useful information in your presentation.
(1) Find out who your best customers will be.
- What type of business, department or agency are they?
- What do they want to get from you? (which products, reports, services)
- Who do they currently get this information from? (they will be your competitors)
(2) Understand the 'benefits' that you are providing your clients. Not just the 'service' or 'product' that you sell, but focus on what your client will be able to achieve or provide for their clients with the help of what you are selling. Why are you different to your competitors?
(3) Look for cost effective ways of communicating with those best clients (or groups of clients). Maybe this is through personal sales calls, or through industry specific advertising programs, or through trade shows, etc
(4) Have systems in place to follow up on any enquiries generated. Use a 'sales process' to make sure all enquiries are managed properly and converted into orders/new clients.
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Getting
hypermarket customers to buy more
Hi, my question is what are they key factors in your opinion that attract customers
to buy at hypermarket? Is it the product display that influences them?
Thanks - Alex Milus.
Answer:
A hyper-store is usually based on wide range and low prices. So having low prices (compared to others in your area) is an essential part of your marketing strategy. But there is more to do than just having low prices.
The display of products is critical to maximise sales. This means 3 things:
- Having your product categories in the right position, with enough space for higher selling products.
- Having eye-catching product displays within each category.
- Featuring "specials" to encourage customers to buy more.
Some other points:
- Important - stock the products that customers
want to buy (not just the items you want to sell).
- Stock must be clean and easy to access by customers.
- The main area of sight is from waist-height to eye-level. Use this shelf space for your most popular lines.
- Customers often scan shelves from side-to-side, so make sure products displays are blocked vertically on the shelf wherever possible.
- Make sure customers can easily see around the store, so they can find the sections they want. Maybe you can use category signage for this.
- Use clear price ticketing so customers know what they are spending.
- Use free-standing displays of "special" products. Change displays frequently, based on how often customers usually come in.
- Display complementary products next to each other, to encourage add-on sales.
- Make sure lighting is stronger than normal outside light. A dull store looks depressing and customers will not buy.
Top
When should I hire a
consultant?
Hi Stuart - My basic question is at what stage would hiring you be most beneficial? Should I have started running the business and have some results so there's something definite to improve on? The basic concern here is I want to have done as much good work as possible by myself so that I will be hiring you to provide help I really need. Regards,
Patrick Vuleta.
Answer:
Patrick, you've asked some very sensible questions and are on the right track with wanting to identify your market correctly *before* you make major investment decisions. In answer to your questions...
my assistance would be valuable to you at two stages:
1) - When you are planning, like you are now, and trying to identify your market. Or as I often say, finding your "pockets of revenue". This will help avoid wasting money in the future.
2) - When you need to plan/revise/create specific marketing tactics to suit your selected market/s. There are many marketing tactics you *could* employ, but you must use the right tool for the job.
So it may be helpful for us to spend a bit of time at the beginning to help you assess the market correctly. You can then move forward with confidence. In the early days of your business I suggest you implement the most cost-effective tactics (often for little financial outlay) to build a revenue stream which enables you to then invest in more marketing support and
profit-generating activities.
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Attracting more salon clients.
Hi Stuart, we opened a beauty salon in 01/04. We're interesting in some marketing tips to bring in more clients.
Also if you have any suggestions to recruit stylists. Thanks. Thuy.
Answer:
Hello Thuy. Firstly, your marketing tactics could include:
- Advertising (this is obvious). But advertising in the "best" places is important.
- Referral programs. You have been open 12 months, use current/previous clients to gain referrals.
- Re-activation strategies. Get ex-clients to start coming back to you.
- Create a "customer club". Use their details for regular communication and offers.
- Host beauty information sessions at the salon.
Secondly (although I am not a recruitment
consultant) my suggestions for finding stylists would be to advertise - in your local paper, online, and in nearby suburbs/towns where stylists may want to work in your area. Also use word-of-mouth. Let your product reps know you want someone and see who they know that might be interested.
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Monitoring client satisfaction.
I have recently purchased a Beauty Salon and would like to know what
questions to ask the clients to see if they are happy or unhappy with the
service they get when they come into the salon. Thanks - Bruce.
Answer:
As a rule clients don't like to be kept waiting when they are finished with their service. So questions need to be brief. I suggest starting with the following:
Q1) Please tell us how well we served you:
a - Much better than expected
b - A bit better than expected
c - As expected
d - Below my expectation
Q2) What one thing could we do to improve your experience?
Bruce, the first question should be tick a box for answer. The second should be a line or two for the answer.
Also, I suggest offering a small prize that is drawn every month from the people who answer questions. This means you can also ask for their phone number and email address on the paper with the questions (unless you already have this on file for every client). Then use this to keep in touch with them. The prize should be a 2-for-1, or an extra-service, or bring-a-friend, or gift voucher for your services. Don't just offer a discount off the next visit or service
used - that only cheapens your service.
Over a period of time, once you get a variety of responses, you may decide you want to ask something else so you can learn more.
Top
Attracting
clients to a new business.
Dear Stuart, I started up my business at the start of the year (2004) offering secretarial & bookkeeping support. Media advertising to date has not been successful and
I would like information on how to get through this barrier and attract new clients.
Thanks! Gai Lawler, www.secretaryforhire.com.au.
Answer:
Gai, you are not alone. Media advertising is often *not* very effective for service businesses. Potential clients will want to understand what you do, how they will benefit, and start to trust you - all before they contact you. It can be tough.
I suggest you start by segmenting your "pockets of opportunity". This means you could group potential clients in categories such as:
- Local small business (general)
- Local community/school/club groups
- Specific industry sectors which may be more likely to use your services (some are listed on your site already)
Then create a marketing 'plan' (or schedule), using tactics which are best suited to those categories.
For help with this see my article and planner.
For example, for local groups you might simply ring them up, speak with the decision maker, and
send some information. But for local businesses, it might be better to find out who the owner/decision maker is (by telephone, networking, lists),
then send a personal letter with info/benefits, then follow up by phone,
and then meet them in person.
Even though your service is "virtual" I suggest starting with a local focus.
Also, make sure you ask all clients for referrals. It's easy to do now as you can say "I'm looking to build my business and would appreciate any suggestions of who I should talk to." Then make an appointment with the prospect.
Another idea - work with related virtual service providers to create referrals. Their business clients have already used a virtual provider, so should be ready for you.
Top
Training staff to answer the phone professionally.
I want the office staff to answer the phone in a professional manner, so I am going to provide them with the training , however I would like some training tips.
Kind Regards Patricia.
Answer:
Patricia, you haven't mentioned the type of business you have so I'll make some general suggestions. Please ask if you need clarification.
-> Explain to your staff the role they play in creating customer perceptions/feelings about your business.
-> If you just want a 'standard' greeting to be used, keep it brief and explain the type of 'tone' you want staff to use.
-> If your staff need to answer questions, or explain what your business does, then create a draft script which covers all the main points. Then each staff member can use their own approach based on your guidance to say it in their own way (but making sure the main points are properly covered). If you try and give each staff member a standard word-for-word script, then they may lose their enthusiasm and character and it will sound like a script.
-> Use simple role plays to demonstrate the outcome you want. Give a refresher after a few weeks if you think it is needed.
If you are creating a script you may be able to include staff in the development process,
drawing on their own experience in talking with customers. Also, you may want to provide guidance and pre-prepared answers for any regular questions you know customers ask. By supporting the staff, and making them feel more professional, I'm sure they'll be much more likely to answer the phone in a professional manner as you wish.
Top
Building an email newsletter and database.
Hi Stuart,
Just a quick question. Can you tell me where's the best place to get advice on how to build up an E-Letter/Newsletter database. I have emails of previous clients and want to start up a monthly newsletter. Is there a program to help me create a
newsletter?
Cheers.
Catherine Lowe - Brisbane, Australia
www.catherinelowe.com.au
Answer:
When it comes to email newsletters the first choice is between plain text or HTML. I suppose for your photography work you'd want to use HTML.
If you're doing text you can easily create your own newsletter using your email software. Sending it
can get tricky if you have lots of readers (200 or more). That's where email service providers come in
handy. (These service providers are often called a "listserv".) Generally your email list will be hosted at the service provider, and you access the service via your web browser to create and send the newsletter.
Your next choice is an email newsletter service provider. I've listed a few below.
Maybe your current web site host offers an email service? The differences seem to be with template styles, cost (monthly fee; plus sometimes a per email sent fee), sign-up procedure for your readers, and other services offered (like tracking mechanisms). Although there are some Australian
email service providers, there are also many in the States that you may want to check out.
Plus, there's lots of advice on the web about writing and managing newsletters - its an evolving field because of spam and new email technologies.
For some insights into how many people might read your emails, see
this article.
Some informative sites about email marketing are:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/
http://Ezine-Tips.com/
http://www.clickz.com/
Email services based in Australia:
http://www.vision6.com.au/ Brisbane
http://www.peoplelogic.com.au/ Sydney
Email services based in USA & Other:
http://www.aweber.com
(this is the service used by Marketing Nous)
http://www.constantcontact.com
http://www.sparklist.com
http://www.getresponse.com
Top
How do you decide who your target market is
without doing market research and costly surveys? e.g. a product could be targeting to more than one age group.
Answer:
There are many ways to do 'market research'. It doesn't have to cost a fortune. But remember that publicly available information will probably not answer as many of your questions as custom designed research will. So doing your own "guerrilla-style" research involves a trade-off. Here's a number of ways to narrow down your possible target markets.
1. Ask current customers: why they buy your product/service; and why they
buy from you.
2. Ask non-customers why they do not buy. Find them where they are - shops, cafes, social networks, families, networking.
3. Ask your competitors customers why they are buying from your competitor.
4. Ask industry groups such as associations and representative organisations if they have any relevant research available.
5. Investigate your competitors - annual reports, web sites, advertising content and style, in-store promotional displays etc
6. Consider alternatives to your product. What are people using? Who are using it?
7. Search the web for relevant information. Often research findings from other countries or organisations may be found.
8. Check marketing and advertising web sites such for information and news on your product category/industry.
Top
Starting out with direct mail. There
are three elements of a direct mail campaign. The list, the offer, and
the creative. Use the best list of names and contact details you can, as
this is the most important element. The offer must be relevant, timely and
provide adequate perceived value. Lastly, consider the creative style, which
includes the copywriting, graphics and the media/format by which the offer
is delivered.
Close
more sales. Make sure sales staff are qualifying the customer
correctly (gathering information) and using a trial close whenever
possible. Ask for the order! Make sure your staff can overcome objections
in a professional manner. Do you sell online? If so, address each decision
point in the buying process - each click - to reduce issues of concern for customers.
Employ
the right staff. When you are seeking new employees take the time to
find people that share your standards and passions. It's easier to train
eager staff about your products and business than it is to try and put the
right attitude into less enthusiastic people.
Check out the opposition. Don't be caught unaware of what your
competitors are offering (your customers will know!). Visit their
premises, read their promotional material, get on their mailing lists, be
their customer, check their web sites, inspect their products. Know why you are different to
them, and find a way to tell your customers about it.
Top
Train
your front-line staff. Make sure they know their job. Tell
them about your products, services, return policies, your businesses
selling style, who your decision makers are, your
marketing strategy, how you want them to handle complaints, your
competitors, and more. Remember, to your customers your staff ARE your
business... and 'front-line' staff can be found anywhere -- on the phone,
at the counter, in the warehouse, in delivery vehicles etc
Keep your customer space clean. For retailers this means having a
cleaning program for your store and back office areas. For trades people
this means being well presented and having a well maintained vehicle. For
professionals this means always dressing appropriately and presenting
expertly produced documentation. Remember, if the
customer sees it, make sure it is well maintained.
Watch the discounts. Don't be in a hurry to give away your profit.
Often you may think your only choice is to cut your prices...but wait! Can
you add value to the transaction, can you focus your customer on service,
features, availability, your reliability? If you do offer discounted
prices have a plan to manage the impact. When will you stop? What is your benchmark?
Create an event to get customers into your business. Maybe a free
training session, introducing a new product/service, new premises, or
simply a 'thank you' for their loyalty and support. Use appropriate
invitations and ask your customer to bring a friend. Look for
opportunities to build your personal bond with both existing and potential
customers.
Talk to your customers on a regular basis. And don't just wait till
they ring you first. Have a communication plan to keep in touch will
customers. This could mean using email messages, telephoning major clients
on a regular basis, writing a newsletter, inserting a leaflet with orders,
writing articles for trade journals, or creating multi-part direct mail
offers. Try and use a communication method that will impact upon your
customers, rather than just what's easiest for you.
Top
Also see the many helpful feature articles
& case studies in the
library.
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