With everyone's ears glued to the the economic news these days, you're probably wondering how you and your small business are going to make it through. Here are some thoughts I shared in a recent class I gave on pricing:
We all want immediate gratification. Maybe that's why promises made to small business owners are so enticing:
Build your business plan in a day! Create a 1-page marketing plan. Learn our secrets to success. Pay me just $10,000 for all the leads you'll ever need. You want to believe it, don't you? They make it sound so good. It's the business equivalent of "lose 30 pounds in 30 days." But, unless you're very lucky or have a rich uncle, it just doesn't work that way. The very definition of luck is, "when hard work meets opportunity." Making it in your own business takes work. Or a lot of money to pay someone else to do it. There are simply no easy fixes. Indeed, it's better to write the majority of your own business and marketing plans. They'll be more likely to contain your vision, and you'll be more in touch with how your business needs to operate. It's like doing your own taxes -- you really see where the money's going. If you hire someone to help you with these essential documents, it's not going to be free or even low-cost. But, you'll save a lot of money if you do some of the work yourself. Then let the expert help you refine it. When your time isn't as valuable as their cost, then it makes sense to DIY. A good example is when you need a contract. There are plenty of legal resources online that will supply you with templates. Start with those. Do what you can to customize them, then hand it off to a lawyer. If not, you're basically paying them to do the work that doesn't take as much expertise. Don't be shocked when you get a big bill. They're going to charge you the same hourly rate, whether that's to organize your papers so they can begin working or help you resolve a complex problem you couldn't do yourself without the training and experience they have. In short, saving their time will save you lots of money. The same is true for your taxes. Get all your paperwork together, then call the accountant. Business and marketing consultants -- write as much as you can. Do the research. Get your ducks in a row. Then meet with the expert. You get the idea. Sure, they'll probably charge you a lot per hour, but the idea is to make those hours count. You probably didn't want to hear all this. The easy fix is just so enticing. But if you really love what you do and you're excited about your business, much of it won't feel like work. And the more you do yourself, the better you'll understand what it takes to be successful in your business. Q: How often should I send email to my customers?
I get asked this question a lot. Before I get to the answer, I’d love to hear about other burning questions you’ve got on your mind. Feel free to respond to this post with questions about small business marketing. A: “Mail once a month,” or some other arbitrary rule of thumb, can work — depending on your business. But it can backfire as well. Here’s a true story. I was getting an email from a well-known lamp retailer just about every week. Not only did I opt out, it’s left a bad impression of the company. How often do I need to buy a lamp? Let me introduce you to the concept of lifecycle communication — the idea is to make the timing of your email relevant to the recipient, and therefore more effective. Begin with a trigger event and follow through. For example, tie your mailing to a purchase cycle. If you’re selling ink cartridges, start with the date of the person’s last order, and time your email to when you anticipate they’ll run out of ink — say 6 weeks later (depending on the size of their last order perhaps). You’ll be top-of-mind just when they’re ready to place a new order. There are all sorts of ways to apply this concept. You just need to really understand your customer. If you’re interested in learning more about that topic, let me know. |
Robbin BlockSharing what I know and love about marketing small to medium businesses. About me Categories
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