Shaping Your Product/Service

Customer feedback is probably one of the best ways to make your business successful. Think of it like this; through negative feedback, you can shape your product/service into something you know the market will love.

Most people think that bad feedback comes from people they have never even done business with, or with some of their ‘bad’ clients, so they decide to ignore it. This is, in fact, a complete myth; most of the negative feedback you will get will be from some of your most loyal customers. Not because they want to put you down; because they want to remain your best customers.

Think of it like this; ‘bad’ customers, if they encounter a problem of flaw with your product/service, they will simply move on to the next company who will solve this problem for them. Whereas for a loyal customer, they want to tell you about the problem, hoping that you will fix it and they can remain customers of yours.

Think of it like this; customer feedback is a free way to conduct market research. Your clients will tell you how they want their product/service. They will tell you about any problems they have; although you may have to prompt them to do so; perhaps through a quiz of survey.

Free Marketing

Well, who would say no to some free marketing? Quite a few businesses actually, so it seems! Customer feedback, when it is good, can be used in a multitude of ways, the obvious one being testimonials.

Every time you get some good feedback, you should ask the client if you can use it as a testimonial on your website, leaflets, sales letters; anything which you send to a prospective client. Likewise, when you get bad feedback, you should act upon it immediately, because it really will result in not only your product/service getting better, but perhaps some more business!

Think about it; if you had a problem with a company that you bought from, and you complained about the problem then it was solved, how much more likely would you be to talk about that than just receiving a product and there being absolutely no flaws to it?

Entrepreneurs have to wear many hats when a business is just starting. Many things need to be delegated to others in order for the business to run smoothly and there are a few things that you must do yourself. If you can create a habit of performing these 5 things every day, some for just a few minutes, then you will see your business grow right alongside your dreams:

1. Plan for the future a few minutes each day. Assume that your product has stopped selling all of a sudden. What direction will you take your company next? What new income stream can you add? This is a time for day dreaming and recording notes in preparation for the future. You don’t necessarily have to take action on these items, but you need to think about them daily in order to bring out the golden ideas.

2.  Develop or strengthen your business network. You need to join or create a business network where you can help others and they can help you back. This is a great place to get free customers through referrals and an excellent mentoring opportunity using the mastermind principle.

3. Work on closing a sale every single day. Whether you are doing this on-line, on the phone, through the mail, or face-to-face you need to be selling every day. Without the close of a sale there is no business. This is not something that you can delegate all the way. Even if you have a sales force you need to be out there looking for deals.

4. Work on your marketing in some aspect every day to get new customers. If your prospective customers don’t know about you they won’t buy from you. Work on getting your message out every day even if it is just for a few minutes.

5. Contact your current customers. Don’t ever forget about the people that have already purchased from you. These are your best customers. They already like what you have to sell and they don’t cost anything to acquire. Contact your current customers frequently, even if you are just saying hello. They need to know what you have to offer and they need to know you are still breathing. They won’t seek you out. You must go to them.

As the owner of your company you are responsible for casting the vision of your company and then communicating that vision to your employees. Without a leader who develops and communicates a vision for the company, employees will wander about their day jobs aimlessly.

Your mission is to transfer your passion to your employees through the communication of your vision. Here are three tips to communicate your vision:

1. Are We Moving Toward Our Vision?

As the owner of your business, you are responsible for moving your company toward its vision, but you don’t need to keep it a secret. Update your employees often on the company’s progress in moving toward its vision. If you can show your employees how their work creates positive results for the company they are more likely to continue working hard.

2. What Are We Doing to Accomplish Our Vision?

As an entrepreneur you have a vision of where you want your business to go. It may be a small vision, but at the very least you should have some purpose to your day-to-day activities. As a leader you must constantly proclaim your vision for the business to your employees, and ensure that your employees understand how their daily work helps to accomplish that vision.

3. What Can We Do To Continue to Move Toward Our Vision?

Not only do you need to show your employees how their work contributes to the progress of the company, but you need to empower your employees to help identify new ways to improve the business moving forward. If everyone in the business understands what their goal is and how it fits into a bigger vision they will be more likely to suggest innovative ways to improve the business.

Ultimately, as a business owner you hold an incredible amount of power when it comes to encouraging and motivating your employees. Your leadership should be centered around your vision and helping your employees realize their role in accomplishing that vision.

The holidays are an important time of year for marketers, who are looking to boost profits and find more customers. In this crucial season, you need to be attentive to insights from previous holidays and apply that information to your marketing strategy. Here we offer some industry wide statistics and facts to help prepare you for the winter months ahead, along with some tips on how to create lasting holiday marketing success.

The Facts

Seventy-Nine percent of consumers say they looked at or read the direct-marketing pieces that arrived in their mailbox.

Nearly half of all purchases from catalogs take place in November and December.

A typical consumer receives 25 pieces of mail per week and is likely to take action on 9.5 percent of it.

People continue to rely on traditional sources such as print pieces for Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday sales. In addition, they peruse printed catalogs for common products and check the mailbox for coupons.

Direct mail is alive and well. In fact, according to published results from the United States Postal Service (USPS®) and the DMA, direct mail is not dead. In fact, it’s still effective, with an ROI of $12.53 for every dollar invested.27 Furthermore; direct-mail spending is projected to grow 105.8 percent to $47.8 billion this year, driven by acquisition mail increases.

The Tips

To drive early sales, prominently highlight crucial dates — such as sale cutoffs and the final day for free shipping — with images and bold fonts.

Don’t lose out on the customer engagement activities and revenue gains that direct mail offers. Most companies are getting lifts in response rates from the combined powers of online and traditional channels such as direct mail.

Get to your potential customers ahead of schedule — and before your competitors do.

Marketing doesn’t always mean spending tons of money to get the word out.  Marketing on a shoestring budget just means that you need to be creative, innovative and think way outside the box.

There are some things that you can do to reach your target audience and present yourself or message as a progressive and forward thinking company without breaking the bank.

There are Twenty-one shoestring marketing secrets that all Small Business owners need to know:

1. Low-cost. In today’s internet and social media age, there are now more low-cost marketing options than ever before. Not only is it possible, but absolutely doable to substantially grow your small business on a shoestring budget.

2. Commitment. If your marketing is going to eventually take hold, then you need to make a strong commitment to see it through until it sticks. Don’t give up in the early stages.

3. Patience. The fruits of your marketing labors don’t happen overnight. You need to plant your marketing seeds and tend to them regularly before your marketing garden blooms.

4. Branding. Your clients and customers need to have a clear picture in their minds as to who you are and how your product or service can solve their most pressing problems

5. Consistency. Marketing is much like breathing. It’s the life of your small business and should be a regular part of your daily business activities.

6. Domination. If you want to explode your small business profits, then you must dominate a small part of your market. You need to become the “go-to” person in your particular niche.

7. Customer-focused. Your primary job is to clearly identify the problems that your prospects face and offer them the obvious solutions.

8. Identify your target market. It’s crucial that you know exactly who needs your product or service. Mass marketing doesn’t work in today’s business environment. Not only does it force you to water down your marketing message to please the masses, but it’s much too expensive for the shoestring marketer.

9. Elicits confidence and trust. Create experiences and situations that boost the level of confidence from your prospects. At the end of the day, people buy from those whom they like and trust.

10. Massive visibility. Since your prospects are exposed to over 4,000 ads every single day, you need to ensure that your small business is utilizing as many marketing platforms as possible. Your prospects should come across you in as many places as possible.

11. Repetition. Research suggests that prospects need to encounter your small business between seven and twelve times before they are ready to purchase. So, put yourself in front of your target market over and over again.

12. Ease of use. If your sales process, marketing materials or any other part of your business is too complicated, your customers will become confused. Confused customers simply don’t buy.

13. The WOW Factor. What are you doing to get noticed? How are you different than your competition? The fastest way to small business failure is to blend in with the crowd.

14. Quality. If your product and/or services aren’t top quality, then you won’t get repeat business. Your long-term success depends on satisfied customers who spread the word about your business and purchase from you repeatedly.

15. Education. Position yourself as an expert and educate your prospects as to why your small business can offer them the remedy to their most pressing pain points.

16. Relationships. Create real relationships with your prospects and customers. Answer their questions, solve their problems and help them if they’re stuck. Your prospects want to know that there’s a real person in front of your small business.

17. Increasing the lifetime value of customers. Over 20% of your existing customers will purchase from you again (since they already know and trust you), so create additional ways for them to make purchases.

18. Automation. We’re living in a fast-tracked society that doesn’t work using old-fashioned marketing methods. So, embrace automation tools such as landing pages, email autoresponders, shopping carts, customer management software, etc.

19. Tracking your results. It’s essential to your overall survival that you have a clear understanding what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to your marketing. Use link tracking software to track your ROI (even if your only investment is your time).

20. Flexibility. Things change quickly and you must be willing to adapt. When the next “great” marketing platform emerges, be willing to jump on board and embrace it with excitement. If you are a flexible marketer, you’re always miles ahead of your competition.

21. Everything that you do. Marketing isn’t just about your advertising campaigns. Every single interaction that you have with your prospects promotes your small business. So, be careful how you answer the phone, respond to your emails and treat your customers because all of it makes an instant and lasting impression on them.

Many business owners run their business on a shoestring.  Remember, it doesn’t mean that you cannot afford marketing.  It may take a little bit of time and effort but it is achievable.