Businessiibusiness's Blog

Recession Proof Your Business – How to Avoid Business Failure & Increase Sales in a Lagging Economy

businessiibusiness — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:23:26 +0000

When you’re a small business owner there’s no “Golden Parachute”, no Massive Severance Package or Stock Options to cash in on and there are definitely no bailouts. The success or failure of your small business is all on your shoulders!

Here Are 5 Things to Do If You WANT Your Business to Fail During a Recession

1. Don’t Do Anything
2. Don’t Do Enough
3. Don’t Encourage Referrals From Other Clients
4. Don’t Create a “WOW” Experience
5. Don’t Take Massive Action Now

Now, if you want to build your small business, there’s good news.

You don’t have to sit back and become a victim of the times. Right now there are businesses and market segments that are making record profits. US Steel just posted record profits for the second quarter after losing huge orders from the auto industry.

Here’s How US Steel Achieved Record Making Profits – And So Can You:

- They found new markets at higher prices
- They were open to new opportunities
- They were pro-active

Here Are 10 Quick and Easy Strategies to Increase Sales and Profits During a Recession

1. Implement systems that measure and track the results of ALL of your marketing, advertising and publicity efforts

2. Look for new ways to re-position products or services you provide to attract a new market segment. Example: Re-position Yoga as “Fall Prevention Strategies for Seniors

3. Find new distribution channels for your products whether it’s through the Internet or other retailers who are selling complimentary products or services.

4. Create Joint Venture Arrangements with other complimentary, not competing Businesses. For example an accounting firm could go to their legal firm and offer to hold a seminar on “Tax Reduction Strategies” for the their (legal firms) clients as a special bonus. The accounting company may get new clients and the only cost is their time. One stipulation, the accounting firm must offer a special seminar to their clients on “How To Structure Tax Shelters for Estate Management”. Both companies benefit.

5. Have a “Rewards Referral Program ” for your existing customers and let them experience how it will work.

6. Know the numbers in your business. Find out what products and services make the most profits and which ones make the least. Start promoting or up-selling those first. Do you know the average transaction value which is the average amount each consumer pays you at the point of purchase? Go find that out now and then ask yourself the question “How can I increase that amount by 10% by adding or bundling in extra value?

7. Position yourself as the “Knowledgeable Expert” in Your Field and write articles for the newspaper, or trade journals and radio interviews. You can even write and submit articles online using www.IWantMoreProspects.com. The print and online media is always hungry for information to provide their readership. They are always on the lookout for new information that solves people’s problems or helps them save them time or money.

8. Differentiate yourself from the competition and give the consumer the “Reason Why” they should do Business with you versus your competitors.

9. Join a Mastermind Group or Coaching Program to improve your skills as a Marketer. Tiger Woods has a golf coach to help him. Professional baseball teams have hitting and pitching coaches. And you should have a business and marketing coach to stop the downhill slide before it becomes uncontrollable.

10. Build a stronger relationship with your customer base through frequent contact, special offers, and newsletters. Survey your existing customers to see what they want and then sell it to them.

This is just a short list on the many things that are possible. Now the question is, do you want to recession proof your business and achieve massive results or do you want to lay down and play dead and hope things get better? It’s your choice!

By revealing missed profit opportunities, Marketing and Sales Expert Ron Romano increased the sales and profits for more than 10,000 small and medium sized businesses, entrepreneurs and independent sales agents. Now, you can use his FREE MARKETING AUDIT at: http://www.InstantMarketingReview.com to magically uncover all the hidden profit-making opportunities you’ve been missing out on. What you may find out might just change your life forever.

Stop Shopping Cart Abandonment By NOT “Shipping” Your Customers To Your Competitors!

businessiibusiness — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:12:44 +0000

According to a recent Stompernet study, the industry average for shopping cart abandonment is 59.6%.

Shopping cart abandonment” means that someone goes to a website, reads the sales letter, and clicks on the buy link to go to the secure order form, but they don’t finish filling out the form. So, this means that for every 10 people who click on a “buy” or “order” link to go to a
shopping cart, only four (4) actually complete the transaction.

And that’s in an OPTIMAL environment, assuming the overall site traffic is high-quality and targeted, and the order process is crystal clear and caveman-easy.

Pretty sobering, eh?

Where do they all go?

We usually have our clients start by checking on their shipping rates. The Stompernet study also reveals that one of the top causes for shopping cart abandonment is that shipping is too high, or numerous options make it too confusing.

There are some fast adjustments you can make WITHOUT having to get into programming or custom software if you use a solution like MyEasyOnlineStore.com or Infusionsoft.com,

3 Easy Ways to Stop Shopping Cart Abandonment Resulting From High Shipping Prices:

1) Avoid real-time shipping tables that offer too many shipping choices

Here’s something we actually encountered:

To buy a $14.95 CD, the “real time shipping” on a shopping cart gave
them prices anywhere from $6.82 to $68.44 for various air, ground, and rush options for shipping. Of course customers would leave.

It’s just too much to think about. And seeing the option to pay $70 to get a $15 CD the next day really jumped out at the customer. They left, saying “shipping’s too expensive.” Even many customers who bought said “wow, that’s a lot to pay to have it shipped.”

2) Have only one or two shipping options

Replace that long shipping table with statements like:

“It’s $2.50 shipping, and you should get it in the mail in 2-3
business days.”

“Price includes all shipping and handling. Orders are typically shipped
the same day we receive them.”

See the difference?

We recently had a client end their real-time shipping calculations, end
rush-shipping options, and simply offer two rates (one domestic and one international.)

Their shopping cart abandonment rates dropped and their conversion rates went up a consistent 5% with just that one change. And, the fulfillment house said that the client is having far few instances of collecting “too little” shipping than they did when it was real-time.

3) Don’t do rush shipping – offer instant downloads

If there’s any reason why a customer would “need it right now,”
instead of rush shipping, how about adding an instant download option?

This way, not only can your prospects have it RIGHT NOW (instead of
“tomorrow”) but then you’re also spared the headache of making
sure “rush” orders, indeed were “rushed.”

Bottom line:

When it comes to shipping, get to the bottom line and make it easy. When interested customers have to stop and think about shipping, they hesitate. It gets right in the way of the sales momentum.

Give prospects too much to think about and they’ll think about buying
somewhere else. This means you lost customers for life!

So, keep it simple – and you will reduce shopping cart abandonment fast.

Now of course, there are many other factors that will affect your website sales conversion and shopping cart abandonment rates. And, that’s why I, now invite you to get a website review “live” on screen capture video that will reveal right in front of your eyes easy, understandable and proven shortcut secrets to plug your specific profit draining leaks. Just for going to http://www.livewebsitereviews.com we’ll give you our NEW, FREE e-Book: “Top 10 Deadly Mistakes That Will Cost You Traffic & Sales.”

Here’s to decreased shopping cart abandonment rates and increased website sales conversion rates!

The Website Surgeon Adam Hommey increases website sales conversions for entrepreneurs, small business owners and Internet marketers who want to stop shopping cart abandonment and make more money now. Now, just for checking out his new “Live” website review service that reveals right in front of your eyes why you’re losing money, Adam will give you his new eBook, “Top 10 Deadly Website Mistakes That Will Cost You Traffic & Sales.” Get his FREE eBook at: http://www.livewebsitereviews.com

7 Newsletter Writing Secrets That Will Retain More Clients for Life

businessiibusiness — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:56:26 +0000

According to the Harvard Business Review, 91% of small businesses do absolutely nothing to retain their existing clients. That means only 9% of small business owners ‘get’ these facts:

- The average American business loses 50% of its customer base every 5 years.
- An existing customer spends an average of 67% more than new customers.
- It costs 7 to 9 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an old one.

Mailing a monthly newsletter can eliminate all of these problems — if you do it correctly.

A successful newsletter doesn’t just ‘happen’. It’s composed of very specific elements. Without them, you might as well be sending your clients a comic book.

7 Elements Your Newsletter Must Have If You Want to Retain More Clients

1. Content that IS NOT all about you. Many businesses feel compelled to tell everyone how wonderful they are. Forget it. People don’t like braggers. Instead, feature content that is interesting and useful. When you’ve engaged your reader with articles they actually want to read, you’ll have earned their trust and respect. This will lead to more sales.

2. Exciting, new and original content. Your readers should look forward to your newsletters each month. If your articles are boring, people will stop reading — and you won’t get any of the benefits that sending a regular newsletter can bring.

3. Sense of professionalism. Your newsletter is an extension of your businesses. You pride yourself on providing personal, professional service or selling quality products. Your newsletters must match your reputation. Make sure there are no spelling mistakes. Write appealing articles. Have an attractive layout design. Print your newsletter on high-quality paper. If it looks like it was published by your 7th grader, you’ve wasted your time and money.

4. Personal touch. Continue the initial connection you made with your client by revealing a little about yourself in your newsletter. A personal touch will get your newsletter remembered and enhance your image as an expert. Some people choose to reveal something about their personal lives (maybe they play golf or went on a vacation) or share tidbits about their families.

5. Offers and calls to action. You should give people a reason to act NOW. If they wait, they’ll probably do nothing. So make a special offer available only for your clients. And place a deadline on it, for example, for one month only. Changing your offer each month will also help you track the effectiveness of your newsletter — you’ll easily see who buys and who buys consistently.

6. Consistency. Many businesses try to save money and send their newsletters quarterly or even semiannually. Don’t bother, if that’s you. You’re wasting your time and money. Sending your newsletter out every month just like your clients favorite magazines will help make your newsletter part of your client’s daily lives.

7. Print it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. printed newsletters are more expensive. But think about this: How many companies are willing to do this? Your clients aren’t stupid. They understand the value of receiving a great newsletter every month. Plus, printed newsletters are more effective than email newsletters because:

- They don’t get caught in spam filters
- Everyone is sick of being bombarded by content online.
- Printed newsletters have a physical presence in someone’s home. This means they are likely to be kept, acted upon in the future and will probably get passed on to others because they are viewed as literature.

So put an end to your dwindling client base. Save tons of dollars by marketing to proven buyers. Capture and keep customers that would love to spend their money with you forever.

Just send your clients a proven marketing tool: A well-written monthly client newsletter.

David Gruttadaurio was sick and tired of wasting money on marketing that didn’t work. So he searched for a profit-producing, client-retention & referral-generating tool until he found newsletter marketing! Now go to http://www.NewslettersMadeForYou.com & get his FREE “Profit Exploding Newsletter Secrets Report” that reveals how to retain more clients and reclaim tons of money now simply with newsletters.

businessiibusiness — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:51:52 +0000

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How to Build Trust & Develop Relationships with Clients and Employees That Last a Lifetime

businessiibusiness — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:17:15 +0000

When it comes to customer loyalty, nothing is more important than the trust you develop with your customers. Research from Texas A & M University says if customers see you as being trustworthy and reliable … and if customers see you fulfilling your promises, then they will become enthusiastic customers for life.

The same is true with your co-workers. If your employees see you telling the truth, even when it’s not easy or comfortable to do so then you’ll build an incredible bond of trust with them. And with that bond of trust will come more cooperation and motivation.

The lesson is clear. If you want your customers to remain loyal, you must earn and keep their trust. If you want a stronger team at work, you have to build a foundation of trust.

So trust is your ultimate competitive advantage.

Now, how do you build or re-build trust?

4 Ways to Build Trust, Gain Loyalty & Retain Employees and Customers for Life

1. Assume the best about your employees and customers

When something goes wrong, or when the other person disappoints you, start by assuming the best. Don’t immediately jump into the fray, pound your desk, froth at the mouth, and demand to know why your employees or customers did something so stupid.

Instead, honor the other person. Rather than focus on WHO’s to blame for what went wrong, focus on WHAT can be done about it. That takes the focus off the past and off the other person. It puts the focus onto the future where the two of you can work together.

Besides, if you jump in too quickly, blaming someone for what happened, you’ll often embarrass yourself. You may find out that you’re really the one to blame for the problem that occurred.

2. Stick up for your customers or employees when they’re in the right

You build trust when you speak out on someone’s behalf, especially when it’s not politically popular or interpersonally comfortable. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “In the end we will not remember the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”

I’ll never forget the time I chaired the task force of a charitable organization. Over a period of time, it came to my attention that the organization had misused funds on several occasions. My task force members urged me to confront the Board and document my findings. They would be there to back me up.

I did that, but not one of the task force members backed me up when the top leaders lashed out in defense and aggression. If nothing else, I learned that Dr. King was right. It was the silence of my “friends” that I remember the most today.

3. Refuse to gossip

There’s something very alluring, and maybe even a little satisfying, about sharing a negative tidbit. It may make you feel a bit superior, but you’ve got to fight the urge to add to the gossip and the people bashing that may go on in the company cafeteria or behind a customer’s back. You just can’t do it.

The reason is simple.

Negative gossip almost always gets back to the person you are discussing. That’s just the nature of juicy, negative, sensationalized news. And to make matters worse, the version that gets back to the person you discussed is almost always worse than the version you shared.

4. Keep your promises

Nothing destroys trust faster than failing to keep your promises.

Think about it. No one ever forgets a promise. You tell your child you’ll take her to the amusement park, and she’ll remind you fifteen times that “you promised.”

You tell a colleague that you’ll get back to him, and he sees it as a promise. You tell a client, that an assignment will be finished by tomorrow and she sees it as a promise. And it doesn’t work to go back to them and say you forgot or you got busy. In their minds, you broke your promise, and the trust between the two of you is damaged.

So, if you want to build trust, the solution is simple. Keep your promises.

A final thought

Don’t get discouraged, if you’re in the process of building or re-building trust in a relationship. Trust takes time.

Just as it takes more than one block to build a fortress, it takes more than one action to build trust. It takes a lot of blocks, put down . over time . to get the results you want. It works the same way when you’re building trust. Go ahead and use the four trust building blocks I’ve just given you and you will:

- Become a better leader and manager
- Retain your employees – (Don’t forget . high employee turn-over = higher costs)
- Keep your customers who want to buy from you over and over again for life
- Achieve more than you ever thought possible

And, it’s all because trust is the “ultimate competitive advantage.”

Best-selling author and Hall of Fame professional speaker, Dr. Alan Zimmerman has transformed more than a million people into better managers and leaders in the office and in the marketplace. For even more tips on how to build relationships with employees and customers that last a lifetime go to http://www.DrZimmerman.com and get his free e-book that’s filled with his most popular articles.

Five simple steps to start your Email Marketing Newsletter Campaign.

businessiibusiness — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 04:09:45 +0000

1. Set-Up a customer/client email list:
How many emails do you have from past clients? If you have as little as 5 emails…your on your way! If you don’t already have an email list, Legna Marketing will work with you to get your lists built. A good thing to remember is not to add “any email” to your list. Adding more emails can be tempting. Higher numbers make all of us feel good about our lists, however, they will not generate the responses you want in the future. ONLY choose clients/prospects who have purchased or asked for more information or recommended you to others. A list of interested prospects will always yield customer loyalty and a higher response later.

2. Find 5 things your customers would like to read about.
The content of your newsletters are probably the most important tool you can use to gain customer loyalty and ultimately increase your sales. Without compelling copy your readers will “bail out” quickly. From recent studies Legna Marketing has done, 5 seems to be the magic number when creating newsletters. I would like to give you an example of a business and would like you to apply the same strategy to your own industry:

The Kiddy Kloset Inc.
(The Kiddy Kloset is a children’s clothing store with new and used clothing)

List size – 45 emails
Readers – Parents/Kids
How Often – Once a month

1. Parents are always interested in Holidays when it comes to their children. We talk-up the upcoming holiday.
2. A Children’s story for parents to read to their kids.
3. Parenting tips on how to raise well-balanced children.
4. Kid-friendly food recipes
5. An activity for children to print out and color or do.

3. Frequency of your mailings

Decide from the beginning how often your newsletter will go out. Respect your subscriber’s opt-in choices that you’ve worked so hard to create. Keep your promises!! If a subscriber has subscribed to receive a newsletter once a month, do not send discount-offers once a week. Provide the value and information that your subscribers were originally looking for and you’ll quickly establish long-term customer loyalty.

4. Call Jennifer from Legna Marketing to see if Email Marketing will be a good fit for your business.

Jennifer has been working with Business Owners and Corporations for over 6 years in helping them to re-evaluate their marketing strategies. If your business is not growing and your spending a substantial amount on advertising methods that are not giving you a return on your investment, maybe its time to look into a customer retention marketing strategy that is less expensive and yields a higher return. You can reach Jennifer during business hours at 630-839-9431.

5. Commit yourself to long-term marketing.
I’m sure you’ve heard executives from the Marketing and Advertising industry tell you “You’ll need to purchase a year of marketing or advertising and sign an annual contract for services”. Many of you were probably thinking that this was a way for them to get you to commit quite a bit of money upfront. From being in the Marketing and Advertising industry for over 10 years, I can honestly say that this is not the case.

Any good Marketing or Advertising professional will tell you that it takes over 4 exposures for someone to react in some sort of way. This means that even after 4 exposures people just begin to see a sale or offer. If you have this knowledge you will be ahead of your competition and more successful in any marketing adventure because persistence pays off!! (Legna encourages its clients to send monthly campaigns on a consistent basis as long as they are in business.)

Conclusion
Building your list and creating relevance into your email newsletters to create profitable long-lasting customer loyalty is no longer a strategic afterthought; it’s a fundamental necessity to your longevity in today’s highly competitive marketplace.

Cultivating customer loyalty won’t come overnight, but the 5 simple steps above are a great way to get started. Use them wisely and prosper.

Can we help you with your campaign? visit our site today to find out more: http://www.LegnaMarketing.com

This article has a Copyright © 2007 Author: Jennifer Cannon of Legna Marketing
Article may not be changed, modified, re-produced, copied, quoted or placed on any website, printed material or newsletter without written approval from Legna Marketing. This article monitored by: www.CopyScape.com All rights reserved.

How to “Bore People” and “Stay Anonymous”at a networking event

businessiibusiness — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 03:36:13 +0000

I ran across this seriously sad scenerio that happens at every event I host. There is some great humor in this and I hope it makes you think about next weeks networking event before you screw it up.

The Twelve Steps to becoming an Anonymous Entrepreneur

1. Wear grey! If grey is not available, curtain beige or sofa brown plaid will do.

2. Tell them that your business “specializes in promoting facilitation of soft skills development and incorporation of logistical solution systems in a pro-active communications environment…”

3. Make sure they get the full 60 second shpiel. If they interrupt you, start again at the beginning. You’ve crafted your infomercial, don’t let them throw you off by asking questions.

4. Tell them that you have 25 years experience doing what you said in point #2 above, and repeat it, just in case they didn’t get it all the first time.

5. Tell them you also do HR outsourcing on the side.

6. Don’t ask about them. They’re interested in you! Well, they asked, didn’t they? This is your chance to impress!

7. Hand them a two to three page photocopied pamphlet about your business in case they want to go straight home and read more about your “facilitation of soft skills development and incorporation of logistical solutions in a proactive communications environment,” and give them a couple of extra pamphlets in case they want to give some to their friends and neighbors.

8. Don’t tell them about the time you went skydiving in the Himalayas to rescue baby llamas or that you got a Line Dancing scholarship to the University of Texas because this is business. They are much more interested in hearing about ALL the features and benefits of your doodad.

9. Avoid talking to anyone who does what you do. No sense wasting time on the competition. What if they try to copy some of your techniques or worse, hit on some of your prospective customers? Hopefully they’ll never show up again anyway. Giving them the squinty eye will seal the deal.

10. Make sure your cell phone is on a string around your neck so you don’t miss any important calls and, besides, you want to show these guys you are a busy professional. Juggling a few clipboards and briefcases helps as well.

11. Avoid smiling, business is serious, and make sure your suit looks exactly like everyone else’s.

12. Did I mention that you should wear grey or sofa beige (a slightly different shade than curtain beige). Some points can’t be stressed enough!!

I could go on and on but I was only paid for 12 tips . . . Happy Networking!

TSUFIT is a coach specializing in helping entrepreneurs and keynote speakers to captivate their audiences. To learn how to attract, rather than chase, your clients and prospects, check out Tsufit’s 11 Secrets from the Spotlight!, available fr.ee at http://www.secretsfromthespotlight.com

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Better Business Networking….@ http://www.BusinessIIBusiness.com join a chapter near you or apply today to be a chapter President.