Subject: Personalized Candles - Candlegrams
Author: Lori Ritchie
Hello all,
Dennis your marketing insite is fabulous and I am now at the point where it is time to market my product - Personalized Candles and Candlegrams (decorative candles that are personalized with text and graphics chosen by the purchaser for special occassions).
I am concentrating on offline marketing specifically at this time and am thinking of wholesaling to gift shops and florists but I am unsure about their willingness to handle the personalization aspect of the product. . .
Also, should I mail a brochure, business card, and letter ahead before approaching shops with samples to show them? Do you have thoughts on this? I really do not like the direct selling method like this, but if this will be the most effective way to go, I am willing to make it work.
Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer.
Lori Ritchie
http://wwww.geocities.com/miraclecandle
Premium Personalized Candles
miraclecandle@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Personalized Candles - Candlegrams
Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Hi Lori,
Do I have any thoughts on this? Does a candle have a wick?
Thank you for contributing to the discussion forum.
The first thought leaping into my mind is (what Chet Holmes, who works with Jay Abraham, would probably call a Superior Access Vehicle) for you to find out which occasions are special to the store owners.
Was a business anniversary just announced?
Did the owner(s) just get an award for something?
Did the owner or a relative just have a special personal occasion?
Whatever special occasions you find, I suggest you develop a candle for it. Take (or ask somebody to take) a professional quality picture of the candle and send the picture with a brochure, business card, and letter ahead before approaching shops with samples to show them.
So, yes, I think you should contact them ahead of time. After you're sure they got the letters, you can call for an appointment, they're apt to remember what you sent to them.
Promise to bring the special custom-made candle with you to present to him/her/them.
About five minutes after you do present it (allowing the effect to soak in), ask/say, "Now you can imagine how people will feel when they receive candles recognizing something special in their lives, right?"
This should get his/her/their attention!!!
The candle will probably be proudly displayed in the store. Even if the owner(s) don't point to it, customers are bound to notice it and think how great it would be to have one of their own.
I've heard of people burning their mortgage documents after they've made their last mortgage payment. I wonder how people would feel about lighting a candle in the shape of a bank (or labeled "Bank"). Then they can use that flame to light their mortgage documents.
Maybe school shaped candles (or labeled "School") for graduates. Art quality candles don't have to be burned.
If you have a product many customers will want, store owners will probably accept them on consignment. What they will want is "proof" the product will sell just as well or better than whatever else they could have put on the display they use for your product.
You should also consider using your candles as a bonus offer for the store owner's customers.
For example- If the store sells party supplies, customers could get a custom-made candle, (at 50% discount) for the occasion the party is to celebrate, for a purchase of $XX or more. Then the display would be small and the owner would be encouraged to promote the program.
I hope I didn't misinterpret what you wrote. I figure if somebody were to WAX poetic, their poem could put on or with a candle.
Well, what if somebody got a favorable article written about him or her, the headline could be put on a candle.
Considering what you mail to retailers, is there small 3-dimensional object you could put into the envelope? It should relate to your product.
This "lump" in the envelope may tempt people to open it, even if they would've tossed it out otherwise.
Your letter should be HEAD-OUT -- meaning the salutation and opening statement are visible when the recipient opens the envelope & pulls the letter out. The statement should entice recipients to read the rest of the letter, it'll determine the campaign's success.
You could put a teaser on the envelope, "Congratulations On (The store owner's special occasion), please accept my gift commemorating your special occasion." This kind of personalization, plus the little lump, should increase the response you get.
A Safety Note- I heard of a wooden candle holder recall. When people left their candles unattended, the flames started burning the candle holders.
A Liability Note- For better advice, you should ask a lawyer, but it'd be a good idea for you to include a warning about unattended burning of candles.
Warmly (or hotly),
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
thrivingbusiness@email.com
When you compete against big businesses with
big budgets you need powerful marketing
strategies and tactics. You'll find them here-
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Subject: Personalized Candles - Candlegrams - update
Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Many times, memories of our experiences have more lasting value than possessions.
When possessions are linked emotionally with experiences, we can renew or review how we felt in special times.
Aromatic memories can be even stronger.
When a stimulus is linked to emotions through one or more of our senses, it can increase our benefits.
Our emotional links can be powerful also, when possessions connect us with loved ones.
As we tend live miles away from loved ones, we can own identical or similar objects to share with people who share our experiences.
Example - We can look at, touch & smell copies of a scented candle at the same times.
When we talk to or text each other, we can use our senses to rekindle what would otherwise be fading memories.
If you can add a taste aspect (even just a drop on a tongue), we can look at, touch, smell & hear our experiences again - even if some of the sensory aspects are only in our memories.
As we communicate, we can touch, taste, smell, see &/or hear the same kinds of objects.
Depending on the product, you could add a note card to help people prompt their memories & feelings.
You could put things like these on the note cards -
"I remember how I felt the _____."
"I could smell the fragrances of ___."
"When I looked at ____, I saw ___."
"I remember how the ___ tasted."
"The ___ sounded great."
We should do what we can to increase the positive intensity of what we offer.
Thank you for using my blog.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Monday, November 7, 2016
Help Consumers Live Better
Subject: We Need Promotion Tips Author: Katrin
(Note - This is an updated post. Katrin originally posted her concerns about 15 years ago.)
Hi,
We are selling street wear fashion aimed at the younger public, ages between 15-35. we will be stocking clothes like Paul Frank, En Core, Triple Five, Stussy and similar. If you are not familiar with these brands it is similar to Diesel for example.
Our shop is located off the main shopping street, but still central.
If you could give us any ideas or tips on how to promote this type of shop, we would really appreciate that.
Thanks for your time.
Kind Regards,
Katrin
Hi Katrin,
Something to remember: You can benefit from promotions by selling & learning what you can from results. So, promotions shouldn't be one-shot efforts. You should evaluate results & determine what to do next.
There are more issues than those below, so please consider my suggestions to be a starting platform.
Optimal retailing extends to making stores fit into consumers' lives.
The basic message of too many ads is this - "BUY FROM ME NOW!"
Advertising should be more like "Excuse me, your shoe is untied." As much as practical, there should be value in your messages, not just in things to be sold. Your messages should be focused on helping people live better more than just helping you sell more.
Yes, I know adding information adds to the length of advertising. More length adds cost. More information & compelling content can bring you more sales.
For clothing, you can help people notice how their choices affect their daily results. What kind of fabrics should they choose based on heat & humidity?
If they plan to keep their clothes for years, what should they be aware of?
If they discard their clothing when styles change, what should they choose?
Based on the issues you present in your advertising, how can you help people make optimal choices?
Help Consumers Live Better Before They Buy From You
How can you fit into their activities?
How can you make their buying & post-purchase behaviors easier?
How can you make each shopping trip worthwhile for them?
Considering their benefits instead of only yours, how can you help them avoid delaying purchases?
If they have to delay a purchase, they might buy from another store or not buy at all.
If they don't buy, they don't get benefits. If they buy from somebody else, what would they gain & lose?
When they buy from anybody else instead of you, if they don't lose anything - why are in you business?
How do you plan to stay in business without unique value your niche members can gain or lose?
Retailers should consider what consumers need to do before, during & after shopping trips.
What do your prospects do before & after school or working? Where do they go during lunch breaks?
Even if they buy a solution or decide to make a purchase, they take on other problems -
What will they do with products until they get home? How will they get products home? They may have to learn how to use products/service results.
When will they schedule services?
Though they have those responsibilities, you should try to help them make decisions.
What kind of options can you offer? Can they buy from you, then return to pick things up quickly? Will you have things delivered?
Do you have instructions to streamline their learning about products?
If they shop in multiple stores, how can you help them with products they buy during a shopping trip?
It can be inconvenient for them to wait at home for deliveries from multiple stores. They might dread trying to arrange for somebody else to wait for deliveries.
Do they use public transportation or car pools? Transportation options can lead to scheduling conflicts. They might struggle to get bags into & out of vehicles.
Their means of transportation can be a determining factor in what & when they buy & how much.
They might shop during breaks via web sites or in stores. After work/school, they might buy products after they've had time to think about purchases & when they have more time for transactions.
If they buy anything, would they have to carry products with them or put purchases into their cars?
Would they purchase things & pick them up later or have them shipped?
Consumers' Activities Before Shopping
How can you reach them with your messages?
How spontaneous are your niche members? Do they usually plan to shop? What are they usually doing before shopping? Where are they when they start heading to a store?
During breaks, before & after work/school, they might go to a park or a building & use public WiFi.
When are they more apt to be receptive to your messages?
Example - If there's a restaurant where your prospects go for lunch & supper, you may be able to reach them at lunch.
Why? Maybe they'd wear one type of clothing at work & something else after work. You could sell them something they could wear later during a dinner date.
Do they have multiple jobs & different dress codes? Which situation(s) can you help them dress for?
If a nearby restaurant serves lunch & supper, but doesn't attract the lunch crowd back for supper, you can try a joint promotion. To some extent, it would depend on what attracts people during lunch breaks compared to what's attractive for them after work.
How much time & energy do they have after school/work?
Would they choose better food, if they didn't have to cook it while they're exhausted?
Do they eat lunch in groups of co-workers, but spend time with lovers or family members after work?
Are they apt to ask co-workers for shopping advice or get input from other friends?
Develop A Message & Deliver It
For this example, you'd need to have point-of-purchase signs &/or small flyers to introduce some offers.
You could get consumers to stay or return to the area for a meal & shopping.
For example, after people buy from you, you could give them a coupon (with the restaurant owner/manager's permission) for a free beverage with the purchase of a meal. It could be promoted as a low stress, high nutrition meal.
It could be valid between 5:00 & 8:00 PM, or whenever it would work out for the restaurant.
You could offer to pay for the printing as long as the restaurant pays for the beverage. Getting a beverage would encourage people to spend a little more time in the area. In a case like this, the restaurant would get low cost advertising for the cost of fulfilling an offer. Some beverages are relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of an ad in a newspaper or other medium.
How effective could this be for you? It would depend on various factors (more factors than I space for here). Those factors are specific to people's experiences & perceptions. Your promotions should be based on people's experiences & developed to influence their perceptions.
Here are potential positive & negative things to consider:
How do niche members perceive the value of your offers? Do they have enough time to shop that day?
They might get a drink then drive away - but feel they should reciprocate in the future. They might soon forget the experience if it isn't unique. They might possibly stay to finish the drink & buy from before they leave the area.
It'd be your choice whether to have people buy something from you to get the coupon as a bonus or just use it to get people to come into your store & look at your merchandise.
Now a caution - Too many business owners try something, it doesn't seem to work, then they give up. Before starting any promotion, you should determine how many sales you'd need to offset your costs (break-even). If you sell enough to break-even, you might be able to regain your niche members' attention for your next promotion.
Something like this would call for an appealing offer & some compelling sales copy to make it work.
Something that may grab people's attention is a note from a wait staff member -
"Thank you for allowing me to serve you.
"Here's my tip for you - Many people want to have a dinner date, but they don't know what to wear. Katrin at XYZ Clothing can help you pick the clothes that are most flattering for you to wear in many situations, including dinner dates. You can meet her at ___________ between __ AM & __ PM for a free, no obligation clothing consultation. If you show her this note, she'll even give you a gift."
That gift could be the coupon I described above.
You could offer consultations about what they own, so you could help them more. It'd give a you a chance to learn more about them for your future efforts. Your consultations should be based on your unique knowledge set & could include factors I wrote above.
Consultations can be relatively short & productive.
Consultations could consist of you asking & answering questions, then you can give people information to read based on what they tell you.
You could offer to give the coupons to your (non-restaurant) customers to promote the restaurant.
This could be adapted for hair stylists & other business owners.
If I haven't explained this clearly, please ask me for a clarification.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
thrivingbusiness@email.com
No competitor is invincible. You don't need
a miracle. Your business will THRIVE if you
have the right marketing.
(Note - This is an updated post. Katrin originally posted her concerns about 15 years ago.)
Hi,
We are selling street wear fashion aimed at the younger public, ages between 15-35. we will be stocking clothes like Paul Frank, En Core, Triple Five, Stussy and similar. If you are not familiar with these brands it is similar to Diesel for example.
Our shop is located off the main shopping street, but still central.
If you could give us any ideas or tips on how to promote this type of shop, we would really appreciate that.
Thanks for your time.
Kind Regards,
Katrin
Hi Katrin,
Something to remember: You can benefit from promotions by selling & learning what you can from results. So, promotions shouldn't be one-shot efforts. You should evaluate results & determine what to do next.
There are more issues than those below, so please consider my suggestions to be a starting platform.
Optimal retailing extends to making stores fit into consumers' lives.
The basic message of too many ads is this - "BUY FROM ME NOW!"
Advertising should be more like "Excuse me, your shoe is untied." As much as practical, there should be value in your messages, not just in things to be sold. Your messages should be focused on helping people live better more than just helping you sell more.
Yes, I know adding information adds to the length of advertising. More length adds cost. More information & compelling content can bring you more sales.
For clothing, you can help people notice how their choices affect their daily results. What kind of fabrics should they choose based on heat & humidity?
If they plan to keep their clothes for years, what should they be aware of?
If they discard their clothing when styles change, what should they choose?
Based on the issues you present in your advertising, how can you help people make optimal choices?
Help Consumers Live Better Before They Buy From You
How can you fit into their activities?
How can you make their buying & post-purchase behaviors easier?
How can you make each shopping trip worthwhile for them?
Considering their benefits instead of only yours, how can you help them avoid delaying purchases?
If they have to delay a purchase, they might buy from another store or not buy at all.
If they don't buy, they don't get benefits. If they buy from somebody else, what would they gain & lose?
When they buy from anybody else instead of you, if they don't lose anything - why are in you business?
How do you plan to stay in business without unique value your niche members can gain or lose?
Retailers should consider what consumers need to do before, during & after shopping trips.
What do your prospects do before & after school or working? Where do they go during lunch breaks?
Even if they buy a solution or decide to make a purchase, they take on other problems -
What will they do with products until they get home? How will they get products home? They may have to learn how to use products/service results.
When will they schedule services?
Though they have those responsibilities, you should try to help them make decisions.
What kind of options can you offer? Can they buy from you, then return to pick things up quickly? Will you have things delivered?
Do you have instructions to streamline their learning about products?
If they shop in multiple stores, how can you help them with products they buy during a shopping trip?
It can be inconvenient for them to wait at home for deliveries from multiple stores. They might dread trying to arrange for somebody else to wait for deliveries.
Do they use public transportation or car pools? Transportation options can lead to scheduling conflicts. They might struggle to get bags into & out of vehicles.
Their means of transportation can be a determining factor in what & when they buy & how much.
They might shop during breaks via web sites or in stores. After work/school, they might buy products after they've had time to think about purchases & when they have more time for transactions.
If they buy anything, would they have to carry products with them or put purchases into their cars?
Would they purchase things & pick them up later or have them shipped?
Consumers' Activities Before Shopping
How can you reach them with your messages?
How spontaneous are your niche members? Do they usually plan to shop? What are they usually doing before shopping? Where are they when they start heading to a store?
During breaks, before & after work/school, they might go to a park or a building & use public WiFi.
When are they more apt to be receptive to your messages?
Example - If there's a restaurant where your prospects go for lunch & supper, you may be able to reach them at lunch.
Why? Maybe they'd wear one type of clothing at work & something else after work. You could sell them something they could wear later during a dinner date.
Do they have multiple jobs & different dress codes? Which situation(s) can you help them dress for?
If a nearby restaurant serves lunch & supper, but doesn't attract the lunch crowd back for supper, you can try a joint promotion. To some extent, it would depend on what attracts people during lunch breaks compared to what's attractive for them after work.
How much time & energy do they have after school/work?
Would they choose better food, if they didn't have to cook it while they're exhausted?
Do they eat lunch in groups of co-workers, but spend time with lovers or family members after work?
Are they apt to ask co-workers for shopping advice or get input from other friends?
Develop A Message & Deliver It
For this example, you'd need to have point-of-purchase signs &/or small flyers to introduce some offers.
You could get consumers to stay or return to the area for a meal & shopping.
For example, after people buy from you, you could give them a coupon (with the restaurant owner/manager's permission) for a free beverage with the purchase of a meal. It could be promoted as a low stress, high nutrition meal.
It could be valid between 5:00 & 8:00 PM, or whenever it would work out for the restaurant.
You could offer to pay for the printing as long as the restaurant pays for the beverage. Getting a beverage would encourage people to spend a little more time in the area. In a case like this, the restaurant would get low cost advertising for the cost of fulfilling an offer. Some beverages are relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of an ad in a newspaper or other medium.
How effective could this be for you? It would depend on various factors (more factors than I space for here). Those factors are specific to people's experiences & perceptions. Your promotions should be based on people's experiences & developed to influence their perceptions.
Here are potential positive & negative things to consider:
How do niche members perceive the value of your offers? Do they have enough time to shop that day?
They might get a drink then drive away - but feel they should reciprocate in the future. They might soon forget the experience if it isn't unique. They might possibly stay to finish the drink & buy from before they leave the area.
It'd be your choice whether to have people buy something from you to get the coupon as a bonus or just use it to get people to come into your store & look at your merchandise.
Now a caution - Too many business owners try something, it doesn't seem to work, then they give up. Before starting any promotion, you should determine how many sales you'd need to offset your costs (break-even). If you sell enough to break-even, you might be able to regain your niche members' attention for your next promotion.
Something like this would call for an appealing offer & some compelling sales copy to make it work.
Something that may grab people's attention is a note from a wait staff member -
"Thank you for allowing me to serve you.
"Here's my tip for you - Many people want to have a dinner date, but they don't know what to wear. Katrin at XYZ Clothing can help you pick the clothes that are most flattering for you to wear in many situations, including dinner dates. You can meet her at ___________ between __ AM & __ PM for a free, no obligation clothing consultation. If you show her this note, she'll even give you a gift."
That gift could be the coupon I described above.
You could offer consultations about what they own, so you could help them more. It'd give a you a chance to learn more about them for your future efforts. Your consultations should be based on your unique knowledge set & could include factors I wrote above.
Consultations can be relatively short & productive.
Consultations could consist of you asking & answering questions, then you can give people information to read based on what they tell you.
You could offer to give the coupons to your (non-restaurant) customers to promote the restaurant.
This could be adapted for hair stylists & other business owners.
If I haven't explained this clearly, please ask me for a clarification.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
thrivingbusiness@email.com
No competitor is invincible. You don't need
a miracle. Your business will THRIVE if you
have the right marketing.
Thursday, October 6, 2016
In Business & Life - Choose What You Can Use. Leave The Rest
In Business & Life - Choose What You Can Use. Leave The Rest.
The Skool Network by Chris Do & Jose Caballer
I didn't watch/listen to each video. If I'd partake of each video before I'd share this resource with you, I might be partly responsible for delaying your increased success.
Like others of us, Chris Do & Jose Caballer are crazy/eccentric & knowledgeable.
If I'd withhold this resource until I've dealt with my jealousy, I might never share it.
Just because I'm jealous of them, I won't deny you the chance to learn from them.
This is NOT petty jealousy because this is NOT a petty knowledge resource.
Below, I've posted a few URLs for videos you can definitely use.
I'm not concerned about all of you learning everything you need from Chris Do, Jose Caballer & the others. (You'll still need me & others to guide you.) You probably wouldn't benefit from all of their knowledge, I've found some things you can use. You can leave the rest of their knowledge for others, if you want.
Some of their content isn't directly applicable to retail marketing. In general, Chris & Jose are focused on sharing wisdom & knowledge with marketing services professionals.
I know some of you are patient & sharp enough to detect & implement what you can apply. For those who want the mother lode, here is the main URL -
The Skool Network https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSkoolRocks
Examples -
IDENTITY DESIGN: BRANDING
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR7tMnKghDs
They differentiate logos, identity & branding.
Here's a quote from this video - Marty Neumeier, the Brand Gap
"A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service or company. You can't control the process, but you can influence it."
Chris Do & Jose Caballer state it like this - "It's not what you say it is, it's what they say it is." In this case 'they' means consumers.
Dennis Vogel's (my) angle on it is- "The purpose of marketing communications is to influence consumers' thought processes, so a brand has an effect. Though you won't control the whole process, you should influence as much as you can. Use that influence to serve your niche members in ways they aren't served by anybody else."
I started writing this post just about one information resource. As usual, I'm adding what I consider to be valuable insights.
Stories & Analogies Are Good For Explaining Concepts
People have internal & external conflicts, these conflicts have story lines. When your story resonates with their stories, they'll feel connected.
When you explain your observations, people can determine how well your observations align with theirs. Your observations can add value to their observations.
With a story, you can teach a lesson & help people learn how well you can serve them.
You can use stories, analogies & questions to help people redirect their thoughts. You can influence consumers' thought processes.
Example -
Too often people are concerned about another person's educational/academic credentials &/or experience level.
It's possible to get academic credentials without retaining many educational "benefits".
If you're concerned about how much experience somebody has, here's what you should consider - How do you qualify & quantify experience?
Is it enough to keep committing the same mistake for 4 years? Or should the same mistake be committed for 8 years? Or should the number of repeated mistakes be 2?
People don't always learn from their mistakes, so they keep doing what they think is successful. While they keep making mistakes, we can learn, then move on.
It can take less effort to learn by observing what others do - learn from others' triumphs & mistakes.
Valuable stories are based on lessons learned from mistakes & triumphs.
People like to learn valuable lessons quickly. It requires observation whether the experience is direct or vicarious.
Now you can add these insights to what Chris Do explained in this video -
How To: Tell A Great Story— 5 storytelling tips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE3OufWmnMY
These 5 tips will help you tell a better story for Vlogs, documentaries, short form animation or just about anything that could use a more compelling story.
Here's another Skool Network video for retailers to learn from -
How to Position a Brand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSGzJiK9Uz8
Chris & Jose talk about how to position yourself & your business to maximize your value & happiness. Learn how to analyze & dissect the positioning & design strategies of powerful brands like: Harley Davidson, Apple, Lululemon and Adidas. Learn strategic & tactical skills you can use to grow your business.
The 3 key components of positioning -
Chris Do & Jose Caballer explain how to be successful based on what are in 3 circles: what you love, identifying what you're good at, what pays well - These are shown with a Venn Diagram.
What industries value your skill set? (Note - this can apply to a consumer niche.)
Who are the customers?
Highly successful brands are analyzed by Chris & Jose.
Understand your customers, sound & look like them.
How to target a market (focus on a niche) & get clients.
They tied it in with Positioning - the Battle for Your Mind by Jack Trout & Al Ries.
These insights are like "The Hedgehog Concept" by Jim Collins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUrdbmNBpyY
Do what you're deeply passionate about; Act based on what you can & can't be best in/at; Pursue what fuels, starts & runs your economic engine.
Focussed 4-Step Success Formula - Part 1: Find Your Hedgehog Concept https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyXQWTleyxw
Gideon Shalwick explains his 4-step success formula that he uses both consciously and unconsciously to be successful.
Gideon has broken it into 4 main areas:
1. Find your "hedgehog" concept - passion, skill, profit
2. Find a hungry crowd and give them some food
3. Apply the beach head strategy
4. Be persistent
Back to The Skool Network -
Branding: Identity Design w/ Yo Santosa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnSgHLBpOpw
What is branding and what isn't?
How can you go from being just a designer to becoming a Brander? Become a Matchmaker.
How do you learn about who your customers are and turn that into messaging?
How do colors & fonts look & feel? Start with Words.
What is a Beautiful Word?
How do you give brands personality? Start with a Name.
Could you extend your principles on branding a business, to branding yourself?
I wish I had time now & space here to explain how to apply the knowledge & wisdom you've gained.
Blog posts are good. Consultations are great. Let's do it! Please contact me.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
The Skool Network by Chris Do & Jose Caballer
I didn't watch/listen to each video. If I'd partake of each video before I'd share this resource with you, I might be partly responsible for delaying your increased success.
Like others of us, Chris Do & Jose Caballer are crazy/eccentric & knowledgeable.
If I'd withhold this resource until I've dealt with my jealousy, I might never share it.
Just because I'm jealous of them, I won't deny you the chance to learn from them.
This is NOT petty jealousy because this is NOT a petty knowledge resource.
Below, I've posted a few URLs for videos you can definitely use.
I'm not concerned about all of you learning everything you need from Chris Do, Jose Caballer & the others. (You'll still need me & others to guide you.) You probably wouldn't benefit from all of their knowledge, I've found some things you can use. You can leave the rest of their knowledge for others, if you want.
Some of their content isn't directly applicable to retail marketing. In general, Chris & Jose are focused on sharing wisdom & knowledge with marketing services professionals.
I know some of you are patient & sharp enough to detect & implement what you can apply. For those who want the mother lode, here is the main URL -
The Skool Network https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSkoolRocks
Examples -
IDENTITY DESIGN: BRANDING
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR7tMnKghDs
They differentiate logos, identity & branding.
Here's a quote from this video - Marty Neumeier, the Brand Gap
"A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service or company. You can't control the process, but you can influence it."
Chris Do & Jose Caballer state it like this - "It's not what you say it is, it's what they say it is." In this case 'they' means consumers.
Dennis Vogel's (my) angle on it is- "The purpose of marketing communications is to influence consumers' thought processes, so a brand has an effect. Though you won't control the whole process, you should influence as much as you can. Use that influence to serve your niche members in ways they aren't served by anybody else."
I started writing this post just about one information resource. As usual, I'm adding what I consider to be valuable insights.
Stories & Analogies Are Good For Explaining Concepts
People have internal & external conflicts, these conflicts have story lines. When your story resonates with their stories, they'll feel connected.
When you explain your observations, people can determine how well your observations align with theirs. Your observations can add value to their observations.
With a story, you can teach a lesson & help people learn how well you can serve them.
You can use stories, analogies & questions to help people redirect their thoughts. You can influence consumers' thought processes.
Example -
Too often people are concerned about another person's educational/academic credentials &/or experience level.
It's possible to get academic credentials without retaining many educational "benefits".
If you're concerned about how much experience somebody has, here's what you should consider - How do you qualify & quantify experience?
Is it enough to keep committing the same mistake for 4 years? Or should the same mistake be committed for 8 years? Or should the number of repeated mistakes be 2?
People don't always learn from their mistakes, so they keep doing what they think is successful. While they keep making mistakes, we can learn, then move on.
It can take less effort to learn by observing what others do - learn from others' triumphs & mistakes.
Valuable stories are based on lessons learned from mistakes & triumphs.
People like to learn valuable lessons quickly. It requires observation whether the experience is direct or vicarious.
Now you can add these insights to what Chris Do explained in this video -
How To: Tell A Great Story— 5 storytelling tips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE3OufWmnMY
These 5 tips will help you tell a better story for Vlogs, documentaries, short form animation or just about anything that could use a more compelling story.
Here's another Skool Network video for retailers to learn from -
How to Position a Brand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSGzJiK9Uz8
Chris & Jose talk about how to position yourself & your business to maximize your value & happiness. Learn how to analyze & dissect the positioning & design strategies of powerful brands like: Harley Davidson, Apple, Lululemon and Adidas. Learn strategic & tactical skills you can use to grow your business.
The 3 key components of positioning -
Chris Do & Jose Caballer explain how to be successful based on what are in 3 circles: what you love, identifying what you're good at, what pays well - These are shown with a Venn Diagram.
What industries value your skill set? (Note - this can apply to a consumer niche.)
Who are the customers?
Highly successful brands are analyzed by Chris & Jose.
Understand your customers, sound & look like them.
How to target a market (focus on a niche) & get clients.
They tied it in with Positioning - the Battle for Your Mind by Jack Trout & Al Ries.
These insights are like "The Hedgehog Concept" by Jim Collins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUrdbmNBpyY
Do what you're deeply passionate about; Act based on what you can & can't be best in/at; Pursue what fuels, starts & runs your economic engine.
Focussed 4-Step Success Formula - Part 1: Find Your Hedgehog Concept https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyXQWTleyxw
Gideon Shalwick explains his 4-step success formula that he uses both consciously and unconsciously to be successful.
Gideon has broken it into 4 main areas:
1. Find your "hedgehog" concept - passion, skill, profit
2. Find a hungry crowd and give them some food
3. Apply the beach head strategy
4. Be persistent
Back to The Skool Network -
Branding: Identity Design w/ Yo Santosa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnSgHLBpOpw
What is branding and what isn't?
How can you go from being just a designer to becoming a Brander? Become a Matchmaker.
How do you learn about who your customers are and turn that into messaging?
How do colors & fonts look & feel? Start with Words.
What is a Beautiful Word?
How do you give brands personality? Start with a Name.
Could you extend your principles on branding a business, to branding yourself?
I wish I had time now & space here to explain how to apply the knowledge & wisdom you've gained.
Blog posts are good. Consultations are great. Let's do it! Please contact me.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Retailing Shouldn't Be Like Playing Tackle Football With Giants
Retailing Shouldn't Be Like Playing Tackle Football With Giants
"Don't be there!" It's Miyagi's main instruction about avoiding punches in "The Karate Kid" movies.
When you choose inventory, develop offers & send marketing messages, don't do those like big retailers. There will be similarities but if you do exactly what big retailers do, you'll be THERE when they punch.
It's that way in sports also.
If you're controlling a ball in their games in their stadiums, they'll still have a lot of control.
They won't be so rough on you when you don't play games their way.
Ideally, your clients shouldn't feel like they've been roughed up either.
Why do consumers seem to favor big retailers? Maybe local retailers don't offer anything better. Or maybe it's just consumers' misperceptions.
If you have resources to offer, but consumers don't know about or remember values you offer, in effect (for them) - you haven't offered those values.
Focus Specifically On Situational Factors Or You'll Be Carried Away
Big retailers test many things. Even when some things don't work, big retailers rework variables & test again. They stop individual tests, but they never stop testing.
They test products, departments & store formats. In other words, they change how they RUN their businesses.
Analogy - In the 1970s, running back John Brockington was a major part of the Green Packers. Brockington carried opponents as they tried to weigh him down. They slowed him but they didn't effectively stop him. They got carried away until they stopped his legs.
Piling on top of other runners worked, so (potential) tacklers stubbornly tried what worked on others.
If allowed to try, a child - using an effective tackling technique - could've been more effective than those professional football players, who were paid thousands of dollars each.
(It could seem like big retailers try bringing you down by piling up cheap products.)
Bringing John Brockington down was a matter of taking his legs & feet out from under him.
Brockington adjusted running techniques according to each situation. In general, he wanted to win but I'm sure he focused immediately on each position & being as effective as possible in it. Winning required him to do his best in specific conditions.
During a play, a touchdown is possible for anybody who holds a ball. But getting away from or at least outmaneuvering opponents is often necessary before scoring.
Getting into scoring position requires changing the conditions. Successfully dealing with changed conditions requires making more adjustments.
Adjust Your Conditions & Help Consumers Adjust Their Conditions
In a similar way, when your store is open, you're ready to sell. You shouldn't expect consumers to be ready to buy - yet.
You should focus on helping consumers adjust their perceptions about aspects of their reality. You might need to persuade them to adopt an idea & help them adapt that idea to their conditions. You can do it by attracting them based on their experiences instead of focusing only on selling products/services.
Many retailers are set up to sell NOW or else - there's no attempt to give information that might lead to sales later.
It works out in some situations since some consumers want or need quick transactions. Delaying could lead to their situations deteriorating & bring them more stress.
Yet they don't always know where, when or how to begin.
At your local level, you should have far better ways to guide consumers than clerks in big stores obeying orders from executives in far away offices.
Consumers might be almost ready to buy, but they always don't know what or from whom. They don't know what the best solution is or who would give an unbiased recommendation.
Scoring Position Is More Than Philosophical
An obvious baseline statement - Consumers naturally realize businesses are designed for profits & they tend to approach businesses based on that. They just don't want unmerited profits to be made at their expense. Yet despite this being obvious, too few businesses are set to show concern for people & their situations.
It should be a fully obvious exchange of value that will extend after the transaction.
When you're in situations when sales might be imminent, who is scoring position? Are you ready to score? Or are consumers ready to score? It's more than just thinking you & consumers are each about to score.
For consumers to have full confidence in you, they should perceive you to be blocking opponents/problems. Even if - while blocking - you cross goal lines before them, you should be doing it to help them score. In essence, they're the ball carriers.
Another analogy - MacArthur Lane often blocked for John Brockington. When Brockington scored a touchdown, it was a score for the team.
Mac Lane also did well when he wasn't blocking. He knew how to run, so he knew to help runners. He knew how to block, so he knew how to help blockers so they could help him in a full team effort.
You need to do well in scoring for yourself without seeming to take undue advantage of individual consumers. (Some consumers don't understand why small retailers charge so much more than big retailers.)
Many retailers just sell products (pass a ball) & let consumers take all the risks after that. Helping consumers avoid some risks is a big value. It's vital for you to show how much value you add & why that value is worth what you charge.
Even when people can afford to pay higher prices (compared to big box discounts), they don't want to feel cheated. If a product seems to be the same, they want to pay the lowest prices. It's why you should offer more than products.
Sometimes, you can't add significant value, so you can't afford to make seemingly better offers. You only should compete in cases when you can offer clear advantages in certain conditions.
Consumers don't always think about this - A cheap product (especially without enough information) might produce less than a full solution, mitigation or prevention. They might waste what little they spend plus waste their time, energy & other resources.
When you can add value, it may be hard to put a price/value on everything you put into your offers. What a solution is worth depends on each consumer's conditions.
You've Got Your Problems, They've Got Theirs
Your costs per product, per square foot, etc. are apt to be higher than a big retailer's costs. Those are your problems, consumers already have too many problems without trying to solve yours.
Retailers tend to understand - As far as customer service goes, their job is to help consumers. Yet some retailers act as if consumers have a responsibility to help retailers.
Could you logically fault consumers for stubbornly doing things, if you're also inflexible?
When consumers refuse to yield to retailers, they're just being normal.
It's a mistake to think consumers are fickle, greedy or anything else negative. Those thoughts won't help you understand consumers.
Consumers are either niche members or not.
Trying to build a business by selling to anybody but niche members is bad. Sales to general consumers should be occasional only.
If you can't sustain a thriving business by selling only to niche members, you don't have the right niche or business model.
Cover Their Exposures So They Won't Feel Fleeced
If a consumer needs a specific product, which is available only from you & a big store in another city, s/he might feel you're extorting money unless you offer more value - especially information. That information value doesn't have to increase your costs drastically since your knowledge base is probably spread over your whole inventory.
You can find information quickly with a computer.
Though consumers can use search engines, you might know the best search terms, know how to interpret the results & apply the best information in the best way. Explain the information. Urge them to ask questions.
Understanding Standing & Moving
Though it's vital to avoid depersonalizing consumers, I'm using the following metaphor -
Consider consumers to be like a retailer's legs & feet. The company (body) will fall when it moves in a different direction (compared to where consumers are & where they're going). If the body stays in a position while the legs & feet move, the body will fall.
Even if the body isn't predisposed to falling, it can be knocked off balance easily by tacklers who are balanced before they hit. In most encounters, a more balanced opponent has better options for control from beginning to end.
Well balanced competitors are moving with consumers. They can knock you over easily if you stand still.
If you're doing only what you did before, you're standing still.
If you're standing still, you are NOT leading or following consumers, which means you aren't offering as much value as you should.
You're off-balance if you're offering less value than you should.
Struggling to maintain (or regain) balance feels like a more immediate priority than maintaining or regaining control over another object. A higher, longer term priority - like holding a ball or winning a game - fades in comparison with trying to avoid injuries during a fall.
You might've seen players holding a football while falling. They have to work on that because it doesn't happen naturally. (It's somewhat like spending money to avoid losing money.)
People need to expend effort to avoid natural but situationally inappropriate reactions.
Plus, you can probably recall times you or others fell while trying to stay in place. Sometimes we need to move to avoid a total loss of balance.
It can be like that in testing business methods. If you struggle to stand, you might fall. If you move in the direction you or consumers are moving/leaning, you might avoid falling down.
If you stand, opponents can catch you & knock you over - in effect - forcing you to move. You'd be better off moving proactively & maintaining control.
You need a planned direction so you can quickly determine if a potential move could be optimal.
Standing still too long can be costly.
The effect can be similar for consumers who feel they might lose opportunities if they buy from unfamiliar retailers.
(It's partly related to comfort zones even when those zones aren't optimally comfortable or safe.)
They might have some vague feelings of vulnerability. They need to do something but when they're vulnerable, they don't always know what to protect or how.
It's one reason consumers resist buying what they need - they don't want to lose what they have by wasting resources on the wrong things. But at other times, many will rush into action without knowing which potentially better options are available. They don't realize what they might lose, except they realize they could lose an opportunity.
Add Value With Your Interpretation
Based on your interpretation of consumers' situations, you have a responsibility to advise them about which solution, prevention or mitigation is better even if you don't have it. You should do your best to explain your advice so they can determine if you understand them & they understand you.
If they use up resources without total fulfillment, you'll lose your opportunities also. But it's important to emphasize protecting them instead of protecting only yourself. If they perceive you're doing it just to get a sale away from competitors, you won't be perceived as helping them.
After feeling burned, they'll be more cautious.
It's important for retailers to help people gain without losing. Part of that is being ready for certain actions.
Confident consumers aren't always as ready as they think they are. They also need help perceiving & avoiding more problems.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
"Don't be there!" It's Miyagi's main instruction about avoiding punches in "The Karate Kid" movies.
When you choose inventory, develop offers & send marketing messages, don't do those like big retailers. There will be similarities but if you do exactly what big retailers do, you'll be THERE when they punch.
It's that way in sports also.
If you're controlling a ball in their games in their stadiums, they'll still have a lot of control.
They won't be so rough on you when you don't play games their way.
Ideally, your clients shouldn't feel like they've been roughed up either.
Why do consumers seem to favor big retailers? Maybe local retailers don't offer anything better. Or maybe it's just consumers' misperceptions.
If you have resources to offer, but consumers don't know about or remember values you offer, in effect (for them) - you haven't offered those values.
Focus Specifically On Situational Factors Or You'll Be Carried Away
Big retailers test many things. Even when some things don't work, big retailers rework variables & test again. They stop individual tests, but they never stop testing.
They test products, departments & store formats. In other words, they change how they RUN their businesses.
Analogy - In the 1970s, running back John Brockington was a major part of the Green Packers. Brockington carried opponents as they tried to weigh him down. They slowed him but they didn't effectively stop him. They got carried away until they stopped his legs.
Piling on top of other runners worked, so (potential) tacklers stubbornly tried what worked on others.
If allowed to try, a child - using an effective tackling technique - could've been more effective than those professional football players, who were paid thousands of dollars each.
(It could seem like big retailers try bringing you down by piling up cheap products.)
Bringing John Brockington down was a matter of taking his legs & feet out from under him.
Brockington adjusted running techniques according to each situation. In general, he wanted to win but I'm sure he focused immediately on each position & being as effective as possible in it. Winning required him to do his best in specific conditions.
During a play, a touchdown is possible for anybody who holds a ball. But getting away from or at least outmaneuvering opponents is often necessary before scoring.
Getting into scoring position requires changing the conditions. Successfully dealing with changed conditions requires making more adjustments.
Adjust Your Conditions & Help Consumers Adjust Their Conditions
In a similar way, when your store is open, you're ready to sell. You shouldn't expect consumers to be ready to buy - yet.
You should focus on helping consumers adjust their perceptions about aspects of their reality. You might need to persuade them to adopt an idea & help them adapt that idea to their conditions. You can do it by attracting them based on their experiences instead of focusing only on selling products/services.
Many retailers are set up to sell NOW or else - there's no attempt to give information that might lead to sales later.
It works out in some situations since some consumers want or need quick transactions. Delaying could lead to their situations deteriorating & bring them more stress.
Yet they don't always know where, when or how to begin.
At your local level, you should have far better ways to guide consumers than clerks in big stores obeying orders from executives in far away offices.
Consumers might be almost ready to buy, but they always don't know what or from whom. They don't know what the best solution is or who would give an unbiased recommendation.
Scoring Position Is More Than Philosophical
An obvious baseline statement - Consumers naturally realize businesses are designed for profits & they tend to approach businesses based on that. They just don't want unmerited profits to be made at their expense. Yet despite this being obvious, too few businesses are set to show concern for people & their situations.
It should be a fully obvious exchange of value that will extend after the transaction.
When you're in situations when sales might be imminent, who is scoring position? Are you ready to score? Or are consumers ready to score? It's more than just thinking you & consumers are each about to score.
For consumers to have full confidence in you, they should perceive you to be blocking opponents/problems. Even if - while blocking - you cross goal lines before them, you should be doing it to help them score. In essence, they're the ball carriers.
Another analogy - MacArthur Lane often blocked for John Brockington. When Brockington scored a touchdown, it was a score for the team.
Mac Lane also did well when he wasn't blocking. He knew how to run, so he knew to help runners. He knew how to block, so he knew how to help blockers so they could help him in a full team effort.
You need to do well in scoring for yourself without seeming to take undue advantage of individual consumers. (Some consumers don't understand why small retailers charge so much more than big retailers.)
Many retailers just sell products (pass a ball) & let consumers take all the risks after that. Helping consumers avoid some risks is a big value. It's vital for you to show how much value you add & why that value is worth what you charge.
Even when people can afford to pay higher prices (compared to big box discounts), they don't want to feel cheated. If a product seems to be the same, they want to pay the lowest prices. It's why you should offer more than products.
Sometimes, you can't add significant value, so you can't afford to make seemingly better offers. You only should compete in cases when you can offer clear advantages in certain conditions.
Consumers don't always think about this - A cheap product (especially without enough information) might produce less than a full solution, mitigation or prevention. They might waste what little they spend plus waste their time, energy & other resources.
When you can add value, it may be hard to put a price/value on everything you put into your offers. What a solution is worth depends on each consumer's conditions.
You've Got Your Problems, They've Got Theirs
Your costs per product, per square foot, etc. are apt to be higher than a big retailer's costs. Those are your problems, consumers already have too many problems without trying to solve yours.
Retailers tend to understand - As far as customer service goes, their job is to help consumers. Yet some retailers act as if consumers have a responsibility to help retailers.
Could you logically fault consumers for stubbornly doing things, if you're also inflexible?
When consumers refuse to yield to retailers, they're just being normal.
It's a mistake to think consumers are fickle, greedy or anything else negative. Those thoughts won't help you understand consumers.
Consumers are either niche members or not.
Trying to build a business by selling to anybody but niche members is bad. Sales to general consumers should be occasional only.
If you can't sustain a thriving business by selling only to niche members, you don't have the right niche or business model.
Cover Their Exposures So They Won't Feel Fleeced
If a consumer needs a specific product, which is available only from you & a big store in another city, s/he might feel you're extorting money unless you offer more value - especially information. That information value doesn't have to increase your costs drastically since your knowledge base is probably spread over your whole inventory.
You can find information quickly with a computer.
Though consumers can use search engines, you might know the best search terms, know how to interpret the results & apply the best information in the best way. Explain the information. Urge them to ask questions.
Understanding Standing & Moving
Though it's vital to avoid depersonalizing consumers, I'm using the following metaphor -
Consider consumers to be like a retailer's legs & feet. The company (body) will fall when it moves in a different direction (compared to where consumers are & where they're going). If the body stays in a position while the legs & feet move, the body will fall.
Even if the body isn't predisposed to falling, it can be knocked off balance easily by tacklers who are balanced before they hit. In most encounters, a more balanced opponent has better options for control from beginning to end.
Well balanced competitors are moving with consumers. They can knock you over easily if you stand still.
If you're doing only what you did before, you're standing still.
If you're standing still, you are NOT leading or following consumers, which means you aren't offering as much value as you should.
You're off-balance if you're offering less value than you should.
Struggling to maintain (or regain) balance feels like a more immediate priority than maintaining or regaining control over another object. A higher, longer term priority - like holding a ball or winning a game - fades in comparison with trying to avoid injuries during a fall.
You might've seen players holding a football while falling. They have to work on that because it doesn't happen naturally. (It's somewhat like spending money to avoid losing money.)
People need to expend effort to avoid natural but situationally inappropriate reactions.
Plus, you can probably recall times you or others fell while trying to stay in place. Sometimes we need to move to avoid a total loss of balance.
It can be like that in testing business methods. If you struggle to stand, you might fall. If you move in the direction you or consumers are moving/leaning, you might avoid falling down.
If you stand, opponents can catch you & knock you over - in effect - forcing you to move. You'd be better off moving proactively & maintaining control.
You need a planned direction so you can quickly determine if a potential move could be optimal.
Standing still too long can be costly.
The effect can be similar for consumers who feel they might lose opportunities if they buy from unfamiliar retailers.
(It's partly related to comfort zones even when those zones aren't optimally comfortable or safe.)
They might have some vague feelings of vulnerability. They need to do something but when they're vulnerable, they don't always know what to protect or how.
It's one reason consumers resist buying what they need - they don't want to lose what they have by wasting resources on the wrong things. But at other times, many will rush into action without knowing which potentially better options are available. They don't realize what they might lose, except they realize they could lose an opportunity.
Add Value With Your Interpretation
Based on your interpretation of consumers' situations, you have a responsibility to advise them about which solution, prevention or mitigation is better even if you don't have it. You should do your best to explain your advice so they can determine if you understand them & they understand you.
If they use up resources without total fulfillment, you'll lose your opportunities also. But it's important to emphasize protecting them instead of protecting only yourself. If they perceive you're doing it just to get a sale away from competitors, you won't be perceived as helping them.
After feeling burned, they'll be more cautious.
It's important for retailers to help people gain without losing. Part of that is being ready for certain actions.
Confident consumers aren't always as ready as they think they are. They also need help perceiving & avoiding more problems.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Tutoring Business - Low Cost Promotions
Hi Dennis,
My name is Devi (sounds like Debbie) and I am very interested in starting my own tutoring business. I am 100% sure the service that I am able to provide is one that the public wants/needs. However, I'm not so sure as to how I can let people know that I'm available! I put fliers in local libraries, and a few business around town, but I don't think that I've done nearly enough. If you could send me suggestions as to what else I could do I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks :-)
Dennis S. Vogel
Thanks for the question.
You might be feeling like parents do. They do what they can & they rely on others who specialize. They shouldn't feel responsible for knowing every academic fact. Their responsibility is getting the best help they can find. It's like finding a medical doctor to provide medical care parents can't.
Some people say marketing is a numbers game, meaning that if you contact enough people, you'll get enough customers. There's barely any truth in a thought like that.
Maybe that's why you feel that you haven't done nearly enough. It's vital to take personal responsibility without condemning yourself. We all have mental & physical gaps. You're a "parent" seeking tutoring to fill a gap for your business.
Advertising success involves far more than numbers just like hours in a classroom isn't enough for academic success.
It isn't just the number of people who are exposed to your messages. They should be people who want what you offer (needing it isn't enough because people only buy what they want). Plus, they should be able to afford what you offer.
Your message should be as compelling as possible. It shouldn't be just -
I Do Tutoring Call me at XXX-XXXX.
The first step to finding the most compelling way to present your offer is to know what the prospects are thinking.
When a child doesn't do well in school, do parents - 1) blame their child? 2) blame the teacher?
3) blame themselves?
If it's a "blame game," this is a message you could try to find out if it's effective -
Who's To Blame When Your Child Doesn't Do Well In School?
Maybe it's nobody's fault!
There are many things that affect how well children learn -
Depression. Parent's Marital Problems. Malnutrition. Learning disabilities.
_____. _____. ___. ___.
If you're child doesn't have any medical problems and if stress isn't interfering, then I can help.
I specialize in (subjects) at the ____ grade levels.
If I don't get your child the results (we agree on) on the next test or the end of a grading cycle, then I won't charge you anything.
Call me today, so I can start helping your child as soon as possible. My name is Devi, my phone number is XXX-XXXX. I want to help, please let me.
-----------------
Many times a meaningful guarantee will bring you more business than you may lose.
A more generic approach is this-
Why Isn't Your Child Doing Well In School?
It Seems Like You've Tried Everything To Help Your Child Succeed In School
If you've tried rewards, phonics products, counseling, extra tender-loving-care, ____, and ____, then it's time to call me.
Call me today, so I can start helping your child as soon as possible. My name is Devi, my phone number is XXX-XXXX. I want to help, please let me.
-----------
You don't need to make a sale from your advertising alone. Your sales copy should be enough to get parents to call you. You can make your sales while you talk to prospects.
If parents are also skeptical of somebody posing as a tutor just to victimize children, you might need to address that concern in your ads. You could emphasize a family team approach without broaching a negative subject.
Example: "I want to work with teachers, parents, siblings & baby sitters who spend time with your children so we can all understand each other & develop the best approach. Your children need support from those who know them best."
Now that you have sales copy that you can test for effectiveness (You can read my other posts about testing), it's time to concentrate on distributing your messages.
Be sure you have ways to track your results. They may forget where they found your flyer. If you color code your flyers (light blue for libraries, light green for schools), you can ask for the color of flyer when they call you.
If you get 10 inquiries from the school flyers and only 1 from the library flyers, then you'll know you should put flyers somewhere other than the library. Note - You might get better results from a location by adjusting how you post your messages.
When you experiment to find the bet locations, to make it a valid test, you should have the exact same message and offer on each flyer.
I don't know which grade level you want to work with, but if it's grade school here's what you can do.
Check for volunteer opportunities to work with children & authorities. You can get to know them & what they need. You can introduce yourself to parents in those contexts & broach the subject of tutoring. Those authorities might be required to do a background check on you. Passing their checks can help your credentials.
This could help you find groups of students for your tutoring services - maybe more parents could afford group rates.
Ask girl/boy scout troop leaders to distribute your flyers. Ask school administrators/principals if they'd allow teachers to distribute your flyers.
If you want to work with higher grade levels, you can also talk to sports coaches who want their players to succeed academically.
For your ultimate success, I think you'll need to know children & their parents on a wider basis than academics. There are many factors that interfere with people's ability to thrive mentally & physically. You should know what at least some of those factors are & what you can do about them.
That's all I have for now. If you have more questions, please let me know.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Subject: Re: Tutoring Business...Help! Author: Maria Marsala
Devi
You don't mention that you've done a business plan. If you haven't, that will assist you and is a perfect place to start your marketing process, too.
I have a bunch of marketing articles at http://www.coachmaria.com/articles.html
Additionally, I'd suggest speaking to librarians, speaking to PTA's, and networking, as places to start.
For some other ideas, do a search at http://www.topten.org It's a great site for ideas.
Best of success
Maria Marsala
Business & Life Coach-Consultant
www.coachmaria.com
My name is Devi (sounds like Debbie) and I am very interested in starting my own tutoring business. I am 100% sure the service that I am able to provide is one that the public wants/needs. However, I'm not so sure as to how I can let people know that I'm available! I put fliers in local libraries, and a few business around town, but I don't think that I've done nearly enough. If you could send me suggestions as to what else I could do I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks :-)
Dennis S. Vogel
Thanks for the question.
You might be feeling like parents do. They do what they can & they rely on others who specialize. They shouldn't feel responsible for knowing every academic fact. Their responsibility is getting the best help they can find. It's like finding a medical doctor to provide medical care parents can't.
Some people say marketing is a numbers game, meaning that if you contact enough people, you'll get enough customers. There's barely any truth in a thought like that.
Maybe that's why you feel that you haven't done nearly enough. It's vital to take personal responsibility without condemning yourself. We all have mental & physical gaps. You're a "parent" seeking tutoring to fill a gap for your business.
Advertising success involves far more than numbers just like hours in a classroom isn't enough for academic success.
It isn't just the number of people who are exposed to your messages. They should be people who want what you offer (needing it isn't enough because people only buy what they want). Plus, they should be able to afford what you offer.
Your message should be as compelling as possible. It shouldn't be just -
I Do Tutoring Call me at XXX-XXXX.
The first step to finding the most compelling way to present your offer is to know what the prospects are thinking.
When a child doesn't do well in school, do parents - 1) blame their child? 2) blame the teacher?
3) blame themselves?
If it's a "blame game," this is a message you could try to find out if it's effective -
Who's To Blame When Your Child Doesn't Do Well In School?
Maybe it's nobody's fault!
There are many things that affect how well children learn -
Depression. Parent's Marital Problems. Malnutrition. Learning disabilities.
_____. _____. ___. ___.
If you're child doesn't have any medical problems and if stress isn't interfering, then I can help.
I specialize in (subjects) at the ____ grade levels.
If I don't get your child the results (we agree on) on the next test or the end of a grading cycle, then I won't charge you anything.
Call me today, so I can start helping your child as soon as possible. My name is Devi, my phone number is XXX-XXXX. I want to help, please let me.
-----------------
Many times a meaningful guarantee will bring you more business than you may lose.
A more generic approach is this-
Why Isn't Your Child Doing Well In School?
It Seems Like You've Tried Everything To Help Your Child Succeed In School
If you've tried rewards, phonics products, counseling, extra tender-loving-care, ____, and ____, then it's time to call me.
Call me today, so I can start helping your child as soon as possible. My name is Devi, my phone number is XXX-XXXX. I want to help, please let me.
-----------
You don't need to make a sale from your advertising alone. Your sales copy should be enough to get parents to call you. You can make your sales while you talk to prospects.
If parents are also skeptical of somebody posing as a tutor just to victimize children, you might need to address that concern in your ads. You could emphasize a family team approach without broaching a negative subject.
Example: "I want to work with teachers, parents, siblings & baby sitters who spend time with your children so we can all understand each other & develop the best approach. Your children need support from those who know them best."
Now that you have sales copy that you can test for effectiveness (You can read my other posts about testing), it's time to concentrate on distributing your messages.
Be sure you have ways to track your results. They may forget where they found your flyer. If you color code your flyers (light blue for libraries, light green for schools), you can ask for the color of flyer when they call you.
If you get 10 inquiries from the school flyers and only 1 from the library flyers, then you'll know you should put flyers somewhere other than the library. Note - You might get better results from a location by adjusting how you post your messages.
When you experiment to find the bet locations, to make it a valid test, you should have the exact same message and offer on each flyer.
I don't know which grade level you want to work with, but if it's grade school here's what you can do.
Check for volunteer opportunities to work with children & authorities. You can get to know them & what they need. You can introduce yourself to parents in those contexts & broach the subject of tutoring. Those authorities might be required to do a background check on you. Passing their checks can help your credentials.
This could help you find groups of students for your tutoring services - maybe more parents could afford group rates.
Ask girl/boy scout troop leaders to distribute your flyers. Ask school administrators/principals if they'd allow teachers to distribute your flyers.
If you want to work with higher grade levels, you can also talk to sports coaches who want their players to succeed academically.
For your ultimate success, I think you'll need to know children & their parents on a wider basis than academics. There are many factors that interfere with people's ability to thrive mentally & physically. You should know what at least some of those factors are & what you can do about them.
That's all I have for now. If you have more questions, please let me know.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Subject: Re: Tutoring Business...Help! Author: Maria Marsala
Devi
You don't mention that you've done a business plan. If you haven't, that will assist you and is a perfect place to start your marketing process, too.
I have a bunch of marketing articles at http://www.coachmaria.com/articles.html
Additionally, I'd suggest speaking to librarians, speaking to PTA's, and networking, as places to start.
For some other ideas, do a search at http://www.topten.org It's a great site for ideas.
Best of success
Maria Marsala
Business & Life Coach-Consultant
www.coachmaria.com
Monday, July 4, 2016
I'm getting ready to open a store
Subject: I'm getting ready to open a store Author: Fanci
I'm getting ready to open a furniture & home accessory consignment shop. I have approx. $7000 of which I need to use to purchase some items for a variety and the rest will be working capital such as lease, utilities deposits, etc. At the moment I've located two buildings 1) approx. 1600sq.ft @ $675/mo. 2)the second is 6,000sq.ft @$2000/mo. They both have the traffic pattern that I like. The first (because of the lower rent) seems appealing because it's in the heart of a town that is being revitalized and there are
several shops I feel are good drawing cards. They would also be ideal to do co-op advertising with.
The second location is appealing due to the space. I could grow first of all, without moving. Secondly, I have an idea that I may offer 90 day lay-a-way and I'd have space to block off for such. My question I guess, Is it feasible to plunk out $2000. plus the extras for the larger space?
Thanks so much for your time.
Fanci
Hi Fanci:
Thank you for sending me your questions. This turned out to be a long letter of free advice. Just think how much I'd write if you're a client.
A basic tenet is - Don't ask a question, if you can't cope with the answer.
;^) My corollary is - Don't ask me a question if you can't cope with reading long answers. 8-)
Please realize my questions & statements are NOT meant to dissuade you. I want to persuade you to consider these issues so you'll be prepared.
Retailers & consultants should work together to prepare for, solve or mitigate problems. To fully serve clients, consultants need to be aware of issues to avoid as many problems as possible.
Worry & fear cause more trouble & aggravate current problems. Even awareness without action can be better than being negatively surprised.
Sometimes, some people think I over-think issues. I might think they're right - sometimes.
Some issues below are applicable only in a few situations.
Iterative Preparation
As you notice legal, consumption & economic changes, you can determine how conditions compare with your expectations & preparations. This will indicate which direction you need to iterate toward.
By knowing what to expect, you can iterate toward a compatible result. If you don't know what to expect, you'd probably have to make big, costly - disruptive - changes.
Some of these issues are long-term considerations calling for consistent preparation.
In effect, you can set up a plan - itinerary, so you'll be where you need to be at opportune times.
This part covers some external issues.
First, Some Benefits and Limitations Of Location
"You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear." Sherlock Holmes Quote from "A Scandal in Bohemia".
If your store is in a high traffic area, it can get a lot of peripheral visibility (in people's peripheral vision), but it doesn't guarantee significant exposure (not enough to make a meaningful impression).
That's obvious, yet retailers tend to think potential visibility is actual visibility. It's a bad assumption.
People are very distracted - consider how much people talk & text while they walk or drive.
Unless your store is their destination, they aren't in your neighborhood to buy from you.
You could use methods to attract them if their destinations would be near your store & especially if their activity is related to what you offer.
You'll need a good sign & window displays to get the attention you'll need.
Too many retailers have bland window displays. It's possible to push the envelope of interesting visibility without being offensive. You can probably find good ideas from other sources or hire a display designer.
You need to focus mostly on people who currently or soon will need/want what you offer. If people don't currently need/want what you offer, they don't need to be aware of your store.
Building long-term awareness won't keep you in business long enough to serve people more than a year from now. By then, if you're still in business, you might stock different merchandise anyway.
Could Be A Bad Sign
What are the signage laws for each location you're considering?
Sign regulations can include sizes & placements.
It's also good to be aware of precedents, proposed laws & petitions.
Depending on local laws, some business owners have bigger signs or positions than they're allowed to have legally, so they pay small fines each month. Those business owners consider the monthly fines to be a cost of doing business.
Be sure to get legal information from somebody who has authoritative knowledge in the matter.
Some city governments may require a sign to be taken down. In those cases, there are harsh penalties not small fines.
A city employee might show you the exact laws. You should get copies of all laws & be sure you understand them.
A sign maker should know about sign regulations, but you should also consult a lawyer about this & other issues.
It's like that with marketing laws. I know what the general laws are, but some business categories have more specialized laws. Since I'm not a lawyer, I won't guarantee full legal compliance. I work based on current information, some of which comes from clients, or I'd have to charge more to get information my clients should already have anyway.
I won't give legal advice except to advise consulting with a lawyer.
Though you can probably get copies of laws from government legislative web sites, attorneys are apt to know which search terms to use. Attorneys should also know how to interpret laws to determine which are applicable to clients.
Under Construction
What has been/is planned in the city/cities you're considering?
The city where I live had some streets reconstructed. It disrupted some businesses.
Beware: If a street is part of a county/state highway (like here) the county/state may decide to reconstruct the highway even if some citizens oppose the plan.
Street designers were sent to talk to us & get our input. They told us about budgets, what to expect & how they were limited since some citizens wanted things that would conflict with what other citizens wanted.
They advised local businesses about having appropriate back doors or alternate street access. When streets are torn up in front of those stores, customers should get into them.
Depending on particular situations, emergency exits could be used as temporary entrances. But emergency exits aren't always optimal as entrances.
Even if stores are equipped with back doors for emergencies, disabled people could have trouble entering. In an emergency, somebody would probably hold a door open so people can quickly leave.
It probably isn't practical for a small store to have somebody watching constantly for people who might want to enter. If disabled people can reach a well-displayed door bell button, they can signal their intentions.
In some places, this could fail legal requirements.
Emergency exits probably aren't near convenient parking spaces, especially for disabled people.
There might be other barriers. Is there a river or something else that blocks access to the backs of these locations?
Our retailers survived. Construction was done quickly since a drought prevented rain delays.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Part 2
This part presents some issues for retailers in general also.
What kind of insurance coverage will you have for the inventory?
How will the actions (or lack) of building owners affect your liability & business property coverages?
Which actions (or neglected problems) of building owners should you report to the insurance company covering your business?
How would product owners be reimbursed if you aren't healthy enough to run your business?
It may seem strange for a marketing consultant to ask these questions. I'm not asking you to answer for me, you should answer many of these questions for yourself.
You should be ready to deal with as many of these issues (below) as are applicable to your store.
What About ...
... Choosing Inventory & Selling Enough To Cover Expenses?
Will all of your inventory be owned by others or will you buy some inventory?
Will you check furniture in people's homes (so they don't have to haul something you don't accept)? Or will you only check furniture at your store?
Considering space & money, how much inventory can you afford to have?
Will you offer only firm prices, 'or-best-offer' or both - depending on particular products?
How will you determine if it's time to break-even on a product or possibly accept less than a consignee expects you to pay him/her?
If you have enough inventory (but not enough space & money), but get an offer for some great inventory, how will you determine what to do? Could you afford to get a loan? Would you use barter?
Depending on your cash flow & financial needs, how much sales revenue will/do you need per square foot?
Some fixed costs might be almost the same in either building you're considering for your store. Depending on the building condition, heating & maintenance of a bigger space will probably cost more.
How likely are you to get enough sales revenue per square foot (or whatever your main metric is/will be)?
If you need more inventory despite your 'wanted-to-buy' ads, will you go to rummage/yard/garage sales?
If you do it, will you have to adjust your personal & professional schedules?
Will you have a staff &/or partner to share your work load?
... Old, Unsold Inventory?
If a consignee brings in a furniture set, will you ask if the set (not individual pieces) will be sold together only?
Who will have final discretion over how & when to sell products?
Will you have a time limit on how long you'll keep a piece of furniture before you call the owner to pick it up?
Example - After displaying a product for 3 months, you might want to use the space for things people might be more apt to buy.
Where would you put the furniture, if nobody picks it up in cases like these? Without being overbearing, you'll need a strong, clearly worded contract to detail what you're entitled to do in cases like these.
Will you charge for storage of unclaimed, unsold inventory?
Would you haul unsold inventory back to the owners?
If consignees move & list a faraway address (for payments you send), how would you deal with what remains unsold?
What will you do if mail is returned as undeliverable (especially if it contains checks you've sent to pay consignees)?
How will you document your communication (& attempts)?
How extensive do you need your consignment agreements to be?
What kind of restrictions are you willing to put on yourself?
Depending on what you require of yourself, people might be more comfortable with you.
How many terms & conditions will people tolerate? (Have you ever read the many pages of terms & conditions for software?) If people feel forced to agree to the terms & conditions, they might be resentful.
Always Some Legal Considerations
Will you limit the item values to avoid expensive litigation & so any legal hassles would be handled by arbitration or small claims court?
After people dispose of items, especially when they try consignment, they might resent a requirement to take items back.
It might depend which they want more - money from selling items or to be rid of items.
Who will be authorized to reclaim products or receive payments? Example - If I'd consign things from my parents' estate, my siblings could want an unsold item or the money. If they're frustrated with me & I may tell them to handle the estate. They could try to claim whatever they can.
You should consider what to require of people to receive the items or money. Would you expect the original consignment agreement or receipt? What would you require for identification?
Will you charge for delivery to buyers? People might pay (full or down payment) for furniture & choose to pick up it later. How long will you hold sold products for them? What if they don't claim it in that time?
Where/how will you keep that money - as cash or deposited in a financial institution?
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
I'm getting ready to open a furniture & home accessory consignment shop. I have approx. $7000 of which I need to use to purchase some items for a variety and the rest will be working capital such as lease, utilities deposits, etc. At the moment I've located two buildings 1) approx. 1600sq.ft @ $675/mo. 2)the second is 6,000sq.ft @$2000/mo. They both have the traffic pattern that I like. The first (because of the lower rent) seems appealing because it's in the heart of a town that is being revitalized and there are
several shops I feel are good drawing cards. They would also be ideal to do co-op advertising with.
The second location is appealing due to the space. I could grow first of all, without moving. Secondly, I have an idea that I may offer 90 day lay-a-way and I'd have space to block off for such. My question I guess, Is it feasible to plunk out $2000. plus the extras for the larger space?
Thanks so much for your time.
Fanci
Hi Fanci:
Thank you for sending me your questions. This turned out to be a long letter of free advice. Just think how much I'd write if you're a client.
A basic tenet is - Don't ask a question, if you can't cope with the answer.
;^) My corollary is - Don't ask me a question if you can't cope with reading long answers. 8-)
Please realize my questions & statements are NOT meant to dissuade you. I want to persuade you to consider these issues so you'll be prepared.
Retailers & consultants should work together to prepare for, solve or mitigate problems. To fully serve clients, consultants need to be aware of issues to avoid as many problems as possible.
Worry & fear cause more trouble & aggravate current problems. Even awareness without action can be better than being negatively surprised.
Sometimes, some people think I over-think issues. I might think they're right - sometimes.
Some issues below are applicable only in a few situations.
Iterative Preparation
As you notice legal, consumption & economic changes, you can determine how conditions compare with your expectations & preparations. This will indicate which direction you need to iterate toward.
By knowing what to expect, you can iterate toward a compatible result. If you don't know what to expect, you'd probably have to make big, costly - disruptive - changes.
Some of these issues are long-term considerations calling for consistent preparation.
In effect, you can set up a plan - itinerary, so you'll be where you need to be at opportune times.
This part covers some external issues.
First, Some Benefits and Limitations Of Location
"You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear." Sherlock Holmes Quote from "A Scandal in Bohemia".
If your store is in a high traffic area, it can get a lot of peripheral visibility (in people's peripheral vision), but it doesn't guarantee significant exposure (not enough to make a meaningful impression).
That's obvious, yet retailers tend to think potential visibility is actual visibility. It's a bad assumption.
People are very distracted - consider how much people talk & text while they walk or drive.
Unless your store is their destination, they aren't in your neighborhood to buy from you.
You could use methods to attract them if their destinations would be near your store & especially if their activity is related to what you offer.
You'll need a good sign & window displays to get the attention you'll need.
Too many retailers have bland window displays. It's possible to push the envelope of interesting visibility without being offensive. You can probably find good ideas from other sources or hire a display designer.
You need to focus mostly on people who currently or soon will need/want what you offer. If people don't currently need/want what you offer, they don't need to be aware of your store.
Building long-term awareness won't keep you in business long enough to serve people more than a year from now. By then, if you're still in business, you might stock different merchandise anyway.
Could Be A Bad Sign
What are the signage laws for each location you're considering?
Sign regulations can include sizes & placements.
It's also good to be aware of precedents, proposed laws & petitions.
Depending on local laws, some business owners have bigger signs or positions than they're allowed to have legally, so they pay small fines each month. Those business owners consider the monthly fines to be a cost of doing business.
Be sure to get legal information from somebody who has authoritative knowledge in the matter.
Some city governments may require a sign to be taken down. In those cases, there are harsh penalties not small fines.
A city employee might show you the exact laws. You should get copies of all laws & be sure you understand them.
A sign maker should know about sign regulations, but you should also consult a lawyer about this & other issues.
It's like that with marketing laws. I know what the general laws are, but some business categories have more specialized laws. Since I'm not a lawyer, I won't guarantee full legal compliance. I work based on current information, some of which comes from clients, or I'd have to charge more to get information my clients should already have anyway.
I won't give legal advice except to advise consulting with a lawyer.
Though you can probably get copies of laws from government legislative web sites, attorneys are apt to know which search terms to use. Attorneys should also know how to interpret laws to determine which are applicable to clients.
Under Construction
What has been/is planned in the city/cities you're considering?
The city where I live had some streets reconstructed. It disrupted some businesses.
Beware: If a street is part of a county/state highway (like here) the county/state may decide to reconstruct the highway even if some citizens oppose the plan.
Street designers were sent to talk to us & get our input. They told us about budgets, what to expect & how they were limited since some citizens wanted things that would conflict with what other citizens wanted.
They advised local businesses about having appropriate back doors or alternate street access. When streets are torn up in front of those stores, customers should get into them.
Depending on particular situations, emergency exits could be used as temporary entrances. But emergency exits aren't always optimal as entrances.
Even if stores are equipped with back doors for emergencies, disabled people could have trouble entering. In an emergency, somebody would probably hold a door open so people can quickly leave.
It probably isn't practical for a small store to have somebody watching constantly for people who might want to enter. If disabled people can reach a well-displayed door bell button, they can signal their intentions.
In some places, this could fail legal requirements.
Emergency exits probably aren't near convenient parking spaces, especially for disabled people.
There might be other barriers. Is there a river or something else that blocks access to the backs of these locations?
Our retailers survived. Construction was done quickly since a drought prevented rain delays.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Part 2
This part presents some issues for retailers in general also.
What kind of insurance coverage will you have for the inventory?
How will the actions (or lack) of building owners affect your liability & business property coverages?
Which actions (or neglected problems) of building owners should you report to the insurance company covering your business?
How would product owners be reimbursed if you aren't healthy enough to run your business?
It may seem strange for a marketing consultant to ask these questions. I'm not asking you to answer for me, you should answer many of these questions for yourself.
You should be ready to deal with as many of these issues (below) as are applicable to your store.
What About ...
... Choosing Inventory & Selling Enough To Cover Expenses?
Will all of your inventory be owned by others or will you buy some inventory?
Will you check furniture in people's homes (so they don't have to haul something you don't accept)? Or will you only check furniture at your store?
Considering space & money, how much inventory can you afford to have?
Will you offer only firm prices, 'or-best-offer' or both - depending on particular products?
How will you determine if it's time to break-even on a product or possibly accept less than a consignee expects you to pay him/her?
If you have enough inventory (but not enough space & money), but get an offer for some great inventory, how will you determine what to do? Could you afford to get a loan? Would you use barter?
Depending on your cash flow & financial needs, how much sales revenue will/do you need per square foot?
Some fixed costs might be almost the same in either building you're considering for your store. Depending on the building condition, heating & maintenance of a bigger space will probably cost more.
How likely are you to get enough sales revenue per square foot (or whatever your main metric is/will be)?
If you need more inventory despite your 'wanted-to-buy' ads, will you go to rummage/yard/garage sales?
If you do it, will you have to adjust your personal & professional schedules?
Will you have a staff &/or partner to share your work load?
... Old, Unsold Inventory?
If a consignee brings in a furniture set, will you ask if the set (not individual pieces) will be sold together only?
Who will have final discretion over how & when to sell products?
Will you have a time limit on how long you'll keep a piece of furniture before you call the owner to pick it up?
Example - After displaying a product for 3 months, you might want to use the space for things people might be more apt to buy.
Where would you put the furniture, if nobody picks it up in cases like these? Without being overbearing, you'll need a strong, clearly worded contract to detail what you're entitled to do in cases like these.
Will you charge for storage of unclaimed, unsold inventory?
Would you haul unsold inventory back to the owners?
If consignees move & list a faraway address (for payments you send), how would you deal with what remains unsold?
What will you do if mail is returned as undeliverable (especially if it contains checks you've sent to pay consignees)?
How will you document your communication (& attempts)?
How extensive do you need your consignment agreements to be?
What kind of restrictions are you willing to put on yourself?
Depending on what you require of yourself, people might be more comfortable with you.
How many terms & conditions will people tolerate? (Have you ever read the many pages of terms & conditions for software?) If people feel forced to agree to the terms & conditions, they might be resentful.
Always Some Legal Considerations
Will you limit the item values to avoid expensive litigation & so any legal hassles would be handled by arbitration or small claims court?
After people dispose of items, especially when they try consignment, they might resent a requirement to take items back.
It might depend which they want more - money from selling items or to be rid of items.
Who will be authorized to reclaim products or receive payments? Example - If I'd consign things from my parents' estate, my siblings could want an unsold item or the money. If they're frustrated with me & I may tell them to handle the estate. They could try to claim whatever they can.
You should consider what to require of people to receive the items or money. Would you expect the original consignment agreement or receipt? What would you require for identification?
Will you charge for delivery to buyers? People might pay (full or down payment) for furniture & choose to pick up it later. How long will you hold sold products for them? What if they don't claim it in that time?
Where/how will you keep that money - as cash or deposited in a financial institution?
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Keeping the High Profit Customer. Dump Difficult People
Subject: Keeping the High Profit Customer. Dump Difficult People. Author: Woody
Your right Dennis, Every year or so We CLEAN HOUSE that's what we call it anyway. Once we stop making profit on a customer we have to let them go. This hurts the cash-flow for the short term but it works. if a customer spends 500 a month but has hammered you down to cost or near cost why bother! Let them shop elsewhere and put them out of business.
Subject: Re: Keeping the High Profit Customer. Dump Difficult People Author: Dennis S. Vogel
In reply to: Woody 's message, "Keeping the High Profit Customer"
Hi Woody:
That's a good insight.
Thank you for posting it.
How do you do it?
Do you just stop calling them or take them off of your mailing list?
Do you let them know that they're not welcomed anymore?
Do you refer them to competitors?
Or do you do it another way?
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
In reply to: Dennis S. Vogel 's message, "Re: Keeping the High Profit Customer" Author: Woody
Just charge Top Dollar plus Tax. No Discounts!!!!!No Price breaks at all.. They will run out of your shop to the guy down the street who is happy to sell to them at cost or below just to buy their business. Not only do you get rid of these low price only shoppers but the compeition will fold in a year or so. Treat your good customers like Royalty because they are. Some old faces have been stopping by the shop lately so on the way home tonight l stopped to SPY on the Low priced shop down the road. The store is empty and up for lease. Poor guy priced himself out of business:( ............ Woody
Subject: Re: Keeping the High Profit Customer. Dump Difficult People Author: Dennis S. Vogel
In reply to: Woody 's message, "Keeping the High Profit Customer"
Hi Woody,
Thank you for answering.
People seem to think they can start successful businesses by copying what others do. They might use low prices despite their high cost structures.
Because they notice what a successful store stocks, novices might stock too much or the wrong kind of inventory.
Since big retailers seem to attract "everybody", novices think they can do it successfully too.
There will always be differences between what successful businesses do & what outsiders observe.
The effects can be similar to a patient's body rejecting a transplanted organ.
Some case studies are valuable, but business owners should realize every situation will always have unnoticed & unreported factors. The combined effects of a few minor factors can make major differences.
Before a "best practice" or full case study is implemented in a different situation, there are unnoticed - or seemingly unimportant - factors in that situation.
Without optimal tactics & strategies, any combination of differences can lead to failure.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Your right Dennis, Every year or so We CLEAN HOUSE that's what we call it anyway. Once we stop making profit on a customer we have to let them go. This hurts the cash-flow for the short term but it works. if a customer spends 500 a month but has hammered you down to cost or near cost why bother! Let them shop elsewhere and put them out of business.
Subject: Re: Keeping the High Profit Customer. Dump Difficult People Author: Dennis S. Vogel
In reply to: Woody 's message, "Keeping the High Profit Customer"
Hi Woody:
That's a good insight.
Thank you for posting it.
How do you do it?
Do you just stop calling them or take them off of your mailing list?
Do you let them know that they're not welcomed anymore?
Do you refer them to competitors?
Or do you do it another way?
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
In reply to: Dennis S. Vogel 's message, "Re: Keeping the High Profit Customer" Author: Woody
Just charge Top Dollar plus Tax. No Discounts!!!!!No Price breaks at all.. They will run out of your shop to the guy down the street who is happy to sell to them at cost or below just to buy their business. Not only do you get rid of these low price only shoppers but the compeition will fold in a year or so. Treat your good customers like Royalty because they are. Some old faces have been stopping by the shop lately so on the way home tonight l stopped to SPY on the Low priced shop down the road. The store is empty and up for lease. Poor guy priced himself out of business:( ............ Woody
Subject: Re: Keeping the High Profit Customer. Dump Difficult People Author: Dennis S. Vogel
In reply to: Woody 's message, "Keeping the High Profit Customer"
Hi Woody,
Thank you for answering.
People seem to think they can start successful businesses by copying what others do. They might use low prices despite their high cost structures.
Because they notice what a successful store stocks, novices might stock too much or the wrong kind of inventory.
Since big retailers seem to attract "everybody", novices think they can do it successfully too.
There will always be differences between what successful businesses do & what outsiders observe.
The effects can be similar to a patient's body rejecting a transplanted organ.
Some case studies are valuable, but business owners should realize every situation will always have unnoticed & unreported factors. The combined effects of a few minor factors can make major differences.
Before a "best practice" or full case study is implemented in a different situation, there are unnoticed - or seemingly unimportant - factors in that situation.
Without optimal tactics & strategies, any combination of differences can lead to failure.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Setting Your Market Niche's Buying Criteria Will Make You More Successful Than Your Competitors
Subject: Setting Your Market Niche's Buying Criteria Will Make You More Successful Than Your Competitors Author:Dennis S. Vogel
Why should anybody buy something from you instead of from a competitor?
Whatever that reason(s) is/are won't make a difference (won't do you any good) if they're not presented logically, with emotional appeal, to your target market.
If you have a mobile oil change service, here's something that will help you. If you have a different business, then adapt this.
1) What's the biggest benefit you offer?
2) Why is it such a big benefit (compared to other alternative products/services)?
3) Why is it more important to a certain group of people than to others?
Let's say your prospects are very busy and distracted, so they have a hard time remembering appointments. Also, when their work shifts are over, there's a lot of traffic, they're tired and just want to get home and rest. But they've driven their cars more than 3,000 miles since they had the oil changed.
They can set up an appointment with you, up to a month in advance. (When they have an accurate estimate how many miles they'll drive.) You'll call them the previous day to confirm your appointment, you'll already have the vehicle's description and license plate number, so you'll want to be sure you have a good idea where their vehicle will be at the appointed time.
So, knowing all that, let's set your market niche's buying criteria so you can reach and catch the attention of others like them. Their buying criteria is something they'll identify with and use when they consider what to buy or even whether or not buy anything.
"You work 8 or more hours per day. After work and on days off, you're tired and still too busy to fight traffic just to bring your vehicle to an oil change service. That's why ABC Mobile Oil Change comes to you and your vehicle.
"Your vehicle is too valuable to neglect oil changes, and your time is too valuable to use it driving to a service station.
"ABC Mobile Oil Change saves your vehicle and your time. Call ###-#### for time and energy saving details today before you drive too many more miles."
That's how to do it. It seems simple and maybe even simplistic, but it can make the difference between thousands of people picking you or your competitors. It's literally that important.
An added note- you should send them or leave a reminder card or magnet for their next oil change (what the mileage will be when another change is needed).
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Subject: My big competitors sell the same brands Author: Cassandra
My major competitors sell the same brands. Their store brands are just like the private label products I sell.
How can I set or reset the buying criteria, when it's already set - DISCOUNT prices?
Subject: Re: My big competitors sell the same brands Author:Dennis S. Vogel
Hi Cassandra:
Brands are important to some people and others will buy whatever is less expensive. There are other things that matter to people also.
I don't what kind of business you have, so let's concentrate on your location and what could be important about it.
Some of your competitors are probably further away from your prospective customers than you are. So you may be able to save people time and hassle in traffic.
If you have a ground level store with one floor and your competitors have stairs or slow elevators, shopping at your store may be more convenient. Especially if you have products that appeal to people with joint pain (especially in their knees).
I don't mean to be sexist but let's try this. Other males and I tend to go into a store commando-style. We go in, get the mission done, then we get out quickly.
Some women tend to browse as they shop. That's the experience they want. I'm not judging them.
Do you have your store set up in a way that makes it easy to shop quickly? Or is it set up for browsing?
Is on one floor? The ground floor?
Are your competitors in the middle of a business district while your store is near a residential area?
NOTE- Don't think that if your store has been there for 20 years that everybody knows and remembers it's there. They don't. They don't own it so they think about many other things that don't include your store.
Don't think that just because you advertise your message is received. It may not be understood. It may not be compelling to prospects. You may think it's great because it pushes your hot buttons, but you're not your market niche.
Let's try this buying criteria. I'm writing this in a way that I hope will appeal to some people, but it hasn't been tested. (You can adapt it to your business and test it for effectiveness. Please read my posts about testing for an explanation.)
"In between working and your time off at home is your life as a commuter. You want to get home and enjoy the rest you deserve. But there are things you need at home.
"When you're on your way home from work, you're tired & possibly frustrated. You're not in the mood to shop. At Life's Necessities, you can shop quickly because everything is easy to find & reach.
"The store is on one floor, you don't have to climb stairs or wait for elevators. We've even timed some typical customers who agreed to test our system. Most of them were able to complete their usual shopping in 20 minutes. They told us that they're able to get to the store within 10 minutes from when they leave work. They get home five minutes after they leave the store.
"Your situation may be different, but it probably won't take you much more than 35 minutes to do your shopping after work. That is unless you want to browse for a while. Our sales floor is set up so you can quickly find things that you need weekly, in just a few minutes. Things you need less often are set up so you have enough room to look at your own pace."
The criteria I wrote is 209 words long (depending on what's considered a word, just number or symbol), so it's a bit long. You'd need to adapt and edit it for your situation.
If you want specific guidance, please contact me or post another message.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
What Should My USP Be?
Subject: What Should My USP Be? Author: candyshack
OK, I know I should have a unique selling proposition for my business. I don't want to set one until I know it's the right one.
The wrong one will bring in the wrong people or worse yet nobody!!
But until I set one, how can I know if it's right?
I'm not sure I'm asking this the right way.
Subject: Re: What Should My USP Be? Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Hi:
Just as a guess, I'm figuring you have a candy store. Even if you don't you can apply the information in this post to a different business.
Sometimes USPs can be used as headlines in ads. So, what I advise you to do is test different possibilities in ads or other marketing messages. Find out which one gets the best response. This doesn't mean the most responses though.
It means that it gets you profitable sales, not just people looking for on-sale/discount items.
So, here's the way you can do this -
1) Pick businesses that serve the same target market.
2) Ask the owners to distribute (give not just put on the counter top) your flyers.
3) Then develop two or more different flyers. Everything on each should be the same except the headline.
Have instructions on the flyers for people to bring them in when they come to your store.
4) Collate/shuffle them so that (If you have two different flyers) - customer #1 gets flyer #1; customer #2 gets flyer #2; customer #3 gets flyer #1; customer #4 gets flyer #2; and so on.
5) Carefully track which flyer induces more people to come in.
OK, now for the flyer content.
Base the messages on what customers have told about the candy. If your business has just started, use information from your trade association or your marketing survey.
You can try marketing candy as people's way of rewarding themselves for working hard or accomplishing something.
If you sell gourmet candy, you can focus on the better, deeper taste and/or better ingredients.
Dennis S. Vogel
Subject: Re: What Should My USP Be? Author: Dion Jackson
Hi Dennis:
My main local competitor seems to have the best USP and has upstaged me. That's besides the competition from the national chains.
He used to be a successful stock car driver and his own mechanic. Now he owns an auto parts store. Mechanics that buy wholesale parts from him even advertise that they get parts from him.
I'm embarassed to do but I'll take a chance on advertising for him.
His business is Winner's Circle Auto Parts. His USP is
"Life is a race you've got to win."
Should I concede the race or do you have something I can use?
Dion Jackson
Subject: Re: What Should My USP Be? Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Thank you for being patient, I hope you were patient.
I ended up moving into another apartment so my computers were out of service for a while.
I won't and can't decide for you what to do. But I do have
something you can test for effectiveness.
I'm glad you included information about your competitor and his business, because that helps me to help you.
I want to point out that this isn't a USP, it's a slogan -"Life is a race you've got to win." Yes, it does tie in with his reputation and business name but it doesn't really "say" anything.
A Unique Selling Proposition is different.
If you have a strong USP, you won't have to concede the race. All you need to do is get the USP out to your target market.
The locally-based auto parts stores where I live are affiliated with or franchisees of CarQuest and NAPA. If yours is like these (near me) you may be better off tying in with the supplier's/ manufacturer's USP. If you're involved with one that doesn't have a USP or has an ineffective USP, then let's develop one for your business.
I know many people are racing fans, but to me, racing isn't the real, everyday world. What I mean is that many people may admire stock car drivers and aspire to be like them, but that's not true reality. (Though to racing fans it may seem like reality.) And your business may never appeal to them. That may seem bad, but you can make it into something good.
You shouldn't try to appeal to everybody because:
1) Different people like different things so nothing will appeal to everybody except pure survival items;
2) It's too expensive to try to reach everybody consistently enough to make a difference.
True reality is driving a regular vehicle - car, (mini)van or truck in traffic. So, your USP could be -
"You need what’s here: Auto parts and supplies for vehicles like yours that have to work in real world traffic." You should test it like I'd advised "candyshack" to do.
If you can get a public domain (non-copyrighted) picture of a stock car on trailer next to a regular car or mini-van, I have an idea that may work. Or you could have a picture like that you own the copyright to.
With a picture like that, you can use a supporting statement like -- "Your car, truck or van doesn't get pulled on a trailer, so it has to work in traffic day after day."
Or a picture of a pit crew working on stock car may work, but again don't use a picture if you don't have a legal right to use it. (If you don't know if you can legally use it, then please don't just to be safe.) Your supporting statement could be - "If you could afford to have a crew work on your car like this, then you may be to afford the same parts that are used in this car. But if one repair has to last through years of traffic, then you need the right parts and supplies for your situation."
Of course, a good USP, as important as it is, is only part of a good marketing program.
If you were a long-term client I'd ask you a lot of questions before I'd be able to develop a whole marketing program. So please, keep my advice in perspective. I believe it will help you, but you need more than just a good USP.
You may be to differentiate yourself (set yourself a *PART* - Come on, Dion at least smile) by giving your customers good information about car repairs and maintenance.
If the local mechanics buy from your competitor anyway, you may be able to afford to tick them off by having clinics in which you show people how to do basic repairs and maintenance. Consider appealing to people who want to do repairs themselves or who can't afford to pay a mechanic to do it.
Just be sure you have insurance to cover you in case somebody gets hurts while following your advice or somebody messes up his/her vehicle despite your good advice. Ask a lawyer about having people sign a waiver form stating they take full responsibility for the work they do.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Starting a business
Subject: Starting a business Author: Melissa
NOTE - This message was sent to me via my e-mail address. I'm posting it here to help you. If you like to send me a question and have me post it, then please do that.
My e-mail address is - thrivingbusiness@email.com
I really would like to open a business. I want to open a restaurant with entertainment. I have chosen a name but don't know where to begin. Could you give me some insight on where I start. I don't have the understanding or know
how to begin. So I feel like I am procrastinating from starting something I want so badly. I am not sure what type of information you need from me to help. I want to start small and go from there.
HELP!!!
Thanks, Melissa
Subject: Re: Starting a business Author: Dennis S. Vogel
My specialty starts after a business has started. I only have a few tips about starting businesses.
The advice I gave Melissa wasn't as much as she wanted or as much as I wish I could have given her. The basics of it may help you. Please read the warnings I gave her.
Hi Melissa:
One thing I definitely know about the restaurant business is that it's hard to make a restaurant profitable. So, if you open one you need to know a lot more than I know about it.
A web site you can get information from is https://www.entrepreneur.com/
I could give you good ideas to market a restaurant, but first it's best for you start it.
Is there a restaurateur near you who may be retiring soon and would let you exchange work (sweat equity) for partial ownership?
Or is there a restaurateur in a nearby city who will want a second restaurant in the near future? If so, you may be able to work yourself into an ownership position.
Just be careful whom you get involved with. If you feel uneasy about somebody, don't get involved with that person no matter how good the opportunity may seem. Our intuition won't look us in the eye and say "Don't do it!"
Intuition just gives us strong hints - gut reactions, tension/insomnia, or feelings of well-being. Don't ignore any of these.
When you're ready to open your restaurant, then I can help you market it.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
What Kind of Business Should I Have?
Subject: What Kind of Business Should I Have? Author: Larry
NOTE - This message was sent to me via my e-mail address. I'm posting it here to help you.
I only post what people send, I don't correct spelling or grammar.
If you like to send me a question and have me post it, then please do that.
My e-mail address is - thrivingbusiness@email.com
Hi there!!!
I was just browsing through Yahoo when I came across your wonderful website but given my deadlines at work (I am still
working for someone else i.e not self-employed yet) I could not read through a lot of important stuff you have in there.
All I need is information regarding what business can I venture into.I have currently raised about R30 000(About $5000),and currently looking for some small business that I can start but that firstly :won't require a huge capital
investment,secondly it should not require 100% of my time as I am currently working for some other IT company but it should be a viable option.
Even though it can earn me some R1000($250) per month.The idea is I want a secondary income as my current salary is way too low to make ends meet.
I am South African but I am sure anywhere in a capitalist market,good business ideas will always thrive. I have started up a small car-wash and valet service business but it is not doing very well. My cousin is helping me take of the business but it is not making enough moolah yet,i guess we are just breaking even as we can just afford to pay the rent, rates & taxes,other expenses and that's it.
We have been going on for almost a year now and I do not think it's a succesful venture.
If you can please advise me on ways I can make this car-wash thingy work or should I give up on it and start something new with the money I have raised, or should I rather keep my money in the bank (though banks give very little interest in return).
Your urgent response will be appreciated.
Regards Larry
NOTE - I answered his questions via e-mail but I'm also including my answer for him here.
Subject: Re: What Kind of Business Should I Have? Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Here's the answer I sent to Larry. The questions I asked him to consider may pertain to you and your situation too.
Hi Larry:
I could give you advice that might help you get some profit from your business. Considering what you wrote, I don't know if that would be best for you.
I'd need more details to customize my advice for you.
I'm not able to able to make your decision, but I can give you some guidance.
There are many things to consider here -
1) Do you like the car-wash and valet service business?
2) If you closed the business down, would you feel frustrated?
2a) If so, why would you feel frustrated?
2b) If you wouldn't feel frustrated, would you feel relieved because having the business is a burden?
3) Why do you have that business? 3a) Is it because it seemed like a way of getting money?
3b) Or because you enthusiastically want to do it/you're passionate about it?
4) Does it seem like you have a car-wash and valet JOB instead of a BUSINESS?
A personal note - I used to be a janitor just to bring in money for myself and my family. But when I cleaned, I did it to my standards. If I didn't like the results, somebody's compliments were meaningless. When I returned to work the next night, I was mad if somebody messed up what I did.
I was glad to quit because I dislike the company & because I want to be a marketing consultant.
So how might this apply to you?
How would you feel if you just cleaned a car and got paid for it, then you saw somebody throw mud on it?
Could you walk away from your current business and not feel bad about it?
Is it reasonable to think that you should have a profitable business by now? For most businesses, one year isn't long enough to get a profit.
If you make the business profitable, you may be sell it and use the money to start a different business.
If you decide to stay in your current business, let me know.
I can give you some advice if you give me some details about it.
Warmly,
Dennis
thrivingbusiness@email.com
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies and tactics.
Updated Response -
Where I live in the USA, car wash businesses are in buildings & have machines to do the work. Some of these car wash businesses have self-service vacuum cleaners for customers.
I've heard about some custom car wash businesses. Instead of relying on machines to do all of the work, employees clean the vehicles. They give customers other options. Some options are advanced formula waxes, cleaning vehicle interiors & detailing work,
Detailing can include removing small, shallow dents, removing rust & fixing small scratches.
Your valet service could overlap with your car wash. Valets can drive vehicles to your shop & deliver the vehicles after the work is done.
Based on the popularity of Uber & Lyft, people might want chauffeur service at scheduled times &/or unplanned rides.
Business Team Work Adds Value
You can add more revenue & profit by helping other business owners add more value.
You could work with mechanics by providing rides for people whose vehicles are being serviced.
During unpleasant weather, you might provide service for store customers. If you bring people from homes & work places & drive up to store entrances. After they finish shopping, your drivers can help customers with their packages & bring people to their next destinations.
Unpleasant weather is whatever atmospheric issues people don't like. So, this business could be consistent, especially when people enjoy the services.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
How to market a Software Game?
Subject: How to market a Software Game? Author: veerla
Hi,
I developed a software application which plays some game with the users. The game could be more interesting for students as it deals with words in Dictionary.
I want to launch this product into the market.
I would like to know how to select the Market Segment and how to advertise my product.
Could anyone please help me?
Thanks,
Veerla.
Subject: Re: How to market a Software Game? Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Hi:
I don't know which grade level(s) your product is for. If what I wrote below doesn't apply to your situation, please give me more details so I'll have a better chance of helping you.
Let's try this for starters -
The public school my daughter is in has "Book Fairs" to raise money for the school. (This is necessary because of budget cuts.) But they sell candy, software and other things too.
If you have connections (or want to establish some) in a school or school system that sells things like this, you may be able to find out if one or more teachers will endorse the game.
Some teachers here are active in fund-raising. If that's the case where you live, they may be eager to try your game if you tell them you want it used as a fund-raiser. But their endorsement(s), if any, should be impartial.
You'd end up letting them try out a copy possibly with students. Consider a cost of operations donation.
There's a possible snag here. Does your software run on PCs or Macs?
The classrooms, where my daughter goes to school, are equipped with Macs.
If one or more teachers will endorse your game, you can ask the principal or school administrator about them selling copies of your game to raise money. S/he may refer you to the leader of the PTO (Parent-Teacher-Organization).
In addition to PTOs, boy scouts, girl scouts, The Big Brothers/Big Sisters organizations may be interested in helping you sell your game also if you'll donate some of your profits to them.
You should be willing to do this because they'll get you sales you may not get any other way. Whether or not donations like this would be tax-deductible is something you ask an accountant or the IRS.
If the game does well in fund raisers, then you'd have a target market. If you can get testimonials from teachers and those in the PTO (or other grooups) about it's effectiveness and the level of sales, you may be able to get store owners to stock it.
Store owners don't want to fill shelves with products that people won't buy. If you show that your game is popular they won't be so shy about stocking it. If they don't want to buy it wholesale, offer them a consignment arrangement.
The basic way this would work is -
You leave (let's say) 10 copies with them. Then you'd go back in a week or a month to check how many they have left. They'd pay you for any copies they don't have left unless some were returned as defective or damaged.
They may only stock your game if you advertise it. (Too often if a product isn't advertised people won't know it exists, so they won't buy it.)
If that's the case, let me know and I'll suggest a few low cost ways of doing it. I may be able to help you with some compelling sales copy also.
Now if you've read some of my other posts, you know how I feel about Wal-Mart. However, if you're able to 1) show buyers of big stores how well your game has sold in small stores and 2) produce thousands of units, you may be able to get it sold on a national basis.
If you're just starting in your business, you should start out by testing your product in small risk situations.
Thanks for the question.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Hi,
I developed a software application which plays some game with the users. The game could be more interesting for students as it deals with words in Dictionary.
I want to launch this product into the market.
I would like to know how to select the Market Segment and how to advertise my product.
Could anyone please help me?
Thanks,
Veerla.
Subject: Re: How to market a Software Game? Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Hi:
I don't know which grade level(s) your product is for. If what I wrote below doesn't apply to your situation, please give me more details so I'll have a better chance of helping you.
Let's try this for starters -
The public school my daughter is in has "Book Fairs" to raise money for the school. (This is necessary because of budget cuts.) But they sell candy, software and other things too.
If you have connections (or want to establish some) in a school or school system that sells things like this, you may be able to find out if one or more teachers will endorse the game.
Some teachers here are active in fund-raising. If that's the case where you live, they may be eager to try your game if you tell them you want it used as a fund-raiser. But their endorsement(s), if any, should be impartial.
You'd end up letting them try out a copy possibly with students. Consider a cost of operations donation.
There's a possible snag here. Does your software run on PCs or Macs?
The classrooms, where my daughter goes to school, are equipped with Macs.
If one or more teachers will endorse your game, you can ask the principal or school administrator about them selling copies of your game to raise money. S/he may refer you to the leader of the PTO (Parent-Teacher-Organization).
In addition to PTOs, boy scouts, girl scouts, The Big Brothers/Big Sisters organizations may be interested in helping you sell your game also if you'll donate some of your profits to them.
You should be willing to do this because they'll get you sales you may not get any other way. Whether or not donations like this would be tax-deductible is something you ask an accountant or the IRS.
If the game does well in fund raisers, then you'd have a target market. If you can get testimonials from teachers and those in the PTO (or other grooups) about it's effectiveness and the level of sales, you may be able to get store owners to stock it.
Store owners don't want to fill shelves with products that people won't buy. If you show that your game is popular they won't be so shy about stocking it. If they don't want to buy it wholesale, offer them a consignment arrangement.
The basic way this would work is -
You leave (let's say) 10 copies with them. Then you'd go back in a week or a month to check how many they have left. They'd pay you for any copies they don't have left unless some were returned as defective or damaged.
They may only stock your game if you advertise it. (Too often if a product isn't advertised people won't know it exists, so they won't buy it.)
If that's the case, let me know and I'll suggest a few low cost ways of doing it. I may be able to help you with some compelling sales copy also.
Now if you've read some of my other posts, you know how I feel about Wal-Mart. However, if you're able to 1) show buyers of big stores how well your game has sold in small stores and 2) produce thousands of units, you may be able to get it sold on a national basis.
If you're just starting in your business, you should start out by testing your product in small risk situations.
Thanks for the question.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Sunday, June 19, 2016
What's a reliable survey?
Subject: What's a reliable survey? Author: mom_pop
I've heard that a survey isn't valid unless its done on a random population of 1,000 or more people.
I'd never have the time to read the completed surveys of 1,000 people.
Am I just out of luck or is there another way?
Subject: Re: What's a reliable survey? Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Hi:
This IS a confusing subject. My views on it may not be the most popular, but I'm sure they're realistic.
If you let people pick up a survey on a "Please Take One" basis, some people will say that the results aren't valid because respondents SELF-SELECTED."
Realistically, all respondents self-select because (in a free country), anybody can refuse to answer any/all of the questions. If you approached everybody at random so that everybody had an equal chance of being picked to participate then 1) It would make the results statistically valid; 2) You can safely bet that some won't respond. That wouldn't invalidate the research, otherwise there'd be very few valid research projects.
My point is, that for a small business, if you went through the trouble to make your survey statistically valid, the results would be invalid. Why? Because very few, if any, businesses are going to appeal to everybody in its trade zone unless the products/services are absolute necessities and there are no competitors. So, trying to survey a group that's representative of a whole population is a waste of time, energy and materials.
If you're just starting your business, you should have a good idea before you start who will want and be able to afford what you plan to offer. You should survey THEM ONLY.
If the survey isn't vital to people, not everybody will respond anyway. In many cases, those who don't respond aren't true prospects anyway. They don't respond because they're not interested in the products, services or subject matter the survey is based on. So, it's not worth their time to participate.
If you know that your business will appeal only to blue-collar people, don't survey executives, you ought to know what their answers will generally be anyway.
I doubt that any survey will be totally accurate to the point of being completely definitive. The results should be INDICATIVE.In other words, the results should indicate what a business should do and to whom it should make its offers.
If you don't know for sure if some people will want and be able to pay for what you offer, then be sure that you survey enough of them. If you need a customer-base of 200, and there are 2,000 prospects, don't just randomly survey 20 of them.
NOTE - Representative means the selected people are much like everybody in the group as a whole.
A randomly selected, representative group is chosen because surveying the whole group of thousands or more people isn't affordable. If your target market is small, do your best to reach all or enough of them to find out if your business will be profitable.
For example: If I survey 100 out of 300 small businesses to find out who may be true prospects for my service, I wouldn't care if 80 respond negatively or not at all, if I get 20 clients. 20 clients would be all I could handle at a time.
Realistically, I'd need to reach out to a few more prospects than I need just in case I lose a few clients along the way.
My conclusion is - The research is successful if we get the results we need, even if they're not the results we wanted.
Thank for the question.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
I've heard that a survey isn't valid unless its done on a random population of 1,000 or more people.
I'd never have the time to read the completed surveys of 1,000 people.
Am I just out of luck or is there another way?
Subject: Re: What's a reliable survey? Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Hi:
This IS a confusing subject. My views on it may not be the most popular, but I'm sure they're realistic.
If you let people pick up a survey on a "Please Take One" basis, some people will say that the results aren't valid because respondents SELF-SELECTED."
Realistically, all respondents self-select because (in a free country), anybody can refuse to answer any/all of the questions. If you approached everybody at random so that everybody had an equal chance of being picked to participate then 1) It would make the results statistically valid; 2) You can safely bet that some won't respond. That wouldn't invalidate the research, otherwise there'd be very few valid research projects.
My point is, that for a small business, if you went through the trouble to make your survey statistically valid, the results would be invalid. Why? Because very few, if any, businesses are going to appeal to everybody in its trade zone unless the products/services are absolute necessities and there are no competitors. So, trying to survey a group that's representative of a whole population is a waste of time, energy and materials.
If you're just starting your business, you should have a good idea before you start who will want and be able to afford what you plan to offer. You should survey THEM ONLY.
If the survey isn't vital to people, not everybody will respond anyway. In many cases, those who don't respond aren't true prospects anyway. They don't respond because they're not interested in the products, services or subject matter the survey is based on. So, it's not worth their time to participate.
If you know that your business will appeal only to blue-collar people, don't survey executives, you ought to know what their answers will generally be anyway.
I doubt that any survey will be totally accurate to the point of being completely definitive. The results should be INDICATIVE.In other words, the results should indicate what a business should do and to whom it should make its offers.
If you don't know for sure if some people will want and be able to pay for what you offer, then be sure that you survey enough of them. If you need a customer-base of 200, and there are 2,000 prospects, don't just randomly survey 20 of them.
NOTE - Representative means the selected people are much like everybody in the group as a whole.
A randomly selected, representative group is chosen because surveying the whole group of thousands or more people isn't affordable. If your target market is small, do your best to reach all or enough of them to find out if your business will be profitable.
For example: If I survey 100 out of 300 small businesses to find out who may be true prospects for my service, I wouldn't care if 80 respond negatively or not at all, if I get 20 clients. 20 clients would be all I could handle at a time.
Realistically, I'd need to reach out to a few more prospects than I need just in case I lose a few clients along the way.
My conclusion is - The research is successful if we get the results we need, even if they're not the results we wanted.
Thank for the question.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Have you ever competed with Wal-Mart?
Subject: Have you ever competed with Wal-Mart? Author: Hamilton
I've read what you've written about Wal-Mart. I wonder if you're not taking it seriously enough. People know that Wal-Mart has low prices and an easy return policy. It's hard to compete with these, plus one stop shopping.
Have you ever competed with Wal-Mart? The supercenters have groceries too.
Subject: Re: Have you ever competed with Wal-Mart? Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Hi:
First of all - No, I've never competed against Wal-Mart.
I worked for W-M for almost 10 years, I started out in a small store in Nebraska. Then I transferred to a bigger store when I moved back to Wisconsin.
On the subject of the easy return policy.
Keep a few things in mind -
1) In many cases, people found the products without any help from a W-M employee.
2) They stood in line waiting to pay for the products.
3) Then they probably wait in line at the service desk to return the products.
These three may be easy, but they're not convenient.
What I'm about to write is something that's not well-known and the facts vary from situation to situation.
Because of W-M's size, it controls most, if not all of its supply chains. This allows it set prices. W-M buyers tell manufacturers what W-M will pay for a product. (W-M also puts other pressures on manufacturers.) So, the manufacturers have some choices.
They can -
1) Tell W-M where to stick it.
2) Achieve economies of scale that let them make a lot of products at increasingly lower costs.
3) Use cheaper materials and labor.
Do you think that those accusations of W-M buying products made in foreign sweat shops is pure fiction?
Maybe W-M executives didn't know about the sweat shops, but some people will have things made that way so they can afford to charge W-M what W-M is willing to pay.
I don't know which manufacturers choose which option(s). However, what I've seen at both W-M stores I've worked in is there are shopping carts full of products that customers had returned. This happened regularly, not just in January when people returned Christmas presents.
There had been, and probably still are, literally pallets of defective products that are kept until a truck comes to pick them up.
If you know somebody who works at the W-M store closest to you, ask about this? Why? Because I think it's significant.
The questions that comes to my mind are -
1) Does W-M return so many defective products because there's a certain percentage of products that are defective no matter who sells them?
2) Or is it because W-M forces manufacturers to cut production costs?
So, let's tie this all together. You can use facts about W-M inconvenience to show how it's easier to do business with you despite the one-stop shopping of W-M stores and its supercenters. If you'd want to use W-M's lack of quality as a marketing focus, then gather facts. W-M may threaten you with legal action but if what you publish is true and a lawyer will back you, call their bluff.
W-M could try to force me to remove and retract things I've written about it. If it did, I'd tell it, go for it. I'd contact the press and the reporters would jump in and investigate. W-M would hurt itself with the bad publicity more than I ever could.
It's major competitors would probably join in, too, like sharks sensing blood in the ocean. Small retailers would probably band together and join the fight too.
It may sound gross or overly macho but it almost applies to this discussion. If an enemy can bleed and it's bones can break, it isn't invincible.
But back to your situation - To be specific, I'd have to know more about your business and target market.
If your target market consists of retired and unemployed people who have little money but a lot of time, you won't win. If your target market consists of people with discretionary income and little spare time, then focus on them.
Very few businesses are going to sell to "everybody." Not even W-M gets "everybody." W-M has weaknesses, you may just end up shining a bright light on them. Just don't base your whole marketing program on W-M's weaknesses, show your own strengths too.
I read an article about the lack of customer service lately. The author wrote that Wal-Mart puts a whole downtown under one roof. He probably wrote that for convenience instead of writing the exact situation.
Just as an example, in the retail sector, the downtown where I live has businesses that offer what W-M doesn't -
-Tailored-made formal wear
-Gourmet candy
-Video tape rental
-High quality upscale men's and women's clothing
-Decorative wind socks and fancy kites
-High quality electronic products
-Service-oriented restaurants (not just a snack bar)
-Computer sales and SERVICE
-Antiques
-High quality upscale gifts
-A pharmacy that delivers prescriptions
-High quality home furnishings not just cheap particle board products that fall apart
-Spas
-Complete lines of auto parts with knowledgeable staff
And these are besides the other businesses.
A downtown or even an individual business can sell things that Wal-Mart would never sell. Why would W-M sell some things?
Because W-M stores will only sell (continually stock) products that thousands of people will buy.
If you have a local target market of 600 people who buy often, you may be to stay in business. That won't work in W-M stores except in the electronics department, if even there.
In other words, if a small business were to sell 1,000 bottles of shampoo in a week, it probably couldn't keep the shelves stocked. If a W-M store failed to sell 1,000 bottles of shampoo in a week for a period of 6 months, it'd probably discontinue shampoo sales.
Just one more point.
Have you seen any handicapped people achieve a lot of things? (The stories are available to read in some magazines.)
How do you think they do that?
Do they do it by concentrating on what they can't do?
No, They focus on what they can do.
My advice for you and others reading this is - Develop your strengths, find somebody to compensate for your weaknesses. (We all have some.) Focus on things that you do well and others are willing and able to pay you for. Market it well and W-M won't be able to stop you!
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
I've read what you've written about Wal-Mart. I wonder if you're not taking it seriously enough. People know that Wal-Mart has low prices and an easy return policy. It's hard to compete with these, plus one stop shopping.
Have you ever competed with Wal-Mart? The supercenters have groceries too.
Subject: Re: Have you ever competed with Wal-Mart? Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Hi:
First of all - No, I've never competed against Wal-Mart.
I worked for W-M for almost 10 years, I started out in a small store in Nebraska. Then I transferred to a bigger store when I moved back to Wisconsin.
On the subject of the easy return policy.
Keep a few things in mind -
1) In many cases, people found the products without any help from a W-M employee.
2) They stood in line waiting to pay for the products.
3) Then they probably wait in line at the service desk to return the products.
These three may be easy, but they're not convenient.
What I'm about to write is something that's not well-known and the facts vary from situation to situation.
Because of W-M's size, it controls most, if not all of its supply chains. This allows it set prices. W-M buyers tell manufacturers what W-M will pay for a product. (W-M also puts other pressures on manufacturers.) So, the manufacturers have some choices.
They can -
1) Tell W-M where to stick it.
2) Achieve economies of scale that let them make a lot of products at increasingly lower costs.
3) Use cheaper materials and labor.
Do you think that those accusations of W-M buying products made in foreign sweat shops is pure fiction?
Maybe W-M executives didn't know about the sweat shops, but some people will have things made that way so they can afford to charge W-M what W-M is willing to pay.
I don't know which manufacturers choose which option(s). However, what I've seen at both W-M stores I've worked in is there are shopping carts full of products that customers had returned. This happened regularly, not just in January when people returned Christmas presents.
There had been, and probably still are, literally pallets of defective products that are kept until a truck comes to pick them up.
If you know somebody who works at the W-M store closest to you, ask about this? Why? Because I think it's significant.
The questions that comes to my mind are -
1) Does W-M return so many defective products because there's a certain percentage of products that are defective no matter who sells them?
2) Or is it because W-M forces manufacturers to cut production costs?
So, let's tie this all together. You can use facts about W-M inconvenience to show how it's easier to do business with you despite the one-stop shopping of W-M stores and its supercenters. If you'd want to use W-M's lack of quality as a marketing focus, then gather facts. W-M may threaten you with legal action but if what you publish is true and a lawyer will back you, call their bluff.
W-M could try to force me to remove and retract things I've written about it. If it did, I'd tell it, go for it. I'd contact the press and the reporters would jump in and investigate. W-M would hurt itself with the bad publicity more than I ever could.
It's major competitors would probably join in, too, like sharks sensing blood in the ocean. Small retailers would probably band together and join the fight too.
It may sound gross or overly macho but it almost applies to this discussion. If an enemy can bleed and it's bones can break, it isn't invincible.
But back to your situation - To be specific, I'd have to know more about your business and target market.
If your target market consists of retired and unemployed people who have little money but a lot of time, you won't win. If your target market consists of people with discretionary income and little spare time, then focus on them.
Very few businesses are going to sell to "everybody." Not even W-M gets "everybody." W-M has weaknesses, you may just end up shining a bright light on them. Just don't base your whole marketing program on W-M's weaknesses, show your own strengths too.
I read an article about the lack of customer service lately. The author wrote that Wal-Mart puts a whole downtown under one roof. He probably wrote that for convenience instead of writing the exact situation.
Just as an example, in the retail sector, the downtown where I live has businesses that offer what W-M doesn't -
-Tailored-made formal wear
-Gourmet candy
-Video tape rental
-High quality upscale men's and women's clothing
-Decorative wind socks and fancy kites
-High quality electronic products
-Service-oriented restaurants (not just a snack bar)
-Computer sales and SERVICE
-Antiques
-High quality upscale gifts
-A pharmacy that delivers prescriptions
-High quality home furnishings not just cheap particle board products that fall apart
-Spas
-Complete lines of auto parts with knowledgeable staff
And these are besides the other businesses.
A downtown or even an individual business can sell things that Wal-Mart would never sell. Why would W-M sell some things?
Because W-M stores will only sell (continually stock) products that thousands of people will buy.
If you have a local target market of 600 people who buy often, you may be to stay in business. That won't work in W-M stores except in the electronics department, if even there.
In other words, if a small business were to sell 1,000 bottles of shampoo in a week, it probably couldn't keep the shelves stocked. If a W-M store failed to sell 1,000 bottles of shampoo in a week for a period of 6 months, it'd probably discontinue shampoo sales.
Just one more point.
Have you seen any handicapped people achieve a lot of things? (The stories are available to read in some magazines.)
How do you think they do that?
Do they do it by concentrating on what they can't do?
No, They focus on what they can do.
My advice for you and others reading this is - Develop your strengths, find somebody to compensate for your weaknesses. (We all have some.) Focus on things that you do well and others are willing and able to pay you for. Market it well and W-M won't be able to stop you!
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2016 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
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