Marketing in Tough Times

Are you sitting in your store or office wondering where all the customers/clients went? In normal times we typically lose about 10% of our customers in any given year to competition, their changing needs, or other mysterious reasons; but these are not "normal" times. Our lack of customers is just a snapshot of the greater economy. When the economy is struggling you can also expect to be struggling. That is "normal."
During tough times it is imperative that you reach out more, do more to attract business. This also may mean spending money that is scarce. However, DO NOT consider anything that you have to spend on advertising or marketing as an expense. It may affect your cash flow, but it is not an expense, it is an investment in your future success. Without ongoing marketing efforts you can be sure that the 10% client loss will increase substantially.
When available cash for marketing or advertising becomes a challenge it is time to get creative. There are a number of avenues you can take to get your name out there that are free. They make an investment of time, but you have that if your traffic is down.

Take a look at social media, using your computer to reach out, newsletters to keep in touch, surveys to be sure you are offering what your customers want, blogging or article marketing, networking or press releases.
If you need some ideas that match your goals contact me. We never charge for the first hour of consultation and that may be all you need to get headed in the right direction.

Are You Prepared?

Having recently spent over a week cleaning, sorting, donating and gifting my brother’s stuff, I had an exceptional “in your face” lesson about how important it is to plan our exit at least as well as we plan our lives. This chore just reinforced the message of how important it is for us all to be prepared.

None of us want to think about our own morality so we tend to not get organized; it is critical that we do. Even if we don’t think we have any heirs there is a still a need to take care of this stuff. It is very hard on whoever has to go through all your papers and stuff to find all the pieces of the puzzle.

In my Brother’s case he didn’t have children or exes and his estate is not very big, but he had a lot invested in collectibles and there is no indication of how he wanted to share it. Unfortunately, there is also no inventory to go along with the collections. This oversight leaves someone with a big project of evaluating and sorting and purging. A simple list or even the original purchase receipts shoved in an envelope somewhere would lessen the stress of this challenge. Not only will this be a monumental chore, it will keep the loss up front and interfere with a healthy mourning process.

Although a legally executed will would be the best choice of documentation, simple lists or notes can serve well to take some of the strain out of the project. The lists can assure that you are able to share with your friends after you have gone in the same ways you would if you were still around. Sharing your wishes with others is the extra special gift you can leave for the ones you love.

And keep in mind that not leaving a valid will forces heirs to have to deal with probate and courts. The government gets lots of money and the family gets lots af anxiety and heartache. Do you really want to leave this legacy? Acting now is much easier than having your family re-act later.

Fraud Alert

It can happen to anyone. I just got one of those emails that is “phishing” for information. It looked like it really came from my bank and when I clicked on the link it took me to a page that looked like the home page for my bank. Whooa! Never, never, never, click on the link from a mysterious email, or any other account, even if it looks real, unless you have contacted the account yourself. These perpitrators are trying to steal you identity. Immediately go directly to the account in question to check on your status. Type in the address that you have on file; DO NOT use the link in the email; this tells the bad guys that you are vulnerable.
While you are in your account contact the fraud division. They may want you to forward the email to them. Banks and other companies take this kind of fraud very seriously. They work closely with law enforcement to find the bad people who are causing so many problems for people; especially those who aren’t aware of this type of fraud. This kind of identity theft can cause you years of hassles, lost credibility and huge amounts of money to repair.
It is a shame that we can't trust our fellow man, but unfortunately there are too many of these frauds happening to not be aware so you can protect yourself

Civility

I was just having a discussion with my Dad about why people don’t return social obligations. How many times have you taken friends to dinner before they think to ask you out in return? Do you keep inviting them? This lead to the conclusion that they just don’t know any better; they were never taught manners.
The conversation continued with a look at why people don’t RSVP a mailed invitation. "Répondez s'il vous plaît", which is a French term that means “please respond”, is added to invitations for a reason. It is very frustrating to create a wonderful party and not know how many people will show up. This is an especially special nuisance when you are paying a caterer for each meal. I think it is common courtesy to let your hostess know if you will be able to attend. That brings us to “what is common courtesy”?
Emily Post was America’s foremost authority on manners and graciousness in both your personal life and business. Her contention is that if you abide by the Golden Rule you will enjoy a more comfortable and successful life. That means responding to invitations when asked and considering the value of the friendship when playing the “who owes what” game.
These practices also apply to your business life. Return calls promptly, do what you say you will, remember thank you notes and generally treat you associates as well as you do your friends.
Your life will become a more positive place; a place where it is fun to hang out and has plenty of rewards to offer.

SERENDIPITY

Serendipity is the good fortune of making pleasant discoveries by accident. I just had one of those wonderful moments this afternoon. I had chosen new paint colors for my Beach house by the way the looked to my eye. I knew just what look I wanted. Then today as I was describing the colors to a friend I discovered that I had chosen colors that all had environment related names; the grey is called Cumberland Fog, the purple is Blackberry Harvest, and the white is Snow Fall. All three represent, to me, the great outdoors which is definitely the flavor of the neighborhood where my house is. People there definitely spend more time outside than in.
Have you ever picked out a new treasure at the store and then found out that it was the item on sale? That’s serendipity. Isn’t it fun? Pleasant surprises like that are what add smiles to our lives. They are what keep us looking at the sunny side of life.
Serendipity doesn’t happen entirely by accident. It happens when people are positive and open to new opportunities. Looking down all the time will only yield a few pennies and a lot of used gum, but looking up will offer a world of possibilities. Keeping a positive outlook allows good thing to happen, being negative limits your chances for serendipity. Wouldn’t you prefer to have life’s little surprises than a collection of old gum.

Do You Still Know How to Write?

How often have you seen a teen without a cell phone? And how many of them are texting messages to their friends. The cell phone has definitely become a way of life. Besides the normal questions of etiquette, distraction and just plain rudeness there are two other questions to explore.

The first has to do with communication styles. I don’t understand why someone would send a text message when they can just as easily make a call from the same equipment. Don’t people like to talk to each other any more? Have we totally lost the need to reach out and connect with other people? One young man I recently saw on TV, who was getting ready to go to Marine boot camp, was perplexed about not being able to use his phone with him. He readily admitted to 17,000 text messages per month; yes 17 THOUSAND. He must never talk to anyone or do anything besides texting.

The second challenge this young man will have to face is also a problem for a lot of people. Does he know how to write a letter? One of quandaries of text messages is the shortened language form. For ease of use most words have been shortened, or just represented with letters. Will this young man, or anyone else for that matter, be able to translate the abbreviations back into proper English. How will they communicate with the folks back home or any offices or services where they need help? I doubt that the Marines will accept text messages for inquiries. The chance of him having a cell phone available on duty is also very slim. How does he expect to keep in touch with his world?

I do appreciate that cell phones, with their texting technologies are a great tool. However, there is a time and place. The technology is being abused. They have even evolved into a Twitter world where 140 characters can convey your message. It is a quick and easy way to spread the word of any event in real time. But to just use the technology on a whim, or as a toy, defeats its purpose and dilutes our communication skills to a debilitating degree.

Because We Always Did It That Way

Are your systems really as efficient as they could be? Have you calculated the actual time it takes for each task and how it may be improved with additional training of your staff? An easy measure of efficiency is a count of rejects. An accurate count can help you monitor material costs, labor efficiencies, and often employee attitudes.

The attitude of your employee can make or break your business. The idea of team building is not new, but is still not used as much as it should be. Employees who are invested in the outcome of their efforts and are true team members are more likely to contribute positively to your bottom line. Being team members helps employees take ownership and therefore do a more conscious job. They will care a lot more. Having input in their professional future helps their feelings of self worth and sense of being appreciated. Several studies have reported that many employees are more concerned with the culture and environment of where they work that with the paycheck. Of course the paycheck is important, but it is not the only driving force for a lot of people.

"Because we always did it that way" is a guarantee for failure. Not being open to change is an automatic roadblock to growth. Change should be the only part of your business that is consistent. Your business is a living thing that is constantly growing and changing. Become a fly on the wall and take a hard look at your processes. And keep in mind that flys don't have egos; the best thing you can do for your business is to get out of your own way. A successful enterprise is a reward in itself and plenty of fuel for your ego.