Categories
Franchise

Gaining Promotion: Importance of Marketing and PR

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Perhaps one of the most important elements in driving the success of your business or franchise venture is to market you business in the most effective manner to get high visibility of your company, products and services. While you may think a start up business will not have the capital available for a huge advertising campaign that involves national exposure on television, billboards etc, but PR can offer a cost-efficient and effective alternative…
One great aspect in investing in a franchise is the instant solid brand recognition you receive from the start. Your business will have been established within a consumer’s mind prior your investment in the franchise. However, in order for your franchise to succeed within its own exclusive territory, you need to gain promotion of your business with local people to make it truly successful.
Your first step in building a visible marketing business portfolio is to create awareness of your business within the local market place. And how do you achieve this? Gaining coverage in local media, whether it be press or radio or local TV, will help put your business ‘on the map’ and has the added advantage over advertising of being more likely to be read- and more likely to be believed!
If someone reads an editorial piece on how good your business service, products is, then they are more likely to trust this source, than a 30 second advertisement recorded on radio…In saying this, editorial coverage has also the added benefit of providing you with the opportunity to say more about your business, products and services than a short advertisement will allow.
So what makes a good PR story? The launch of your new business within the local market place is a good start. Thereafter you should announce:

  • new business gains;
  • achievements and awards;
  • special deals;
  • promotions and
  • family, birthday and seasonal occasions.

A regular flow of newsworthy information will increase your business credibility and visibility in your locality and even outside of your local marketplace. This is a classic example of pull factor, whereby word of mouth can drive new customers to come looking for you. Once you have achieved this pull factor, your well on your way to business success and profitability…
Next make sure you send your story to the right place. It is important to find out the correct names of editors, writers, news reporters, radio editors who you will be contacting to promote your PR story. Keep your communications simple and to the point. Journalists do not what novels! They want snappy and short editorial pieces of news that is to the point, gives factual information and possibly a short bio of the business. Where possible include a photograph to illustrate your story too. As readers our eyes are drawn first to pictures in the pages of newspapers and magazines, and a good picture with your PR story should grab attention…
There are other forms of “PR” that falls under the banner heading of press releases, such as your business sponsorship of local sports events and charity events, supporting customers and clients can be an effective means in creating brand awareness and high visibility of your business. The principle of PR is based on fostering positive perceptions of your business through communication of information. What people feel and say about you- your customers, suppliers, business franchisees and franchisor, the wider community- will influence potential customers and make a real difference to your business success in the future.
In short, PR is not just about generating a “feel good factor” but in making a significant contribution to real business success for you and the franchise operation.
For more information on PR and marketing campaigns and incentives, please feel free to leave me a comment…
AineMeadePhoto.jpgAine Meade is a Website Editor for Franchise Direct, a leading Internet franchise advertising portal. Aine creates high quality franchise information for its international websites in the U.S., and Europe. Aine has a BA (First) in English and History; MA in Literature & Publishing; Diploma in Media Journalism and a Diploma in Marketing.

Categories
People & Relationships

5 Strategies for Creating Effective Follow Up

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For a solo professional having an up-to-date contact management database is one of the KEY administrative systems you have to have for your business. And, even more important, is having a system in place to create effective follow-up. Your business is built on following up leads and building relationships.

If you don’t have a contact management system in place, you will not be able to follow-up effectively with prospects, you could lose clients, and you will not be able to build your business.

Your contact management system needn’t be a ‘bells and whistles’ expensive database but it does need to be easy to use, easy to maintain, and easy for you to find your contact data. Once your contact management system is in place you need to ensure that you keep it up-to-date and are using it to follow up with prospects.

Spreadsheets are a great tool for keeping track of your contacts, but even they have their limitations, particularly if your database is starting to get very large – anything over 100 contacts really needs to be on a computerised, contact management database.

My very favourite contact management system is ACT! It really meets all of the criteria above in that it’s:

Easy to use;
Easy to maintain; and
Easy to find contacts.

And here’s a tip I have for you – you don’t necessarily need the latest version, especially if you’re going to use it just for yourself. I bought my first version of ACT! (ACT! 6.0 2004) off Ebay for $20. If you’re going to buy software off Ebay check that it’s being sold as ‘brand new and unregistered’. This was a very small investment for me to make to see if I liked the system and once I knew it was ideal I had no hesitation in upgrading to the latest version.

Keeping your contact management database up-to-date can seem a bit daunting, particularly if you have a lot of contacts. Here are my top 5 strategies for creating effective follow-up and keeping your contact management system up-to-date.

1. Update as you go along! Whenever you speak with or email a contact take a few minutes afterwards to update your database with this information BEFORE moving on to the next task. For example, did your conversation end with you promising to contact them again in a months’ time? If so, note this down and create a follow-up task there and then so you don’t forget.

2. Touch base regularly. Each month go through your database and see who you haven’t had any contact with over the last few months. Send them a ‘just getting in touch with you’ email, or call them.

3. Don’t forget good old-fashioned snail mail! Even snail-mail has gone all hi-tech. A great follow-up tool, and one that I currently use, is Send Out Cards – it’s really quick and simple to use. You can choose to send either a card or postcard, and it makes for a great ‘stay-in-touch’ service. And just as simple to use as email, only more personal! You can even upload your own handwriting font to personalise your cards even more.

4. Send a newsletter. Okay, it’s not exactly personal one-on-one follow up, but it is keeping you in touch with your database. Very often your newsletter will generate a response from your reader, which means you will be able to turn this into a one-on-one communication with your contact!

5. Keep the process going! Make it a habit to update your database regularly. If you don’t get the opportunity to update your database as you’re going along (Tip #1) spend 20 minutes at the end of each day reflecting on what you’ve done during the day, who you’ve contacted, what the outcome was, and enter all of this information into your contact management system.
Follow these 5 tips and you will soon see your business start to grow through effective follow-up!

Categories
Operations

Way of Thinking Drives Profitability

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Business Managers not focused on improvement become administrators at best and bureaucrats at worst.
We tend to think of Sales as being the only competitive area of business, but that’s only the beginning; competition continues beyond Sales through the entire business process.
Improvement Equals Profit Enhancement
There are 4 basic ways to improve the bottom line:
1. Cook the books.
Long before the guys at Enron there was another Texan who bamboozled for profit. Billie Sol Estes made the cover of Time Magazine in the early 1960s as the “Texas Wiz Kid”. An inquisitive child, Billie Sol grew to be an inquisitive man; he figured out that liquid fertilizer was lighter than water and was worth a whole lot more. Huge storage tanks filled with water, except for the top 2 or 3 inches of liquid fertilizer, provided the security for loan after loan. He also once borrowed money on his neighbor’s cattle.
Billie Sol built a financial empire on one shady deal after another. He had all the politicians in his pocket, including LBJ. There’s a down side to “cooking the books”, you may end up with a room mate named Burno who insists you wear a little apron. . . Don’t do it!
2. Raise Prices.
An increase in prices should increase profitability; unless you end up being noncompetitive and lose customers. Raising prices works best when you’re a sole source provider or when you have more business than you can handle. Remember the 90s?
Better still is raising prices when the quality of the product / service and business processes is higher / better than anyone elses. It’s the customers’ total cost of doing business, not price that keeps them buying. “Buying cheap to save money can be like stopping a clock to save time.”
3. Sell More.
If you sell more and control the costs of those sales you’ll make more money. The most profitable sales are most often the repeat sales to the same customers. Customer retention and repeat sales are tied to more than price.
4. Decrease Costs.
Any reduction in cost of doing business without loss of income will have a dramatic impact on profitability. Improved productivity rules.
Ronald Coase and Friction in Business
An English economist, Coase wrote that there is friction or costs involved with business entities. There’s the friction/cost of “searching” for customers and suppliers. There’s the “coordination friction/cost” of on-going business processes. The last and most expensive friction/cost, is that of “failure”, of something going wrong and having to be redone. The CEO of a chain of white table linen restaurants estimated that for every meal sent back, 32 new meals had to be sold to make up the loss.
Smart customers understand about the “total cost” of doing business. Your competitor’s prices may be lower, the quality of their product/service may be equal to yours; but if their business processes are screwy and drive up the customer’s cost. . . you have no competitors. You don’t have to be twice as good as the next guy, be just a little better and you stand heads and shoulders above competitors.
Fewer Doing More
Unemployment is up, and so is productivity. Those companies that constantly work on improving the quality of their product/services and of their business processes will be the survivors. The future holds more of the same.
Document Knowledge / Expectations
All human endeavor is predicated on knowledge, on what you know. Business knowledge is more than facts or data; it’s the “orderly collection of information needed to get things done.”
The verbal communication of policies (goal driven guidelines) and procedures (steps needed to achieve goals) expands on training time and creates errors. Word of mouth business operations are like a sailor’s promises while on shore leave, they’re not worth the paper they’re not written on.
Every manager’s job description should start with a commitment to improvement; “Focus on improvement, on how things can be done better for the same costs or less.” If people aren’t told in black and white what’s expected of them, they get busy and forget.
Track the source of screw ups and reward customers / employees / vendors who tell you of a failing, of an opportunity for improvement.
Write down the goal(s) of each business function and then ask the experts, the employees, how the goal(s) can best be reached. Write down the steps necessary and ask new employees for new knowledge; how they’d do things differently.
In Closing
Don’t worry about industry averages when gauging the KPIs for different business areas; it’s much more important to focus on improvement, on how things can be done better. It takes a lot less effort to keep an old customer satisfied than to get a new customer interested.
And remember, “the bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of cheap price is forgotten.”

AbeWalkingBearSanchezPhoto.jpgAbe WalkingBear Sanchez is an International Speaker / Trainer / Consultant on the subject of cash flow / sales enhancement and business knowledge organization and use. Founder and President of www.armg-usa.com, WalkingBear has authored hundreds of business articles, has worked with numerous companies in a wide range of industries since 1982 and has spoken at many venues including the Shakespeare Globe Theater in London.

Categories
Starting Up

5 Common Mistakes People Make When Starting Up a Small Business

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This article is contributed by Sam Carpenter, author of the new book, ‘Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Working Less and Making More’.
Whether you’ve established a small business, are in the midst of launching one, or simply considering it for the future, it’s certain you want at least one thing out of this investment: success.
Starting, and running, a small business isn’t a cakewalk. It’s hard to believe, but over 50 percent of small businesses fail in their first year and 95 percent fail within the first five years, according to the U.S. Small Business Association. Starting a business is risky for most, but success can come for those who proceed with logic and discipline.
Here are five common mistakes people tend to make when starting up a small business – and how you can avoid them:
1. Business owners don’t create documented procedures for the day-to-day operation.
It’s a simple equation: Systems = freedom. A “working procedure” is a documented description of how to perform a task. Having it prevents random problems and ensures the task is performed exactly and consistently. Procedures help you delegate, improve your scheduling ability, and allow you to work smarter and accomplish more with less effort. Thus, work less and make more. It’s ironic, but by implementing documented system procedures, your employees are free to be creative because they don’t have to “wing it” each time they perform their job duties; everyone operates at a smoother pace because there is a proven, working process. Everyone knows what to do and what to expect. Your people don’t have to be mind-readers or fortune tellers.
2. Owners don’t delegate – they are “doing the work.”
The reason a business owner can work a few hours a week, or take an extended vacation without stress, is because they have created systems, implemented written procedures with supporting documentation, and have learned to delegate. I know, I know. You’re zealous, dreamy-eyed, and proficient at what you do, and as the leader of an organization, you’re committed to doing whatever it takes to get your new business off the ground. Successful people don’t work harder; they work smarter. This means focusing on what you do best, and delegating the rest. Ask yourself what you enjoy doing least for your business. Perhaps that’s bookkeeping or making phone calls to potential clients. Then, imagine literally giving away these tasks. Get rid of the “I am Superman” attitude and hire people who are trustworthy and qualified to take much of the weight off your shoulders.
3. Owners don’t use time wisely.
Biological Prime Time is when your brainpower is at peak capacity. People function at maximum effectiveness about six hours out of a 24-hour day. It is important to understand this interesting facet of human performance, determine precisely when your prime time occurs, and then use it wisely. Six hours out of a 24-hour day is not much. Presuming you wish to reach your goals sooner rather than later, it is best the tasks that contribute most to your primary goals are performed during your prime time hours and you protect those hours from interruption. Also, don’t start your day without a to-do list. Make a list of tasks and categorize them into business-building activities, client activities, and personal items. Then, prioritize, remove distractions, delegate, and stick to your plan.
4. Owners see their job, life, and business as “holistic.”
You must change your fundamental perspective to see the elements of your world as separate, linear systems. See that these systems can be perfected, one-by-one. Understand that by perfecting a primary system’s sub-systems, the primary system will be perfected – and, although you are taking a non-holistic approach, your end product – your business – will be a highly efficient, entirely holistic, “Primary System.”
5. Owners don’t have a strategic objective or set of operating principles.
A strategic objective is short, usually a single page in length. It defines overall goals, describes methodology, and prescribes action. It gives direction for making major and minor decisions. It’s an essential instrument for a business and for personal life. General operating principles are a two to three page collection of “guidelines for decision making” that are congruent with the strategic objective. Essential for the work environment and in a simplified and shorter format, they also guide one’s personal life. Two examples of simple operating principles are “Do it now,” and, “choose the simplest solution.”
Sam Carpenter, author and speaker, is president and CEO of Centratel, an elite quality telephone answering service, and author of the new book, Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Working Less and Making More. Success in life, business, and relationships can be yours, too. Sam’s approach is not mystical or esoteric; it’s simple, mechanical, and attainable. Visit http://www.workthesystem.com to purchase your copy of Work the System.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

When Customer Retention Goes Bad

racquetball%20sales.jpgI love racquetball. I played racquetball for over 18 years, very aggressively and very competitively. It’s great exercise and a perfect way to let out your aggressions and stress. That’s why I was so upset when my health club decided to forgo customer retention and worry about their own singular requirement – Getting new customers! Yes, I’m actually going to teach a customer retention lesson by discussing my racquetball experience.
I’ve been a member of this club for about 15 years. I was part of a league that played two times per week for 2-hours each night. There were roughly thirty members on this league and we were all friends and competed in a sociable and pleasant environment. The average tenure of the members of this league was about 10 years of racquetball experience at this club. Not all league members showed up each night. But typically anywhere between twenty and twenty-four would show up at any one time, which means we would fill up most of the courts with continuous singles games (one-on-one).
Then one day they closed down two of the 12 courts so they could expand their workout room. They added state of the art weight lifting equipment and hoped their existing body building clients would tell their friends and increase business. We weren’t pleased, but at least we had 10 other courts to play on; enough to keep us all playing the full two hours without having to wait turns. Judging by the additional grunts and groans we heard coming from that new area, it seemed their plan worked. But I must admit that over time it seemed like the noise was ceasing and their increased business had waned. In the meantime, we loyal racquetball members continued to show up twice a week, every week, every year, paying our dues and buying supplies, soft drinks, and other miscellaneous purchases.
Then the owners decided to take over 2 more courts to build an aerobics gym with a climbing wall, dance area, and a few other amenities to attract new customers, at the expense of their existing racquetball members. Within a year, this new facility was as vacant as an atomic bomb testing ground. It was hardly ever used. And yes, we loyal racquetball members continued to spend our money at their club, which by the way, was the only club in town. Unfortunately, there were only 8 courts left and it started affecting our playing time since we now had to compete for court time and even started playing doubles (two-on-two) in order to get a chance to play at all.
A couple years after that they closed down another court to convert it into a Spinning room. Spinning is some sort of specialized stationary bike where you peddle your way to better health and fitness. Again, this was to bring in new health club members, at the expense of their existing loyal racquetball members, and again it flopped. Within 6 months the room remained dark and spun it’s way into oblivion. But we loyal racquetball members kept coming week after week, without fail, spending our money in the only club in town, which now had only seven courts. They obviously hadn’t re-converted any of these stolen courts so we could use them once again for racquetball. So they remained fallow.
As time went on, two more courts were closed due to damage. The owners said they didn’t have funds to repair them. So we were forced to play in the 5 remaining courts. Needless to say, we were very unhappy. We could only play doubles and we frequently had to take turns since there weren’t enough courts for us all to play at one time.
In year 15 of my playing at that club, we all arrived one night to the news that the owners were building a brand new health club less than a mile down the road and will be closing this older club once the new one opens. It would be three times the size with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, including an Olympic-sized pool. Well this indeed sounded like good news, at last. What sounded even better was the offer for existing members to get free membership into this new club for the first year it was open. They’d transfer our membership and we’d get to use all the facilities for a year at no extra charge. Now, I must say that we ONLY played racquetball at the original club. None of us used any of the other facilities there. And this was unlikely to change, new club or not. So naturally, guess what our single question was to the owners when they told us all this good news? How many racquetball courts will the new club have? Answer – Zero!
We were devastated. Naturally, we complained but to no avail. Our only recourse was to join another club with racquetball courts. Unfortunately, that was all the way in the next town. My 8-minute ride twice per week turned into a 40-minute ride to a club that was older, dirtier, and more expensive. But at least we could continue playing our preferred sport. Ultimately, I moved out of state and it didn’t matter any more, except that I am now a little heavier and have strained breathing when I go up a flight of stairs.
So what’s the moral of this story? These business owners tried desperately for years to increase their business with fads and gimmicks to draw in new customers. However, they forgot their bread and butter customers – us loyal racquetball fans. We spent a lot of money at their club over the years and were a consistent revenue stream for them. Even when they continued to do things that harmed their relationship with us, we remained loyal. Of course that goes to show you that this sort of loyalty wasn’t good. It’s called “your the only show in town so I have to be loyal to you” loyalty. And perhaps that’s what they thought – that since they were the only show in town, they could afford to take us for granted. So they eventually lost 30 good customers, instantly.
Are you taking your customers for granted? Are you ignoring your loyal clients? Are you making changes to your business and it’s future direction without considering what affects it might have on your existing customers? You obviously need to acquire new customers. That’s understandable. But I hope you aren’t doing what too many other businesses do – acquire new customers while negatively affecting the retention of your existing ones. It costs up to seven to 10 times more to acquire a new customer than to sell to an existing one. With the increasing costs of marketing and selling, this shouldn’t be a surprise. So why don’t more businesses curtail some of these expensive acquisition practices and focus more on retention strategies? I don’t know. Maybe they need to get hit in the head with a racquetball a couple times to knock some sense into them. Or maybe they should give us a call so we can show them how to do this the right way.
Don’t forget your existing customers and they won’t forget you!
Good luck and good selling!

RussLombardoPhoto.jpgRuss Lombardo is President of PEAK Sales Consulting, LLC and an experienced CRM and Sales consultant, trainer, writer, speaker and radio show host. Russ works with businesses to help improve their customer acquisition and retention for increased revenue and success. Russ is author of the books, “CyberSelling”, “CRM For The Common Man” and “Smart Marketing”. He can be reached at 702-655-5652 and emailed at russ@peaksalesconsulting.com.