2 -2-17 The Three Simplest Marketing Concepts

When you’re thinking about how to best to do marketing and promotion, here are three guidelines for using your money and energy most effectively:

 1)      It is always easiest to sell more to those who are already satisfied customers buying your product or service;

2)      You are more likely to sell to new customers who are much like the customers you already have, or have been referred to you by current customers; and

3)      It is hardest to sell to new people about whom you have little information.

Item 1 assumes that you do everything to keep your customers happy so they’ll want to keep coming back to you.

Item 2 is based on the idea that the kinds of people who really appreciate you, what you sell, and how you do business are likely to want to do business with you, once they know who you are….and especially if they have heard good things about your from their friends.

Item 3 means it can be very expensive to simply place an advertisement without knowing details about the audience that will see the advertisement.

The most cost effective way to promote your business is to continue to be sure your current customers are satisfied customers and let them know how much you appreciate their business and having them refer you to others.

Remember….a satisfied customer may tell several people; a dissatisfied customer tells everyone they encounter.

1-26-17 Obtaining a zip code is a simple tool to learn about your customers

One of the most basic pieces of information you need when you have a store front business, or a business out of your home, is knowing where your customers live.

A simple method to answer this question is to create a system where you get the zip code of every person who comes into your business or contacts you to make a purchase. This can be done on a computer or by doing listings and hatch marks on a piece of paper near your register (OK, I know this doesn’t sound very high-tech, but it works).

You can keep track of these zip code tabulations by the month or season, or after you have done a new advertisement, or a special promotion.

Once you see the patterns, it can provide you with valuable information about where, geographically, to focus your energies, and your advertising dollars.

1-19-17 Are emails and texts good forms of communication?

Have you received an email with several misspellings or grammatical errors?

Have you had numerous text exchanges with someone and finally gave up and made a phone call to resolve something?

Have you received a group email that got sent around several times to several people, including you?

Do you find yourself sometimes struggling to get through a long email, only to reach the end and realize you’re still not sure what it was all about?

Have you sent an email or a text assuming the other person would understand your words and your tone, only to get a response back that didn’t really relate to your intentions?

I’m sure you can come up with several other items to put on this list. In our high speed communication age, we rapidly email and text and tweet several times a day (our new President believes in this). But are we really communicating?  There are some disagreements about how much human communication is non-verbal, but I think that we all can agree that lacking voice intonation, facial expression, body language and simply feeling another person’s energy, words alone will not necessarily convey thoughts accurately.

I have a bit of a silly streak in me (those who know me might say it is more than a bit). I learned a long time ago never to use my silliness in an email unless I was absolutely sure that the person knew me well enough to understand the communication (and I’m not sure it’s wise to send anyone a silly email). Of course, I can add an imogi, but……

Here are a few suggestions to avoid misunderstandings when emailing or texting:

• Keep it short and simple
• If at all possible, save your sincere, serious communications for in-person or by phone
• Read every email over before you press “Send”
• If you are sending out a longer email or something with important information, make sure you have someone else read it before you send it
• If you are feeling angry or frustrated with someone, DO NOT send them an email or text and let them know this; cool down first, and then make a phone call
• If you are sending an email to a group of people, use the bcc, even if everyone knows each other; it will seem more personal and it will be impossible for someone else to press the “Reply all” and send out swirling emails that can drive us crazy.

1-12-17 What demands attention on Facebook....A cat

I wrote the Blog below nearly a year ago after we had gotten our cat, Dash, from the Cat Cottage in Freeland.  He had been there for a year, and he made it clear to us very quickly, that we were his peeps. Here’s what I wrote:

I am mystified by Facebook.  I admit to not always knowing or understanding what draws attention, especially when you’re trying to figure out what you can show in social media that will result in responses.

I often see that what my daughter made for dinner draws 20 or 30 “likes,” yet when I post incredibly cute pictures of my grandchildren or something else I find especially interesting, maybe I’ll get 10 or 15 “likes” (although some of my grandkid and daughter photos have occasionally gotten more).

There has been a recent exception to my past experiences.  A little over a week ago, Rich and I got a three-year old kitty from the WAIF Cat Cottage in Freeland….and I posted a photo.  I had nearly 40 “likes” and an amazing number of comments.

Interestingly, the responses for Dash on Facebook have remained the same.  I posted a photo of him with a toy mouse, and then later a picture of him on my desk as my office cat…..and about 30 people commented each time.  Sadly, my adorable grandkids usually get less than 20 likes.

I am not sure what this all means except people really love seeing pictures of cute animals., even more than cute kids.

1-5-17 What does it take to start a new business?

Some people might say money is the primary requirement to start a business. You definitely have to be able to afford all of the costs associated with creating and promoting a new business, but I believe the most important element is a passion about what you are doing.

Over the years I have done many stories for the Business Spotlight on Whidbey Local (https://www.whidbeylocal.com/articles/1/5243), and there is a common theme: People who have their own businesses are passionate about what they do.

Besides the money necessary to establish a business, there is an incredible investment of energy and time. I have observed that while the desire to make money is a major player in creating a business, there is often far more interest in the products or services and a desire to share these with others.

When I walk into a retail store, or talk about products or services with someone, I immediately feel their sense of commitment to what they are offering. And when the owner of the business communicates their passion and enthusiasm, it certainly is a great incentive to do business with them.