Keep your eye on the target

Give yourself access to your customers' suggestions. It's a point that I certainly harp on. Your business might be YOUR baby, but it's THEIR Saturday dining choice, THEIR go-to grocer or THEIR place to get a cup of coffee. Helping them provide you with feedback is essential, but it's also the easy part - there are so many ways to do it (Ask me about one way, in particular, that can increase business while helping you fix embarrassing problems).

The much more difficult task is making feedback work for you. Suggestions are self-serving. Each customer is primarily concerned with his own interests. Comments you receive will likely be all over the board - you very well may find that some contradict others. So what do you do when one customer tells you they like your music but could hardly hear it - and another tells you, the music is distracting?

You need to remind yourself who you serve. Who is your target market? 

Maybe you've spent a little time defining your target. I hope you have. If you haven't, it's not too late. I recommend you consider these points:

1) Who will most appreciate your product or service?

2) Do your strengths (and your USP) tend to best serve a specific demographic?
3) What sort of person will make the best customer for your business?

So maybe in your "suggestion box" (whatever form that might take, online, paper questionnaires, Facebook surveys, etc.) one customer complains that your prices are too high, while another suggests you provide more upscale menu offerings.

You know who your target is. What does your target want? Whom might you alienate. Be mindful of what other consequences there might be. Of course, look for trends in the comments.

If you act, act in the best interest of your target. You can't make everyone happy, but you can frustrate everyone trying. 

Consider this: Subway doesn't try to make the best sandwiches; they make inexpensive, fast, fresh sandwiches. I would guess their target is 20-25 year old, young adults on the go. It doesn't mean it's all they serve by any means, but by gearing decisions toward their target helps people know what they're getting. It establishes their brand. When they adjust their menu, interior design or advertising, they adjust it to woo these people. 

Another sandwich shop, such as Panera would likely cater to a slightly older, and less busy target market. Tell them they're not as quick as Subway, and they'll nod. They aren't trying to compete there. Tell Subway that Panera has better sandwiches, and you probably won't get much argument either. They each know who they serve. They each know their niche. 

When you consider the decorating, marketing, prices, hiring employees - everything down to the way you answer the phone, know who you serve. Keep your eye on the target. 

Need help with your aim? A Vairenpoint Marketing planner can work with you to narrow your focus, and feel confident in your direction. Visit http://www.vairenpoint.com for more information.

Are you on the map?

The other day, I was looking for a home appliance store in an unfamiliar town. Friends suggested they might have an item I needed. So, my journey began, not on wheels, but online. I didn't care to drive up and down every street until I happened to come across this store; I'd much rather know precisely where to go. I wanted a map. 

In my attempt to avoid looking everywhere for this appliance store, Guess what I found? Not much. Instead of driving through town looking for the store, I got lost on the web. Or more accurately, this store was lost on the web. 

In my case, I was determined to find this particular location. I got their phone number from a friend who recommended them, called the store and asked for directions (as well as, of course, verifying that they did have what I needed). It took extra effort and quite a bit of luck to achieve this. For instance, it was lucky my friend happened to know their phone number. It was lucky for the store that I had so much patience.

In any event, being able to find a business is essential to being able to work with a business. Consider how much impact location has had in the past on small business. Securing a highly visible, Main Street storefront might have been their entire marketing plan.

Can a potential customer find your physical location? In many industries, of course, customers need to be able to literally get to you. Can they find your website? Can they find some other shred of evidence that you exist? Can they find you if they don't know your name? Could they happen to find you by searching for a product or service you offer? 

Some businesses do such a nice job of turning their websites and their different listings into highly visible, "Main Street" locations. Others are letting their competitors have their share of new business by turning out their figurative "lights." Are you on the map?

If you found this useful, you may find you'd like working with a Vairenpoint Marketing planner at http://www.vairenpoint.com to help your business overcome these challenges and more. 

Give a business a fish...

Here are a few statements I believe about fishing that also pertain to sales and marketing.

Don't pick a bait that YOU'D like to eat, pick what THEY'D like to eat.
Most small businesses decide on everything from their name and their logo to their website, ads and more based on what the businesses owner likes. You wouldn't bait your hook with a sirloin. Know what you're trying to catch. You'll have more success tailoring your efforts to what they like.

If there's a hole in your boat, put down the pole and do something about it.
Some businesses will fight to bring in prospective customers when there are more urgent things to work on. Rude or incompetent customer service? Inadequate product? These things could be sinking you. Fix the problems before you begin or resume fishing.

You have to get the fish into the boat before you can put it in the pan.
Taking things one step at a time will help you focus on the smaller, more manageable task at hand. Each fish needs to be caught before it can be cooked. Similarly, your customers don't care about your hours or your entire menu or even your name until you have them caught - convinced that they need to do business with you. Quit packing your ads with information that doesn't matter to them yet. Also take those details out of your sales presentations. After you catch them, they'll ask.

Season, time of day and weather all factor into your success.
Sometimes the fish just aren't biting, while other times, you can't take them off the line fast enough. Learn to recognize the patterns and plan your day accordingly.

If you catch a fish you don't want, let it go.
Not every fish is worth putting on the stringer. If you catch a fish that isn't worth keeping, throw it back. Not every customer is worth your time either. Some are an incredible drain on resources. Some are chronically unhappy and tell the world. Wouldn't you prefer your competition deal with all of that time-drain and negative word of mouth instead. You may think you need it; you don't.

While I might believe there are aspects of sales that are a lot like fishing, I do not believe that customers are fish. Just because you've caught them doesn't mean you'll be able to hold onto them. You need to take care of them. You need to keep on convincing them that they've made a good decision. And you should definitely not puncture their mouths with hooks (unless maybe you are in a very specific sort of business).

Happy fishing!  Visit http://www.vairenpoint.com for more information or to work with Vairenpoint Marketing.

Could you repeat that?

I am a stickler for hard-working copy. Think up a meaningful, concise headline, then drive the point home with SUPPORTING copy and/or images. Say no more.

However, I don't mind repeating myself. It seems businesses get bored easily with their message. From week to week, they appear to have an entirely different selling point. Why? They think that because they already said it, their readers already know it. Not so.

I hope there are dozens of reasons to support your business. In reality, though, it can be difficult enough to think of one great reason to choose you. One thing that your competition can't compete with you on. And if you're really tuned into it, you'll find a simple way to say it - maybe a clever way to say it - a memorable, thoughtful, fun way to let the reader know that if they care about _____, they should contact you now.

It takes a bit of work to get there. You may have thought about it for days, weeks or longer before you've really got it. And, by that point, maybe your love for the phrase has worn out. By the time you're ready to move on to another pitch, your audience may just be starting to see it your way. Don't throw it out; repeat it. Repeat it. Repeat it. Say it week to week and across different media. Say it when you talk. Say it until it's as familiar to them as it is to you.

Visit http://www.vairenpoint.com for more information or to work with Vairenpoint Marketing.

Don't disappoint your customers.

First, I'd like to briefly say, "thank you." Without readers, this is just a diary; I appreciate that you're giving me an opportunity to speak with you.

This is my first "Plan for Success" post. I intend for it to be a resource for small businesses. There will be articles about communicating with customers, systems to reduce waste, encouraging employees to share your vision, turning leads into patrons, then into advocates. The overarching purpose of this blog is to give you ideas and information to help you make smart business and marketing decisions. And on that note:

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Advertising, in its simplest form is an organization trying to draw your attention.

Early in my career, I had the fortune to work for a company with a reasonably large advertising budget. We would run full page ads on the most prominent page of the most visible section of the newspaper, weekly.

An advertising budget is power. But of course, with that power comes responsibility. In this case, the company was primarily a restaurant. We definitely had some strengths; the atmosphere was very nice, the bar was well tended, the desserts were always a hit. However, we also had weaknesses: too many weaknesses. The food was inconsistent, although generally fair. The service was at times, excruciatingly slow.

Management looked to the marketing department to solve these problems. We tried so many different ways to bring in new customers. We HAD TO think of ways to bring in new customers because we couldn't build up a solid customer base, repeat customers. We, in the marketing department knew what we were up against, but resources were desperately shoveled into marketing instead of into training and managing our shortcomings.

By pushing so much money toward advertising, we accelerated our demise.When we got people in the doors, we let them down. We drew a lot of attention to ourselves. We came across as braggarts, and we failed to back it up.

In marketing, they say, "under-promise, and over-deliver." When a customer comes through your door, they are giving you an opportunity to impress them. You'd better be able to meet their expectations. Of course, it's better if you can exceed them. However, if you've set the bar too high, you will look like a fool when you can't clear it.

Visit http://www.vairenpoint.com for more information or to work with Vairenpoint Marketing.