What meaning do you give your product or service?

Frankly your meaning doesn’t mean a thing to the potential customer!

I say that very sincerely, because it is what the potential client believes is all that matters. That is the reason why you need to communicate with satisfied clients before you start to explain what your product or service will do for potential clients.

One of the best questions to ask is; ‘What expectations did you meet regarding this (product or service)? When you get their answer do a little more probing so that you really understand the meaning they have for what you are selling.Then you are in a better position to help potential customers. Then carry on with the questioning so you can find out what needs the potential clients are trying to fulfill.

Does this make sense?

How do you market to the next generation?

This generation has been called ‘Generation Y’. They were born between 1980 and 1994. They have had their lives defined by very unique moments in history. These range from 9-11, to the economic crash of 2008, Twitter and YouTube.

When I wrote Twitter and YouTube it shows how much they are influenced and connected to technology. They are also very educated, with over 60% having achieved a post secondary education.

So what does this all mean to you and your marketing efforts?

In order to connect with the ‘Generation Y’ you are also going to have to use social media in a more prominent way. You are going to have to be more up to date on trends and education in your particular industry and display this with social media.

So what is one step you can take today to become more up to date in your particular industry and start to connect with ‘Generation Y’?

Was that the least you could do?

This issue came to light the other day when I got an e-mail from a friend of mine. We were discussing what took place regarding a business situation. He said that ‘at least’ ___ happened.

The terminology ‘at least’ scares the hell out of me. It does that because when we are doing or getting ‘the least’ we aren’t getting much, are we?

I know that we should all be striving to give more than is expected. In order to give more than expected we need to give until it hurts. I know that we live in a world that doesn’t like any pain, but can you imagine if you and your staff gave more than people expected. You business would be talked about in positive terms by all of your clients. Now that is great marketing!

What is one way that you and your business can give more today?

Is price a powerful weapon?

Yes it is so powerful that it can kill a business.

Especially the ones that discount!

Let me give you an example. If your net profit before tax is 20% and you give a discount of 10% you are taking a significant hit on your financial bottom line. Let’s say you average sale is $5,000. So your net profit before tax is 20% of $5,000 = $1,000.

So if you give a discount of 10% on the price of $5,000 which is a $500 discount. This makes the selling price $4,500 before tax. What you have done is take $500 away from your bottom-line of your business. You have taken a 50% deduction on your net profit.

Discounting seems so innocent, just 10%, it shouldn’t have much of an effect. But as you can now see, it can be a disaster.

Instead of discounting, you need to learn how to create value for your client. By creating value for your client, they won’t be looking for discounts.

Doesn’t this make sense?

Are you trying to compete on price?

If you are I hope you are aware of these facts;

• Major companies with large bank accounts and volume purchasing are the winners with this strategy.
• If you want to compete with the Wal-Mart’s of the world it is only going to happen through specialization and excellent customer service.

The idea of specialization and excellent customer service is something I can relate to. Back in 1979 I started my first business. It was a combined manufacturing and retail business. After trying to compete based on price, I changed our business format to be one of specialization and service. The result – from the end of our first year in business to the year we sold our business (11 years later) the sales increase was just over 600%.

Isn’t this the type of sales improvements you want? Specialization and excellent customer service is the way to achieve this type of growth. 

How can you improve your business format today?