Unfortunately, a bailout certainly isn’t the end of  troubles for us small business owners. The economy is in deep trouble and not likely to turn around very quickly. CNN money has an article today The Bailout What’s At Stake that  talks in detail about what may likely happen. The good news is the writer believes that we are unlikely to experience the level of unemployment seen in the great depression. The bad news is that things are ugly and likely to get worse before they get better. And they are not going to get better quick!

You are unlikely to be able to get the credit you may want to expand your business in the near future. So what to do? I can’t tell you what to do, but I have always been a strong supporter of low cost direct  marketing style approaches in my businesses. I suggest that you start rethinking all the creative ways you can seek out more revenue at a minimum cost. That means not only getting new customers at minimum  costs, but even more importantly selling more services to the ones you already have. The problem is that not only are you going to have problems getting credit to expand, many of us are likely to have problems even surviving the next couple of years. Consumers  have already started to severely limit their  spending,  and it is going to be ever harder get new customers or even maintain the ones you have.

If you own a business and are not worried you are either in a recession proof business or have your head in the sand. What do you think?

As a small business owner, there are some things you can do to weather this storm – and some things you can’t do. The main thing you can’t do is change the course of whatever is going to happen in our economy. No matter how much we worry and obsess about the economy falling apart around us, there is nothing that we as small business owners can do to change what is going to happen. The only thing we can do is plan for and  adapt to whatever impact it will have on our particular business. I am sure you have seen many businesses in your local community go under in the last year. It is a dangerous time for a small business owner.

It is a time to recommit yourself to your main job as business owner- the marketing of your business! No matter how good the thing is that you sell, your ability to survive, and even thrive, during this time is by far most dependent upon your ability to market your business. As I have said many times before, marketing is not just a piece of your business -it is the life blood that should permeate your entire business in everything you do. There has never been a time when this is more important than now. In plentiful times a business owner with poor marketing can  sometimes do pretty well, but in times of uncertainty and danger your marketing skill is the most important weapon you have.

Direct marketing is, in my opinion, by far the most effective means of advertising available to almost any small business. There are unending ways in which direct marketing can be conducted, but all successful campaigns have several things in common.  First, you must target the audience most likely to be interested in what you have to offer. Second,  you must understand what that audience needs and how any products or services you offer can fulfill their needs. Third, you must tell them how you are going to solve their problems better than any other option out there. Fourth, you need to provide clear reasons to respond right away. And finally you must provide clear instructions on exactly what they need to do right now to benefit from your offer.

Most business people who are aware of direct marketing think of it in terms of long hype filled letters that they have received for some particular product or service. However, not all direct mail is like that. Direct response mailing for professionals needs to be considerably more… well professional in it’s presentation. In my opinion the most lucrative use of direct mail is for businesses that can use it to pull in customers or clients who will use their services over and over again.

Business to consumer is the most traditional use of direct mailings. However, business to business may well be the most valuable form of direct mail. When mailing to consumers there is often a focus on making an immediate one time sale as opposed to using the approach to develop a relationship. In a business to business direct marketing approach you are much more likely to be interested in finding new long term clients,  rather than making a quick sale.  In this situation the effectiveness of your mailing is not measured in immediate sales, but rather in long term clients or customers who may pay you many thousands of  dollars over a period of years.

So here is my story of the six figure direct mailing I did. The health care industry was in a state of severe upheaval and change. Managed care had wiped out or severely hurt many psychologists in private practice. I was one who suffered these times.  Now I only do a very narrow specialty that does not rely upon insurance companies at all. However, back then I was, like many others, entirely dependent upon insurance companies for my income. The problem with insurance companies was not only poor pay, but an incredible amount of work needed to even get paid by them.  You needed a billing specialist just to deal with the companies on a daily basis.  Traditional referrals from other health care providers became problematic due to the complexity of the insurance situation.

For some years I had been very gradually  transitioning  to  working  in rehabilitation centers and long term care facilities, because I had experience in those populations and knew that once I was able to get a contract with such a facility I would have  a steady flow of referrals and a much less complicated billing situation. However, I had always wanted to maintain a traditional outpatient office as long as it was financially viable. Managed care made it no longer viable for me in a very brief period of time. I decided that I needed to close my office and move to a full time consultation practice.

However, in order to make that change I needed to get a number of contracts with facilities, and I needed to get them as fast as possible. Complicating the situation was an explosion in relatively large companies marketing to these facilities claiming that they could better serve their needs than individual professionals such as myself. In reality these companies were often no more than glorified marketing and billing services for local practitioners whom they hired for a percentage of the profit. However, they had full time marketing people and slick presentations to try and take every facility they could get. Once they got a contract any practitioner who had worked there before either had to come work for them or lose all the business from that facility.

I knew from experience that the people who really understood the situation in such facilities were the social workers. While the big companies were marketing to the corporate people or facility administrators, the social workers were the ones who had to deal with the services they provided on a daily basis. I knew that may social workers were quite disillusioned with the quality of services these companies provided and also had the behind the scenes power to influence the administrators who made the decisions on contracts. But how would I find the social workers who had a real need to make a change in service providers? It would be impossible for me to call them all and go to meeting after meeting to find the ones that might be receptive to me.

Direct response mail was my key to success. I  made a large list of facilities in my geographic area,  knowing that I only needed a very small number of contracts to fill my schedule. I created a very professional   letter addressed  to the head of social services in each facility. I laid out my experience and credentials. I discussed the problems they likely experienced using the large companies that I was competing with, and my main selling point was that they would have a direct line of communication with me as person who provided the services. I also made it clear that I currently had a number of contracts and was only looking for a few more to fill my schedule. I strongly, but very politely, suggested that they contact me right away if they were in need of my services.

I sent out the letters all in one mailing and had no idea if I would even get one response. The next several days were very anxiety producing. I waited and hoped. Within one week I had enough responses to fill my schedule and ended up turning down contracts. I had gone from a very difficult situation to a very secure situation with one letter! I continued to service those facilities for many years and made hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of that one letter. I continued with many of  them until I decided to no longer to that work. It was actually a sad day for me when I quit doing that kind of work as I had made many friendships with facility staff members. That one letter was the most effective marketing tool I have ever used! You may be able to do something very similar if you follow a similar approach in your  business niche.
 

 Does that sound a little strange to you? Doesn’t  it make sense to accept business from anyone who is willing to give you money? In my opinion the answer to that question is clearly NO! In business there are short sighted approaches to increasing the cash flow, and accepting anyone as your customer is one of them. Most people would agree that using misleading tactics to manipulate people into buying from you is not a good way to run your business. However, many  otherwise rational business owners think that they "can’t afford" to turn down the business of any willing customer. This is a particular temptation when just starting a business and the cash flow is tight. However, the risk to the long term success of the business is greatest just at that time.

 So  why would you be choosey in accepting customers to your business?  One answer is obvious to anyone who has ever run a business. There are always a small number of people who can’t afford your  services, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to buy from you. The mortgage crisis of 2007 -2008 is just the result of the banking industry going right down that road with sub-prime borrowers.  For some reason they thought that they could make a quick profit on a very risky customer group without it coming back to bite them. In doing so they have contributed greatly to taking  down the entire economy into what looks like a recession.  If it weren’t for the ripple effect on the rest of the economy it would just be their just rewards. Some small businesses take just such risks with questionable customers. If you accept customers who will require you to  go to collection agencies to  get your money, it is likely to be a very poor business decision for you.

 Another group of  customers who many business owners will avoid are those that are seen as "problem"  customers.  You know the ones. They complain about everyone and everything in their lives. Nothing you can do will meet their unrealistic expectations of what you (and the rest of the world)  owe them. Often times this type of customer can be identified by their angry demeanor and complaints about other competitors in your industry. If you spot them early it is best to pass them by and let someone else deal with the headaches.  While they may be well able to pay you, working with such people is likely to be a nightmare not worth experiencing for most business owners. The art here is identifying them as early as possible so you can make a decision. The hard part is knowing how much of their complaints about  your competitors may be  actually accurate and  presents an opportunity for you. Being aware of the reputations of others in your  business can help greatly in this regard.

 The customer groups above are easy for most businesses to let pass by. However, there is another group of customers that you need pass on as well. These are the customers for whom your products or services will not meet their needs.  Many businesses take the approach that it is the customer’s responsibility to decide what to buy,  and the business owner tries to sell as much as possible to any willing buyer. This strategy is very short sighted and destructive to the growth of your business. If you sell something to a customer who is ultimately disappointed with you,  they are likely to place the blame on you, whether that is justified or not. It is much better to tell someone up front that you don’t think your offerings can meet their needs than to make a sale that is destined to disappoint the customer.  The  best way to avoid this situation is to clearly describe your products or services without the excessive hype that dominates much advertising. Tell them clearly what you provide so that they can make an informed decision. It is even better if you can talk about their needs to see if what they think they want will actually do what they are seeking.   You many find that some other product or service you offer may better meet their needs, or maybe you can’t meet their needs at all.  If you can’t meet their needs then it is always best to try and refer them elsewhere. Many times this will result in future sales to them when what they may need is better suited to your business.

With all that said I have decided to make a committment to myself to begin a more regular schedule of postings to this blog. The topics are entirely based upon what I feel like writing about and it is likely some will be general marketing and others related to internet marketing.  While  I don’t consider myself a newborn in internet marketing, I think I am an adolescent in that area. I still have much to learn but have spent a lot of time and money learning from some of the best minds in the business.  I think I now have a pretty good grasp of the realities of internet marketing and it isn’t that different than marketing on the street, just different tips and techniques. In contrast to my adolescent status in internet marketing, I consider myself a veteran of real world marketing of a small business in the community. I have learned a lot  about  OnStreet (as opposed to Online) marketing over the past 20 years.  In my opinion many of  the principals are the same regardless of  whether you are marketing your business in your neighborhood or worldwide on the web.

I am turning on the ability to comment on my postings here and I hope you do so. However, all comments are moderated to avoid spammers and other people with nothing meaningful to contribute to a discussion.  I encourage you to make comments and ask questions as you wish. Thanks!

Eric

Most people are aware that Google offers a free keyword suggestion tool that can help you find keywords that are relevant to your business. Keyword research is fundamental to almost every aspect of internet business. If you fail to pay attention to this very basic aspect of internet marketing then you are almost certain to struggle in your business. The keyword suggestion tool can be found easily by doing a search for “Google keyword suggestion” and going to the google page at the top of the search results.

The next very powerful tool is their site analytics software. You need an Adwords account for this one, but it is an amazing tool that tracks visitors to your site. This tool allows you see a wealth of data about how they found you and whether they are converting to customers and/or leads on your site. Similar software costs hundreds of dollars and is not nearly as user friendly and powerful. Using this software is an absolute must for any serious webmaster.

Last, but by no means least, is their suite of tools appropriately call webmaster tools. This is a collection of tools to allow you to find out many things such as how many  pages you have in their index, any problems with your pages,  and most importantly a very detailed list of the pages on the internet that link to you.  This list is the heart of understanding why you do, or do not, rank for search terms of interest to you. In my opinion this is the most valuable tool that Google could have ever created and is a relatively recent addition to their offerings.  Simply said, it rocks!

Your website is your storefront. It must look professional and clean just like your office or store on the street. The first impression many people will develop of your business is the image of your website home page. On the internet if someone doesn’t get pulled in right away they are likely gone within a matter of seconds. You must manage your website presentation with extreme care.

A common adage in the world of internet marketing is that "the money is in the list." Simple adage, but crucial to success. It is vital that you use both professional and ethical ways to grown your marketing list. It is always a bad idea to purchase harvested lists of names and e-mail addresses without deliberation. E-mail marketing can be the lifeblood of many Internet based business, but it can bring a business to its knees if you become tagged as a spammer. You must build your own list with only people who have opted in to receive them. Quality is key : you must provide quality products and service. If you’re short on quality, you’ll get some initial sales, but never receive repeat business — hardly a tool for long term success. Quality will help create a constant source of repeat buyers who tell their friends.

Having good sales copy is critical to an online business. There is no face to face contact — you must depend on the quality of the website sales copy for success. Quality sales copy techniques will depend on your market, but grabbing attention up front is vital. Your customers must know the benefits as soon as pos

It is my firm belief that the success of your business depends upon your ability to get yourself noticed,  and then to provide the incentive for people to help you grow business by their loyalty and what they say about you.  It is  really just that simple on the internet and on the street. The differences lie only in the techniques that you must use to make that happen.

On the internet you have essentially two ways of  getting your business noticed. You either buy advertising or you earn it by getting your name out there and associated with the services of your business. Hard to believe it is just that simple,  isn’t it? The core idea is simple enough.  It is putting that idea into practice and making concrete marketing plans that determines your success or  failure.

There are many methods  to  buy your way in front of the screens of your potential customers. As with all advertising, it can be very cost effective,   or a complete waste of your time and money, depending upon the skill with which you can target your spending  your prime customer group. The great thing about advertising on the internet is that you can test return on investment very quickly and effectively without the kind of huge financial commitment you would need for a similar campaign on the street. A prime example of internet advertising is  Google Adwords text ads that are on the top and right column of all their search results,  and on millions of sites on the web. The other online service providers such as Yahoo and MSN have their own version of these text ads. There are many other forms of  advertising which I will discuss in future articles.

The other way to get yourself in front of your target customer group is to earn it.  The object is  to  get yourself listed as highly as possible in the search results for terms of interest to you , and to get your business direct traffic from other sites that mention your services.  The best way to do this is to provide information that other websites find useful for their viewers.  This requires a commitment to effort and cash to make it work, but the results are much more permanent than buying advertising.  Personally I much prefer this method since you get long term results for your efforts. However, you must know what you  are doing in order to get the maximum return for your efforts.

It is just that simple, and that complex!

Wrong!

There is only one answer and it applies no matter what business you are in.

Your product is solving the need that led the customer to your door!

Your Product Is Customer Service!

If you think that customers come to you because of the some specific “thing” that you sell, you really do not understand the nature of building a business based upon relationships with your customers. They didn’t come to you for a “thing”,  they came to you because they have a need and hope that some “thing”  you have can either bring them pleasure or solve some problem they have. They  might think that they know what “thing”  they want, and not even realize  that some other “thing” you have would better solve the underlying need that brought them there. But neither of you will ever know unless you try to find out what they really want.
If you are going to go beyond the mediocrity of most businesses the first thing you must do is to take the mindset that no matter what “thing” they may buy from you, the goal is to service the need that brought them to you. In order to learn what what need they had that brought them to you, it becomes essential that you begin the process of interacting with them as individuals, not as lines on a ledger sheet!

That doesn’t mean you need to take the time to know their life history.  What it does mean is that whenever possible you try to understand the need that brought them to you, and make a sincere effort to fulfill that need. Sometimes that may mean selling them a more expensive “thing” than they originally had in mind. Sometimes it may mean that a less expensive “thing” will better suit their needs. Sometimes it may mean that nothing you have is appropriate for their particular need at that point in time.  Even if nothing you have will meet their need at that  time, there is great opportunity there to establish the relationship by your honesty- which will lead them back to you again when they have a need that you can help them to fulfill.

The most important aspect to take from this section is that you need to stop envisioning your line of “things” that you sell as your products, but rather to understand that your primary product is meeting whatever need brought a customer to your door. People don’t really care about the great features of whatever “thing” you sell, they care about how well it meets their emotional needs!