Grow Business During The “Slow” Times
One of our favorite tactics to encourage business growth is diversifying your product line. This can have particular significance if your business is subject to cycles. Many times business owners won't get creative until they "have to" – usually when their costs are exceeding their profits and they are staring at some tough times ahead. I'm never surprised by the number of business executives who fail to deal with problems head-on, hoping instead that they will somehow solve themselves. Truth is they never do. When you are accountable for the business line (or the entire business itself) – why wait? Do it now! For example:
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a midwest scuba store owner who diversified their business by taking on ski rental and equipment sales. Both are outdoor businesses, but they have two different business cycles; this helps him smooth out his revenue during the course of the year
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a photographer who specializes in wedding and graduation photos changed his market position to include other types of protratue (specifically, pets). While most of his business still comes in the Spring and Summer, he now has a position that allows him to specialize and reposition his services during the other parts of the year.
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most nurseries find that their slowest times were the winter months. In fact, many nurseries will "close down" until the growing season begins again. However, one east coast nursery expanded their product and service offerings, and purchased a stump grinder and advertises stump removal services during the winter months. And while that has helped to bring in some extra revenue during the slow months, who do you think is building a lead list for new trees and shrubbery for the Spring?
The point is, you can't always rely on "the economy to turn around" or for someone else to figure it out for you. You need to own it. And while you can benefit from getting outside help and perspective, you might just need to schedule some quiet time away from the business to stop and think about your business – what does it need? What can you do to start growing your business – today?
Time to get CREATIVE!!
Free Money From Google
Did You Know That Google Will Invest in YOUR business?
One of the best ways to get free advertising was to offer a discount coupon in a coupon book, which the coupon book publisher would then sell. The coupon publisher would make money off of the sales, and the people buying the coupon book would save money – if they redeemed the coupon. There was typically little to no cost to the business owner, and it would generally would position their business well. Whether or not the coupon was redeemed, the business owner still got the market distribution and potential increase in their market's awareness. The upside? Typically a very high response rate (better than 68% in many cases) – especially if the coupon book was heavily promoted and the coupon offer was compelling and well-written.
Local Businesses can still get some traction with coupon books – provided their advertisements are tied into their online presence. But there are many more options for business owners today – and one of the most overlooked is the coupon offer that comes with your Google Business Listing (Pssst – did you know there was one???) – and Google Coupon Feeds. Whether you market your products and services locally, many businesses are missing out on a FREE opportunity to market their business AND have Google promote you to the world. And with the Internet becoming increasingly mobile and interconnected, you can make sure your offer is presented directly to your customer when they are near your store and looking for a solution. In most cases, business owners should include a coupon of some sort in there.
So, what makes a good offer? Just about anything your customers would want. Offering a discount? Then give them a specific dollar figure versus a percentage. In most cases, numerical dollar figures have more of an impact, and carry more meaning, than a percentage figure does.
Many business owners we speak with aren't even aware of this feature. When you use yours, however, just make sure you don't make the mistakes that our hapless owner made in the picture above! In your business, grammar and math both count! 