TGID 7 Must-Do Business Success Steps
Back To Business
With only 12 business days left in 2011, it is time to start planning. January kicks off a new season of business management, sales and marketing initiatives. I am a believer that the basics of these business areas are fundemental to a business’s success. They are also quantitatively tied to the level of success. The basics needed are: 1) a product or service that people want, a business plan, marketing plans, an employee handbook (task-checklist), point of sale and/or CRM software, employee training in customer service, sales, and communication skills (starting with the owner). They can start as outlines but need to grow and be maintained. These make up the vehicle that is your business. Sales revenue is the fuel needed to keep your engine running.
Various forms of marketing are like the pistons of an engine, the engine that power your business forward. Too few pistons running with out attention or maintenance and the vehicle may move, but probably while sputtering and running slow. If you have the maximum number of pistons firing and make sure they are maintained at their optimum efficiency? Now you have a race car! And the best part is, you don’t have to be a mechanic! Just know the basics, keep your business tuned-up and be an aware, smart driver.
Real Success Statistics
The negative statistics on failure rates for small business and start-ups are well publicized and quite scary. BUT of course what is not publicized nearly as much are the success rates on franchises and businesses that follow sound business fundamentals. They are very positive and extremely comforting. The above business necessities, software and items are available for very affordable prices and in some cases free.
Your Best Chances For Success
If you do nothing else, follow these most important revenue oriented basics and your chances of survival will increase dramatically. These will also allow you to find support for time management, updating a business plan, tracking expenses and professionally measuring your marketing dollars.
1) Get (or update) your website immediately. If you can’t afford one, make a free one (or see Yellowbook bundles above). Buy your name at GoDaddy and fill out the form and POOF you have your own website. It is easy to rank high in searches especially locally. How? Update it weekly, optimize it with keywords, good paragraph titles, add your own home- made business (or relevant YouTube videos, testimonials, customer pictures and then copy and paste lots of articles on your area of expertise and supplier materials. You will rank on the first page of google in no time! If you are busy and have the money… PAY SOMEBODY TO DO IT RIGHT! PS: Keep away from “Supplier sites and/or “Shared” YourTown.com- local newsletter sites, they’re useless)
2) Capture as much information on every customer and every visitor that comes into your business. No excuses. Include purchase info, email address, mailing address, and Facebook if you have a Facebook Fanpage (see below). This will become your businesses most valuable asset. Cost? FREE
3) Email is still the ultimate tool. There are free email platforms out there, starting with your own web host. As you grow to larger lists or if you need an easy picture and layout program, get Constant Contact. Email your customers as much as they will tolerate! It is free and if you are not doing it someone else will be. It should be you! Cost? Free
4) Use the IYP’s (Internet Yellow Pages)! Most allow free enhancements and rating/comments. Claim your Google Places and Yahoo Local address. Add pictures, coupons, business profile, comments and ratings (just ask!) FYI- Most local businesses still do need and should be in the yellow pages but more imortantly their “Online Directories”. (NOTE: Yellowbook’s print, website, and Internet-SEO-SEM marketing bundles are easily the most effective and cost-effective packages available. And they guarantee an R.O.I.!) Now I may be biased, as I’ve been working with and consulting with YB for 4 years now, but I also know my stuff! Look at the “non-search engine” statistics: Most buyers are not there because of your website’s google ranking! Heaven help us all (myself included) if that were the case! Remember, do not give up your local advertising, add to it. Believe me, the yellow pages are affordable and easily the best value going and you still need that balance. IYP’s Cost- FREE Google / Yahoo Maps- Cost: FREE Print and Enhanced Directories- Cost: Minimal
5) Facebook, Google+, Tweet and LinkedIn as many of your customers as you can. Do this as much as you can. Start with 10 if you have to, but do it and grow it! (Yes you must have an appropriate social media presence! Remember, there is a new social order in marketing today: gratitude, information sharing, personal/customer fun, and then an occasional but “compelling” offer is the way to use social media. Don’t ALWAYS sell, that is just annoying. Cost? Free
6) Advertise in your particular “appropriate” media. Do not cut back on your local advertising in slower times. Think about adding to it! Cut something else! Keep your marketing as high (uncomfortably so) as fiscally possible. It is better to be smaller and consistant, than trying big one time ads. Find out what paper your current customers read most. Ask your “successful” business neighbors and window shoppers! Local- weekly papers usually do the trick, especially if you are pulling from a local demographic. The daily papers will cost you more but see if you can get a smaller regional run. You say you can’t afford it? Well I’m saying you can’t afford not to. Cutting back on advertising and marketing in slower times is a mathematical equation that equals (=) double whammy disaster!
7) Network, network, network! (And I don’t mean just attending a quarterly happy hour-card swap! By all means Go but truely network every day) Meet your business neighbors, refer your doctor, dentist, hair salon, cleaning service, carpenters, painters, etc… If you know people (and you do know people), helping them find contacts is gold in the currency of business contacts. And you simultaneously build your, Facebook, email, regular mail, comments and ratings (just ask), web links and your word of mouth business buzz! Cost? FREE
Follow these and you will dramatically increase you awareness and prospects for success. – Jamie Siracusa, Executive Director
