Listening to customers is not all about the old adage of “the customer is always right”. Rather, it is inviting them to talk to you, listening to what they have to say and taking some positive action to improve their experience with you and your business.

The importance of listening to customers was highlighted to me recently. I was in a room full of business owners - new, existing, long-term, short-term – of all types. I spoke to quite a few of them during the breaks, and later it struck me that, in every case, it was a very one sided conversation. That is, I was the one doing all the talking, asking all the questions and finding out more about these people.

Noticeably, not one single person that I spoke to asked me anything about myself or my business. Not one. This really struck me later and got me thinking about whether or not these people are listening to customers, or even attempting to invite conversation with them. If not, how do they connect with their customers, if in fact they do at all? To my way of thinking, if you want to know what’s going on inside people’s heads, particularly your customers head, you need to ask.

We were given 2 ears, 2 eyes and 1 mouth. These tools need to be used in that ratio - listen, watch and then speak. Ask you customers’ questions and if you are in front of them, watch as they speak for unspoken cues and body language.

Listening to customers doesn’t always have to take place face-to-face. It can also be achieved through other ‘ears’ such as survey and feedback forms, particularly online. The important thing is that you have your ears open and are listening. As Richard Branson says below…”Listen, listen, listen, it doesn’t cost anything to listen”.

Once you’ve been listening to customers, then you can start to speak and communicate, but only if you can add value or help solve a problem in some way. Don’t speak just for the sake of it. Don’t try and sell them a blue widget when it is quite clear they are not a widget person, but more of a gidget person, and would probably prefer pink anyway.

Listening to customers is an important skill for business owners and it is foolhardy to expect too much from your business if you are not doing this consistently and regularly.

Until next time
Samantha

The differentiation strategy used in your business can be a critical element of success. I recently visited the Hunter Valley which provided a great case study on how small business can differentiate themselves in a competitive market. It was also clear, that in some small businesses, the owner themselves can be an important part of the differentiation strategy.

The Hunter Valley - Differentiation Strategy In Action

The Hunter Valley is a gorgeous part of Australia and is a premier wine growing region with the two main varietals being Semillon and Shiraz. With over 120 wineries there is plenty to keep you occupied. We enjoyed a one day wine tour while visiting that took in 6 wineries, an Irish Pub for lunch and cheese tasting. It was a great day and you get to really find out a lot when talking to the people who have made winemaking their business.

One aspect that really got me thinking was how do you make yourself standout when you have 119 competitors all on your doorstep? This is not an easy task, especially when everyone is essentially competing in the same market with the same product group (wine) and subject to the same environmental factors (e.g. weather and tourists). What differentiation strategy do you use?

A differentiation strategy can be based on various aspects of marketing – product, promotion, distribution, branding. Here are some of the types of differentiation strategy used by wineries:

Offering a unique product e.g. organic wines

Bringing in wine and/or grapes from other regions to make their own varietals not readily produced in the region

Creating a point of difference with their wine club (they all have a wine club). For example one winery includes local produce to complement the wine sent to members.

Limiting distribution to the cellar door and wine club members only which creates ‘exclusivity’.

Offering a complementary dining or food experience to allow customers to match wine and food.

Leveraging a big, well known brand eg Lindemans, Rosemount, McGuigans

It really was fascinating, but each of the wineries I visited employed an individual differentiation strategy and created their own unique experience. As a customer, I found some of these ‘experiences’ were definitely more enjoyable than others (not that there were any bad ones).

‘You’ As The Differentiation Strategy

Interestingly, the best experiences for me often came down to the ‘human factor’ and how well the product and brand were presented and explained. The wineries that absolutely triumphed were those where the owner was involved and their real passion for the product was evident. You can’t help but get drawn in by their story, making it all the more enjoyable.

As business owners, this emphasised what an important role ’you’ can play in making your business stand out from the crowd. Differentiate your business by putting yourself into it. There is only one ‘you’ and no-one else can copy ‘you’.

It is still important to look at other ways to get an edge, but this is one that will be truly unique to your business and create a differentiation strategy no-one else can replicate.

Until next time,
Samantha

Promotion Mix

The Promotion Mix is the mix of tools used to communicate with your target market and promote your business. While there are many different types of promotional tools that can be used in the promotion mix, their effectiveness and benefits can vary greatly from business to business. This is because all other marketing elements (target markets, product, price, distribution) combine to make every business a unique proposition in the market place. (Note: if there is nothing unique about the business, no amount of promotion will help in the long run).

Some of the promotional tools that small business owners can use in their promotion mix are listed below. This list is not exhaustive but gives an outline of the more common and cost effective options.

Advertising – local papers, newspapers, yellow pages, magazines, radio, online
Direct Marketing – direct mail, email marketing
Public Relations – online and offline submission of reports, articles and other newsworthy information
Promotions - trade shows, exhibitions, coupons, letterbox flyers,
Personal Selling – telemarketing, sales presentations,
Sponsorship – local fetes, community events, sporting teams
Website

While the above list may look daunting, it is likely only a few of these will be suitable for the promotion mix of your business. The important thing is to be using a range of tools, not just one or two. This creates multiple potential ‘touch points’ with your customers.

For example, if you are only using Yellow Pages, chances are you are missing business from anyone who no longer uses Yellow Pages, but now does all their searching on the internet. In contrast, Yellow Pages combined with some online advertising or direct marketing could round out the promotion mix and bring an increase in leads to your business.

A great example of a promotion mix using multiple promotional tools is Dell computers. Over the last 12 months I have personally seen the following promotions from them – Fax (one page specials flyer), Email (with links to website), Brochures (in the mail) and Advertisements (magazine and internet). I’ve been ‘touched’ many times, and guess what type of computer I use. Yep, a Dell. Their consistency and multiple touch points has, for me anyway, created top of mind awareness every time I’ve looked to buy a computer.

Now, while we don’t all have their budget, the point to note is they have utilised a diverse promotion mix to reach their customers. They would test and measure each tool in the mix - discard the ones no longer working, tweak the ones that are and try new ones.

Evaluate Your Promotion Mix

Firstly, list out all the promotional tools you currently use in your business. Of these, what are working and what aren’t? If you don’t know the answer to this, then it’s time to measure. Start by asking any new contact to your business how they found you and keep a tally.

It’s amazing how quickly you will get a picture of the effectiveness of your promotion mix. From here, you can start to make changes.

Until next time
Samantha

The economy may be in a downturn, but people still buy. They just spend their money differently than they would during better times resulting in recession proof products that actually prosper in such times.

The following changes in buying behavior highlight some recession proof products:

- Searches for domestic holidays are up as people cut back on overseas trips
- By exercising at home there is a saving in gym fees, so more people are searching for home gym equipment
- Sales of sausages have increased at the expense of steak
- Bread roll sales are up as more people eat at lunch at home or take it to work
- Cadbury has recorded a 30% increase in profits as consumers turn to chocolate as an affordable treat

More recession proof products are also discussed in the following video from CBS News.

Two major points from this report are – 1) People are buying what they need, not what they want and 2) Any product that has a ‘stay at home’ element, is prospering.

For small businesses that are already selling recession proof products, the news is good. Just remember, now is not the time to cut your marketing.

For others, it is important to respond to the current consumer mindset and behavior. Particularly if you have competition taking away sales as they are tapping into the changed behaviours (either intentionally or by default). There may be some simple changes that can be made to your existing products, or it may be necessary to completely review your offering. Either way, this needs to be a priority for your business.

Until next time
Samantha

On the weekend I attended an Internet Marketing event and as always left with my head spinning and lots of great new information. The event was run by two gentlemen of the same name, spelt differently – Shaun Stenning and Sean Rasmussen. Both are leading internet marketers within Australia and passed on their invaluable knowledge and experience to help anyone, who was willing to take action, make their first dollar online.

Not only did they cover internet marketing principles such as SEO (Search engine optimization), Affiliate marketing, website layouts and colours, email marketing and the new social media, they also covered many psychological aspects of internet marketing. That is the why and the how of what people do what they do online. It was fascinating. For example, do you know that green is the worst colour you can have for a website? In contrast, blue creates immediate rapport with customers and is a great colour to use.

Another thing that was imparted was the need for us all to take action. It’s fine to read, listen and learn, but the real change occurs when you take action. This is relevant to anything we do. Don’t just look at nice recipes – make them. Don’t just read a book on how to improve your business – take action and apply some new strategies. Don’t attend a seminar for two days and then do nothing with your new information. Make the most of your opportunities. As Shaun says: Opportunity + Action = $million.

Action Step - Take Action!

Until next time
Samantha

Small business marketing, while it can be very time consuming, is a critical component of your business. Regardless of the stage of your business and even if you think it is the best idea ever dreamed of, it is going absolutely nowhere if people do not know it exists. The only way you will get get people calling, visiting and buying from your business is if you tell them about it. Some considerations on how to spread the word are outlined below.

The traditional methods of advertising may not work for you and could be very costly. For example, an advertisement in the local newspaper can cost anywhere from $50-500 (or more) depending on the size, scale and frequency with which the ad runs. This method of advertising is only as effective as the people who notice the ad in the paper. With print media (eg newspapers, magazines, Yellow Pages) fast becoming lower on the priority list for most people looking for content, this advertising medium is becoming less preferred for small business marketing.

These days, many of the ways to advertise your business depend on having a website. In this age of information technology a website is not a ‘maybe’, it is a ‘must have’ for small business marketing. If you don’t have a website, you can be assured that your potential customers are visiting your competitors online. Once you have this site operational, you can use the power of the Internet to drive visitors to it.

Some ideas for driving traffic to your website are to create a blog about the industry your business is in, join a forum, create a press release, upload a video to sites such as YouTube and perhaps most important, generate keyword-rich content for search engine optimization. Don’t be concerned if you don’t know a lot about these tools, there are plenty of people that do, so you can outsource the work. Alternatively, there are plenty of learning materials available to help.

Small business marketing is a lot of work that needs to be conducted carefully with intelligent spending; do not throw a lot of money at advertising without first defining a solid strategy for it. Having a good strategy for promoting your business will help drive the types of customers you want to it and convince them to buy from you.

Until next time
Samantha

Use your small business advantage whenever you can. As an example of what I mean, consider the phone script for the following two businesses.

“Hello and thank you for calling Mell Computers, the worldwide leader in notebook PCs, media centers and wireless networking. This is Michael, how may I help you today?”

“Hi, this is Steve’s Computer Shop, this week we are having a special on notebook computers. How are you today?”

Did you notice a difference between the two? The first is a large, multi-national firm with a particular script that must be followed for answering all phone calls. The second is a small business where the person answering the phone is free to customise whatever they would like to say. Perhaps the next person that calls will be greeted with information on Steve’s printer range!

Flexibility is a fundamental difference, and a definite small business advantage. Having the ability to pay particular attention to one segment of your business and change it as frequently as you see fit is a great strength. If notebooks are not selling well, pull them off and answer the phone with a different product. In a large business, it can take weeks if not months of meetings, documentation and other time wasting activities before the script to answer the phones can be changed.

The beauty of being able to change frequently is that you can also provide excellent, personalised service – another small business advantage. Steve’s computer shop knows exactly what Mr. Jones needs in his computers because he has been in the store a few times. On the other hand, all Mell Computers knows about Mr. Jones is that his account number is 123456 and his street address for security purposes is 1 Main Street.

The ability to pay special attention to individual customer needs helps to spread the good word about your business quickly. Being small also affords you the opportunity to try different things without drastic impact, and you can implement them quickly instead of waiting forever as you would in a large business. Those who pay attention to their customers, constantly modify their offerings, learn from mistakes and aggressively seek to maximise their small business advantage are the ones who can grow quickly and be successful.

Action Step: Use your small business advantage by being flexible, responsive and attentive to your customers needs.

Until next time
Samantha