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P.E. and how it applies to your business Pamela Danziger was the guest on the December 2021 Small Business Conversations program. A previous guest on the program, Pamela is an expert on marketing that we listen to very closely. During the program she shared a marketing concept that we think everyone reading this newsletter would want to know about. In addition to visiting the Profits Plus website, or your favorite podcast service, to hear a replay of the program, we want to reinforce her comments with this month's news.
We have all focused our marketing efforts on the four Ps; Product (or service), Price, Promotion and Placement (The placement being the product on a website or shelf; placement being where we advertise.)
Summarizing the definition of marketing, it is said to be, "the activity and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, or exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, and society at large".
We hang onto this concept because it is simple and because it is tradition. The message shared by Pamela is that there is a new format that better connects to today's customer.
The product is replaced by the experience of doing business with your business. Is there an experience with your business that is worth remembering?
The price is now an exchange. Outside of essential clothing, food and medicine, the spending by your customer is with discretionary money. They don't have to spend the money. What are they getting for their time and money?
Promotion becomes evangelism. Perhaps easy when we had television, radio, newspaper and direct mail, today there are so many ways for a customer to know of your business. All of these free social media require the action by your customers. Are they speaking in a positive manner about your business?
The place (think of it as a display of merchandise) is now every place. With traditional retail they are thinking where the product is placed and customers interacting at that spot. Today there is "every place"; the customer is deciding how they interact with your product or service. we observe the big businesses trying to accomplish this with technology. You can do it with your staff. How do you present your offering?
We can't do justice to the explanations that Pamela gave. Hence we invite you to listen to the podcast. The key is that there are new opportunities for how you engage your customers. Or, are you using what you have done for many years?
Article of the Month - The story of three friends Jeff, Jerry and David; three friends who owned businesses from many years ago. With each of them, they were successors to their father's business. Unfortunately, at a time earlier than expected, each of them closed their businesses. When I last saw each of them, they were working in someone else's business. I am not sure that any of the three were the kind of person to own a business. The skills each had that I observed were quite different. Let me invite you to read about my observations and experiences.
Who is visiting Small Business Converations this month? - Ron Friedman discussing premium loyalty programs Small Business Conversations start the new year in a unique manner. The topic is creating a premium loyalty program for your business in addition to a traditional customer loyalty program you may already have. Just to make sure we are all using the same terms, the traditional customer loyalty program generally has a customer earning points with each purchase or something to the effect of "buy 10 and get the 11th free".
A premium loyalty program is one where the customer pays a monthly fee to be a part of your loyalty program. You likely know few local businesses, if any that have such a program. Yet, the statistics on the number of people participating is very positive.
Ron Friedman joins the conversation as we will be designing premium loyalty programs for listeners during the January Small Business Conversations. All you need to do is tell us about your business; tell us about what kind, if any, loyalty program you currently have. During the program, Ron and I will design a premium loyalty program for your business!
Details of the date of the program will come in our traditional Small Business Conversations announcements later this month.
Book of the Month - They can't kill us till they kill us Hanif Abdurraqib wrote a very unique book. Definitely not a traditional business book like those we have been suggesting. However, we think this book has its place to start the new year. While we shun listening, reading and watching the media, we think most cannot get away from the many stories telling everyone how stressed we all should be.
This book is a very unique way of being uplifting and positive for a new year.
Internet Tool for Your Business - Operating margin per square foot Operating margin per square foot is an important measurement, especially for a business that has multiple aspects of what they sell. Envision a store that sells clothing for both women and men. How much square footage does each area get? A part of the answer for that question would be to know which category of merchandise has the bigger margin.
And as you perform this exercise for a multi-faceted business, what if you were to find a category or department that had an exceptionally low operating margin? Wouldn't you want to consider if you want to continue offering that product selection?
We think a great example is that of a liquor store. Many decide how much bourbon, scotch, vodka, rum, other liquors, wines and beers they stock based on what a wholesaler offers. Shouldn't that business be looking at what kind of margin each of these categories have so they can include that information in the decision process?
Each month we highlight one of the 47 free tools on the Profits Plus website; we call them "calculators". While some provide analysis by numbers and ratios, some are assessments and others are self-examination questions. Many are downloadable while others, because of the complexity of the calculations going on behind the scene, are a part of the website and allow you to print your answers. None of them require you to give any personal information nor are there any "cookies" tracking you or your information.
Staff Incentive for Your Business - that good employee During December, as we visited with groups to discuss the programs we are presenting for them in 2022, the most common question/request we fielded was, "Where do we find good employees?"
We have a multi-point response; "Initially, you do not. You have to build them. However, once you have built some good employees, the good employees at other businesses will come looking to work for you".
People who perform well in their work want to work with other good employees. We know this from personal experience.
The challenge is your creating the first good employees. Our experience was that we first needed written job descriptions. Not job descriptions that we wrote, but ones that the staff wrote for themselves. Yes, we did participate in the creation but importantly we found that the best employees were the most vocal in the job description creation because they wanted everyone to be a better employee. Good employees want to work with other good employees.
We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.
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MAY 2024
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With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.
Small Business
The May Small Business Advisory is titled "Planning for a successful accountant" and is appropriate for many with the April 15 tax deadline having passed.
Did you work with your accountant? Or, did you just give them a bunch of papers and wait to receive a completed tax return?
Successfully working with an accountant requires a partnership. This month's Small Business Advisory gives suggestions of how to make this happen in 2024.
Small Business
We see that many small business owners have too much of a focus on the "top line" of their income statement.
Increasing revenue is great, but it is not a cure all for any challenges your business is facing. And sometimes, incresing revenue can create a challenge.
Who is your customer? Some small businesses have no focus. Their customer is whoever calls or walks in the door.
And some small businesses have determined which customers, in sufficient numbers, they should spend their efforts to attract.
The article of the month shares an old Southern rhyming couplet about business; "The bertter you niche, the more you get rich."
Lean Startup by Eric Reis is our suggested book for May.
As the title suggests, the reader of the book would be someone that is starting their business. However, we see more value than just that.
Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.
