In Marketing, Less Equals More Revenue

Some large businesses set practical standards that serve as models, and others make mistakes that are so blatant that you wonder how they became industry giants.

The giant I refer to is Home Depot who, last week, announced that they are closing 15 stores throughout the U.S.

From the May 2nd edition of New Jersey’s The Record:

“Some analysts and large investors have worried that as Home Depot got bigger, it would invariably put new stores in direct competition with existing stores…”

Here in the New York metro area (and probably in other U.S. regions), Home Depot is one of many chain stores that have broken two rules we learned in marketing class: don’t locate your business next to competitors, and don’t cannibalize your locations.

I committed the same infraction that Home Depot suffers from today with the same consequences.

One of my adult school classes is extremely popular, and I decided to offer it at numerous schools in the same region. This was a big mistake. I cannibalized my class, resulting in low enrollment numbers at each session.

Now I conduct classes at three schools rather than 10, and the enrollment fills each class because there’s no overlap.

If your marketing plan includes multiple locations, be sure to avoid cannibalization. As we see, the Home Depot approach does not always work.

Technorati Tags: solo business marketing, Home Depot, industry cannibalization, small business marketing

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May 6, 2008 | Filed Under Marketing News, Revenue | Leave a Comment

Would Marketing Have Paid the Tax Bill?

Ice cream is cool, not paying taxes makes the state hot This morning I started the day reading Local Hero or Tax Cheat? in this month’s Inc. Magazine.

It’s the story of how the owner of a Massachusetts-based ice cream store built a business but didn’t set aside money to pay taxes. Once the state padlocked the business for nonpayment, a former worker helped the owner raise money by setting up a Web site to take donations through PayPal.

As donations arrived, so did lots of pro and con comments on the site. Some said that they were happy to send a few dollars, while others were enraged that a firm who neglected their taxes now asked the general public to pay for them.

Throughout the pre-padlock part of the story, I never once read anything about the business’s marketing plan. There seems to have been none. The text reads as though the owner set everything up in a “build it, and they will come” format.

I don’t know if marketing would have increased their sales, thereby eliminating the tax problem. But I do know that no marketing spells disaster.

I encourage you to read the story in print version, as it’s not yet available online. It’s a great lesson in not only marketing, but also in planning, growth, and responsibility.

Technorati Tags: small business marketing, Inc. Magazine, solo business marketing, solo entrepreneur

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April 7, 2008 | Filed Under Revenue | Leave a Comment

How to Get Paid on Time

Collect your money and keep business moving I read a case study in this month’s Inc. Magazine about two partners who operate a hip-hop news Web site.

The site is well traveled, but the partners are somewhat unfocused with a few tasks, including making sure advertisers pay on time.

I admit that this has happened to me on occasion, but now that I use a payment tracker within QuickBooks, that’s no longer a problem.

One of the worse situations in business is going after customers for payment, and if you work by yourself, the problem is magnified. It takes you away from revenue-generating projects. It causes stress, and I believe it also wreaks havoc with your complexion.

That’s one of the reasons I wrote Debt Collection Solutions You Can Afford. Running after monies owed disrupts your day and throws your cash flow into chaos. Do you have time to handle that while trying to focus on growth opportunities?

One solution I’ve found to be helpful with collections is to require a credit card on file as a backup, so if I do not receive payment on time I charge the advertiser’s credit card. To date, I’ve had no problems with this.

Whatever process you put in place, make sure you follow through and collect your money. Then you can quickly get back into the flow of daily progress.

Technorati Tags: small business marketing, debt collection procedures, solo business marketing, Inc. Magazine, solo entrepreneur

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February 27, 2008 | Filed Under Revenue | Leave a Comment

Webinars — Are Yours Free or for a Fee?

Fee-based webinars may be more successful than free ones I’m a huge fan of webinars, teleseminars, and anything else that can be launched singlehandedly or with little assistance on the Web in order to reach a local or global audience.

As an early attendee of these online events, I not only learned topical information, I also studied how the event was launched. Most of all, I noticed that the well-attended events were paid for in advance by Web audiences who understood that a small, upfront investment translated into data that was well worth the money.

I was glad to read the topic of webinars mentioned in the ToolBox section of DMNews’s February 18th issue. Christopher Dean of KRM Information Services Inc. responded to the question, “Should I charge to attend my webinar?”

Dean provided his views in two paragraphs. Webinars:

Act as an effective lead generation method.

Increase skepticism when offered free of charge, as attendees expect a sales pitch during the session.

Exceed a 50 percent no-show rate when offered at no cost.

Why charge for your webinar?

Cost equals more-qualified leads.

Attendees expect (and receive) a quality event rather than an online infomercial.

The event’s value is understood because you’re the expert, or one who will interview a knowledgeable source.

Years ago I charged a fee for my online events, and I’d still do so today. In addition, current technology from free conference call companies allows you to record the event and sell it on CDs or as a downloaded product.

There’s nothing wrong with offering customers free webinars. Perhaps by scheduling one free of charge and one for a fee you can gauge which of the two draws the most attendees and leads.

Technorati Tags: small business marketing, create a webinar, solo business marketing, DMNews, solo entrepreneur, Christopher Dean, KRM Information Services Inc.

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February 21, 2008 | Filed Under Customer Connections, Online Ideas, Revenue | Leave a Comment