Category Small Business
How I found all the customers I needed for 30 years….
Marketing with Directories in B2B business –
How I acquired all the new customers I ever needed
using nothing more than a 28¢ salesman…
By Mark Goggin
Peter Drucker – the father of marketing consulting – said that THE PURPOSE of a
business – any business — is to attract customers. It would be best, to do that at a profit.
But, for a business to be a business its number one task is to…
…Acquire customers
Yet, in many small and medium size businesses customer acquisition is put on the back
burner.
There can be many reasons for this.
Expense is often one of them. Also, it is time-consuming. And, finally, it is seen as an
unreliable, “hit or miss” process.
For 30 years I had a small business and so I faced each of these issues.
How I solved my customer acquisition problem helped me stay in business for 30 years.
If you are in a B2B business, my solution may help you streamline at least part of your
customer acquisition problem. Certainly, there is no cheaper and more effective way to
accomplish this.
Here’s what I did…
Posted by Mark Goggin in Marketing, Small Business, Start a Business, Strategy on November 3rd, 2009
eBrand Media shares how to increase conversions by assuring customers.
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
eBrand Media has always been a strong proponent of keeping a security symbol in the homepage “hero” spot. Every site guest arrives with a degree of anxiety and their anxiety level increases exponentially as they move further down the shopping funnel towards the cart. Every friction point should be removed for the purpose of bringing form and function together to create an online store that is positive, easy to navigate, pleasant to be in and conducive to frequent and extended visits.
Clarity, clarity, clarity, and if you think you’ve given enough clarity, give some more.
The prospect of identity theft has led the majority of online users–53 percent–to stop giving out personal information online, according to a study released by Consumer Reports WebWatch.
Additionally, 30 percent of the consumers surveyed reported reducing their overall use of the Web, while 25 percent say they no longer make online purchases, according to WebWatch. The report, “Leap of Faith: Using the Internet despite the Dangers,” was based on a survey of 1,501 online adults.
Even those who continued to shop online reported taking precautions. Fifty-four percent of online shoppers said they now are more likely to read a site’s privacy policy or user agreement than in the past–while 29 percent say they shop online less frequently than before.
The results show a growing concern about identity theft, said Beau Brendler, director of WebWatch. “There’s been a pretty steady drumbeat over the last three years about it,” he said. In addition, the wave of headlines about security breaches at databases has led consumers to rethink how to best protect their personal data, he said.
A previous study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project also revealed that consumers had changed their online behavior, partly because of security concerns. The Pew study, “Spyware,” concluded that fears of spyware and adware had driven 48 percent of Web users to stop visiting certain Web sites.
In keeping with this theme we’d to share a valuable case study with you that we came across in our virtual library, obtained from a leading marketing journal.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Growing a Business, Home Based Business, Small Business, Start a Business, eBrand Media on March 3rd, 2009
Why Best Buy Matched An Online Price No Questions Asked
By Tom Polanski
Simply put, they’re fighting to stay relevant in the minds and pocket books of the American consumer. As Anthony Mirhaydari points out in the article below there are a number of reasons why Best Buy, despite the breathtaking revenue generated from the Federal stimulus package, could be in pain again soon. One alternative is, and it’s a drastic action for a company like Best Buy, would be to take a smaller margin for the sake of generating a higher volume of conversions. People are driven be price, no more so, than when the economy is turning down.
“Best Buy and Circuit City are reeling this week from the loss of their edge over discounters in the minds of high-definition television buyers — just as total industry sales are beginning to slow. Yesterday’s retail numbers showed that more consumers are trading down to price-focused shops for entertainment products, eschewing the better service and selection offered at specialty stores. Wal-Mart, the king of discounters, yesterday reported “extremely strong sales” of flat-panel TVs and home entertainment furniture.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Gadgets & Gear, Small Business on June 20th, 2008
Automatic Triggers, Fixed Action Patterns and Odd Number Pricing. Turning Browsers into Buyers.
By Tom Polanski
Recently, I came across some information about pricing. Researchers at Cornell University believe you’re better off pricing your products with an odd number than with an even number (for example, $39.71 vs. $40.00).
The researchers found that odd numbers cause buyers momentary confusion. Confused, people fall back on associations. And people associate odd numbers with discounts. Hence, odd numbers in a listed price equal a discount.
The Cornell report caused me to think about automatic triggers. This is a term I first came across in an enlightening book written by Robert Cialdini, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”. A must read for all marketers. The premise is that we’re all inundated with too much information, that we suffer, to different degrees, from a form of cultural ADD and that we fall back on automatic responses.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Agencies, Growing a Business, Home Based Business, Marketing, Small Business on June 13th, 2008
Stagnant Businesses Are At a Critical Juncture
An increasing number of companies have told eBrand account executives that they’ve been stagnating. It’s a scary word. For example, when lakes stagnate, fish die. Businesses that are stagnating are at a critical juncture, a temporary stopping point. They’ll either move forward or backwards but they won’t stagnate for long.
I find it interesting that even though we’ve had advertisers admit that they’re stagnating, they’ve decided to stick with the status quo. They’ve lost their appetite for change even while admitting, based on the historical and live data we present, that the solutions we offer are superior. I’m certainly empathetic to the quandary decision makers are in but the fact is; if they’re not acting then they’re reacting. Thinking but taking action too empowers a company to control its future. On the other hand, companies coming from a position where they’re reacting to changing circumstances invariably leads to a culture of emergency management.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Small Business on April 2nd, 2008