Strategic Steps to Take For Small Business Growth
The first step to creating a more profitable business is to consider the 80/20 or pareto principle. This rule states that 20% of your actions result in 80% of your results. This is true, no matter what vertical or category your small business falls into. Now, consider this. If you multiply the 80/20 rule by 4; it states that only 1% of what you do generates 50% of your business income. Imagine what would happen to your business if you found that 1% activity and focused on it relentlessly. Would you agree you would have one profitable business?
Let Me Hold Up A Magnifying Glass To What Makes Up That 20%
The five elements of business that make up the 20% of activities that are making you the most money in your small business are leads, conversions, transactions, pricing, and profit. When you look at these components that make up your 20%, seek out one action item in each area. Focus on your best lead generation effort, tighten up your conversion rate, add value to create another point of sale for your customer, examine your pricing structure, and audit your costs; if the cost is not making you money, get rid of it. That’s just a few options out of literally hundreds of strategies. Even a small shift of 1-3% can make a big difference to your bottom line. Would you like to see how compounding works, visit my free Profit Simulator >>
How to Make the Right Marketing Decisions for Your Business
Okay, so we know that we all HATE being sold to but we do LOVE to buy stuff! Each time we purchase anything, we are looking to either solve a problem, create certainty, or have a meaningful experience.
With more than 10,000 messages per day bombarding consumers online, how do you get your message to stand out among your competitors with your marketing?
You’ll need to find your voice and narrow down what you’re saying to your prospects with focused messages. To break through the noise and create a message so compelling it’s like a dog whistle to your superstar client or customer, you’ll want to get down to the fundamentals of what your message is for your business (also known as your market dominating position or unique selling proposition). Really, what separates you from everyone else selling what you sell? Besides examining the inside of your company or its services you also need to know who your target customer is for your business.
Your Target Customer is More than Just Demographics
Instead of looking at typical demographics such as age and gender, I coach companies to dig deeper and find out more about their ideal customers. When you’re only marketing based on common demographics, you’re only scratching the surface. Instead, I want you to think about the process people go through when they buy anything. The buyer’s journey is where 99% of prospects that consider buying what you sell are in the investigative stage. They are considering reasons to buy a product/service and overcoming objections to the purchase. It’s not until the very last 1% that they are considering WHO to buy from.
To dive beyond simple demographics and create this compelling message, we need to tap into the emotional reason for your customer to buy.
How Do You Know What Your Superstar Client Looks Like?
To identify your superstar clients/customers, you need to do nothing but look at your most loyal customer or the easiest clients you work with. You know the ones, who jumped at your offer, are excited to become customers, love what you do… really in their eyes, you do no wrong. The relationship is fluid… you’ll hear me say, in Changing the Sales Game Podcast, “If you feel goosebumps talking to someone, they are close to your ideal client.”
To find out more steps you can take to grow your small business, listen to my interview with Connie Whitman here >>
