Marketing Differently

I just read an article which began with this statement: "For years, retailers could afford to be sloppy about running their businesses because customers kept buying. No more." The article continued by noting how customers curtailed spending this past holiday season by the largest amount in 39 years. January spending appears to be down also, which is no surprise.

A few weeks ago I heard a report which stated that mall shopping was down 24% during the holidays. In that same report a shopper commented that "it doesn't matter how much they drop the price, if I don't need something, I'm not buying it."

What all this means to your business, whether you are a retailer or not, is that consumers are in such financial pain that they have pulled back from spending. The days of easy credit and seeming job security are no longer. Fear of having enough to pay their bills, stay in their homes, or just survive is running rampant through the consumers of this country. Realistically, this fear is not going away for a while.

Whether their jobs are threatened or not, consumers perceive that they are in financial peril. Perception is reality. Reality is the world in which business functions. Consequently, we as business people must deal with consumers' perception.

How do we do that?

We run our businesses differently. We run them tighter. We take the actions that make our businesses more profitable.

These actions include marketing differently. Gone are the days when running a sale to stimulate business will have the impact of the past. Today's consumer is not buying something unless that item is needed, as the shopper noted earlier. We must replace giving away items with selling consumers on what's in it for them to do business with us. We must get close to our customers. We must make sure that our customers are satisfied.

While all this may appear difficult and costly, actually it is not. As you market differently and tighten how you run your business, you will discover great efficiencies of scale. You will find that you can sell more to fewer customers and do so more profitably. You will save money by not marking down items and save time dickering on price. You will spend less on advertising and, yet, have profitable marketing.

I understand that consumers feeling fear, the news media proclaiming the business closing of the day, and your business's revenues being down do not appear to be positive. However, the bright spot in this atmosphere of fear is that you have an opportunity to change your business to run more profitably for today and for the future.

Take action now to make that happen

Whom Do You Control?

The other day a sharp businessman who reads these weekly Insights showed me a quote and asked, "Did you give this to me?"

After reading the quote, I was complimented that he had attributed the quote as coming through me, but I replied, "No, I did not. This is wonderful, though."

"I have been reading this everyday," he explained, "to remind myself of what it says."

His explanation reminded me of Napoleon Hill's conclusions from his twenty-five years of research interviewing corporate giants such as J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and J. D. Rockefeller. One of Napoleon's discoveries of the secret to success was to read goals aloud twice everyday. The businessman who handed me this quote was doing precisely that.

He read: "You can't control the wind, but you can adjust your sails.

You cannot control the world. You cannot control people. You cannot control your environment.

But you can control how you react and respond to them all. You get to say how you feel. You get to say how you think. You get to say what you do.

Only you."

As I read this quote, I thought of you. I thought that you would like to know this quote. You may find it as helpful as the businessman who gave it to me. You may want to copy it and place it where you can read it daily.

I will.

I want to read it daily to remind myself that there is a great deal that I cannot control, including the weather, the economy, interest rates, and the actions of others. Some days I get "caught up" in the frustration that I feel as a result of uncontrollable things or people. I direct my focus toward them. Once I start doing this, I seem to continue doing it all too easily.

In reality, I can change my focus.

I can decide how I react and respond to happenings in my business and personal life. I don't have to feel a certain way just because others think that I should. I can feel the way that I want to feel. I can also take the actions that I want to take.

In other words, I can control myself. As Robert Kiyosaki says, "Mind your own business."

At this time of year when we are looking forward to what we want to accomplish, I recommend that you set goals which are within your control. Don't pin your hopes on anything or anyone outside of your control. Focus on what is within your control.

As the quote states, that is "only you."

Point It Out

A couple of days ago I received a used book that I had ordered from a seller on Amazon. On the enclosed packing slip, I noticed that the shipping service of standard had been crossed out and a notation of “free upgrade to first class” had been handwritten in large, easily-read script. Below that, next to the book’s title was written “Thank you.”

Glancing at the outside of the package, I checked out the price of the mailing. Since I regularly mail books, I know how much one book of this size costs to mail via media mail, which was the “standard” shipping to which the packing slip referred. The price on the front of the package was the same as the price of sending this book via media mail. In other words, the seller did not spend any more to send me the book. As the handwritten notation said, the seller gave me a free upgrade. This was free to me and also free to the seller.

What this told me is that the seller was looking out for my best interests. By upgrading to first class, the book moved through the system more quickly and arrived to me sooner. The seller took the time to compare the classes by which the book could be sent, and, since the cost was the same, the seller opted for the quicker class, which was a benefit to me. Although not required and certainly not asked by me to do so, the seller looked out for me, his customer.

Then, he pointed it out to me.

By handwriting the “free upgrade to first class” on the packing slip, the seller took an important step. He deliberately told me what he had done. While the average customer would not have the knowledge to analyze his actions as I just did, the communication of a “free upgrade” would be appreciated by any customer. Taking the time to tell me of this action was a very wise move on the seller’s part. This communication made me more inclined to offer positive feedback on the seller, something every seller loves to receive, but, due to the busyness of most buyers, is difficult to achieve.

In addition, the form in which the seller offered the communication, handwriting, is important. Handwritten notations are noticed simply because they are handwritten. Since most communications today are typed, a handwritten note stands out. Handwriting is also very personal. Handwriting gets attention because the recipent feels specially addressed. That is why direct mail experts advise hand addressing envelopes; their potential of being opened is greatly increased.

Doing the handwriting and deciding to upgrade to first class took time. While I realize that in the daily crush of doing business this time can be a struggle to find, successful business people find that time. They set up a system of dealing with customers which looks out for each customer’s best interest and communicates that action to the customer. Most businesses look out for the customer’s best interest. However, many neglect giving themselves credit for their actions so that customers notice.

How about you? Are you telling your customers how you looked out for their best interests? If you aren’t, who will? Don’t think that your customer will figure this out. Your customer will not take the time. You must do it.

To get credit for your actions on your customer’s behalf, you must point it out to your customer.