Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash Warren Buffet says so. If your audience knows you, loves you, and trusts you then you can probably raise your prices right now. Raising prices is all about expectations and value. If the perceived value that the shopper is expecting from you meets or exceeds the price of the…
Photo by Venti Views on Unsplash Do you know what suppliers your competitors are using? Don’t fly blind – it’s best to know what everyone around you is doing. But finding that info out is an art form, which I’m not going into here. There are healthy and ahem unhealthy ways to uncover precious intel. (only…
Photo by Tao Yuan on Unsplash The horizontal long game. Horizontal Integration is a long game with a long-range return on investment, but it can be a fantastic way to grow your business – especially if you’ve really “figured it out”. If you have a competitive advantage, if you have better marketing, sales or operations,…
Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash I’m a fan of B-12. My body finally made me quit, but once upon a time I was a hockey player. It’s no secret that adult hockey players reliving the glory days get the worst ice time. Often our “beer league” team would have a 10:45pm puck drop time…
Photo by Elsa Gonzalez on Unsplash Vertical Integration is when you acquire (or become) a supplier or customer of your current business. It is growth via supply chain. And the most common way that a small business Vertically Integrates is by buying a building rather than leasing space. You can turn one of your biggest…
Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash You set up a marketing campaign. Everything looks to be going well. The phone is ringing, and you’re getting leads by email. Not every one is a perfect fit, but that’s ok because it’s not hard to sort through them and find the prospects you want. But what do…
Photo by Anton Savinov on Unsplash Depending on what type of business you’re in, your equipment or your software tools might be holding your team back… buy you may not know it. Here’s how to find out: Ask your team and find out how they are being limited. The more they trust you, the more…
Photo by Levi Jones on Unsplash Are you ready? If you hit a home run with your marketing campaign, be ready to service your new leads. It’s an easy mistake to make. A lot of business owners have a constant craving to drive leads to the business. That is often the simplest path to profit,…
Photo by Aaron Lefler on Unsplash From budget to revenue. You cannot determine whether a campaign is successful unless you know what you would pay per lead. What is acceptable to pay per lead changes wildly from one business to the next. For example, real estate agents pay thousands of dollars in commission to a…
Just ask. Do people know what you are asking them to do? In marketing this is your “Call To Action” – if we’re getting nerdy (and you know we are), your “CTA”. Your CTA is probably the most overlooked (or overworked) piece of any average small business marketing campaign. When it’s overlooked, it is not clear…