Yesterday, the post was about Retail Prison--waiting around for a customer to come in. One thing I found that really helped in addition to the things mentioned in the post was to listen to motivational tapes and audiobooks.
The great thing about tapes (or CD's) is that you don't have to look at them. You can keep your eyes where they need to be while you are "reading" by listening. Even today 25 years later, wherever I travel, I have motivational tapes or audiobooks in my truck. I now have a number on MP3 files so I can even listen on an airplane with my player.
There is so much nay-saying going on in the world wherever you turn, and I, for one, need the yeah-saying messages that keep me thinking positively. There is absolutely nothing quite like encouragement to lift your spirits and soothe the mind.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Retail Prison
Having owned a retail store, the absolute worst thing I experienced was standing around (or sitting) and waiting for a prospect to come through the door. Sometimes it was hours before the next one came through. I hated it.
It seems that there should be something in the store that is always in need of doing: dusting, re-tagging merchandise, straightening displays, creating new displays, updating computer database, repairing things, cleaning things, rearranging things, buying things, just all kinds of things to do. Of course, they all need to be done, but they don't do much for the waiting game except perhaps, make it go by quicker.
What is far better and much more effective to do is to send out some flyers, letters, notices, postcards to your customers and prospects. Your close customers could be reached by telephone. In today's world, email is a great way to stay in touch and make known your killer sales and grand opportunities--even just to reach out and speak to another person . . . a real live person.
With this kind of thing, you are moving forward. All that other stuff is of little importance in comparison.
It seems that there should be something in the store that is always in need of doing: dusting, re-tagging merchandise, straightening displays, creating new displays, updating computer database, repairing things, cleaning things, rearranging things, buying things, just all kinds of things to do. Of course, they all need to be done, but they don't do much for the waiting game except perhaps, make it go by quicker.
What is far better and much more effective to do is to send out some flyers, letters, notices, postcards to your customers and prospects. Your close customers could be reached by telephone. In today's world, email is a great way to stay in touch and make known your killer sales and grand opportunities--even just to reach out and speak to another person . . . a real live person.
With this kind of thing, you are moving forward. All that other stuff is of little importance in comparison.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A Compliment Is Nice, But. . .
Not to take anything at all away from compliments. I love encouragement from anyone, anytime, anyplace. I could listen to it all day and never grow weary. But. . . when someone tells you how much you changed their life for the better, and how you helped them tackle that issue, or quit smoking or make a turn, that is very powerful. It is absolutely priceless.
I've received a few over the years. I'm always trying to help others since I've been helped in so many ways. Just sharing. And I got one today and it was very nice. It just makes your day, maybe even the whole week. It is pure love.
We should all get more of those because they are life changing for the receiver too. So, if you have had someone or several who have gone the extra mile and who have really looked out for you or lifted you out of despair, changed your direction in a positive way, is a source of inspiration to you, make sure you find a way to make it known that you are grateful and that it is of great meaning to you. Send a card, an email, make a call, send up a flag, and just let them know.
The warm fuzzy bag will never run dry.
I've received a few over the years. I'm always trying to help others since I've been helped in so many ways. Just sharing. And I got one today and it was very nice. It just makes your day, maybe even the whole week. It is pure love.
We should all get more of those because they are life changing for the receiver too. So, if you have had someone or several who have gone the extra mile and who have really looked out for you or lifted you out of despair, changed your direction in a positive way, is a source of inspiration to you, make sure you find a way to make it known that you are grateful and that it is of great meaning to you. Send a card, an email, make a call, send up a flag, and just let them know.
The warm fuzzy bag will never run dry.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Lowest Price Is Meaning-less
Price has some star power, or at least you would think so since you see price advertising everywhere you go and on every TV and radio station. Yet, with all its star power, it is really meaning-less.
Selling a bottle of wine for $2.00 less than the chain store competitor is a bold move, but it is meaningless. I know its hard to believe, but it is true. If that really worked, you would be in real marketing trouble. Think about it. If that ad drew the customer from the other store, their next ad will draw them back. The customer will be going from this place to that place to this always looking for the lowest dollar amount on that product. Baloney. The hardest thing to learn in retail is that only 4% buy price, everyone else buys value.
Price is always an issue with a customer for two reasons: 1. They have been trained to talk about and to respond to price. Trained by their parents and by the media over time. 2. They want a fair deal, a good deal and they don't want to get ripped off. Though it is always an issue, the question is how much of an issue? It's really not that high on the list.
Time after time, studies have been done and on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the most important, price usually falls around number 8. Almost dead last! So if it is that far back really, why is it plastered all over the media? I think it is very similar to why it is an issue with a customer. 1. They have done it over and over and over again, so it is natural to do it again and over again. 2. It is one way to try to promote value, even though it may very well be a lie in terms of value. It has become a strategy to get attention.
Your customers will put price where it really belongs, IF, you have more to say that is convincing. Don't try to justify price, but put yourself in the shoes of the customer and ask yourself why you would buy this product or service? Tell a better story. Pretend you're the highest price and determine your story from there. What is value to you?
Selling a bottle of wine for $2.00 less than the chain store competitor is a bold move, but it is meaningless. I know its hard to believe, but it is true. If that really worked, you would be in real marketing trouble. Think about it. If that ad drew the customer from the other store, their next ad will draw them back. The customer will be going from this place to that place to this always looking for the lowest dollar amount on that product. Baloney. The hardest thing to learn in retail is that only 4% buy price, everyone else buys value.
Price is always an issue with a customer for two reasons: 1. They have been trained to talk about and to respond to price. Trained by their parents and by the media over time. 2. They want a fair deal, a good deal and they don't want to get ripped off. Though it is always an issue, the question is how much of an issue? It's really not that high on the list.
Time after time, studies have been done and on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the most important, price usually falls around number 8. Almost dead last! So if it is that far back really, why is it plastered all over the media? I think it is very similar to why it is an issue with a customer. 1. They have done it over and over and over again, so it is natural to do it again and over again. 2. It is one way to try to promote value, even though it may very well be a lie in terms of value. It has become a strategy to get attention.
Your customers will put price where it really belongs, IF, you have more to say that is convincing. Don't try to justify price, but put yourself in the shoes of the customer and ask yourself why you would buy this product or service? Tell a better story. Pretend you're the highest price and determine your story from there. What is value to you?
Monday, February 16, 2009
How Far Do You Go?
How far do you go to take care of a customer? What do you do to encourage your customers to complain to you if there is a complaint? Do you know the value of one happy customer to your business? Do you know the value of one unhappy customer to your business?
In today's world it is so easy for a customer to talk about you or your business and they are probably ten times more likely to talk about it if their experience is not positive. Twenty years ago, that would have been a very small circle of people, now it can be a very large circle of people. With the advent of social websites like Facebook, Twitter, My Space and others, people can tell each other things in less than a second.
My training in business from the people I worked for in the past was that, you do everything possible to not give money back if someone is unhappy. That would go to some serious extremes from my early days in the car business. All it did was make the customer more angry and to be very stressful on the seller as well.
I found through experience and trial and error, that the best thing is to be willing to do whatever is possible to take care of the customer and the vast majority of the time, giving money back turned into a long-term happy customer instead.
Here's a recent example. I sold an expensive book. It was brand new, but I had owned it for some time. When the customer received it, there is a note in each book stating that if they are not pleased with anything at all to contact me immediately and it will be taken care of. So, he contacted me stating that he thought the book might be used and not new saying there was a crease in the spine. I immediately answered that his satisfaction was paramount and that I would be happy to send him another new copy or refund his money in full as he desired. He replied that he was glad that I was willing to go the distance, but that he was satisfied after all and thanked me for my willingness to take care of him. I offered again and he declined and so the issue is closed. I absolutely would have replaced it regardless of cost and sent it Priority Mail to boot, but I didn't have to. In many cases, I have done so.
You might say, well, that is all well and good for lesser expensive things, but things like automobiles is a wholly different story. I say baloney. In my later years in the car business as a manager that had the power to do so, I have easily given people their money back to resolve an issue. Some even came back to become customers again. Yet, in today's world of massive communication so quick, a business needs to really consider that it may be far cheaper to take a small loss and take care of this customer than to lose untold numbers of sales from an unhappy customers communications.
We need each other. I think the Golden Rule is still alive and well. Treat others as you would like to be treated and it should serve you well as it has for a few thousand years.
In today's world it is so easy for a customer to talk about you or your business and they are probably ten times more likely to talk about it if their experience is not positive. Twenty years ago, that would have been a very small circle of people, now it can be a very large circle of people. With the advent of social websites like Facebook, Twitter, My Space and others, people can tell each other things in less than a second.
My training in business from the people I worked for in the past was that, you do everything possible to not give money back if someone is unhappy. That would go to some serious extremes from my early days in the car business. All it did was make the customer more angry and to be very stressful on the seller as well.
I found through experience and trial and error, that the best thing is to be willing to do whatever is possible to take care of the customer and the vast majority of the time, giving money back turned into a long-term happy customer instead.
Here's a recent example. I sold an expensive book. It was brand new, but I had owned it for some time. When the customer received it, there is a note in each book stating that if they are not pleased with anything at all to contact me immediately and it will be taken care of. So, he contacted me stating that he thought the book might be used and not new saying there was a crease in the spine. I immediately answered that his satisfaction was paramount and that I would be happy to send him another new copy or refund his money in full as he desired. He replied that he was glad that I was willing to go the distance, but that he was satisfied after all and thanked me for my willingness to take care of him. I offered again and he declined and so the issue is closed. I absolutely would have replaced it regardless of cost and sent it Priority Mail to boot, but I didn't have to. In many cases, I have done so.
You might say, well, that is all well and good for lesser expensive things, but things like automobiles is a wholly different story. I say baloney. In my later years in the car business as a manager that had the power to do so, I have easily given people their money back to resolve an issue. Some even came back to become customers again. Yet, in today's world of massive communication so quick, a business needs to really consider that it may be far cheaper to take a small loss and take care of this customer than to lose untold numbers of sales from an unhappy customers communications.
We need each other. I think the Golden Rule is still alive and well. Treat others as you would like to be treated and it should serve you well as it has for a few thousand years.
Friday, February 13, 2009
The 50-Yard Dash
I was thinking about winning and losing and how most of us have grown up with seeing competing people or teams winning and losing. Maybe they win the Gold Medal or the Super Bowl title and the ring and the hat, or maybe the prize is smaller. We grew up wanting to be winners and feel sorry for the losers. Whenever there is a limit to the number of prizes, the game is not really so much fun except for the winner. But are they really winners? Why couldn't we change that thinking?
I watched the Super Bowl (capital letters even. . .) this year and it was absolutely an exciting game right up to the last minute. That is what people want, right? I saw that it was clear that one team was making more mistakes than the other team and, indeed, it cost them the title. Nontheless, I see both of them as winning the Super Bowl.
I had a time warp back to 7th grade and in P.E. class we had to run the 50-yard dash and get timed. My best time was 7 seconds flat. Relative to someone who knows how to run very fast for a short distance, that number is really slow. Many good runners beat me by between 1 and 2 seconds. I gave it all I had and that was all that came out. It was good. It was the best I could do--and the best I was interested in doing.
It really isn't about winning and losing with me anymore because competitiveness is not an essential, nor even desireable trait for business. In business, it is about creativity, continuing to clarify and seek the best you, your company and your employees can be. Profitability is cool too, and these traits will create more of that than competitiveness any day. Google isn't competing against MSN Search, Yahoo Search, ASK and others. They are leading and they are doing that by continually clarifying what their business is and how deep and wide it can become, using the creativity of hundreds of brilliant people (like you and me), and they foster a business climate that promotes more of this. It is all about creativity. Perhaps they all ran the 50-yard dash in 7 seconds (or 8, or 9 or more) as well. . .
I watched the Super Bowl (capital letters even. . .) this year and it was absolutely an exciting game right up to the last minute. That is what people want, right? I saw that it was clear that one team was making more mistakes than the other team and, indeed, it cost them the title. Nontheless, I see both of them as winning the Super Bowl.
I had a time warp back to 7th grade and in P.E. class we had to run the 50-yard dash and get timed. My best time was 7 seconds flat. Relative to someone who knows how to run very fast for a short distance, that number is really slow. Many good runners beat me by between 1 and 2 seconds. I gave it all I had and that was all that came out. It was good. It was the best I could do--and the best I was interested in doing.
It really isn't about winning and losing with me anymore because competitiveness is not an essential, nor even desireable trait for business. In business, it is about creativity, continuing to clarify and seek the best you, your company and your employees can be. Profitability is cool too, and these traits will create more of that than competitiveness any day. Google isn't competing against MSN Search, Yahoo Search, ASK and others. They are leading and they are doing that by continually clarifying what their business is and how deep and wide it can become, using the creativity of hundreds of brilliant people (like you and me), and they foster a business climate that promotes more of this. It is all about creativity. Perhaps they all ran the 50-yard dash in 7 seconds (or 8, or 9 or more) as well. . .
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Staying In Touch. . .
I watched a good video presentation on one of my favorite sites. The site is TSTN, The Success Training Network. It is very inexpensive to be a subscriber and there are tons of great videos to keep you pumped and inspired.
This one was a talk put on by Harvey Mackay, who became very popular writing a book titled, "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive." He said something in the talk that jumped out at me. He said that his father told him when he was 18 to start a listing of everyone he ever meets and to keep track of them and to find a way to communicate periodically with them and it would serve him extremely well in later years. Of course, he said that it had been a very powerful lesson and he has followed it since he was 18. He said that a good life is an accumulation of who you know and what you read.
I thought, my goodness. . . that would have been a project and then some, but there are probably others who have done something similar. It would be interesting to see what possibilities and interest there would be in my life had I done this. Maybe you can relate. Maybe it isn't too late to start!
This one was a talk put on by Harvey Mackay, who became very popular writing a book titled, "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive." He said something in the talk that jumped out at me. He said that his father told him when he was 18 to start a listing of everyone he ever meets and to keep track of them and to find a way to communicate periodically with them and it would serve him extremely well in later years. Of course, he said that it had been a very powerful lesson and he has followed it since he was 18. He said that a good life is an accumulation of who you know and what you read.
I thought, my goodness. . . that would have been a project and then some, but there are probably others who have done something similar. It would be interesting to see what possibilities and interest there would be in my life had I done this. Maybe you can relate. Maybe it isn't too late to start!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Competition Cannot Take Your Place
There is only one Disneyland, yet there are many, many amusement and theme parks. There is only one Kleenex, yet many, many brands of tissues. There is only one Amazon.com, yet there are many, many, online sellers of books. And so it goes on.
When you think of competition and the possibility of them taking your place, it is not that they are better, cheaper or larger, it is that you have not carved out your place in a unique way. Think of Disneyland. They have lots of rides, yet none compare to the rides at some of the Six Flags parks, and others around the country. Yet it is their uniqueness that keeps people coming back again and again. I've been to the one in LA at least 12 times myself, yet other amusement parks are not even on the radar screen.
I like to say that there is no competition--and, I believe it. No one can come and take away what is mine without my permission. It is so easy to carve out your own niche and uniqueness that no one can match. We could even call it personality to make it a human element. There are no two people exactly alike--each is unique, no matter how similar some may seem. That applies to twins. They look alike, yet they are not at all.
If you think of competition, you are thinking with a lack mentality; i.e., there is only so much to go around--so many customers, so much product, so many opportunities, etc. It will be that thinking that will cause you to lose your place. If, on the other hand, you think with an abundance mentality, there will always be enough for everyone, no matter how many there are. It is a challenge to think that way if you watch the news, read the paper, listen to lack thinkers, but the more you do it, the easier it is and you will find that will be your truth. You get to choose your truth. William Shakespeare said it so well a long time ago: ". . . there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
Delete competition from your mind. You are in charge of your own destiny! Go for it and make it your own.
When you think of competition and the possibility of them taking your place, it is not that they are better, cheaper or larger, it is that you have not carved out your place in a unique way. Think of Disneyland. They have lots of rides, yet none compare to the rides at some of the Six Flags parks, and others around the country. Yet it is their uniqueness that keeps people coming back again and again. I've been to the one in LA at least 12 times myself, yet other amusement parks are not even on the radar screen.
I like to say that there is no competition--and, I believe it. No one can come and take away what is mine without my permission. It is so easy to carve out your own niche and uniqueness that no one can match. We could even call it personality to make it a human element. There are no two people exactly alike--each is unique, no matter how similar some may seem. That applies to twins. They look alike, yet they are not at all.
If you think of competition, you are thinking with a lack mentality; i.e., there is only so much to go around--so many customers, so much product, so many opportunities, etc. It will be that thinking that will cause you to lose your place. If, on the other hand, you think with an abundance mentality, there will always be enough for everyone, no matter how many there are. It is a challenge to think that way if you watch the news, read the paper, listen to lack thinkers, but the more you do it, the easier it is and you will find that will be your truth. You get to choose your truth. William Shakespeare said it so well a long time ago: ". . . there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
Delete competition from your mind. You are in charge of your own destiny! Go for it and make it your own.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Have You Had Your Fix Today?
It's all around you. You read the newspaper and news magazines at the doctors office, watch the news on TV, hear it on the radio, see it on the Internet, hear it from your friends. A few doses of that stuff is a few doses too many, so it is no wonder you are in need of an escape at the end of the day.
Something that will improve your outlook and response to this kind of attack on you is to make sure and get your daily fix of positive, uplifting, inspiring messages. I get a bunch of them everyday and it really helps to keep me thinking positive thoughts. Here's a few links that I subscribe to that you may also find beneficial.
Daily Inspirational Quotes
http://www.famous-quotes-and-quotations.com/
Daily Thought of Power
http://jamesray.com/12all/index.php?action=subscribe
One of my favorites: Notes From the Universe
http://www.tut.com/notes/?action=notes
You can never get enough encouragement, uplifting words, or inspiration. I probably subscribe to about 10 things like this. What an advantage!
Something that will improve your outlook and response to this kind of attack on you is to make sure and get your daily fix of positive, uplifting, inspiring messages. I get a bunch of them everyday and it really helps to keep me thinking positive thoughts. Here's a few links that I subscribe to that you may also find beneficial.
Daily Inspirational Quotes
http://www.famous-quotes-and-quotations.com/
Daily Thought of Power
http://jamesray.com/12all/index.php?action=subscribe
One of my favorites: Notes From the Universe
http://www.tut.com/notes/?action=notes
You can never get enough encouragement, uplifting words, or inspiration. I probably subscribe to about 10 things like this. What an advantage!
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Advantage of the Small Business
There are some serious advantages of the small, independent business. These advantages can blow the competition away if they are effectively utilized. Here's an example of what I mean:
I went to Jos. A. Banks last week and took advantage of a very good sale to buy a sportcoat and a couple shirts. The manager waited on me and I got to talking with him about business and how it could be much improved.
I am on their email list and get at least one email a week about yet another sale. I don't mind getting them and most of them, I quickly open and then delete. The last one was a somewhat larger sale, so it got my attention and I went in. I expressed this to the manager and stated that they could have a great deal more business if they would approach these emails more personally. I said that I get them from the Men's Warehouse also, but not as often, yet no one is marketing to me specifically, but to a very wide audience instead. If they were to take charge of the emails and focus on a group of customers with different emails, they could seriously change the traffic into the store and get people to respond with regular purchases.
I said they might send an email to suggest certain things that I might have stated I would be interested in. I could always use a new belt or two, but I don't think about going in just for that very often. They could send me a email about a new belt selection they just received and that they have so many in my size with a special deal just for me. Or, they just got a fresh selection of shirts in that are in my size, or some nice new shoe selections just arrived in my size. How could I resist that? Even if I didn't really need it.
But they don't do this. I asked why not? He said, "it's all handled by corporate." I know this is true and it is a problem with a large corporation with multiple outlets. This will kill them eventually as it has many other companies. Yet, here's the cool part: It is a perfect opportunity for the small, independent business to get excited about! It is their way to shine! Do the things that the "corporate" stores are not willing to do, and you can make your cash register ring!
Get to know your customer and their preferences and then make regular contacts with them to make suggestions that will be of value to them. Create your own traffic! Need help? This is one of the things we specialize in. Give us a call at 707-480-0959.
I went to Jos. A. Banks last week and took advantage of a very good sale to buy a sportcoat and a couple shirts. The manager waited on me and I got to talking with him about business and how it could be much improved.
I am on their email list and get at least one email a week about yet another sale. I don't mind getting them and most of them, I quickly open and then delete. The last one was a somewhat larger sale, so it got my attention and I went in. I expressed this to the manager and stated that they could have a great deal more business if they would approach these emails more personally. I said that I get them from the Men's Warehouse also, but not as often, yet no one is marketing to me specifically, but to a very wide audience instead. If they were to take charge of the emails and focus on a group of customers with different emails, they could seriously change the traffic into the store and get people to respond with regular purchases.
I said they might send an email to suggest certain things that I might have stated I would be interested in. I could always use a new belt or two, but I don't think about going in just for that very often. They could send me a email about a new belt selection they just received and that they have so many in my size with a special deal just for me. Or, they just got a fresh selection of shirts in that are in my size, or some nice new shoe selections just arrived in my size. How could I resist that? Even if I didn't really need it.
But they don't do this. I asked why not? He said, "it's all handled by corporate." I know this is true and it is a problem with a large corporation with multiple outlets. This will kill them eventually as it has many other companies. Yet, here's the cool part: It is a perfect opportunity for the small, independent business to get excited about! It is their way to shine! Do the things that the "corporate" stores are not willing to do, and you can make your cash register ring!
Get to know your customer and their preferences and then make regular contacts with them to make suggestions that will be of value to them. Create your own traffic! Need help? This is one of the things we specialize in. Give us a call at 707-480-0959.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Bubble Wrap Heaven
In yesterday's post, I talked of shipping supplies and bubble mailers specifically. Today I want to add one of the hardest things to find: the best price and value in bubble wrap. Last year I used 10,000 12"x12" sheets of it, so I need a good price and I found it in a place you wouldn't have thought of for this product.
The best price and value goes to Sam's Club. It is made by 3M using the Scotch brand. It comes in a box, which I cut up and reuse in shipping which is helpful for my shipping needs since I ship a lot of books and use cardboard backing for softcover books. It has 240 sheets on a roll in each box and the cost is under $13.00 per box. That gets each sheet down to about $.06 each. The previous best price I could find was $.07 and then that company began raising the price each quarter. I am thrilled to have found this bargain!
I have found some very good prices online and even through Value Mailers that I talked of yesterday, but none are below $.07 except Sam's Club. A big thank you to Sam's Club for providing maximum value and thank you to 3M for the outstanding product.
The best price and value goes to Sam's Club. It is made by 3M using the Scotch brand. It comes in a box, which I cut up and reuse in shipping which is helpful for my shipping needs since I ship a lot of books and use cardboard backing for softcover books. It has 240 sheets on a roll in each box and the cost is under $13.00 per box. That gets each sheet down to about $.06 each. The previous best price I could find was $.07 and then that company began raising the price each quarter. I am thrilled to have found this bargain!
I have found some very good prices online and even through Value Mailers that I talked of yesterday, but none are below $.07 except Sam's Club. A big thank you to Sam's Club for providing maximum value and thank you to 3M for the outstanding product.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Best Value In Shipping Supplies: ValueMailers
Today I am plugging a company that I am pleased to have found: ValueMailers. I found them on eBay (their eBay ID is THREERB) while looking for a good price on bubble mailers. I not only found the best price, but the best and consistent service, a superior product and a huge selection. They ship immediately, notify you of shipment and tracking numbers and their communications are complete.
If you have need of shipping products like bubble mailers, poly bags, Zip Lock bags, carton sealing tape, stay flat mailers, bubble wrap, labels, packing peanuts, tissue paper, record mailers, or boxes, this is a good place.
I buy a lot of bubble mailers in a number of different sizes. Last year, I bought several thousand of them. They have the best price I have found and also the best product, service and in-stock selection. I love that I can buy and have them shipped the same day so that I need not carry too much inventory. So far, I have only been buying bubble mailers from them, but I just found out they carry the extra large Zip Lock bags in various sizes. I have been looking all over for those and they have over a million in stock ready to go, so I will be buying some of that product from them. They are not the best price on bubble wrap, but it is a very good price.
All in all, this company is worth sharing with everyone I know. If you ship products and have need of shipping products to get them there safely, you can count on Value Mailers.
If you have need of shipping products like bubble mailers, poly bags, Zip Lock bags, carton sealing tape, stay flat mailers, bubble wrap, labels, packing peanuts, tissue paper, record mailers, or boxes, this is a good place.
I buy a lot of bubble mailers in a number of different sizes. Last year, I bought several thousand of them. They have the best price I have found and also the best product, service and in-stock selection. I love that I can buy and have them shipped the same day so that I need not carry too much inventory. So far, I have only been buying bubble mailers from them, but I just found out they carry the extra large Zip Lock bags in various sizes. I have been looking all over for those and they have over a million in stock ready to go, so I will be buying some of that product from them. They are not the best price on bubble wrap, but it is a very good price.
All in all, this company is worth sharing with everyone I know. If you ship products and have need of shipping products to get them there safely, you can count on Value Mailers.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Website & E-Marketing Seminar
Local Seminar
Vacaville, CA
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
6pm-7:30pm
Websites Made Simple
(and Effective!)
* Understand the value of a website for your business.
* Common misconceptions of websites explained.
* Tools and Methods to creat effective websites.
* Plus, Bonus E-Marketing Tools!!
Galaxy Banquets
600 Orange Dr
Vacaville CA 95688
Admission is only $7.00
Refreshments provided
Hosted by The Queen of Marketing and Galaxy Banquets
Presented by Upward Trend Management Services, LLC
Call 707-480-0959 or 707-591-1632 for more details!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Want More Business? Expand Your Market!
Do you want more business? If so, expand your market. One great way to do this is to get on the web with your products or services. The great benefit is that it will be incremental business and business you would never have seen before.
I have had a little eBay business selling mostly used books since 2004. Just a couple of minutes ago, from a listing I had in my eBay store, a person made me an offer on an audiobook in Spanish. It is a rare item--especially in Spanish. The offer was reasonable and I accepted it. When I sent the invoice, I notice that it is a person in Germany! My little business is in California. How cool is that?
Here's another point: My little business is in Northern California and I charge sales tax as required for sales inside the state of California. Guess what percentage of my total business last year was inside California? It was 16.7%. Let's flip that number: 83.3% was outside the state of California! This is a clear and very good reason to get on the web with your product. Look at all the business I would miss. Indeed, my business is Internet only. I do not have a place for people to come and buy. Only 2 people from my city bought anything last year. That means that 99.9% are from out of town.
Want to increase your business? Get on the web. There is a learning curve, and you can do it. If you need help, give us a call.
I have had a little eBay business selling mostly used books since 2004. Just a couple of minutes ago, from a listing I had in my eBay store, a person made me an offer on an audiobook in Spanish. It is a rare item--especially in Spanish. The offer was reasonable and I accepted it. When I sent the invoice, I notice that it is a person in Germany! My little business is in California. How cool is that?
Here's another point: My little business is in Northern California and I charge sales tax as required for sales inside the state of California. Guess what percentage of my total business last year was inside California? It was 16.7%. Let's flip that number: 83.3% was outside the state of California! This is a clear and very good reason to get on the web with your product. Look at all the business I would miss. Indeed, my business is Internet only. I do not have a place for people to come and buy. Only 2 people from my city bought anything last year. That means that 99.9% are from out of town.
Want to increase your business? Get on the web. There is a learning curve, and you can do it. If you need help, give us a call.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Creation vs Competition
How do you want to build your business? Do you want to compete or create? Think of it this way: To create is a glass half full and to compete is a glass half empty. Competition means that there are limitations, that only a few can win and the rest must lose. Creation means that all can win and there are no losers. Thinking in terms of competition means that you are always looking over your shoulders. Creation means your eyes are on the horizon.
My best advice that has been hard to learn, but I finally got it is this: build your business with the creative method and forget about competition. Keep your eyes on the horizon and continue ever-clarifying your business. It works like magic.
My best advice that has been hard to learn, but I finally got it is this: build your business with the creative method and forget about competition. Keep your eyes on the horizon and continue ever-clarifying your business. It works like magic.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Focus On Your Customer
It's so easy to be thinking about you and what you want and what you need and how business is affecting you. It is better to be thinking about your customer, how you can serve them better, how you can help them get what they want and need and how your business is affecting them. Build your business around how you can serve your customer and you will be well cared for.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Finding Your Niche, Part 3
This is the third and final piece about the music store niche, and it really is the first part. One of the things we did in the first few weeks was to find a good guitar teacher with a list of students already and give him a good place to have his students come to and for us to have an opportunity to market to as a matter of course. This turned out to be the smartest of all the things we did. It gave us an immediate market and traffic which gave us great word of mouth advertising.
It was this along with the focus on guitars and the guitar strings. We started the business at the beginning of the 1979-82 recession and with this 1-2-3 punch did $100k in sales the first year. Not bad for starting with so little and three other well established stores already in town. If we would have continued to try to cover the bases with products, there is no way we could have done as well. It pays to carve out your niche and fine tune what your business is. Today we call that clarification. Yes, that is a good word for it.
It was this along with the focus on guitars and the guitar strings. We started the business at the beginning of the 1979-82 recession and with this 1-2-3 punch did $100k in sales the first year. Not bad for starting with so little and three other well established stores already in town. If we would have continued to try to cover the bases with products, there is no way we could have done as well. It pays to carve out your niche and fine tune what your business is. Today we call that clarification. Yes, that is a good word for it.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Finding Your Niche, Part 2
Continuing with yesterdays post on Finding Your Niche, another thing that we did was to focus on certain accessories. Accessories in a musical instrument store can run up the inventory dollar cost quickly, especially in things like guitar effects pedals and other electronic items. So we decided on a niche in our accessories that was totally compatible with the guitar niche: Guitar strings. To keep good tone, guitar strings should be replaced regularly.
So we decided to go into some serious depth in strings. A few advantages were clear: 1. we could carry a wide and deep selection and have strings that other stores would have to special order, such as individual strings for custom gauges or replacing just one broken string. 2. we had a strong base of guitar students, so there was consistent demand. 3. we could create a marketing system that would help to keep business coming back--the String Club.
We chose a 6' wide section of wall and ordered up some nice spring loaded displays so the strings were attractively displayed and people could instantly see the volume of strings we carried. Because strings are a fast moving commodity, string discounts were very good and considerably better in volume. By buying in quantity and taking full advantage of maximum discounts, we were able to discount the strings to our customers and still have a full margin, unlike everything else in the store.
Next, we started the String Club. We had cards made (actually, we typed on the back of our business cards . . .) and we gave 10% off each set and every 4th set was free. This amounts to a 33% discount at the 4th set, but if they stop buying prior to buying the 3rd set to get the 4th free, the discount was just 10%. Sometimes people would buy three immediately to get the 4th free. We had a special punch to punch their card to show where they were in the buying cycle and we also had a master sheet at the store. The String Club was one of the best things that we did. We sold a serious number of strings and had the largest selection within 50 miles--all on our relatively small budget.
So we decided to go into some serious depth in strings. A few advantages were clear: 1. we could carry a wide and deep selection and have strings that other stores would have to special order, such as individual strings for custom gauges or replacing just one broken string. 2. we had a strong base of guitar students, so there was consistent demand. 3. we could create a marketing system that would help to keep business coming back--the String Club.
We chose a 6' wide section of wall and ordered up some nice spring loaded displays so the strings were attractively displayed and people could instantly see the volume of strings we carried. Because strings are a fast moving commodity, string discounts were very good and considerably better in volume. By buying in quantity and taking full advantage of maximum discounts, we were able to discount the strings to our customers and still have a full margin, unlike everything else in the store.
Next, we started the String Club. We had cards made (actually, we typed on the back of our business cards . . .) and we gave 10% off each set and every 4th set was free. This amounts to a 33% discount at the 4th set, but if they stop buying prior to buying the 3rd set to get the 4th free, the discount was just 10%. Sometimes people would buy three immediately to get the 4th free. We had a special punch to punch their card to show where they were in the buying cycle and we also had a master sheet at the store. The String Club was one of the best things that we did. We sold a serious number of strings and had the largest selection within 50 miles--all on our relatively small budget.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Find Your Niche, Part 1
Many years ago I owned a musical instrument store. We started with $5,000 worth of musical instruments and accessories. With that small amount of capital for inventory, it is really hard to cover very many bases, but we did our best. We focused on guitars, but had drums, cymbals, a flute, a trumpet, a saxophone and a couple of amps and some accessories. As time went on, we decided to give up the band instruments entirely along with the drums and cymbals. We began to build a niche in guitars and focus about 80% of that inventory into acoustic and acoustic electric guitars.
We honed it down to two basic brands: Yamaha and Ovation. These decisions and changes allowed us in a town of about 40,000 to carry more models in these lines that the huge stores in San Francisco. We probably outsold almost all the stores in Northern California on Ovation guitars. Yamaha was our entry and beginner level. These were quality instruments so a student had a good chance by not having a bad instrument where it fights the student all the time. We would give a 100% trade-in toward the up line Ovation models and that worked extremely well. About 70% of the students who kept with it traded up. The store down the road wouldn't give them even 50% trade in. We got to sell the Yamaha as a slightly used instrument and did very well.
This strategy is something I would recommend. Find your niche. Better to have a lot of one brand than one of a lot of brands. You can also attract a wider audience who will come from far away to visit such a store. In addition, the Internet store will make you famous. Focus is a good thing. Find your niche.
We honed it down to two basic brands: Yamaha and Ovation. These decisions and changes allowed us in a town of about 40,000 to carry more models in these lines that the huge stores in San Francisco. We probably outsold almost all the stores in Northern California on Ovation guitars. Yamaha was our entry and beginner level. These were quality instruments so a student had a good chance by not having a bad instrument where it fights the student all the time. We would give a 100% trade-in toward the up line Ovation models and that worked extremely well. About 70% of the students who kept with it traded up. The store down the road wouldn't give them even 50% trade in. We got to sell the Yamaha as a slightly used instrument and did very well.
This strategy is something I would recommend. Find your niche. Better to have a lot of one brand than one of a lot of brands. You can also attract a wider audience who will come from far away to visit such a store. In addition, the Internet store will make you famous. Focus is a good thing. Find your niche.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Your Website Needs You!
Last year we started this business and have built a good number of websites. We are learning so much every day. One thing that we have noticed with many customers is that they want their website to be complete and effective with very little input from them. Isn't that what we all want? Someone to come in and take care of it, take it off their minds and then go away. I've had those fantasies too, but this I now know from experience: your website needs YOU. It needs your information, your photos, logos and other graphics. It needs your personality more than anything. It needs your consistent follow up and follow through. It needs you. It requires participation and attention.
A website that is built and is complete and done is not worth building to begin with. A good website will be constantly changing, growing, enhancing, informing and entertaining. The better it is at those things, the better the website effectiveness. It is truly all about content.
The good news is that we can help you. You don't have time or interest in doing it all or you would have done it by now. You know you need the website to be an effective tool for your business. We can take care of the building and expanding and changing part if you will provide the personality and content. You don't have to do it all at once. It is really better to do this over a period of time. You want it built and online quickly, but changing and evolving constantly.
We can help you help your website and make it easy on your budget and your busy schedule. Give us a call today and find out how great it will be to have some help to get this project done well. Call Ryan at 707-480-0959 or Terry at 707-434-9967.
A website that is built and is complete and done is not worth building to begin with. A good website will be constantly changing, growing, enhancing, informing and entertaining. The better it is at those things, the better the website effectiveness. It is truly all about content.
The good news is that we can help you. You don't have time or interest in doing it all or you would have done it by now. You know you need the website to be an effective tool for your business. We can take care of the building and expanding and changing part if you will provide the personality and content. You don't have to do it all at once. It is really better to do this over a period of time. You want it built and online quickly, but changing and evolving constantly.
We can help you help your website and make it easy on your budget and your busy schedule. Give us a call today and find out how great it will be to have some help to get this project done well. Call Ryan at 707-480-0959 or Terry at 707-434-9967.
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