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Topics & Tips
Business Tips
10 Ways to Save and Make More Money in Business
Don’t you just love Paul Simon? The lyrics to his songs
are not only pleasing to the ears, but can be
inspirational. Imagine yourself enjoying the warm autumn
sunlight while listening to Paul's song, "50 Ways to
Leave your Lover". Now, stretch your imagination
just a bit and think about how many "Ways" you can come
up with for saving and/or making more money in
business...
"The problem is all inside your head
She said to me
The answer is easy
If you take it logically"
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So, let’s look at the problem logically for a minute.
Here are four basic ways you can increase your profits:
1. You can charge more for your products or services.
2. You can sell more of your products or services to
your existing clients.
3. You can find additional clients.
4. You can find ways to cut back on your business
expenses.
"Slip Out the Back, Jack" (Simple ways to
save money):
So, if you’re on a shoestring budget (and who isn't
these days?), then |
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obviously you need to do everything you can to save as
much money as possible, and make as much money as
possible, as quickly and easily as possible.
Here are 10 simple ideas you can use:
1. Know your target market. Who are your "ideal"
customers?
Where do they shop? What do they read? What solutions
are they looking for that your business provides? The
more you know about your customers, the better you’ll be
able to target your promotions towards them, which will
increase your bottom line two ways – it will save you
spending money on advertising that doesn’t work, and it
will increase your sales, because you’re offering your
customers what they really want.
2. Get double duty out of any contact with your
customers. If you sell products, put your contact
information on everything –products, bags, invoices
sales receipts. Make it easy for everyone to find you.
Give away something free. If you have a Website (and if
you don’t, then get one), give your customers something
for giving you their contact information. Free Ebooks,
reports, or software are all good choices (just make
sure it’s relevant to your customers). Anytime you send
your customers anything – a product, a newsletter, an
invoice –include a coupon or information about your
latest products or services. To save money on postage,
if you have a brick and mortar store, put a copy of your
latest newsletter or an informational flyer in your
customer’s bag after each sale.
3. Reward your customers. Set up a reward program. Offer
them a reward for anyone they refer who becomes a
customer. Or give your customers a free gift when they
spend $50 (or whatever amount makes sense in your
business). When they’re eligible for the free gift,
offer them an upgrade to something bigger or better for
a few dollars more. Start a customer loyalty program.
Provide “customer only” sales, or promotions. Let your
customers earn points, or “magic money” that they can
use to redeem your products or services.
4. Get ready for your close-up. When you’re
brainstorming about creating a promotion or advertising
campaign, don’t forget about your local cable TV
channel. You may be pleasantly surprised by how low
their rates actually are. Create your own television
commercial or infomercial. Although you may not be ready
for prime time, you can still target your ad to reach
your customers.
5. Get involved in your community. Find a nonprofit
organization that is doing work you believe in, and
either publicly support their program, or be one of
their sponsors for an upcoming event or fundraiser. Use
the advertising spot to let people know about the
fundraiser (and, incidentally, your business). You could
put together an inexpensive ad campaign that will help
those in need, increase your visibility and let your
potential customers know that you're supportive and
aware of the needs of the community.
"Make a new plan, Stan" (Business Planning
Basics):
6. Beef up your business plan. If you don’t have a
business plan, make writing one a priority. Your
business plan is more than just a way to interest
investors. It’s a road map that will help you get from
where you are now to where you want to be. That old
saying, “If you fail to plan then you’re planning to
fail” really is true when it comes to business.
"No need to be coy, Roy" (Ask your
customers):
7. Get testimonials from your satisfied clients. But
don’t stop there. What about creating your own
television commercial that you can run in your store?
(With a video camera and a little ingenuity, you could
even create your own infomercial that shows customers
how to use or get the most out of your products or
services. If you’ve got a Website, put an audio
testimonial on there. (And don’t forget to include
pictures).
8. Speak up. Again, keeping in mind who your ultimate
ideal customers are and what their most pressing
problems are, write an article, offer a free seminar, or
offer to be a speaker at local chamber of commerce or
other organization or community meetings. Being
perceived as an “expert” is a relatively easy and
inexpensive way to get the word out about your business,
and bring in more customers.
"Just hop on the bus, Gus" (Expand your
business potential)
9. Create joint ventures. Even if your primary business
is a brick and mortar one, you can still create a joint
venture that will help you save money by sharing the
costs for advertising. What about creating a special
“sidewalk sale” with other business owners on your
street or in your neighborhood? Or finding businesses
with complementary products or services to yours, and
creating a “package deal”? If your business is only
online, look for ways you can partner with other
businesses – maybe you could create solo ads and promote
each other’s products or services in your mailing lists.
There are a lot of ways you can save money and increase
your client base if you’re willing to get creative.
"Just drop off the key, Lee" (Provide the
key solutions)
10. Let your customers know you know what their problems
are. It's sad but true that your customers don't care
how good your products or services are. They only want
to know two things: do you understand what their
problems are; and can you solve them. Give your
customers the "key" to their problems, and you'll have
evangelistic customers who come back again and again.
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