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Hub You - Do You Market Your Small Business Like an Ant or Grasshopper? Being the Grasshopper is Bad
For their own ulterior motives, there are always certain people who would have you believe that a work at home idea is not what it’s purported to be.These nay-sayers are no different when they point fingers at the new group of work at home property scouts. But – most typically - they really don’t understand what it is. So here’s a brief overview and description of what property scouting really is.1. Legitimate – backed by a well-respected multi-million dollar US corporation, there’s no question that the company and scouting are both as legitimate as legitimate gets, and should be seriously considered as a viable work at home opportunity. Scouting is very a well-respected profession.2. Easy – it is a
Have you ever wondered why some business owners seem so calm and steady, while others are in a constant state of worry and panic?Surprisingly, the difference between these two scenarios has nothing to do with the operation of the business-it is the vision of the owner.Your vision for your business provides the foundation for its success, or failure.Without a strong vision, your business will be buffeted by the winds and storms of life, and end up either precariously perched, or crashing down.So, how can vision have such a profound effect on the success or failure of a business?And what is a vision, anyway?Working with small business owners over the last ten years, I have watched num
During a sit down meeting I'll eventually ask her/him, "What is your current marketing strategy, and what are you doing to outreach and attract new customers?" But in my mind I am asking, "Are you an ant or a grasshopper?"
More often than not, business owners that are as sharp as tacks get this curious, glazed-over expression on their face. After a about 5-10 seconds of uncomfortable silence they say with a sheepish look on their face, "We'll right now we're just relying on word of mouth advertising and referrals to sustain our business".
I shudder when a client tells me this. I think to myself, "Yep, I am talking to a grasshopper". Let's break down what the client said here - what he/she truly meant by "…we're relying just on…":
· We don't have a marketing strategy, or at least a consistent one
· We don't have any outreach programs or ways to attract new customers
· We are confused or apprehensive about marketing and promoting our business
· We are putting the company's success and growth in the hands and mouths of our customers (who aren't being paid)
· We need help badly
Is your business heavily reliant on getting referrals to survive? Does that scare you a little bit?
Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper, and how the grasshopper assumed the weather would always be good so he didn't look to gather food for when times got tough? When it comes to gaining market share and growing their customer base, a lot of businesses are like the grasshopper - they have no plan, and they just assume and hope things will be okay. Well, if you've every read or heard the story, the weather does turn bad on the grasshopper, winter comes early, and he starves. Not a good ending for the grasshopper or y
Continuation of Six Figure Success, part one. Steps five through eight.5. Surround yourself with excellence.Find resources that empower you, including coaches and mastermind teams. Peak performers will tell you over and over again that they achieve their biggest successes with the support and encouragement of the people they're surrounding themselves with.Develop and increase your expertise in all aspects of business management including planning, financials, marketing, customer service and sales. People tend to focus on what they do best. Consultants consult. However, at some point, sustaining growth in any business will require shifting resources away from providing 100% services all of the time. You
More often than not, business owners that are as sharp as tacks get this curious, glazed-over expression on their face. After a about 5-10 seconds of uncomfortable silence they say with a sheepish look on their face, "We'll right now we're just relying on word of mouth advertising and referrals to sustain our business".
I shudder when a client tells me this. I think to myself, "Yep, I am talking to a grasshopper". Let's break down what the client said here - what he/she truly meant by "…we're relying just on…":
· We don't have a marketing strategy, or at least a consistent one
· We don't have any outreach programs or ways to attract new customers
· We are confused or apprehensive about marketing and promoting our business
· We are putting the company's success and growth in the hands and mouths of our customers (who aren't being paid)
· We need help badly
Is your business heavily reliant on getting referrals to survive? Does that scare you a little bit?
Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper, and how the grasshopper assumed the weather would always be good so he didn't look to gather food for when times got tough? When it comes to gaining market share and growing their customer base, a lot of businesses are like the grasshopper - they have no plan, and they just assume and hope things will be okay. Well, if you've every read or heard the story, the weather does turn bad on the grasshopper, winter comes early, and he starves. Not a good ending for the grasshopper or
Well I have been looking at some data from 2000 and 2001, economic data. And some of the hot trends then are certainly changed now. For instance in August of 2000 in Chain Leader News for QSR-Quick Service Restaurants, national sandwich chains were losing market share to independents, nearly 41% over the previous two years and as much as 9.1% in the first and second quarter of 2000. This trend was changed in part by Wendy’s open late program and the recession where Brand Names and Franchises always thrive. Back then Thursdays and Fridays were the busiest days. 19% of revenue coming from Thursday and 18.5 from Friday, primarily due to the biggest shopping day of Thursday due to grocery ads and fast food coupon inserts.
· We don't have a marketing strategy, or at least a consistent one
· We don't have any outreach programs or ways to attract new customers
· We are confused or apprehensive about marketing and promoting our business
· We are putting the company's success and growth in the hands and mouths of our customers (who aren't being paid)
· We need help badly
Is your business heavily reliant on getting referrals to survive? Does that scare you a little bit?
Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper, and how the grasshopper assumed the weather would always be good so he didn't look to gather food for when times got tough? When it comes to gaining market share and growing their customer base, a lot of businesses are like the grasshopper - they have no plan, and they just assume and hope things will be okay. Well, if you've every read or heard the story, the weather does turn bad on the grasshopper, winter comes early, and he starves. Not a good ending for the grasshopper or
Whether you're a PR consultant, a web developer or graphic designer, chances are you've experienced the time-intensive quest for the perfect image. And I'd be willing to bet that you've also experienced the angst that accompanies the quest. Will you find the right image in time? And will it blow your budget?Despite your mega Microsoft clip art library, and the vast (and depending on your use, illegal) repository known as Google Images, the just-right image, art or photo has eluded you. Meanwhile, the deadline is fast approaching ... and along with budget constraints, there's no time to hire a professional, and taking the shot yourself doesn't yield the expert quality you need.Consider the plethora of images a
· We are putting the company's success and growth in the hands and mouths of our customers (who aren't being paid)
· We need help badly
Is your business heavily reliant on getting referrals to survive? Does that scare you a little bit?
Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper, and how the grasshopper assumed the weather would always be good so he didn't look to gather food for when times got tough? When it comes to gaining market share and growing their customer base, a lot of businesses are like the grasshopper - they have no plan, and they just assume and hope things will be okay. Well, if you've every read or heard the story, the weather does turn bad on the grasshopper, winter comes early, and he starves. Not a good ending for the grasshopper or
A properly prepared business card is one of the business tools many people overlook. For a small investment usually less than $30 for 500 cards you can tell the world that you are and what services you can provide. Your business card is a silent salesperson, so what will it say about you?When planning a card it’s important to consider your message. Your card will be what people reference or use to remember you. It needs to be professional, legible and contain the necessary information. Some exceptions would be a humorous card if you were a clown or a comedian and a juvenile card if you were involved with children's services. In any case it would still need to cover the essential points in its creation.Spend s
Now the ant, he had a different approach. The ant knew that sooner or later his food (or customers and referrals in our example) would run out. It was essential to continue to add to his stores for when times got tough. The ant had a plan to get more of what he needed, and he executed his well-designed growth strategy over a long period of time. The ant would have made a good businessperson, not only would he have survived he would have been very successful.
Are you running your business more like the grasshopper or the ant?
Business owners always hope to grow their business, attract new and better customers and separate from the competition. Hope is great, you need hope - but you need more than hope, you need a strategy and you need to be consistently working at it (just like the ant). No one plans to fail, they just fail to plan - the grasshopper failed to plan.
So what can you do to be like the ant?
Start by shifting your thinking. The key to attracting more customers and separating your business from the competition is through marketing, advertising and design. The more you can do this, generally the more customers you can attract. The more customers you attract the more money you can make. Are you following me?
The hidden power behind them is through consistency. Marketing, advertising and design are not expenses. If you see them as such, you're sunk. Rather, these are golden opportunities for you to catapult your business above the rest of the competition that are "relying just on word of mouth". Like the ant, successful businesses are co
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