I thought I’d write a little post about staying progressive. \u00a0Maybe a reminder to stay ahead of the game. \u00a0There are some businesses I see who like to sit back and ‘breath.’ \u00a0I don’t think this is nearly ever good.<\/p>\n
When you’ve finally opened the doors to your new business or you’re a well established business that’s been around for 20 years, I think there’s a time in anyone’s business where they just sit back and either reap the benefits or watch their business go down the tubes.<\/p>\n
There are a bunch of different reasons this could happen, but what you have to be careful of is falling behind.<\/p>\n
The business that’s successful really has to watch out. \u00a0Why? \u00a0Because someone’s going to come after your business. \u00a0Take a piece of your pie. \u00a0If you’re a successful business and think you can just rest on your laurels then you may be in trouble. \u00a0I think you should always been looking for ways to stay on top. \u00a0We’ve talked about businesses who’ve thought they were in an unbeatable position and failed<\/a>.<\/p>\n The unsuccessful business often has the problem. \u00a0Instead of trying to turn their business around, failing business owners tend to just complain, bitch and moan about how bad their business is. \u00a0Even still businesses often place blame on the economy, other businesses or even their customers for why their business is going down the tubes. \u00a0Here’s a quick tip; stop complaining and get your ‘stuff’ together!<\/p>\n I think it all comes down to marketing (and maybe some promotion.) \u00a0The most effective way to grow your business comes down to two essential things;<\/p>\n Whether you business is failing or successful you have to make sure that these two ‘principles’ are being actively pursued.<\/p>\n Right now, I’m writing this post because I’m waiting for a few emails and I have some downtime. \u00a0I could just as easily take a nap, play some video games or something equally as stupid. \u00a0Instead, I’m trying to stay ahead of the game. \u00a0This blog post (or any other thing you can think of) is the basis of marketing or branding and is the way to get your business ahead of the pack!<\/p>\n It doesn’t mean that you can’t take a ‘mental health day,’ or anything along those lines. \u00a0I often go to three-hour lunches with friends. \u00a0It’s a great ‘flexibility’ I have with my own business. \u00a0My mentality about the whole thing is “Ima work 50\/60 hours either way. \u00a0It’s great that I can pick when those hours are.”<\/em><\/p>\n The other way I see it is, I’ve got to sit in my chair for those hours (per week,) if I’m not working on paying business, I better start working on how to get that paying business.<\/p>\n Here’s somethings you can do to help your brand, win over new clients, and stay ahead of the pack:<\/p>\n Even if you don’t have a blog-type site, you can always sign up for a free WordPress<\/strong><\/a> or Blogspot<\/strong><\/a> site to get yourself out there. \u00a0You can use your blog to help get more content on your social media. \u00a0I even did an article about ‘inspiration for your blog posts<\/a>.’<\/p>\n We’ve talked about some social media types<\/a>, but if you find yourself bored at work and on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(or Twitter <\/strong><\/a>or Pinterest<\/strong><\/a>, etc), you might as well either engage your current social media customers or find articles on the vast world wide web to share with your current customers.<\/p>\n I once worked with a locally owned Rita’s Italian Ice and I was talking to them about how to promote their business on Facebook. \u00a0One of my tips was to have their worker post discounts on Facebook when the weather was crappy.<\/p>\n As long as you know to use a search engine, I’m sure you can search a promotion for you business type. \u00a0When people as me what they can do I usually send them to LMGTFY<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The only piece of advice I want to give you is that you need to make the promotion to your potential customers WORTH IT! \u00a0Don’t offer 5% off on a Saturday because no one<\/strong> is going to respond to it. \u00a0When you’re thinking up a promotion, put yourself in the consumers shoes and think about if you would respond to the promotion.<\/p>\n On some of my ‘down time’ I think about a new product or service I can offer to get new clients. \u00a0I talk about it a little in this article<\/a>, but you could also do some research on the web to find out new things you can offer or sell. \u00a0One day, out of ‘down time’ I created the Going Social Media Package<\/a> for I Heart Blank, LLC<\/a>.<\/p>\n I worked for a radio station for a number of years. \u00a0In that time, I joined every club I could get my hands on. \u00a0I wanted to brand myself and be in front of as many people as I could who could potentially use my services. \u00a0In sales, I believe they call it the ‘three foot rule.’ \u00a0Mostly, I just didn’t like cold-calls : ) \u00a0Whether it’s a business group or a civic group (which technically you shouldn’t<\/strong><\/em> be discussing business in,) you can ‘sell’ your personality and help people to remember where (or who) you work for. \u00a0I joined groups like my local Chamber Of Commerce<\/strong><\/a>, LeTip<\/a><\/strong>, Toastmasters<\/strong><\/a>, Kiwanis<\/strong><\/a>. \u00a0Other groups include Rotary<\/strong>, BNI<\/strong><\/a>, MNG<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0young professional groups<\/strong><\/a>, Meetup groups<\/strong><\/a>, or any non-profit group<\/strong> in your area. \u00a0.<\/p>\n I must confess, I wouldn’t recommend joining a civic group for the wrong reasons. \u00a0Make sure you passionate about the cause and then join it.<\/p>\n Whether you business is successful or failing (you could make arguments for either) you may want to think about advertising.<\/p>\n Advertising a successful business can help you retain the customers you currently have. It costs way less to retain a customer\/client than it is to get a new one.<\/p>\n I’ve used the analogy<\/a> once before, but if your business is failing then not doing anything will certainly not turn things around for you. \u00a0\u00a0I\u2019d be like if you had a hole in a boat and you didn\u2019t want to try to fix it because you were afraid you were going to make the hole bigger. \u00a0Guess what? \u00a0Your boat is\u00a0still<\/strong>\u00a0going to sink!<\/p>\n If you already have an advertising campaign<\/strong>, why don’t you take some time to think of a cool, creative new way to advertise to your clients. \u00a0Again, search engines<\/a> can really help! \u00a0I recently got inspired to do a series of kinda-dumb ads<\/a> that were a pretty good success.<\/p>\n Sometimes when I have some downtime, I turn to…learning. \u00a0I try to learn a new skill or something that I can use to help my business grow…and get new clients.<\/p>\nThe Unsuccessful Business:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What It Comes Down To:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Some Things You Can Do!<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Start A Blog:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Engage Your Social Media:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Create A Promotion:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Create A New Product:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Join A Group or Club:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Advertise!!!:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Create A New Advertisement:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Learn Something New:<\/strong><\/h2>\n