Your Customers and Your Bottom Line: A Case Study

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After spending last week and part of this one discussing ideas for how you can increase your company’s bottom line through attracting new customers and retaining loyal ones, I decided to use my other business, A Sophisticated Pair, as a case study to show you some of these tips in action.

As a specialty bra store, our products are aimed at all women of multiple demographics, meaning attracting the right customers can be challenging, and as a result, we have focused on using multiple mediums to reach potential clients, including press releases in local periodicals, extensive social media marketing, and a comprehensive, interactive, and search engine optimized website.  Additionally, since we are experts at fitting bras, we have exploited our knowledge to promote the business through informational articles, video blogs, and interviews.  Finally, through cooperative advertising, we’ve been able to exchange brochures and business cards with complementary businesses, such as women’s only gyms, nail and hair salons, and even local seamstresses.  Continue reading →

Your Customers and Your Bottom Line: Part III

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Today is the final chapter in my miniseries of blogs about utilizing existing customers to increase your company’s profits.  Let’s have a moment of quiet so the grief-stricken can mourn.

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Anyway, attracting first-time customers is only half the battle because in order for your business to thrive, you need to keep those customers coming back for future purchases.  This is that old 80/20 rule in action again.  Most companies don’t realize this but on average, you expend more time, effort, and resources accruing new clients than you do to keep existing customers.  This is why if you call “customer retention services” when you don’t feel like waiting the last four more months to upgrade to one of those nifty smart phones, a friendly customer service rep will work with you to get the phones early.  It’s cheaper for them to renew your contract now with a better phone than to risk losing you in four months and finding someone else.

But, how do you translate a one-time sale into an every-time sale? Continue reading →

Your Customers and Your Bottom Line: Part II

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In our previous blog, we talked about taking the time to pick the right demographic for your marketing strategy as well as to develop a market identify for your company.  Today, we’re moving on to the ways you can increase the amount for each sale.

On the surface the concept sounds easy:  Get customers to buy more at the time of sale.  But, how do you encourage customers to buy supplemental products or services they never intended to buy without sounding like one of those pushy companies always trying to make you buy the mascara they have on sale by the checkout??  (I’m looking right at you Sally’s!)

Suggest a Money-Saving Product or Service:  At the time of checkout, train sales staff to ask customers if they would rather purchase a “money-saving” product or service, which is usually higher-priced but will last longer.  Have sale staff explain the benefits of the more expensive alternative but instruct them to be polite if the customer is not interested.  For example, if Joe Sixpack wants to purchase a two-year service agreement from your company for $25, the sales associate can offer Joe the money-saving plan for three years at $30.  It’s a better deal for Joe, but it also increases the company’s sales figures because Joe has now spent an extra $5 that he never planned to spend.  The beauty of this idea is that it requires no extra time, effort, or money on the part of your company, but it can still effectively increase profits. Continue reading →

Your Customers and Your Bottom Line: Part I

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With today’s free agent economy, it is easier than ever for workers with special skill sets to become entrepreneurs and contract with companies to sell those skills, usually under the guise of “consulting.”  Yeah, we added it to our business name for a reason.  Anyway, many entrepreneurs start out with the meaty technical knowledge of how to perform certain jobs for companies, but when it comes to the pivotal components of business management and marketing, these skilled workers are at a loss.  So, today, I’ll be starting the first part of a three part article on one of the most overlooked areas for improving sales and expanding business:  the client.

Consumers make the world of business go round, and any plans for expansion and/or success should focus on redefining and developing your company’s marketing plan.   You can’t expect to sit back and watch customers pour in without first attracting their attention.  You’ve got to be proactive!  Without a solid direction on how to promote not just your products or services but also the image of your company, your business will never achieve the recognition it deserves.  It seems pretty intuitive that for people to buy what you’re selling, they need to know about you and your company, but far too many overlook the importance of aggressive marketing (and I don’t mean you need to go all Glengarry Glen Ross either–just take the initiative).

But, attracting consumers is only the first phase.  Once you have started selling your products or services, you need to focus on increasing the amount purchased by customers during a given sale, and when you’ve developed a solid consumer base, you need to actively promote customer loyalty.  Loyal customers are repeat customers, which means more profits for your business.  In fact, there’s an old rule of business known as the 80/20 rule.  80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers.  If that doesn’t illustrate how important customer loyalty is, nothing will!

So, let’s look at some innovative ways of attracting new customers, generating more money in sales, encouraging repeat business, and fostering customer loyalty.  Today, we’re going to focus on attracting customers: Continue reading →

Don’t Pay for Free Web Hosting

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Hello Dear Readers,

For today’s blog, we decided to address one of the common scams in the website design business:  paying for website design and hosting that would otherwise be free.  Let’s look at case study to illustrate further.

One of our clients (let’s just call him Sue because I’m in a Johnny Cash mood) hired a “website developer” (and I use the term lightly) to design and create a blog for him.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Here’s what Sue got:  a blog that was created using a standard template with minimal customization.  I’m thinking it probably took less than 30 minutes from start to finish to set this blog up.  In and of itself, that’s not a big deal, but Sue paid $875 for this.  And, that’s not all.  Sue also had to pay the website designer $150 to register the domain name Sue wanted and to host the blog for a year.   Feeling outraged yet?  Here’s the kicker:  Sue’s blog is hosted by blogger aka Google’s free blogging software.  Basically, Sue paid over a thousand dollars to have a Google blogging template tweaked for him and then hosted for FREE by Google’s servers.  The only extra service the designer provided was to add a simple redirect script to the domain name so that if someone punched in Sue’s website, he/she would be redirected to the blogger URL.

I wish I could say that Sue’s case is an isolated incident, but it’s not.  He’s not the first person to come to us with this problem, and he won’t be the last.  If you’re considering hiring someone to design a blog or website for you, please be careful.  Ask questions regarding how they determined the price they are quoting so that you know exactly what services you are entitled to in the agreement.  If you request a designer set up your domain name and website hosting, be active in deciding which company and which plan is right for your website.  And, I hate to say it since it sounds jaded, but don’t trust someone to do a good job or quote you a fair price because you know them.    It’s easy to be taken advantage of by website designers, and it is important that you take steps to protect yourself and your interests when you contract with someone for their services—even if that someone is a friend.

A Question from a Reader:

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Hi would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re using? I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a hard time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. — Gonzalo

Hi Gonzalo,

Word Press tends to be incredibly popular and ranked highly by many software reviewers and geeks alike.  I use it for this blog as well as two others that I manage.  With WordPress, you can download and install different theme templates, which vary wildly from one another so that no two word press blogs need look the same.  Furthermore, the admin panel has an easy to find and use menu, which enables you to customize the look and feel of the website by changing the background and header images, drafting new blog pages, and adding widgets to the side and footer menus.  Speaking of widgets, Word Press has an abundance of them ranging from plug-ins for monitoring spam to creating mailing lists for subscribers.  Majority of them are free, and they can save you the expense of hiring a website designer to implement the tools you need for your blog.

For the more advanced user, the Word Press CSS files can be edited for greater levels of customization, including font style, link colors, and margin padding.  Not to mention, Word Press is incredibly easy to install with most web hosts already including it as a feature for your to download.

If you don’t have a domain name or web host, then my second choice would be Google Blogger.  For a free tool, it’s more powerful and flexible than you would think!

Hope that helps!

The W² Team

Small Business Expansion: Risky or the Right Move?

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With multi-billion dollar industries folding from the economic crisis, expanding your small business may seem risky at best and outright catastrophic at worst.  With other businesses struggling to survive, how can business expansion be a viable option?

Every business owner has heard horror stories of companies whose expansion plans not only failed to expand the business but actually crippled it.  Many small retailers often hear that the second store is “the kiss of death” to the business as whole, and the thought of spending more money on your business when consumers as a whole are spending less may seem counter-intuitive.

However, every business is unique, and many companies’ dreams of expansion are now possible because of the recession.  Lower interest rates and more affordable rent prices are decreasing the cost of expansion.  Chain stores and restaurants can now open in more locations to sell their products to new consumers, especially if their products fit the market’s need for affordable, quality goods. Continue reading →

Beware Google Image Search

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Good Morning Everyone!

Lately, we’ve received questions from friends, family, and clients alike regarding how they are constantly being infected with spyware when they are taking ample precautions to protect their systems.  After some investigating, we’ve traced many of the problems back to Google’s image search.  There’s nothing wrong on Google’s end, per se, but the search makes it easy for people to click on those pretty, pretty pictures without double checking the website domain.  Images are also an easy medium for degenerate spyware makers to embed their malicious software, meaning it is twice as easy to be invaded by the Trojans.

So, even though it’s tempting to click on images you like immediately, do some double checking first.  Look at the bottom of the image box for the website address (shown in green font) and see if it appears legitimate before clicking.  And, as always, in case of accidental infection, make sure your version of Malewarebytes is up to date and ready to go!

Happy Surfing!

The Evil of Facebook Apps

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My thirteen year old cousin recently started a Facebook account, and let’s just say, he’s gone a little app crazy.  His wall is a barrage of updates announcing to the world what new apps or games he is playing (because everyone wants to know what programs a thirteen year old is using, right?).

Interestingly, coinciding with the creation of my cousin’s Facebook page, my aunt and uncle, who diligently scan their computer like all good computer owners do, have been turning up with one backdoor trojan, virus, or keylogger after another.  “Where are they all coming form?” they ask, frustration and exasperation clear in their voices.

The answer:  Facebook.  Some of the apps on Facebook are perfectly safe (you Farmville addicts are in the clear), but there are other apps/games available that have malicious software attached to them that can and will wreak havoc on your system.  Always do your research before accepting app invites.  Even the ones that don’t have spyware attached can still mine and share your personal information, so be careful.  If your son or daughter has a Facebook account on your computer, we recommend instituting a rule that all apps have to be approved by you.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, what teenager wants to ask permission from their parent to install a “What’s your stripper name?” quiz, but it can be safer in the long run for your computer system and for your family’s computer network.

For more information on how to customize Facebook settings to protect your personal information, check out our earlier blog!

Long Hiatus Over

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Hello Fellow Technology and Business Lovers,

After a very long hiatus, the L33T Squad is back and better than ever!  We finally have our other business venture, A Sophisticated Pair, off the ground and running, and we’re ready to return to blogging about latest technology and helping you and your business with free advice on topics ranging from PC repair to social media marketing to marketing and advertising. Check back soon for new blogs!

The L33T Squad