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. 

Nevertheless, our real specialty is how we treat our customers.  Whenever a woman enters our store, we greet her and personally introduce ourselves.  During fittings, we keep the atmosphere light and friendly, always striving to listen to the needs of our customers and then find items that we feel will work for them.  Furthermore, in an effort to give our customers access to as many different styles and sizes as possible, we offer custom orders at a 10% discount, which allows women to sample inventory not currently in stock without any risk.

As part of our customer database, we also track sizes and styles so that each woman has a personalized record of what she has purchased as well as what styles she may hope to purchase in the future.  Every month, we send out an email newsletter advertising the new inventory and keeping our customers up-to-date on all the latest store news.

Finally, we love to follow-up with customers and encourage them to give us feedback on their experience both at the store and with the style they purchased.  From this information, we make decisions on what inventory to carry in the future, so that over time, the store’s inventory has evolved to contain more of what our customers value most. When we first opened, special orders outnumbered actual purchases because our inventory was not as finely honed to our customers’ needs as possible.  Now?  We are averaging one special order per week.  This drastic change would not have been possible without diligently listening to customer feedback.

One final thing (yes, I know I said “Finally” already . . . I lied):  Treating your customers like you expect to be treated will never fail you.  I firmly believe in being kind, caring, and friendly when interacting with others because everyone deserves to be treated nicely.  Not to mention, I know how stressful it can be to meet a person for the first time and within five minutes have her staring at you in your bra.  It’s nerve-wrecking!  So, making women feel comfortable both with me and with the store can make a huge difference in whether we see those customers again.

No matter what your business, it’s always worth your time to cultivate positive relationships with customers!

…

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?

Determine What the Customer Wants: Interact with your customers and find out what their needs, wants, and desires are.  Send them surveys, talk to them face-to-face, or call them up for a friendly chat (okay, that’s probably not going to go over well, but what about email instead?).  Giving purchase discounts in exchange for customer feedback is a very effective way of interacting because customers not only give you the information you want but they also are more likely to return to your company in the future because they now have a coupon for their next purchase (The Gap has gotten me more than once on this–you’d think, by now, they’d know how I feel about their company).  Once you know the needs of your customers, you can create special offers or incentives that make it advantageous for them to consistently choose your company over the competition.  Some companies give customer loyalty discounts for every purchase after the first; others offer seasonal sales.  Some companies create “memberships” where members receive advanced notice of sales, special coupons and offers, and even access to new inventory before non-member customers.  Making your customer feel special is one surefire way to foster customer loyalty.  After all, aren’t you more likely to go back to a company that treats you like a person instead of a sale?

Regularly Communicate with Customers: Develop some form of regular communication with customers, such as newsletters, e-zines, postcards, faxes, or catalogs, to keep them aware of new developments in your company as well as new products or services you offer.  For example, many fashion retailers send out weekly e-mails advertising what’s new and any specials they are currently running so that customers are constantly exposed to their merchandise.  If customers can purchase items that are later shipped to them, your company can take this opportunity to communicate with consumers by including a friendly letter thanking the customer for their purchase or by recommending complementary products or services.  “Out of sight, out of mind” can be especially true in business, so your mission is to keep your company forefront in the eyes of your customers even when they’re not ready to buy anything.  When customers have a need that your company can satisfy, you want to be the first and only company that comes to their mind.

Contact Customers before They Need to Renew or Purchase Products: Send out friendly reminders whether in email, snail mail, or via the telephone alerting customers that it is nearing the time to replace their product or renew a service.  This strategy has two main benefits.  First, by contacting the customer before they need to renew a service or purchase a product, you can effectively steer them away from the competition because you’ll have passively removed their need to shop around.  Their need will be satisfied and because you’ve already implemented a strong emphasis on good customer service (you have, haven’t you??), your customer will feel good about purchasing from your company again.  Secondly, by contacting them before a product or service expires, you make it more likely for them to repurchase the product or service, especially if you put into practice some kind of incentive, such as a reduced cost for renewing or purchasing early.  For example, many magazines will remind their subscription holders three months in advance that their subscription will terminate without renewal, and the companies will usually run a special to encourage the consumer to re-subscribe.  If you do not contact customers early, you may discovers that they realize they can “do without” whatever you are selling and are less likely to repurchase later.

Cater to the Customer’s Ego: Eddie Murphy had a great skit where he talked about the reason why men were attracted to certain women, and it all came down to “catering to the ego.”  It’s the same thing with your clients.  Call, email, or send a letter to customers letting them know you still value them.  Depending on the nature of your business, you could send out mass emails or letters with a friendly note reminding your customers how special they are, or if your business focuses on more expensive goods or services, one of your representatives could call customers directly.  If you collect customer birth dates, you can send birthday cards with special coupons or offers.  Not only does it keep the line of communication open to the customer, but it also demonstrates your commitment to making your customers feel special.  When customers feel like a company genuinely cares about them as individuals, and not as future sales, they are more inclined to return to that company to satisfy their future needs.  Follow the Golden Rule and treat your customers they way you would expect to be treated.

Follow Up with Customers: As an extension to the point above, contact customers and ask for feedback on their purchasing experience with your company.  Was the staff friendly and polite?  Does the product or service meet their needs?  Are they enjoying the product or service?  Was the sales process quick and easy?  Were they satisfied with the transaction as a whole?  Is there anything that your company could do to make the experience more pleasant or the product or service better?  Be sure to ask for general feedback as well in case there is something minor that the customer either liked or disliked.  Remember to offer customers an incentive for answering your questions, like a free gift, a coupon, or a special offer.  Customer feedback is an invaluable tool in helping a company see its own shortcomings and hopefully address them to attract not only new customers but also repeat business.  In addition to finding out what doesn’t work, you can also determine what you’re doing well.  It can be something as simple as the nice packaging of the products, but at least, you’ll know to continue doing it.  Also, customers have a keen eye for how to improve what you sell too, so don’t forget to ask what they like or dislike about your products or services.  You never know what great improvement idea a customer can offer you!  Not to mention, when you take the time to ask a customer their opinion about their purchasing experience, you make them feel like their opinion is valued and important to your company, which can only make your business look better in their eyes.

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.

Recommend Additional Items or Services to Complement the Original Purchase: Encouraging sale staff to automatically suggest corollary items that a customer may need, especially in conjunction with cross-selling, is a simple way to up the total purchase amount.  Even if the customer only purchases one of the additional products or services, it still increases your bottom line.  For example, Einstein buys a new printer from an office supply company.  At the checkout, the friendly sales clerk suggests a ream of paper and an additional toner cartridge of ink.  Einstein forgot he needs paper, but decides not to buy the ink.  The sales clerk then offers him the company’s product protection plan, which Einstein also decides to purchase.  By the end of the transaction, Einstein now has bought a ream of paper and one of the company’s services as a supplement to his original purchase of the printer.  If your company utilizes e-commerce, you can simulate this technique by suggesting similar items on the same webpage as the original product, which will also feel less pushy and irritating than an actual sales associate.  Returning to our earlier example, the webpage containing the printer may have links to reams of paper, ink cartridges, product protection plans, and even other “money-saving” printers.  Because suggesting products requires no additional expense for your company, you can boost sales with very little effort.

Create Product or Service Packages: Along the lines of suggesting additional products or services for purchase, creating product or service packages entails combining related products and services together for a higher unit price than if the items were purchased separately (this technique is sometimes known as price bundling).  The secret to this tip’s success is convenience and consumer laziness.  Because all of the items they need are neatly packaged together, it makes shopping faster and easier for customers.  Not to mention, let’s face it.  We see a big bundle of stuff, and we just assume that because it’s all together the price for purchasing each item individually will be higher.

As an example, a gourmet chocolate shop can combine a few varieties of chocolate bars and truffles into one chocolate basket, but markup the total cost of all the items by 20%.  How many customers are really going to search through the inventory to determine if they’re getting a deal by buying the basket instead?  Not many, especially since baskets are pretty, and if you’re buying that much chocolate, it’s probably a gift anyway.  A gift you don’t have to wrap!  Furthermore, many consumers will not need or want everything in the package (white chocolate = disgusting), but because the items they do need are conveniently located together, they’ll be inclined to just grab the package and pay the extra price.  If you do have a particularly thrifty customer who goes through the trouble of determining that the package is more expensive, they’re still likely to purchase the items individually.  You don’t receive the extra markup, but you still are making a sale!

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:

Every customer who takes the plunge and decides to make a purchase adds a little more money to your bottom line.  The more customers you sell your goods or services to, the more money your business earns.  Pretty simple, right?  But, how do you attract more customers without spending a fortune on your marketing campaign?

First, choose the right customers: Conduct market research and determine who your company’s target market or markets should be.  Draft surveys for existing customers, analyze your company’s sales, and research marketing statistics for your company’s industry.  Find out who your ideal client is–the 20% that will make up the 80% of sales.  Determine who has both the desire and the financial means to purchase your products and/or services and how you can best meet the needs of this market.  Your goal is to selectively target the customers who are most likely to not only make an initial purchase from your company but who are also likely to remain loyal to your business over time.  For example, Lexus and Toyota, despite being owned by the same parent company, have vastly different target markets.  Knowing who to sell you product to will keep you from wasting your advertising budget targeting consumers who have no intention of purchasing from your company.  Misdirecting your marketing campaign can cost you, but spending the extra time at the onset to analyze who the right customer for your business is and how to satisfy their desires will produce loyal and frequent consumers for your company.  Something else to emphasize here:  When you are finding your target market, it’s important to think about what they can spend on your product.  I have a soft spot for Valentino shoes.  I adore them!  But, at over $700 a pair, they’re a wee bit (okay, more than wee) out of my price range.  Do I love the product?  Yes.  But, can I afford the product?  No.  Thus, Valentino and the retailers who sell the brand should not waste their time or money on me.

Next, create a Market Identity: After you have chosen your target market, you need to create an identity for your business.  Brainstorm words and ideas that create the image you want to project to your customers and use this to create a company persona.  For example, is your company the hip, intellectual coffee shop next door?  Or, is your business the serious and dependable investment firm on Wall Street?  Craft your identity based on what kind of customers you target.  A business targeting college students is not going to want to create the same company vibe as a business targeting baby boomers.  Extend your identity not just to the promotional materials used in your marketing campaign but also to your offices, stores, and employee attitude.  Just like with your personal identity, you want your company’s identity to be consistent.  The hip coffee shop from above would send conflicting messages to consumers about its business identity if the owner decorated the store like it was a doctor’s office.  Business cards present another opportunity to strengthen your company’s identity.  Avoid going overboard with business card design, but feel free to add some flair so that your card stands out among the rest.  Also, be sure to include contact information, your company’s slogan, and information about your services.

Another way to create a positive company image is to develop a reputation as an “expert” in your company’s industry. “Expert” status attracts customers who appreciate a company’s dedication to being the best and knowing the most in a given field.  To customers, an “expert” company is trustworthy, and they feel confident purchasing from them.  Even if your business is not in an industry that has definable expert standards, you can still become an expert in customer service.  People are more willing to give repeat business to companies who are friendly and helpful than companies with a reputation for customer dissatisfaction.

Implement a “Learn More” Marketing Campaign: Focus on creating advertisements that convince customers to either visit your website, call your company’s telephone number, or come in to the office to “learn more” about the products or services offered by your business because this gives you the added opportunity to candidly discuss the advantages of purchasing products from your company directly with a potential customer.  Because you’re not bound by the traditional advertising time or space constraints when you make your company pitch, you can give the customer a better, more informed view of your company and what it offers to meet their needs.  However, if you encourage direct interaction with customers whether in person or over the phone, it is important for your sales staff to be friendly, knowledgeable, and polite so that the market identity you developed is reinforced in the customer’s mind.  A rude sales associate can ruin any good will created by the initial advertisement.

If you use a website, then the design and presentation of the information available should be easy to navigate, understand, and read.  Sloppy design or unharmonious color selections can make your business seem amateur and untrustworthy.  By the way, when you’re designing your website, try to think about it objectively.  Would you be impressed with this website if it belonged to some other company?  And, don’t scrimp on the website either, and I say this not as a website designer but as a business owner.  People are more inclined to check out companies and products on the web first before going to a store or making a purchase.  Also, instead of directing customers to the home page of your website, which is usually more general, send customers to a webpage designed to really introduce them to the product or service.  The “learn more” approach gives you the chance to make a great first impression for your company, so it is absolutely vital that the impression be a good one!

Make Existing Customers Work for Your Company: Delegate (love that word!) the task of marketing your business and let existing customers do some of the advertising work for you.  Create an environment where your customers can proactively refer new clients to your company.  Add testimonials pages, offer incentives, and work on creating brand advocates.  Discounts and freebies for people who refer clients is easy and inexpensive.  Some companies will implement “bring a friend” days where you receive a discount or special offer just for bringing someone with you when you make a purchase.  And never underestimate the power of “word of mouth.”  If you cultivate a loyal, satisfied group of consumers, they will be more than willing to promote your company and influence potential buyers.  And the best part of creating good word of mouth is that it’s free!  Customers do all of the hard promotional work for you just by talking about their experience with your company to friends or family.  Not to mention, because word of mouth is usually transferred between two parties who trust each other’s judgment, the potential new customer doesn’t worry about being misled by someone with an agenda.  Depending on your type of business, you may want give incentives to customers with blogs or websites who can expand their realm of influence by discussing their purchasing transaction with their readers.  However, word of mouth is a double-edged sword.  If your company has a reputation for poor feedback with regards to customer service and satisfaction, spurned customers can and will share their negative experiences, causing you to lose out on future sales.  Just be sure to create customer loyalty before expecting your consumers to promote your company for you!

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.

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

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.

Nevertheless, instead of opening more locations or increasing manufacturing, many small businesses are focusing on improvement.  StinkyKids saw their diminishing sales as an opportunity to reevaluate the company’s long term goals.  Originally, they only offered higher-end children’s tee shirts, but with stagnant luxury goods sales, the company concentrated on expanding their target demographic.  Utilizing lower manufacturing costs, they created a new line of children’s dolls and have a story book available.

So, is expansion during the recession right for your small business?  If your product or service is in high-demand, consider expanding its availability.  Scout out new locations and find new buyers, but also go beyond physical expansion.  E-Commerce enables you to sell products or services to a larger market without creating additional locations.

If your products or services aren’t selling, shift the focus of your business.  Offering customers more variety, especially in your price structure, can not only keep your business alive during the recession but also make it thrive.  Flourishing businesses can apply this principle as well.  It’s never too early to design your next product or service, and with the reduction in business expansion costs, reaching new markets, creating new products, and increasing manufacturing has never been cheaper.  Just remember to cater your expansions plans to suit your market!

As you can imagine, this is a topic near and dear to our hearts because we’ve expanded our own company from being a computer consulting and marketing firm into the retail arena.  The prospect of investing more money or taking a risk may be frightening, but you cannot succeed if you are paralyzed to inaction by fear.

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!

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!

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