Marketing for Small Businesses

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Marketing for Small Businesses
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Why Are You in Business?
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What is a Mission Statement?

• A brief, clear statement which
• describes the purpose,
• key strengths,
• target customers,
• and long-term goals
• of your business.

4
UCLA Police Department

• The University of California Police Department at
  Los Angeles is a leader in providing progressive
  law enforcement services to a culturally diverse
  urban campus and its surrounding community. We
  actively foster a safe environment by maintaining
  a high state of
• readiness, cultivating com-
• munity partnerships, and
• creating innovative community
• programs.

5
American Youth Soccer Org.

• THE AYSO MISSION IS
• To develop and deliver quality youth soccer
  programswhich promote a fun, family
  environmentbased on our philosophies
• Everyone Plays
• Balanced Teams
• Open Registration
• Positive Coaching
• Good Sportsmanship

6
A Mission Statement Can Be...

• A declaration of the companys top priorities
• A motivator for employees
• A pledge to customers
• A starting point for developing company goals
• A point of reference for marketing strategies

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Develop a Mission Statement

• The mission of (your company name) is to ...

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Where to Use It

• Post it in the store
• Employee training
• Invoices
• Flyers
• Business cards

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Marketing
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What is Marketing?

• Marketing is the process of planning and
  executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and
  distribution of ideas, goods, and services to
  create exchanges that satisfy individual and
  organizational objectives.
• -American Marketing Association

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What Exactly Does That Mean?

• Marketing is...
• All the actions you your employees
• take that promote the sale of your
• products.
• Building good relationships with your
• customers.

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What Exactly Does That Mean?

• The Company Name
• Company Goals
• Location
• Pricing
• Packaging
• Promotional Activities
• Advertising
• Sales Techniques
• Business Cards
• Employee Uniforms

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The Goal of Marketing

• To present your products/services to
• the market in a way that makes them
• more attractive than the
• products/services of
• Your competitors.

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Market Assessment

• Who are your customers?
• Who are you advertising to?
• Ask yourself some questions!

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Primary Research

• Three Main Types of Information
• Geographic area
• Level of unfulfilled demand
• Competitive structure of the market

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Geographic Area

• How many people live in the targeted market area?
• Who are the likely customers?
• Where do they live?
• What are their demographics?

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Level of Unfulfilled Demand

• How much do potential customers use/consume? Is
  their use seasonal?
• What price are they paying for high-quality
  products?
• Are customers adequately served?

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Competitive Structure of the Market

• Who is the competition?
• Are their products/services substitutes or
  alternatives?
• What marketing strategies does the competition
  use?
• Are the customers happy with their purchases?

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If They Are Adequately Served

• Can a new business steal market share from
  competitors?
• What must be done for this to occur?
• Can the quantity purchased by consumers be
  increased by providing a higher quality than is
  currently available?

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If They Are Adequately Served

• Are consumers currently buying a particular brand
  or type? If yes, what is it? Why are they buying
  it?
• Will the business have products at a time when
  little else (substitutes or alternatives) is
  offered for sale?

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If They Are Not Adequately Served

• Why is there unmet demand?
• What level of quality or quantity must be met to
  meet the unfulfilled demand of customers?
• How must the product be prepared, packaged, and
  marketed? What costs will be incurred?

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The Marketing Budget
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The Marketing Budget

• The budget is usually based on
• Company Goals
• Percentage of Sales
• Industry Averages
• Forecasting
• Companies usually spend between 1-5 of the
  previous years sales

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The Marketing Budget

• Includes items such as
• Marketing Personnel
• Marketing Training
• Market Research
• Market Development
• ?Promotions?

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The Promotions Budget

• Advertisements
• Catalogs
• Direct Mailings
• Sampling
• Sponsorships
• Trade Show Fees
• Giveaway Items

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Budgets

• They are only guides.
• They are not set in stone.
• They can be adjusted.

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Building Customer Traffic
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Building Customer Traffic

• My customers love what I have, I just dont get
  enough customers in the store.
• It is easier to buy merchandise for your store
  than to get customers to buy it from your store!

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Factors Within Your Control

• Competition
• Location
• Reputation
• Merchandising
• Marketing
• www.immresource.com

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Factors Outside Your Control

• Floods
• Hurricanes
• Major Catastrophes
• There is NOTHING else!!
• www.immresource.com

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Types of Advertising
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Newspaper

• Advantages
• Broad mkt coverage
• Immediate
• Short lead time
• Flexible ad size
• Visibility of product
• Color
• Use of coupons
• People believe what they read!

• Disadvantages
• Inconsistent reproduction
• One day life span
• Limited demographics
• Lost in the Crowd
• Lack of movement sound

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Radio

• Advantages
• Demographic selection
• High frequency
• Immediate
• Sound reinforcement
• Quick flexibility

• Disadvantages
• Restrictive message length
• Need for repetition
• Short recall factor
• Cluttered placement

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Television

• Advantages
• Use of sight, sound, motion, color
• Mass coverage
• Immediate
• Demographic selection

• Disadvantages
• Short exposure
• Expensive production
• Expensive to air
• Cluttered placement
• Viewing time drops as income increases

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Direct Mail

• Advantages
• Demographic selection
• Unlimited message length
• Consistent reproduction
• Direct response by order or coupon

• Disadvantages
• Expensive
• Difficult to obtain pure mailing lists
• Long lead time
• Negative reaction to junk mail

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Outdoor

• Advantages
• Reaches large audience
• Long-term exposure
• Color graphics
• Forms include billboards, posters, illuminated
  signs, moving vehicle signs, bench ads

• Disadvantages
• Limited message length
• Expensive to produce place
• Difficult to obtain the best locations
• Legal restrictions for use

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EXPERIENCES?
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Marketing Tricks on a Budget

• Coupons
• Contests
• Gifts
• Frequent Buyer Programs
• Exclusive Offerings
• Events Sponsorships
• Giveaways
• New Customer Offers
• www.businesstown.com

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Marketing Tricks on a Budget

• Coupons
• Quick Dirty
• Print Advertising
• Direct Mail Campaigns
• Hand Them Out
• Best Customers
• Next Purchase

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Marketing Tricks on a Budget

• Contests
• Infuse it with FUN
• Wacky Crazy
• Really talk it up
• Good Prize
• Generate Media Coverage

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Marketing Tricks on a Budget

• Gifts
• People love anything if it is FREE!!
• Buy Expensive Item get free item
• Cosmetics Industry

42
Marketing Tricks on a Budget

• Frequent Buyer Programs
• Build loyal clientele
• Customer Card
• Free or Reduced Price Product
• Discount Card for Regular Customers

43
Marketing Tricks on a Budget

• Exclusive Offerings
• Inspire excitement loyalty
• Purchase preview of new merchandise
• Offer a discount

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Marketing Tricks on a Budget

• Events Sponsorships
• Host a celebrity appearance
• Host a charity fundraiser
• Introduces new customers
• Creates goodwill
• Free media coverage
• Little League Teams

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Marketing Tricks on a Budget

• Giveaways
• B2B - small gifts when you call on them
• B2C Service - free trial, free estimate
• B2C Retail - novelty items to build traffic
  interest

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Marketing Tricks on a Budget

• New Customer Offers
• Discounted Prices
• Freebies
• Free Consultation

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Things You Have Done
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Merchandising
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Merchandising
You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First
Impression
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Image

• The overall look of a store
• The series of mental pictures and feelings
• The foundation of all retailing efforts
• The ability to stand out from the competition and
  be remembered

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Image Makers

• An identifiable store name
• A powerful visual trademark
• An unmistakable storefront
• An inviting entrance

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Identifiable Store Name

• Sets the tone and provides the stores ID
• Conjures images in the consumers mind
• Consistent with both the product mix and store
  atmosphere
• Easy to say and remember
• Unlikely to sound dated

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Powerful Visual Trademark

• Provides a visual image for recall of the store
  name
• Should be identifiable in theabsence of the store
  name
• Should be professional and well designed
• Should perpetuate the store image

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Unmistakable Storefront

• Should project a welcoming, clear, and concise
  image of whats in the store
• Pay particular attention to
• Exterior architecture
• Store sign
• Display windows
• Customers vantage point

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The Store Entrance

• The barrier between the inside and outside of the
  store
• Should appear comfortable and welcoming
• Obstacle courses, visual clutter, and Do Not
  signs are turn-offs
• Make it appealing to both seekers and browsers

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Through a Customers Eyes
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Through a Customers Eyes

• Take snapshots
• Storefront to the Bathroom
• Displays
• Check-Out Area
• Aisle Ways

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Through a Customers Eyes

• Specific things to look for
• Storefront
• Window presentation
• First impression
• Planning the trip through the store
• Graphics program
• Point of purchase/cash desk
• Send them packing
• www.retailernews.com

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Windows Displays
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Window Displays

• There is tremendous response to a
• product if it is marketed in the window.
• Frank Verkaik
• Retail Merchandising Design
• New York

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Where to Find Display Props

• Flea Markets Garage Sales
• Hardware Stores
• Antique Stores
• Specialty Stores
• Display Houses
• Artists

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Tips From the Experts

• Create a dialogue
• Tell a story
• Simple - not cluttered
• Display in 3-D space
• Change it frequently
• Be creative
• Keep it clean
• Pay attention to other windows
• Pay attention to your mannequins
• www.newhope.com

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Customer Service
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What is Customer Service?

• The ability of an organization to
• constantly and consistently give the
• customer what they want and need.
• -The ACA Group

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• Top 10 Things Every Customer Wants

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Things Every Customer Wants

• They want it to cost less money, even if it's
  already value-priced.
• They want to it act faster /immediately.
• They want it to come to them or be delivered.
• They want it to be replenished/updated/up-graded/r
  eplaced automatically and consistently.
• They want it even before they know it's available
  or that they even need/want it.

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Things Every Customer Wants

• They want it pre-customized to fit their unique
  needs.
• They want it to come pre-assembled and ready to
  run no instructions or thinking needed.
• They want to be able to return it with no hassle
  a solid/flexible guarantee.
• They want it to work perfectly and beyond all
  expectations.
• They want to feel good about using it and being a
  customer of yours.

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Customer Complaints
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Complaints Welcome Here

• Average customer with a complaint will tell 10
  people 13 tell more than 20 people
• 70 of complainers will return if their complaint
  is resolved
• 95 return if it is resolved quickly

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Complaints Welcome Here

• For every complaint received, there are 26
  unhappy customers who never complain 6 with
  serious problems
• If a store gets 5 complaints a week, there are as
  many as 130 dissatisfied former customers out
  there with unresolved problems.

Source Technical Assistance Research Programs
Institute
71
Resolving Customer Complaints

• Youre the one
• Show you are concerned
• Stay calm
• Be sure that you understand the complaint
• Solve the problem
• Make the customer feel that their complaint has
  been addressed

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Complaints Welcome Here
"Those who buy, support me. Those who come to
flatter, please me. Those who complain teach me
how I may please others so they will buy. The
only ones who hurt me are those who are
displeased but do not complain. They refuse me
permission to correct my errors and thus improve
my service." -Marshall Fields
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Customer Service Myths
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The Customer Is Always Right

• WRONG!
• You know more about your products and services
  than 90 of our customers can ever expect to
  understand. The customer seldom understands
  their needs as well as a salesperson might.

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The Customer Is 1

• WRONG!
• Your employees are 1. If you believe that your
  employees are not the most important people who
  step through the doors of your business each day,
  you are in trouble. If you are not letting your
  employees know that they are 1, you are doomed
  to failure

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Know What The Customer Wants And Give It To Them

• WRONG!
• Quality customer service is under-standing the
  customers expectations and then gaining a
  reputation for not only meeting these
  expectations, but exceeding them.

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Our Mission Is To Make A Profit

• WRONG!
• Your mission should be to grow and survive.
  Profits are like food. We need them to live, but
  they are not our reason for living. Making a
  profit is far too shallow an incentive to be the
  mission of any organization.

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I Need More Satisfied Customers

• WRONG!
• Satisfied customers are fickle. They leave too
  often and for reasons we consider unreasonable.
  If a customer only feels satisfied, they will
  likely continue buying from us until a competitor
  offers a better price. You want missionaries!
  You want customers that not only shut out
  compe-titors, but who also bring you more
  customers with their praise of our services.

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• Proven
• Customer Service
• Tactics

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Fulfill the 6 Basic Needs

• Fairness
• Friendliness
• Understanding
• Control
• Options
• Information

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Project a Winning Phone Style

• Smile when talking on the phone
• Answer the phone within three rings
• and give an inviting greeting such as,
• "XYZ Company, how may I help you?
• If you need to put a customer on hold, always ask
  permission and wait for a response.

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Deliver More Than You Promise

• A customer wants delivery by 3 p.m.
• What's the best solution?
• Guarantee delivery by 4 p.m. and get the delivery
  there early.

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Meet Your Commitments

• Always return customer calls by the
• time you promise.
• Your credibility depends on how well
• you follow through on your
• commitments.

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Express Empathy

• Show customers that you're
• interested in solving their problems.
• Say things like
• "I understand why you feel that way"
• "I see your point of view
• "I'm sorry that happened."

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Talk Smart

• Don't use negative language.
• Use constructive smart talk instead.
• Rather than saying "I can't do that," give
  customers alternatives by telling them what you
  can do.
• Focus on the positive.

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Go the Extra Mile

• Offer free valet parking
• Let customers use your phone
• Provide free gift wrapping
• Little things mean a lot!!

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Make Eye Contact

• When customers approach you, look them in the eye
  within the first
• 10 seconds.
• If you are busy, look up and tell the
• approaching customer that you'll be
• with them shortly.

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Roll Out the Red Carpet

• Treat customers as the most important part of
  your business.
• Make them feel needed and wanted by giving them
  the time, attention and understanding they
  deserve.

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Proven Customer Service Tactics
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Whos To Blame?

• Boss?
• Employees?
• Both?
• It must be covered and be a condition of
  employment!

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Ground Rule 1

• Greet Customers First
• The minute a customer walks into your store, the
  sales staff should be the ones to say hello
  first. It is their job to greet the customer,
  not the customers job to greet the sales staff.
  The first hello sets the stage for a customers
  experience in your store.

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Ground Rule 2

• Smile
• Make smiling on the job a condition of employment
  and grounds for termination. Tell your employees
  that, when you hire them, We Smile Here.

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Ground Rule 3

• Enthusiasm Counts
• Enthusiasm is a disease Lets start an
  epidemic. How true that is. When a customer
  brings something to the register to be rung up,
  tell them that the purchase is pretty, cute, or
  useful. Let them know you care. When the
  customer sees, feels, and hears the enthusiasm,
  youll ring up a lot of sales.

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Ground Rule 4

• Dont Point Go Show!
• When possible, WALK with the customer to the area
  they need. If that becomes impossible,
  cheerfully direct the person to what they need
  and give clear, easy, and, most important,
  friendly directions. Pointing is rude!

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Ground Rule 5

• Please, Thank You, and Youre Welcome
• These are still the favorite words of all
  customers. They are the first words a parent
  teaches a child. What happened?

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Ground Rule 6

• Pretend its you
• Tell your employees that every customer will
  leave thinking one of two things Hey, those
  guys were great or Im never going back there
  again. And if the employees think thats not
  their problem, tell them to think again. If the
  customers dont come back, theyre out of a job
  and a paycheck.

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Ground Rule 7

• Go back through Rules 1-6
• Print them out and give them to your employees.
  Post them in your store. You cannot over train
  your employees or yourself in the ground rules of
  customer service.

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Summary

• You are already marketers
• It is not easy or cheap
• It is one of the keys to SUCCESS!

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Materials prepared byShasta L. HubbsMarketing
SpecialistsUniversity of TennesseeAgricultural
Extension ServiceAgricultural Development Center