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Your Business and the 80/20 Rule

By on Saturday, December 25th, 2010 | 0 Comments

You’ve heard the statement I am sure in the sales world that your top sales people produce 80% of your sales revenue.

The same holds true with your customers/clients in business.  The top 20% of your customers/clients will produce 80% of your revenues.

It is true that it is fairly easy to track sales people, their sales and activities (or lack thereof).  However, I often hear all too often from retail business owners that they do not have a system in place to track their customer purchases.  Things like how often they visit, how much they spend etc.

And even better yet, going deeper into your customer/client info.  When is their birthday?  What is their spouses (or significant other) name?  And all the specific info that would matter in making the sale to your customer/client.

I love the TV series 24.  And within this great mystery suspense series it is ALWAYS about collecting intelligence info.  That is why you hear “What intel do we have?”

Marketing to your customer/client is no different.  What intel do you have?  If you have little to none, you have many missed opportunities and you are leaving lots of money on the table.  And that money is likely going to your competitor.

For example, if you were running a clothing store, wouldn’t it be good to KNOW the size your customer/client wears?  So that in your communication you can state that directly on any sale you might have.  It is well known that most of the buying decision of mens clothing is done by the spouse.  Hence the reason for knowing who the spouse is.

Did you know that most businesses lose 20% (or more) of their customers each year?  To achieve a 10% increase in sales you need to add 30% in new customers.  And the cost to add a new customer is usually six times more than simply concentrating on your best customers (your top 20%).

The statistics are alarming as to WHY customers/clients stop doing business with your business.

* FACTOID *:  A survey on “Why customers quit doing business with you” found that 20% of them do so for the following reasons . . .

Three percent move away, five percent develop other friendships, nine percent leave for competitive reasons, 14 percent are dissatisfied with the product or service, and a whopping 68 percent quit because of an attitude of indifference toward the customer by the business owner, manager or employee.

So that breaks down to 82 percent of the survey result was the lack of taking care of your customer!  And that can be (and should be) fixed by you the business owner.

But before you can do that, you must have information (intel) on or about your customer/client.

I also hear from business owners often that they fear asking for customer information for fear that it will be too intrusive.  Yet it is probably the single biggest expense in your business NOT doing so.

To put your mind at ease, I offer up another FACTOID.  Have you ever visited a Radio Shack?  They ALWAYS ask for your information at the point of sale.  And would it surprise you to know that 98% or more give it without any hesitation?  Most likely, because they think it has something to do with their current purchase.

So put your fear aside.  One of the largest electronic retailers does it as a regular practice.  You should too!

And once you do my business friend, magical things will start to happen once you use this intel.

There are many systems available for the business owner to collect this intel with ease without it burdening the business or employees.

For example the use of cell phones.  Who do you know (with few exceptions) who does not have a cell phone?  Current studies reveal that these devices are kept within arms reach 22 plus hours of the day.  And there are systems in place now to collect customer intel from the use of their cell phone and is convenient for the customer and the business because it all happens in 15 seconds or less.

You owe it to yourself and your business to collect customer intel.  You will start adding black ink to your financial statement instead of swimming in red ink and failed marketing attempts.  You already have customers.  You already have products and services you sell every day.

Start applying these techniques and you will find that you can literally cut out the need to advertise in dying Yellow Pages, Newspapers, Radio or any other form of advertising medium.

Said another way would be “Paying attention to your current customers/clients does NOT cost, IT PAYS!”

If you would like to DISCOVER more techniques and systems for your business grab a FREE PDF copy of my book “Creating Customers For Life” here:

http://www.HowToCreateCustomersForLife.Com

In it, you will learn how to make your business thrive even in the worst of economic storms.  Also, receive a FREE 15 minute phone consultation from me.

I wish you the best of success in your business!

    Don’t Be Anti-Social If You Want To Survive The Economic Storm

    By on Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 | 0 Comments

    Quotes & Excerpts from Harvey Mackay:

    “Is social media a fad or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?” asks Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics.  Consider these statistics he presents, and my analysis of them, and then decide how connected you should be.  Hint:  Your company website alone is no longer enough!

    As of 2010, Generation Y — those born between 1980 and 2000 — outnumbers baby boomers.  And 96 percent of them have joined a social network!  There was no initiation, no dues, no recommendations.  Just a few taps on the keyboard and voila!  Instant connection to friends and family, immediate information sharing, finding the kid who sat next to you in kindergarten story-time.

    As technology improves and changes, it also changes the way we live.  It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users.  It took TV 13 years, the internet four years and iPod just three years.

    Perhaps the star of the social media show is Facebook, which added 100 million users in just nine months and now has over 500 million users.  Not bad for a company that began in a dorm room.  If Facebook were a country, it would have the third largest population behind only China and India.  The fastest growing segment of Facebook is women ages 55-65.  (The jury is still out on how many of those women’s children have accepted a “friend” request from their mothers.)

    We no longer search for the news; the news finds us.  More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook daily.  In the near future we will no longer search for products and services.  They will find us via social media.

    One out of eight couples married in the United States last year met via social media.

    Generation Y and Z — the youngest techies, born after 1995 — consider e-mail passé.  In 2009, Boston College stopped distributing email addresses to incoming freshmen.

    For those who prefer their communications in 140 characters or less, a Twitter account is a must.  Ashton Kutcher and Ellen DeGeneres have more Twitter followers than the entire populations of Ireland, Norway and Panama.  Approximately 80 percent of Twitter usage is on mobile devices people update anywhere and anytime.  The apps for Black Friday sales changed the way shoppers planned their retail strategy.  On the downside, imagine what an unfavorable tweet means for bad customer experiences.

    As a business person, I often wonder how we functioned before LinkedIn.  One of the most remarkable employment statistics I discovered while researching my last book, Use Your Head To Get Your Foot in the Door, is that 80 percent of companies are using LinkedIn as their primary tool to find employees.

    Remember the advertising slogan “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?”  That’s a little misleading, because it also stays on Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, My Space, YouTube or any other social media you use.

    YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world.  It contains 100 million videos and receives two billion viewers each day.  Wikipedia has over 13 million articles.  A whopping 70 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds have watched TV on the web, while only 33 percent have ever viewed a show on DVR or TiVo.  And 25 percent have watched a video on their phones in the last month.  With a growing number of e-readers, 35 percent of book sales on amazon are for the Kindle.  Some publishers estimate that eBook sales will reach 50 percent in the next five years.

    There are over 200 million blogs, and 54 percent of bloggers post content or tweet daily.  Without knowing who or what organization is actually behind the blog, here are some facts to consider:

    • 34 percent of bloggers post opinions about products or brands.
    • 78 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations.
    • Only 14 percent trust advertising.

    Perhaps the most astonishing fact of all is that social media have overtaken porn as the number one activity on the web.

    Successful companies in social media have learned the importance of listening first and selling second.  Qualman says, “They act more like party planners, aggregators, and content providers than traditional advertisers.”

    Social media represent a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.  To stay current — and competitive — in business, don’t be a “twit.”  Put on your best “face” and “link” into these tremendous opportunities.

      YouTube Videos Result In Higher Ranking In Google

      By on Saturday, November 20th, 2010 | 0 Comments

      In 2006 (which is a long time in Internet time), Google made one of the largest dollar value purchases by acquiring YouTube for over $1.6 billion. Who would have known that would have morphed into one of the world’s most trafficked websites.

      Google has taken advantage of the undying appetite of Internet surfers who watch over one billion videos per day.  Google index’s those videos and more often than not, you will find YouTube videos appearing on the 1st page of search results.  They can even outrank aged and established organic listings.

      Since Google has given priority to YouTube videos, your business can truly take advantage of YouTube and here is just a sampling of the benefits:

      • Most often, your videos receive a high ranking in Google’s organic search results.
      • Resulting in a measurable increase of traffic to your website.
      • Most people are visual and with video you are building a bigger trust.
      • If you choose, you can have your increased amount of visitors opt-in to your offer.
      • Which ultimately means you will make more money and shorten the sales cycle.

      It is quite easy to get your video up on YouTube.  Here are just a few tips and techniques that will help you get going immediately.

      1. Shoot Your Video

      Create a short (less than two minutes is best), content-rich video on a topic that you are versed in and passionate about (it will show). Shorter videos are viewed much more frequently.  These days you can pick up an HD Flip Video or Kodak Zi8 for just over $100 dollars and they even have the software included so you can upload your video(s) directly.  Opening a YouTube account is FREE and simple.

      2. Keywords You Use To Name Your Video Are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT

      Include in the name of your video keywords that you expect searchers would use to find information on your topic. I can’t stress how vital this is.  IMPORTANT: Make sure EVERY word in the title of your video is relevant to your content.  Don’t include the date or time in your title.  ONLY include the location if it is relevant to the search.

      Applying the formula above can result in your video listing landing on page one of Google in 24 hours.  It is important to remember that Google favors video content since it owns YouTube.

      Read on to further optimize your video listing.

      3. Create Incoming Links To Your Video Listing

      Anchor Link TEXT is the visible text in a hyperlink. The words “Anchor Link TEXT” are the words or text in the link.  Within your website and/or blog, link back to your YouTube video using your keyword(s) in your anchor text.  Also, you can ask friends and associates to link back to your YouTube video using the same method.

      By applying links to your YouTube videos, and having other sites do the same, it “tells” Google that your videos are relevant to the keywords or keyword phrases you have chosen.

      Once you have great positioning in Google there is another formula you can apply to actually drive visitors to your website.  Read on . . .

      4. Drive Visitors From Your YouTube Video To Your Website

      Now that visitors are finding your video listings for the keywords you have chosen you have created a lead generation path that will last for a long time to come.

      HOW TO maximize the number of people that visit your website during or after they watch your video:

      • Make sure to mention your website address during the video.
      • Place a screenshot of your website and MORE IMPORTANTLY your website address at the start and end of your video so viewers know how to get to your website.

      Since I have discovered that people truly are lazy and unless your video is very compelling, they will not take the time to type your website address into a new browser.  But there is a better way!  You can actually include your HOT LINKED website address into the description for your video.

      Here’s how you do that on YouTube…

      When posting your video you’ll want to fill out the “About This Video” section.  This is where you will insert your website address.  Make SURE to do it right at the beginning of your description.  It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to include the http:// at the beginning of your website address BECAUSE without it, it will not be a hot link or hyperlink.  In other words, your viewer will not be able to click on your website link.

      Once your viewer has clicked your website link, another way to increase your subscriber base is to drive them to a landing page (sometimes known as a Squeeze Page) where you make a compelling offer to receive a FREE report.  Once they opt-in, then redirect them to your website.  This formula will certainly help you build a list and increase your income.  Enjoy!

      My blog has HIGHLIGHTER enabled.  You can highlight any of the text in this article and share it on your favorite social media channels.  Give it a try.
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