"The 12 Days of Business" Tips To Grow Your Business On

The 12 Days of Business: Monday, December 14, 2009

Welcome to Ace in the Hole Marketing’s blog, ‘The 12 Days of Business.’ Here are some hint’s and suggestions to starting and maintaining a business in today’s economy, and how to improve your chances of making it a success. The holidays season is the busiest time of the year, not just for Santa, but for all businessmen and women who are looking to grow in the New Year and make their products and services stand-out above the rest. I hope you will take a few minutes, grab a mug of cocoa or some hot apple cider, and read over these suggestions, and add your own for others on this same path. It truly is the season of sharing.

On the First Day of Business, My Consultant Said To Me: “Know Your Customers and Create a Networking Tree.”

Before you start any business, you need to decide who your customers are going to be. Does your product or service appeal to a wide audience, or do you have a more defined, smaller niche you are trying to reach. You cannot create any type of sales or marketing strategy until you have answered this very basic question. If you are already in business and cannot answer the question of who your customers are, quickly and succinctly, then you will be spending a lot of money with no clear sense of why or for whom you are spending it. A consultant can help you define the answers to these questions and then create a strategy to reach those customers. In today’s economy, it’s smarter to spend the money on a consultant who will direct your dollars to resources that will build business, than to hope your money is reaching as far as you want it to on your own. If you are just beginning your business, even if you feel you have it all planned out, I recommend hiring a consultant for a couple hours or so to listen to your plans and help find any holes they might see, so you can have a successful launch at the beginning.

Have you surveyed your customers or your prospective customers lately? Think you know what your customers are looking for in your product or service? Why not ask them!! A survey is a useful tool to be considered before you even open your doors, or on an every 6 months to a yearly cycle after you have been established, to measure how you have done. This works hand in hand with the networking opportunities I will be talking about next, but there are many resources for getting good polling information from online resources and your local community. By paying attention to your customers needs and wants, and tracking them through surveys and marketing data, you can refine your business to really giving them what they want and saving you a lot of waste in both time and products. These are services that consultants are very good at, and can save you time and energy in the process.

Having a network of contacts and business associates is imperative in today’s market. I advise all of my clients to belong to at least one networking group, and to have anyone in their sales organization belong to one as well, preferably a different one than the others are in. Growing your business requires not only effective advertising and marketing to your particular niche or mass market, but also to build a network full of friends and associates that will promote your business as well. A customer that is personally referred by someone is 60% more likely to do business with you than someone who found an advertisement of your business. There are many good networking groups available in almost every community. One of the easiest networking groups to find is your local Chamber of Commerce. Most Chambers have monthly business support meetings in a certain area, where many local merchants gather together to learn from each other and network. You can also usually find a local BNI, (Business Networking International,) or referral network somewhere close by that hold weekly to monthly meetings for building business referrals. Local service organizations are also an excellent resource for networking and referring business, such as the Rotary, Lions Club, Toastmasters, etc..

Online there are dozens of networking opportunities through both Social Networks such as Facebook, Linked In, and Myspace, as well as Message Boards, Chat Rooms, and Blog discussions to participate in. Communities are cropping up every day for almost any type of service or business you can think of, and if not, you can easily create your own. Most of these services and communities become self-explanatory, but asking your consultant which online communities would be a good start for you in getting the tools and information to participate online effectively. A lot of consultants will even manage your networks for you by creating content and conversations that will drive business to your company. You can even find many online free seminars on how to use social networks to your advantage.

There will be much more to talk about, and I hope you come back each day for the 12 Days of Business blogs from now thru Christmas. Happy Holidays and you can contact me for free consultations anytime by emailing Scott(at)aceintheholemarketing(dot)com or calling 330-770-5054.