Surefire Way To Never Have To Compete On Price Again!

“There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.” – Roger Staubach

With an 18 month old daughter... who is now very mobile... and a second child on the way, my wife and I decided it was time to fence in our yard for both their safety and our sanity. So we started to solicit estimates from a few vendors. Much to our dismay the prices for what appeared to be comparable fences varied by over $2000. Unfortunately for the vendors, there was little if any differentiation between them. They asked too few questions and made too few recommendations. They essentially positioned themselves to compete on price... in my opinion, the worst positioning a small business can take!

So as responsible and mindful consumers what did we do? While we didn't hire the lowest price vendor, we did however ask the one that gave us the best warm and fuzzy feeling to at least come close to the lowest price. We don't mind paying a few extra dollars for that warm and fuzzy feeling, even amongst the current state of the economy. And my guess is that many other consumers feel the same.

My suggestion... avoid this scenario for your business at all costs! Don't position yourself for a price war. Stand out!

How? It's simple... Be willing to do the little things that your competition is either unwilling or too lazy to do.

Why? Because it's the little things that make all the difference! It's the little things that show you actually care! It's the little things that justify your existence and your fees! It's the little things that get you hired!

We're not talking about breaking the bank here. If you put just a little creative thought into this, there are literally dozens of little things you could do to out-class the competition.  For example:

• Provide your prospect with a tips sheet on selecting the best vendor and/or solution.
• Educate your prospect on any unforeseeable hiccups they may experience in the buying process (e.g. special permits and variances they may need to move forward, other expenses, etc.).
• Provide price quotes from and/or public information about a few of your competitors to show how you clearly are the best choice. I don’t mean bad mouth your competition. Just stick to the facts and point out the differences between the companies that seem to matter to your target market most.

And to keep your existing clients happily paying your fees, you can model...

• The chiropractor who buys balloons and sings Happy Birthday to his patients.
• The cleaning company who leaves mints on your pillows and fun animal shapes out of a towel at the foot of your bed when their done cleaning your home.
• The landscaper that provides you with great time-saving and beautification tips for your yard.

Sounds so simple right? Yet so few small businesses do these little over and above gestures. These little gems are examples of great marketing!

I'd be willing to bet that most customers of these vendors won't be so concerned if their prices were a few dollars more.

The bottom line... Be remarkable amongst an unremarkable world! Do that and you most certainly won't be competing on price any longer.

© 2009 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute', -- a multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

Dean Mercado, Online Marketing Muscle, marketing articles, compete on price, remarkable marketing, target market, small businesses, small business marketing

Keep a Keen Eye on These to Not Only Survive but Thrive in This Downturn Economy

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." -- Lao-Tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

Now that could either be a great thing or the scariest possibility for any small business owner or independent professional. Especially with a bit of an economic downturn on our hands… let alone the doom and gloom people seem to be perpetuating around it.

So tell me… where are you heading and how do you know for sure? Is the marketing you’re currently doing working? Is it bringing you a steady flow of new qualified prospects? Is it strengthening your brand? Is it making you money or just draining your precious resources at a time where you simply can’t afford for that to be the case?

Now on the surface you may believe you know the answer to questions like these however, are you 100% positive?

Well one of the most important and tangible parts in determining whether or not anything in your business is working is by maintaining sound metrics.  Yes, I do believe that certain aspects of your marketing are not practical to track and measure.  However, there are plenty of key metrics that are easily gathered.  For example you might keep metrics on things like:

• Number of projected versus actual new Clients each month
• Number of projected versus actual repeat Clients each month
• Number of projected versus actual new prospects each month
• Return on investment for specific advertising or marketing campaigns
• Return on investment for each marketing strategy in general
• Number of web site visits per month and where the visitors are coming from
• A monthly “Profit and Loss Statement” which shows your monthly income, monthly expenses, and whether or not you were profitable during that period. The key here is to analyze and know what the numbers mean and how you can alter your marketing to improve them.

And we could go on and on and on here however I hope you get the point… the numbers simply never lie! And if you know how to read them, they can empower you to make better decisions.

For example, one such way is to look for trends. Compare the most recent month, quarter, and year to the one previous (e.g. August 2007 to July 2007, Quarter 3 2007 to Quarter 2 2007, and the year 2007 to the year 2006). Compare specific months from different years (e.g. August 2006 versus August 2007). Compare specific quarters from different years (e.g. Quarter 3 2006 to Quarter 3 2007).

Additionally look for trends dictating the effectiveness of specific marketing campaigns. And to risk stating the obvious, do more of what’s working and less of what’s not… yes it’s that simple. However, you’ll never know whether a marketing campaign is working or not if you are not collecting and analyzing metrics.

So in closing, remember the numbers never lie. And for small businesses and independent professionals, it’s times like these that separate the “men from the boys” so to speak. So the big question remains, where are you heading and how do you know for sure?

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute', -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

Dean Mercado, Online Marketing Muscle, marketing articles, metrics, small businesses, small business owners, independent professionals, economic downturn, economic turmoil

5 Tips to Empower Your Web Site to Sell for You

Hey small businesses can use all the sales and marketing help they can get… am I right or am I right?!

The typical small business just doesn’t seem to have the means to hire the team they need to bring in the business. This is a big problem that typically forces the small business owner to try to go it alone… becoming the so-called “Chief Cook & Bottle-Washer”.

Now where there’s a will, there’s a way and there are ways around this dilemma. One way which we’ll discuss here is to empower your web site to become a virtual sales person. How? Well here are 5 tips to help make that happen:

1. Provide Lead Generation
It’s simple… Everyone loves free stuff. So the idea here is to offer something for free on your web site that your ideal prospect would love to get their hands on. In exchange, all you ask for is their contact information and the right to market to them going forward. Essentially you are dangling a carrot in front of them… a carrot in the form of a free special report, a free newsletter, a free eBook, free tips and tricks, free discount coupon, or a free whatever.

Chances are if they’re interested enough to sign up at your web site, they may be interested in what you offer at some point.

Keep in mind, you should be trying to build or solidify a relationship here with your prospects, not sell them; so this free giveaway must be value driven not sales pitch driven.

2. Establish or Further Your Credibility and Brand
Since people most often buy from people they know, like, and trust, your web site can be a great tool in helping build the comfort level needed to influence your prospects to buy from you.

Some great ways of doing this are by providing references, case studies, and testimonials of satisfied customers. These forms of unbiased third-party justifications are powerful at removing the fears out of doing business with you!

3. Provide Pre-sales and Post-sales Support
The possibilities here are endless. Tactics can go from as simple as a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on your web site to more interactive methods such as blogs, forums, online chatting, and more. These tactics are great to help convert those prospects who are either “sitting on the fence” or just can’t seem to get enough information to make a decision.

4. Allow Prospects to Buy Your Products and Services Directly From Your Web Site
Hey if your prospect is ready to buy, they’re ready to buy. Why stand in their way? Give them the ability to buy whichever products or services that you see fit right from your web site using either their credit card or some other immediate means such as PayPal.

The bottom line here is that people buy first with emotion and then justify their purchase afterwards with logic. So capitalize on that emotion… Get them while they’re hot so to speak and help them justify their purchase afterwards with your stellar post-sales support.

5. Provide Full Contact Information
This final tip is one that may seem like common sense but I guess it’s not because I come across web sites all the time that either do not provide full contact information or hide it so well that it’s almost impossible to find.

The idea here is to make it real easy for prospects to find you both online and offline. Provide full contact information that at a minimum includes a phone number, a fax number, an email address, and a physical mailing address because the lack of providing one can make a prospect question whether or not you are a real business.

Best case scenario is to provide this information on every page of your web site this way you prospect has it at their fingertips if they want it.

So in closing, the key lesson here is leverage. If you got a web site, make it work overtime for you. Give it a chance to earn its keep. Why not? It cost you money to create it and even more to maintain it. Milk it for all its worth!

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute' at http://www.onlinemarketingmuscle.com/marketingminute/ , -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

For A Small Business, Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

In light of that independent, entrepreneurial, American spirit that the 4th of July seems to spur up in all of us, here’s a great quote from Brooks Atkinson:

"This nation was built by men who took risks - pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness, business men who were not afraid of failure, scientists who were not afraid of the truth, thinkers who were not afraid of progress, dreamers who were not afraid of action."

Now that’s powerful stuff!

Or… How about these?

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." –Robert F. Kennedy

"If you don't risk anything, you risk even more." –Erica Jong

And… these?

"You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take." –Wayne Gretzky

"Progress always involves risks. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first." –Frederick B. Wilcox

So what are we talking about here? We’re talking about RISK! We’re talking about your willingness to do whatever it takes to get what you want.

Know this… Your tolerance for risk is in direct proportion to the amount of success you achieve. If you’re not achieving the results you want in your business, my guess is you’re not risking enough. For example:

• Spending money you may or may not have to get some help marketing your business.
• Investing the time needed to learn and leverage a new marketing strategy or tactic.
• Doing a bit of introspection or self-examination to learn more about you, what you want, or what may be holding you back.

And we can go on and on and on here however, let me ask you… Do you truly believe that what you offer can add value to someone else’s life? If not, you may want to rethink what you’re doing. But if so, what are you waiting for? I highly suggest that you try on an approach of doing whatever it takes to get your message out to your target market… anything less is just you being plain stingy. I encourage you to be unstoppable… moving all excuses to the side… step out of your comfort zone and tap into your creativity to choose the best risks to take to consistently and effectively market your business.

These are the kinds of risks that can snap you out of the doldrums small businesses often experience. Heck, in my opinion, I’m willing to bet that the failure rate of small businesses would decrease significantly in proportion to the increase in educated risk that they took.

So in closing, I’ll leave you with a question to think about and I highly recommend that you spend a few minutes with this one as your success does depend on it…. Here goes: What risk will you take today, different from yesterday that can possibly move you at least one step closer to where you want to be with your business?

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute' at http://www.onlinemarketingmuscle.com/marketingminute/ , -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

7 Tips to Become a “Rock Star” in Your Own Backyard without Breaking the Bank on Advertising

Let’s clear the air here. Advertising is not evil. In many cases it’s not even expensive… that is of course so long as it’s done right. However one thing I’ve learned by working with small businesses like you over the years is that you typically don’t have unlimited marketing budgets. Therefore wherever you spend your hard-earned marketing money must provide a sufficient return on investment (ROI). That being said, here are 7 tips that if leveraged properly, can save you a fortune in marketing dollars while still allowing you to become a “rock star” in your own backyard:

1. Be In the Know and Get Involved
Know what’s going on and rub elbows regularly with the who’s who of your local area. I’m a firm believer that wherever you choose to play... play hard.

2. Be a Connector
Now that you’re tuned into the local people, businesses, and events, always look for ways to connect them in ways that add value... people to people… people to businesses… businesses to people… people to events… and businesses to events. Trust me; your thoughtfulness will go a long way.

3. Educate, Educate, Educate
If you like to speak… regularly conduct local seminars and teleseminars. If you like to write… publish a blog or a newsletter. The key idea here is that regardless of the marketing medium you choose for delivery, position yourself as the local authority on your subject matter.

4. Become a Local Media Darling
Get to know, and regularly find ways to contribute to your local media. This goes for both online sources such as local web sites and Internet radio as well as offline sources such as radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and more. Remember, it’s one thing if you tell me you’re great. Maybe I’ll believe you, maybe I won’t. It’s quite another if an unbiased and respected third party such as the local media tells me your great.

5. Local Search Engine Optimization & Submissions
One of the first places people look… yes, even locally… for a business that provides what you do is online. They simply conduct a search in one of the many search engines like Google or Yahoo. Many of these search engines realizing the vast amount of local searches going on, as well as the potential revenue stream it brings, now offer local search engine counterparts (e.g. Google Local and Yahoo Local). In most cases this is a separate submittal process from the main search engine. Get listed in both!

6. Have a Content-rich and Useful Web Site
Face it, online color brochures just don’t cut it any longer. To be considered a viable solution for most consumers, you have to go the extra mile and provide them with clear-cut incentives to pay attention to and ultimately buy from you. Fortunately for small businesses, the Internet makes this very possible for a very reasonable cost. Think of your web site as an extension of your office or storefront… dress it up and nurture it the same way you would your physical space. Leverage it to magnetically attract your local target market by regularly providing resources to make their lives better.

7. Share the Wealth
Give back to the community… period! Regardless of how you give of yourself, at the end of the day, find ways to leave your community a little better than when you got there.

So in closing, just think about it for a minute… with gas prices continuing to rise… the costs of many products and services we use every day are as a result going up as well. We’ve got companies adding fuel surcharges to your tab now… costs of travel have skyrocketed… and quite honestly there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight… we’ll get there, it’s just going to take some extreme creativity and some time. In the meantime, as a small business it’s even more reason to step up your game locally. Customers are already incentivized by these rising costs to look for better deals. If they can save money by grouping together trips to several local businesses as opposed to spending the money traveling afar to get what they want, there’s a good chance they’ll look to fill their needs locally first. Be ready for this trend! Take immediate action on any or all of the 7 tips shared here to position yourself for success as the “rock star” in your backyard.

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute' at http://www.onlinemarketingmuscle.com/marketingminute/ , -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

How To Push Past Common Marketing Demons And Become Unstoppable

Regardless of what your thoughts and feelings are about marketing, let me assure you, it is not a bad thing. It’s not evil… it doesn’t bite. On the contrary, marketing happens to be a critical cog in the wheel of business success. And in my opinion for small businesses, it’s the most important cog because if your target market doesn’t know you exist, you most definitely won’t make any sales… and no sales equal no business!

And let me suggest that if you’re not screaming your marketing message from the rooftops, there may be more going on here than meets the eye. I repeatedly hear two common excuses from small businesses all the time… those being either a lack of money or a lack of know-how to support their marketing efforts.

Now I’m a firm believer that where there’s a will there’s a way, so let’s go ahead and diffuse those two excuses right now.

For those of you who claim poverty…

Yes, there’s no doubt that money can expedite the effectiveness of your marketing however there are dozens of marketing strategies and tactics available to you for little or no cost… just a little sweat equity so to speak. Take networking for instance. It doesn’t cost you a dime to tell someone what it is you do and how you can add value to their business. Or how about starting an e-newsletter or blog? Both can be done for little or no cost.

For those of you who claim ignorance…

There are simply way too many free or inexpensive marketing resources out there to use that excuse and be able to look yourself in the eye. Take this article for instance… it cost you nothing but your time and some energy to pull value from it. Sign up for some free e-newsletters or read the blogs of marketing experts. Tap into free resources from organizations such as SCORE (www.score.org) or the SBA (www.sba.gov). The resources available to you are unlimited.

How about this? Here’s one simple answer that addresses both the money and know-how excuses. Go to the library, borrow some books from Jay Conrad Levinson’s “Guerrilla Marketing” series, skim through them, pull out 2 or 3 ideas out of the dozens available that you would feel comfortable doing, and do them.

Or how about this idea? Barter. Trade your products or services for some marketing help. Not sure how to go about doing this, then join a bartering network. For a small fee these networks can connect you with others looking to trade.

Yes, it can be that simple. Marketing can be as simple or as difficult as you want it to be… you choose. If you say it’s difficult, you’re right, it’s difficult. If you say it’s easy, guess what… you’re right, it’s easy. Bottom line is yes, it is a choice… your choice. So why choose to be stoppable? If you are really passionate about what you do, choose to be unstoppable.

Now remember earlier when I mentioned that if you’re not screaming your marketing message from the rooftops, there may be more going on here than meets the eye? Well typically there is. My experience tells me that in many cases, a person’s unwillingness to do whatever it takes to market their business usually stems from beyond the two excuses we’ve just explored… it tends to border on the psychology-side. So if by clearing up the previous two excuses doesn’t do it for you, use the following revealing questions to dig a bit deeper and get to the root cause:

• What excuses or stories are you making up to let yourself off the hook for not marketing enough?
• Is there a confidence issue here? If so, what are you really afraid of?
• Is there an underlying fear of not looking good?
• Do you honestly and truly believe in the value of what you do? How about in your ability to deliver it?
• Is there a fear of failure at play here?
• How about a fear of success? Are you consciously or unconsciously sabotaging yourself so that you will not have to step into bigger shoes?

And we can go on and on and on here with the questions however my point is for you to dig a little bit… figure out what’s really going on. If you’re having difficulty, bring in a professional like a coach to facilitate this process.

So in closing, be willing to shine the light on yourself to see what’s really going on. The clarity that this exercise can bring as well as the possibilities you can discover can be life changing for you and your business. Just remember, it all starts with you, your desire to succeed, and the willingness to do whatever it takes to make it so.

© 2007 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then you won’t want to miss Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal'. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute', -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

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