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Small Business Marketing Strategy - Spot the MavensTip! You concentrate on your own USP, and inject your business with a sense of your own style, confidence, and overall business strategy. You see others beginning to emulate you, which you take as a token of admiration, boosting your self-esteem, and thereby further improving the way you do business. 1f4d
Successful small business marketers need to develop a keen understanding of the 80/20 rule. Our profit margins and our budgets are both so small we simply must focus on the right kind of customers. And the right kind of prospects. But, little is written about focusing on the right kind of referrers. A Maven is a kind of "consumer super-helper". In The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell describes this group of individuals who make it their pastime to discover where to get the best deal in town. Mavens don't sell this information; they simply accumulate it and then pass it on freely to others. If you reflect a bit, you can probably think of somebody in your personal or business life that's just like this. If a maven perceives your company to be of benefit to her friends, then you have access to a referral source that's second to none. But, this is an indirect access. Unfortunately, you can't just go look these people up in the yellow pages under "Maven". Your company will have to implement other methods to aid these helpers in better understanding how your company can provide value to their friends.
Frontline customer service or sales staff will most likely be the employees that interact with a maven. Signs the person they are dealing with is a maven might include:
- Person asking many detailed questions
- Person not just reading the fine print on a brochure but marking it up with questions of their own
- Person asking very technical questions
Let's face it: the average employee will likely see the maven as just a pain in the rear. Here is where it's vital that your company pays attention to the People element of marketing success--in this case, your customer service training. Mavens are looking for value, right? That means they want a "good deal", and all of you that are successful business owners know that competitive pricing is only one component of a "good deal". Helpfulness at the point of sale can be incredibly valuable to a customer. Instruct your employees to steer the maven to you or a senior salesperson immediately. If more experienced employees aren't available, teach that frontline employee to write down the maven's phone number and ask her permission to let you phone her later. This may sound extreme, but these opportunities don't walk through our door every day. Here's a chance to out-do your competition and be seen as a company that really takes care of legitimate inquiries. Tip! Every business seeking success in the current global market must maintain some kind of active online business strategy. The types of businesses that use these strategies are not limited to hi-tech, but extend into other areas of interest like genealogy or vintage clothing. But, tread lightly. Don't be seen as a pushy salesperson. Better to answer questions honestly and find out just what benefit she is searching for. Remember, mavens seek value. Find the appropriate niche where your company really can supply a maven and her friends with value and you'll have a referral source that is highly profitable. Mavens seem to be especially good at sniffing out the essence of a company's Brand, that essential "who-ness" of a small business. They are less likely to be fooled by a clever ads or promotions that support lackluster value. Make sure your Package complements your Brand, to reinforce your company's name inside the mind of these golden referrals. © 2006 Marketing Hawks Craig Lutz-Priefert is President of Marketing Hawks, a firm providing essential marketing vision for small business. Marketing Hawks also sponsors the ongoing small business adventures of entrepreneur Crystal Trino at the JourneyToday website. |
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