It Always Comes Back to Marketing Fundamentals

I was thinking today about the state of our local and national economy, and why some businesses went out of business. The one that came to mind first was a coffee and wine shop in an upper-middle class part of Denver - who recently went out of business 4-6 weeks ago.

The e-mail they sent (which came as kind of a shock to me) mentioned they couldn't keep pace with the rising price of food and liquor. And that's why they had to close their doors.

I don't deny that inflation in food and energy is real, and affects most traditional businesses today. However, if they had marketed more effectly, and gave their customers more opportunities to buy from their website (instead of purchasing only at their physical store), I think their chances of survival would have been much greater.

One idea would be to have a recurring purchase program for coffees and/or wines. A Coffee or Wine of the Month club. As I mentioned in my last post, too many business owners make one or two sales per customer, and don't follow up with additional offerings. As a result, they have to keep trying to get new customers - which is a lot more difficult and expensive than re-selling to the customers you already have.

The more I learn and re-learn good business, copywriting and marketing skills, the more I believe that success in business and any area of life boils down to mastering the basics. It's not always the flashiest or sexiest approach, but it almost always results in business success.

Too many cool yuppies (who I call 'posers') seem to be obsessed with looking good at all costs, and often overlook the basic fundamentals of good business marketing, which should be based on results.

It's not this Madison Avenue-type 'branding' nonsense, which says that you need to get your business name out there often enough and people will eventually buy from you. No way.

If you aren't getting the business and marketing results that you want, then your business needs to go on a direct-response marketing diet for at least 3 months. Then you'll know which ads and marketing are working, and which ones aren't.

In this economy, you can't afford to overlook business fundamentals. Your livelihood and survival could depend on it. For a limited time (if you book on or before June 30th), I'll conduct a Business Marketing Analysis for only five business and website owners at no cost.

If you'd like to take advantage of this offer, give me a call at 720-747-5895; or send an e-mail to: Brian.Ochsner@gmail.com, with the words "Business Marketing Analysis" in the subject line.

There's no cost or obligation, and it could make the difference between your business' surviving... and possibly thriving.

Remembering the People Most Important to Us

I hope everyone had a nice and relaxing Memorial Day weekend, and spent it with friends and family. I also hope you took time to reflect on what this holiday is really all about: Remembering those who served our country in the military.

It's also a good time to reflect on the most important people in your business: Your customers and prospects. More specifically, how often do you keep in contact with them; and are you selling them enough of the products and services they need?

This is probably the biggest reason why people don't buy multiple times (or even once) from a business or website owner - they weren't contacted very often (or not at all) after the initial contact. This is one of the biggest mistakes in marketing strategy that a business owner can make: Not following up with a customer or prospect.

The average American sees and hears 2,000 to 3,000 marketing messages a day. It's difficult (if not impossible) for your single marketing message to get through and resonate with a prospect. It'll take time for someone to get familiar with you, your business and how you can solve their biggest problem(s).

That's why you need to have a series of follow-up e-mails or postcards ready to go after you make an initial contact with a prospect through direct mail, pay-per-click ads, or other marketing channel. And if you aren't keeping in contact with your customers, another company is.

Along with the series of follow-up messages, you need to have an overall marketing strategy (also known as a marketing funnel) that you move customers through to make an initial purchase, then more frequent (and hopefully higher-priced) purchases. Dan Kennedy is a big advocate of the marketing funnel, and I am too.

Remember to stay in touch with your customers and prospects - it's the most profitable thing a business or website owner can do.