Commodities are notoriously difficult to market and promote. Why? Because the primary driving factor of commodities is price. Why would someone pay $10 for a pound of rice rather than $3? The same could be said for oil, gold, hotel rooms, flights and any number of other products. Competing as a commodity is virtually impossible. […]
One of the most important things to look out for in a competitive market is weakness. You’re looking for weakness in your competitors’ products and approach. The goal is to find needs that the customers have that aren’t being met adequately by anyone in the marketplace. If you can cater to those needs, you’ll take […]
How are most restaurants, spas, hair salons, grocery stores and other local businesses built up? The answer: word of mouth. It’s been said that word of mouth advertising is the most powerful kind of advertising there is. This is absolutely true – yet most business owners put very little attention on deliberately cultivating word of […]
In very crowded markets, your company will get drowned out unless you consciously do something that makes you stand out. You need to do something that makes heads turns. Something that makes people pay attention to you. There isn’t one set formula that every company should use to stand out. What follows are a series […]
Hosting events is a fantastic way for a lot of local businesses to find local clientele. Yoga studios, restaurants, coaches / consultants, real estate agents, gyms and so on can all use events to gain local clientele. Some kinds of businesses – hair salons or pizzerias for example – aren’t as well suited to event […]
Groupon is one of those marketing avenues that’s either hit or miss for most small businesses. If it hits, Groupon can bring in floods of new customers and put your business on a completely different scale than before. If it misses, however, you could easily spend thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it. […]
If you’re just starting out in a new industry or if you’re significantly smaller than your competitors, read this carefully. People often think that size is a huge barrier to success. In reality, not only can you succeed even if you’re small, but your small size can actually be an advantage. Here are a few […]
Knowing your core competencies is one of the most important pieces of information you could have in your business. This is the one thing that you do better than anybody else. It’s the one thing that sets you apart from your competitors. It’s the one thing that, if done right, could make you #1 in […]
Flyering is an incredibly powerful marketing tool for local businesses. Flyering includes pizza shop door hangers to nightclub flyers and everything in between. Flyering gets an advertisement for your business in a customer’s hand. You’re guaranteed to have at least a couple seconds of their attention – more if your flyer does a good job. […]
It often makes front page news: Sony has been hacked. Then Zappos has been hacked. It seems every few weeks another online retailer gets hacked. ECommerce has often borne the brunt of attackers’ attention. Here’s a brief overview of eCommerce security, including why and how many hackers get into eCommerce systems. ==> Why Do Hackers […]
