Engaging your customers

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     Customers can be a gold mine. But it's up to you to do the mining. They show up to pan for gold, but you must show them how to use the pan--and get what they want. 

     Your customers click on your website and hit the "Place Order" key. Or they come to your retail store and make a purchase. All of them are in a hurry--it's the way life is lived these days. 

     It's up to you to understand their predicament. They need your help on some level or they would not be there. Your promotions have brought them to you. This puts you squarely in their sights. 

     Everyone needs products and services--hopefully yours. But people also need information. They want answers. They want to know what you can do for them. They want to be entertained. It's all about them.

     Example: Irene is an artist. She hand paints silk scarves which she sells along with other items in her women's accessories shop. She generates lots of interest on social media--posting pictures on Facebook, Instagram and other sites. Her pictures show colorful silk scarves arranged in puffs and folds on real people. These pictures demonstrate how her scarves can enhance any number of outfits. Customers order from her website and stop in her shop. Many purchase other things as well. Irene has found the key to engaging her customers.

     Example: Bob is an accountant who sees clients only at tax time. He decided to take it to the next level. He emailed his clients, inviting them to an off-season group meeting. He would be talking about the latest tax rulings and regulations, answering all questions. He would also demonstrate new software they would find interesting. And he posted the session on social media, inviting all for coffee and cake. The meeting was very successful. Bob became the go-to expert for tax information and business accounting. And they spread the word in the community. 

     Example: John runs a furniture store. When a customer came looking for a recliner, John mentioned a matching sofa. Seeing no interest, he changed the conversation. He talked about room layouts and design. He put some computer layouts to work in explaining how a room could be transformed. This elevated the customer's interest to a new level, and it brought a one-time shopper back again and again. The customer referred others interested in seeing computer layouts for their needs and interests.

     Turn customer contacts into fun experiences, educational sessions, and a go-to place for information. The idea is to position your operation at the forefront of your customer's mind. Engage you customers and they will come back again and again, bring others with them.

     Put your customers at ease, educate them, entertain them, show you are interested in them. They will reward you with more purchases and referrals. 

      

Get rich with small biz

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     Getting rich can be a by-product of your chasing your dream business. Becoming wealthy might not be the goal, but it can happen.

     The reasons to set up a small business are many. They have to do with chasing that dream, being your own boss, seizing an opportunity, pitting your smarts against the marketplace, and earning a living. 

     Example: Ellie loved brownies. She knew there was a big market for them--to punch up meetings and to put the finishing touch on corporate and other events. But Ellie did not have a bakery, nor did she want one. She made arrangements to use a licensed kitchen--starting with a restaurant that was closed on Mondays. She began baking brownies and promoting on social media. She experienced immediate success, shipping to clients from her website and finding new ones on social media. Ellie ran the business for five years, growing every year. Then she sold out and retired.

     Example: Ranjeet is an expert in information technology. With social media exploding, he saw a unique market opportunity. He quit his corporate job and set up a small business showing other small businesses how to take advantage of the enormous opportunities they could access, using social media to grow their businesses. Today, Ranjeet employs several people and has hundreds of clients. Ranjeet is on his way to becoming rich. 

     Example:  Jon was a young man in a hurry. He used a sizable inheritance to establish an architectural artifacts business. He bought an old warehouse and filled it with items recovered from buildings being demolished. His stock included old windows and doors, iron fencing, antique gingerbread and banisters, hardwood carvings, used brick and much more. His clients are architects, designers, contractors and homeowners. He even recovered a motherload of yellow pine flooring, virgin wood dating back to the 1800s. Jon turned his inheritance and his dream into a business attracting well-heeled clients from far and near. 

     Getting rich depends on your efforts, your dream, your management, your alertness, your hard work and other things in your control. 

     Your dream is yours. Turning it into reality is up to you. It can put you on the road to becoming rich. 

Facebook for small business

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     Facebook has proved to be an extremely valuable tool for small business. Posting a picture on Facebook is quick, easy, and free. 

     Example: Joe's business targets men. He does not have a shop, but he has a very active website. His best selling products are men's shaving items, belts, caps, underwear, socks, and other items. To promote, Joe uses pictures that he posts at least twice each week on Facebook and other social media. This drives lots of traffic to his website, including women who buy most of the items for the men in their lives. 

     Example: Kathy is a Reiki expert. Her client base was growing with referrals. She got certified in Reiki for pets. She now snaps pictures of dogs and puppies and posts them to Facebook. People exchange the pictures--and Kathy's expertise--with others and the calls come in. 

     Example: Sara runs a gift shop--unusual creations handmade by artists. She has a website, a presence on Etsy, and sells on Ebay as well. Sara promotes with pictures of jewelry, ceramics, photographs, small paintings, wood and iron ware. The pictures serve as a record of items in the shop as well as getting posted on Facebook. The photos attract people to her website and to the shop as well. 

     Example: Jeff uses Facebook to promote his garden center. His close-up pictures of blooming plants attract attention. In spring, he might show tulips and daffodils. In autumn, it's chrysanthemums and asters. The variations in pictures can be endless and easy to snap. Facebook pictures drive people to his extensive website. And then they drive to his garden center. 

     Example: Frank is an attorney. He regularly offers to speak at gatherings, club meetings, senior centers, and other group sessions. He asks for and gets permission to take pictures. These are posted on Facebook, and people pass them around to their friends. The result is that Frank gets calls from new clients to make appointments. 

     Facebook can work in any business. Snap pictures and post them. If you run out of ideas for pictures, snap pictures of puppies, kittens, and blooming flowers--these always attract attention and get passed around. A picture of a butterfly will attract as much attention as one of the Grand Canyon. 

     Don't know how to use Facebook? Go to the site, join up, and follow the easy directions. Post your picture and you're done with your promotion for the day. The whole thing can take as little as five minutes.  

Expanding client base

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     Opportunities to grow your business are all around you. Expanding your client base takes two initiatives. You should pay attention to both.

     One way is to offer more to your present customers. The other way is to get more customers. The two are interrelated. 

     Example: John designs websites for clients. To expand, he began offering clients social media packages. He made it a point to visit each client, showing what he could do for them in the realm of social media. Some clients had no idea how social media could help them. Others were using Facebook, Instagram and others to promote, but John showed them how they could optimize effectiveness. Not only did John realize an expansion of services sold to clients, but new clients began to call him--as the word was passed around by clients. 

     Example: Sue is a hypnotherapist. She specializes in weight reduction and stopping smoking sessions--private and group. To expand, she reached out to physicians, informing them of her services. She also showed them that she also could help with pain management issues. This put in place an expansion of her former client base, building on what she already offered, but expanding into a new area as well.

     Example: Russ is an independent insurance agent. He has built up a client base filling various needs--homeowner's insurance, flood, accident, life. He began reminding clients that he could write other types of insurance--loss of business, key man or partner insurance, etc. His business expanded--because he educated his clients in all the things he could do for them.

     Example: Donna's restaurant was a local go-to place for healthy meals. Customers regularly returned and referred others. Donna also offered catering, but she did not remind people often enough that she could handle their parties and special events. When she mounted a social media campaign emphasizing catering, her business increased. 

     Every business tends to settle into a comfortable routine serving their customers and clients. And clients tend to do the same thing. 

     Break out of your comfortable zone. Remind people of all the things you can do for them. Blast it out on social media. Expand your base.

     No matter your business, your customers and clients tend to think of you in a narrow way. It's up to you to educate them.   

Promoting with partnerships

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     Promoting is a continuing concern for small businesses. One way to extend the reach out into the community is by partnering with other small businesses. 

     This can be as simple as holding an open house, or offering free information, taking questions from attendees, giving free samples, and more. You already do this, but it can be much more effective when you partner with another business.

     Example: A chiropractor partners with a nutritional expert. They announce an open house. Emails go out, phone calls are made, a news release is sent, and the event is announced several times on Facebook. The big day arrives and people hungry for information show up. The chiropractor and the nutritionist talk about what they do, they pass out literature, and they answer questions from the audience. The session results in more clients for each of them.

     Example: A computer expert partners with a local cafe. Everyone has computer questions and everyone must eat. The audience enjoys a quick meal featuring locally-sourced farm products, and then the questions come, first about the value of healthy eating and what the cafe serves, and then about social media, viruses, new software, etc. The session draws new clients to each of these businesses.

     Example: A potter partners with a florist and they put together a free workshop. Demonstrations are provided. Attendees learn hands-on how to throw a pot, while others learn how to make an appealing flower arrangement and take care of house plants. By joining together, the two businesses attract many more than either acting alone. Subsequent Facebook pictures attract even more attention--and calls. 

     Example: A small independent book store partners with an ice cream shop. Book signings and readings for adults and children are held while attendees receive a free scoop. The sessions introduce new people to each operation. Later, pictures posted on Facebook bring even more.

     Events create excitement. Spread the word on Facebook and other social media. Two businesses coming together can create new customers for both businesses. 

     Success with promotions depends on getting the word out--ahead of the event. Facebook is a good mechanism to use.  

Clothing aftermarkets

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     Starting a business in the clothing aftermarkets can be relatively easy. Used clothing is readily available--think yard sales, flea markets, consignment and thrift shops. 

     Sweaters, tee shirts, denim jeans, women's and men's outfits and more are thrown away by everyone, all the time. There is an endless supply for these materials--and they can form the basis of a business.

     Example: Jose is very creative and has a longtime interest in rugs and small carpets. He regularly visits consignment and thrift shops to search out and purchase materials. The expensive rugs he makes from all sorts of unusual and colorful materials, some cut into strips, others made into squares. Sometimes he dyes the materials. Then he weaves unusual rug patterns and sells to high-end gift shops and at shows he attends. Materials cost him next to nothing, and he prices to the market--some of his creations sell for hundreds of dollars. 

     Example: Eleanor began buying denim jeans at yard sales, flea markets and consignment shops. She accumulated quite an inventory. Her plan was to use the cleaned and cut up denim materials to make fashionable handbags, shopping bags, and caps for men, women and children. Some she embroidered. She began selling her creations online, promoting through social media. Pictures of her creations sold well, and she is looking to expand her small sewing staff to handle increasing sales--to individuals as well as shops.

     Example: Irene uses sweater materials to make unusual hats and scarves for women. She uses tee shirts to refashion into leggings. These have provided additional sales lines for her small shop featuring fiber arts. Promoting on Facebook has extended her market reach.

     Example: Pepe is an artist. He is always on the lookout for used men's belts and other leather materials. He finds a continuing supply at thrift shops, consignment shops, and flea markets. Pepe is specializing in creating hanging art pieces--some are framed in shadow boxes, others stand or hang as sculptures. But all are made from found leather materials--cut, twisted, refashioned. Pepe is making quite a reputation for his unusual art works. He sells at shows and online--using social media to attract attention to his website. 

     Using the clothing aftermarket as a supplier can form a good basis for a business. There is no end of materials--or what you can do with them. 

     Starting a business, or expanding into a new line of business, can be especially easy using the clothing aftermarkets. Use your creativity.   

Turning loose yesterday

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     Your products and services can become dated. As a business owner, you must recognize changing markets.

     Turning loose yesterday's products and services can be traumatic. But, if what you sold yesterday isn't selling today, what about tomorrow?

     Example: Ed used his CPA training to help clients with tax filings. For years, his business grew by adding new referrals. His clients were very small businesses--owner operated or with few employees. Then he began noticing a slow-down in calls from new clients. Ed recognized that more and more small business owners were signing up with tax firms offering online tax preparation. He could not compete with these. So, Ed began targeting the next level of small businesses--those with 25-50 employees. This market had more complicated tax liabilities. Owners appreciated--and paid for--his personal attention and advice. 

     Example: In the past years when videos ruled the entertainment world, Gene established a local video shop. Business was good as people showed up to rent videos. But fast-moving technology soon overtook the market for people who came to Gene's video shop. When he realized that the future held fewer prospects, he sold the shop.

     Example: Jack runs a machine shop. His main clients are in the aerospace, automotive, and health care fields. When 3D printing burst upon the scene, Jack saw a different future for his business. He installed one of the new 3D machines and hired a programmer. From this modest expansion, Jack has expanded into 3D printing full speed ahead. Today, more and more of his market is satisfied with 3D printed products. Technological changes are revolutionizing Jack's industry.

     Example: Anna runs a cafe. Her breakfasts and lunches attracted lots of attention with her traditional hearty fare. When customers began asking about locally-sourced eggs and breads, Anna took note. Her market was changing. Today, she serves meals made with organically-produced inputs, gluten-free breads, soups made the same day, along with coffee freshly roasted at a local supplier. Her cafe is attracting more and more people--especially since she began promoting her place on social media.  

     Markets no longer exist for buggy whips. Get rid of them. Move on. Turn loose your yesterdays as the market moves ahead.