Winston's e-Newsletter - 3 February 2009

Give it a whirl

This is what a computer should do first thing in the morning! Click on the link below and then type in your first name... (worked in every browser we tried except Internet Explorer. If your default browser is Internet Explorer, we suggest you copy and paste the link into another browser, maybe Firefox or Opera or Safari).

http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~geoffo/humour/flattery.html

 

The bonanza of the baby boomers

According to Simon Canning writing in "The Australian" last year the number of Australians over 45 will outstrip those under 45 this year, making baby boomers the most powerful media consumers.

But it is a section of the community most media and marketers continue to ignore, even though these people have $218 billion burning a hole in their pockets and are desperate for a place to spend it.

According to market researcher Charlie Nelson of Foreseechange, the number of people under 50 will grow by just two per cent between 2001 and 2011 while the over-50 population will explode by 32 per cent during the same period. "The baby boomers are the ones who are spending the most on discretionary items; it is the one demographic that is growing," Mr Nelson said.

Mr Nelson said the total market of people 55-plus represents more than one-third of all spending and should become the focus for advertisers and media companies. Boomers over 45 will spend more than $46 billion on food, nearly $10 billion on clothes and more than $34 billion on recreation this year.

Gill Walker, founder of boomer marketing specialist Evergreen, agreed the boomers were a goldmine to which media and marketers seemed oblivious. "The notion that older generations are tech-averse may be true for the elderly, but for boomers, they embrace new technology and are very open and adaptable and go online frequently, especially confident with travel sites, both for research and purchases," she said.

Mr Nelson said boomers would also bring the internet along with them as a medium. Whereas internet use presently declines rapidly in the 65-plus band, as today's 45 and 55-plus consumers aged they would bring their new media habits along with them.

Ms Walker added "I say it's marketing suicide to hear so many marketers and media organisations solely chasing the under-40 audience when the grass is greener over 40."

 

A Great Advertisement

by the Queensland Tourism has really gained worldwide coverage. It’s for the best job in the world and whilst many would love the job its also promoted the appeal of the Great Barrier Reef to millions. You can see it here.

 

Five Ways to Get Cashflow… FAST!

Sometimes you have a desperate need to get some cash in the door quickly and to do that you have to make sales happen fast. Here are four proven ways you can get the ball rolling quickly and really crank up your sales figures.

1.    Make an enticing offer to your existing clients or customers with the aim of getting repeat business and add-on sales.

If you own a dry cleaning business for example, you could offer customers a special deal on their next dry clean. It could be something like two shirts for the price of one. The result will be repeat business because you have provided something to entice that customer to come back to you (and you could promote this special to customers who normally don’t bring shirts in too). If you are a plumber you can offer say a special deal on replacing all their tap washers whenever you’re doing a job for a customer (you can promote this special offer to prospective customers as well).

2.  Make an offer to somebody else’s clients.

Look at your business and ask what other businesses would have clients or customers like yours. For example, a young woman who buys a cell phone today could well be looking for a pair of jeans tomorrow. If you sell jeans, go to the phone store and give them $20 vouchers redeemable in your store to give away to customers who buy a cell phone.

Explain to the other retailer that this enhances the deal they’re doing with their customer but it will also encourage that customer to go into your store. If they then give you vouchers for your customers to spend in their store you’ll then be able to send all of your customers their way. This is called cross promotion and it works gangbusters.

It’ll work in any business too! A painter can set up a cross marketing deal with a builder and easily say “When I paint your home, I’ll give you a voucher for $750 worth of building improvements that you’ll want to have done once you see your home looking so good!” and the builder can say “When I do your renovations I’ll set you up with $400 towards getting your painting done!”

Of course there’s an extra powerful motivator that makes this work so well. And that’s simply… the credibility of word of mouth recommendation. Your customers or clients know darn well that you wouldn’t recommend some other business unless you were happy with that business. And that’s powerful stuff!

3.  Use the power of promotion, promotion, promotion!

Promote the pants off your product or service using the power of the personal approach. Be upfront and approach people who are in the area when you are quoting, or are about when you actually are delivering the service or who are walking past your shop.

For example, you are quoting for some building renovations at someone’s home. Find out from them the names of the neighbors on both sides and those across the road as well. Go and knock on their doors and tell them what you are doing. Explain, “Because you will be doing a job in the neighbourhood they could get themselves a great deal if they wanted something done at the same time.” This approach consistently averages two extra jobs for every 5 neighbours seen.

If you operate a retail store have someone with a great smile and a friendly personality standing outside your shop giving out vouchers that offer something for free. The secret is to get a voucher in the hand of everyone who strolls past along with a cheerful comment that emphasises the offer like “This is for your piece of free carpet!” or “They’ve got 25 dollars for you inside!”

You must adopt this fun approach because, if you just have some wooden faced person glumly handing out a piece of paper, most people will take it and not read it. If it’s fun and done with a smile with a spoken offer many more people will act on it. If you or your team members don’t have the aplomb, the personality or the courage to do it, hire a casual team member with the right skills to do the job. It will reap huge rewards.

4.  Advertise.

Put together an ad that grabs people’s attention. Use a compelling headline that drags people in, even if they weren’t in the market for your product or service. Of course the copy you write that amplifies and explains the headline must be just as compelling. As they read it they should be thinking “Hey, this is about me and the answers to my problems, I’m really interested in this.” To get them to act straightaway have a coupon with an expiry date in your advert that entitles customers to an irresistible special deal.

Then do something most people don’t do. Measure the sales you make from the advert and, if it works for you, keep doing it!

5.  Stay with prospects.

Many business people make one attempts to get the business and, if the prospect doesn’t buy then, they forget them.

That’s downright crazy. You see when we talk with a prospect we know that they are interested in buying but we just don’t know when.

Some people are ready to make a decision then and there, some are getting ready to buy next week or next month and some are just gathering information for a purchase sometime in the future. If they don’t buy now despite your best endeavours, it’s important that you find out when they are planning to purchase and then stick with them until they buy or die!

Of course this means that you’ll need to have their contact details so that you can stick with them but naturally you’re getting those from every prospect you meet, aren’t you?

And that raises a final thought. Why don’t you go back to prospects you saw recently who didn’t buy then and see if they are ready to buy now? You’ll be amazed just how much business this will generate for you.

These techniques are simple and effective and will get results!

 

If you are a retailer

I jotted these 23 critical questions down years ago at a presentation by Retail Expert, Peter Latchford, and in my opinion they are still as pertinent today as they were then.

1. Have you defined your target market (age, income, and lifestyle)?
2. Have you defined your image?
3. Is your range in line with 1 & 2?
4. Is your merchandising layout consistent with 1 & 2?
5. Is your advertising and sales promotion consistent with 1 & 2?
6. Do you have a merchandising plan (sales, inventory, profit, budgets)?
7. Have you determined the classifications of stock to be carried?
8. Have you determined the optimum space for each classification?
9. Have you determined width and depth in ranging stock?
   Width - Number of classifications & price parameters (lowest--> highest); Depth - Choice within classification & quantity you carry
10. Have you determined visual merchandising and store planning?
11. Have you determined traffic flow (placing of counter, fixtures, classification positions, non-selling areas)?
12. What are your prime positions ("hot spots") and dead spots?
13. What are your merchandising methods and criteria i.e. what's in it for the customer (brand, colour, lifestyle - are they good visually and easy to sell)?
14. What are your principles on merchandise placement on fixtures and shelves?
15. What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of your inventory versus cost?
16. How is cost of stock determined
17. How does shrinkage occur and what does it do?
18. What is the monthly theoretical or book stock?
19. What are your stock turns (if low gross profit increase stock turns--- higher stock turns means better cash flow)?
20. What will increased effectiveness of stock control do?
21. What's involved in your advertising plan (particularly the relationship to image advertising versus getting customers)?
22. What is the timing and content of your advertising?
23. How much of your stock is dead? (1 turn at $10, GP = $10, 10 at $10,
    GP = $100)

 

A ripper radio commercial

Here's a radio advert that uses the unique feature of radio… the opportunity for you to create the picture that goes with the words.

 

Business Growth Centre
ABN: 96 709 037 261
Postal: 903 High Street Road, Glen Waverley , Vic, 3150, Australia
Phone: +613 9803 7555   Fax: +613 9803 5755

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