When does it stop? Bad data, bad news, bad apples and just plain Bad. If your business is suffering because of a lack of sales then it’s time to examine your sales strategy. How are you currently bringing in new business? Are you sitting behind the counter waiting for the door to open and bell to chime? Wrong. Maybe that worked 40 years ago, but in today’s market your customer base is shrinking. So why is it that you still hear about winners in the Market?
Thanks to new wallet-friendly fare menu, McDonald's keeps customers lining up during the downturn.
Budget-friendly meals and new menu items at McDonald's continues to draw customers despite the trend of cooking more meals at home that has burned the restaurant sector of late.
Earnings reported by McDonald's (nyse: MCD - news - people ) on exceeded Wall Street's expectations….
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/26/mcdonalds-earnings-restaurants-markets-equity-cx_mp_0126markets24.html
Now McDonald’s did see a 22% year over year drop but that was related to a stronger dollar. The point is that even in this down economy McDonald’s found a way to increase business. McDonald’s launched a pre-emptive strike aimed at Starbucks and hit em were it hurts. The strategy has worked with Starbucks recently announcing that they are closing down stores and laying off workers. Keep in mind that Starbucks also tried to sell food and it flopped. Besides doing a market analysis to find strengths and weaknesses in the market, McDonalds has also turned to online marketing. In 2007 McDonald’s started an online campaign that targeted online gamers. Statistics showed that for every dollar spend about $3 dollars in revenue came back in. This is an amazing number. Almost unbelievable. I guess you won’t know until you start your own online campaign.
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Monday, January 26, 2009
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Part 3 of 3 - Where did all the Ice Cream go? Who ate all the Cereal?
If you manufacture products look to cut cost without cutting corners. An electric motor that once came with a 14 foot electric cord can be shortened to 12 feet. Be up front with your clients and don’t try to fool them. If you end up saving money try to pass some of the saving on to your clients. If you’re saving .04 cents a units and you used to charge .50 cent a unit then tell your customer the new price is .48 cents. They may be ok with getting a smaller electric cord if it means saving money. If you’re a service provider and you charge $100 dollars an hour then try marketing your rate increases by a quarter of hour. $27 dollars every 15 minutes may sound allot better than $108 dollars an hours. Talk to your customers and tell them you will work harder for them. You won’t nickel and dime them.
National Graphics & Printing offer many new and exciting concepts and ideas like the one you just read about. We pride ourselves on being more than just a packaging and printing company. We always look for ways to save you money and consult with you on how best to market your product or services.
National Graphics & Printing offer many new and exciting concepts and ideas like the one you just read about. We pride ourselves on being more than just a packaging and printing company. We always look for ways to save you money and consult with you on how best to market your product or services.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Part 2 of 3 - Where did all the Ice Cream go? Who ate all the Cereal?
In today’s tough market how can we leverage this to our advantage? From the purchasing side the answer is simple. Be aware that these practices can occur or may have already occurred with the products you purchase. If you ordered 3,000,000 units of toilet paper compare the new dimensions to the old. If it’s smaller then it may be time for a new vendor.
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You might have been willing to buy the new smaller rolls even if the cost stayed the same, but the fact that they didn’t tell you is a problem. Your customers won’t be very happy when they figure it out and you’ll be blindsided with their complaints. If you are on the marketing side look at all your product line and see if you can redesign your packaging to get more bang for your buck. Make sure to include your customers in this decision. If they can save money and still keep their customer base it may be something that they may want to do. A 30 count bottle of vitamins is now 27. A 5 ounce bar of soap is now 4.5 ounces. But what if you're a Manufacture <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<,
Generate Massive Sales with Internet Marketing Strategies - 10 Free Lessons
You might have been willing to buy the new smaller rolls even if the cost stayed the same, but the fact that they didn’t tell you is a problem. Your customers won’t be very happy when they figure it out and you’ll be blindsided with their complaints. If you are on the marketing side look at all your product line and see if you can redesign your packaging to get more bang for your buck. Make sure to include your customers in this decision. If they can save money and still keep their customer base it may be something that they may want to do. A 30 count bottle of vitamins is now 27. A 5 ounce bar of soap is now 4.5 ounces. But what if you're a Manufacture <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<,
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Part 1 of 3 - Where did all the Ice Cream go? Who ate all the Cereal?
Have you noticed that a box of Ice Cream just doesn’t last as long as it used too? Or how about that box of cereal that used to last a week and now is gone in days. You’re not going crazy. With material and fuel costs sky rocketing in last few year marketers and purchasers have been desperately trying to find ways to get more bang for the buck. Since it’s well know that customers don’t like price increase researchers tried shrinking the package a bit and keeping the price the same. A 1.75quart of ice cream was reduced to 1.5 quarts, a 32 ounce tub of butter went down to 30 ounces, 48 ounces down to 45 and so on and so on. Some have said that this is an unfair practice. Other have argued that after years of super sizing everything it was finally time for companies to come back to reality. For years marketers and purchasers have struggled with matching their competitor’s new supersized promotions. 20% more than before, Free 40 oz soda with purchase, buy one get one free. One started to wonder when the day would come that a fast food meal would come with a free 2 liter cup of soda. Hold the Ice. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< So as marketers how can we use this to our advantage. More on this in part 2......
Friday, September 5, 2008
Why Online Marketing is good for you? Answer: Oxygen
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If sales is the life blood of a business then what does that make marketing? Oxygen.
Oxygen is the fuel that feeds your blood. With out Oxygen even seasoned sales executives will struggle. Now the Internet is changing the way we do business. Everybody wants it fast and cheap. Email me this. Email me that. So how does a traditional brick and mortar business leverage the power of the Internet to drive foot traffic to a store front? The answer is Oxygen. By utilizing SEO technologies, Email campaigns, and animated websites a business owner can create a whole new segment of customers. Some Internet Savvy marketers have been able to transform their businesses overnight. The bottom line is that Internet Marketing can take your business from no sales to $1,000,000. You need to do it right or it could end up costing you a fortune. Be careful not to get carried away. A bad marketing campaign can cost you tens of thousands in cost overruns. If managed correctly a couple of thousand dollars can tranform you into a multi million dollar business.
Congratulations you are now an Internet Marketing whiz.
If sales is the life blood of a business then what does that make marketing? Oxygen.
Oxygen is the fuel that feeds your blood. With out Oxygen even seasoned sales executives will struggle. Now the Internet is changing the way we do business. Everybody wants it fast and cheap. Email me this. Email me that. So how does a traditional brick and mortar business leverage the power of the Internet to drive foot traffic to a store front? The answer is Oxygen. By utilizing SEO technologies, Email campaigns, and animated websites a business owner can create a whole new segment of customers. Some Internet Savvy marketers have been able to transform their businesses overnight. The bottom line is that Internet Marketing can take your business from no sales to $1,000,000. You need to do it right or it could end up costing you a fortune. Be careful not to get carried away. A bad marketing campaign can cost you tens of thousands in cost overruns. If managed correctly a couple of thousand dollars can tranform you into a multi million dollar business.
Congratulations you are now an Internet Marketing whiz.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Cash is King!!!!
Last year around this time I told you large M & A deals were dead. Banks pulled the plug faster than a speeding locomotive and almost ran out of money. A Bear Sterns collapse almost caused a run on the banks. The mortgage meltdown sank real estate and with it the housing ATM machine.
As the market feels the impact of a falling dollar, high oil, and food prices that are off the charts one has to remember one thing; the next 24 months will bring tremendous opportunity for people with cash. Yes, that's right folks people have finally realized that CASH IS KING. I told you this a year ago. Americans have actually started paying for items with cash. Why? Nobody is lending any money. If you have a line a credit and you intend to use it in the next 2-6 month then you had better withdraw the money now. Banks are started to close down all credit lines. Banks are so nervous that even if you have excellent credit and have never missed a payment they are lowing you available credit or even closing it down.
This brings us back to the topic. Now is the time to start to raise cash. If you already have large deposits then be sure your bank is solid. Remember the FDIC only insures up to 100k. As a cash Investor you should be looking at bargain deals at deep discounts. Most Investors are hurting badly and need to get liquid fast. You won't have to wait for bank approvals or a nasty underwriter to sign off on your deal. Use this as selling point. And remember your holding all the cards. If your deal isn't what you were asking for then move on. There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
As the market feels the impact of a falling dollar, high oil, and food prices that are off the charts one has to remember one thing; the next 24 months will bring tremendous opportunity for people with cash. Yes, that's right folks people have finally realized that CASH IS KING. I told you this a year ago. Americans have actually started paying for items with cash. Why? Nobody is lending any money. If you have a line a credit and you intend to use it in the next 2-6 month then you had better withdraw the money now. Banks are started to close down all credit lines. Banks are so nervous that even if you have excellent credit and have never missed a payment they are lowing you available credit or even closing it down.
This brings us back to the topic. Now is the time to start to raise cash. If you already have large deposits then be sure your bank is solid. Remember the FDIC only insures up to 100k. As a cash Investor you should be looking at bargain deals at deep discounts. Most Investors are hurting badly and need to get liquid fast. You won't have to wait for bank approvals or a nasty underwriter to sign off on your deal. Use this as selling point. And remember your holding all the cards. If your deal isn't what you were asking for then move on. There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
Friday, August 24, 2007
If you own a business have you ever asked yourself that question? Am I an Owner or do I just work here?
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Recently I arrived at a colleagues business for a lunch date. He's been having financial problems and wanted me to stop by. He's heard about our successful real-estate projects and knew that I ran a few lucrative businesses. When I walked into the office I noticed that he had a nice setup. The carpets were new and fresh. The building was trendy and modern. The front desk lady was good looking, tall, and very sweet. She greeted me with a big smile and let me know he would be with me in a minute. She then grabbed a paper bag lunch off her desk and out the door she went. My friend walked in minutes later looking frazzled and said he was running late. He was the only one answering the phones and needed to cover. During our short conversation he was interrupted 3 times by his staff. I then asked him nicely "Are you the owner of this company or do you work here?" He looked shocked and baffled by my candidness. The only thing he could do is laugh it off and go back to work.
The moral of the story:
One: Once your employees start dictating what you do and how you do it you are no longer an Owner but an employee. Just part of the staff. He had three other resources that could have handled the little stuff. This would have given him more time to spend on selling, working on the company vision or analyzing his financial statements.
Two: Image is important but execution, selling, and management is more important. Perhaps instead of spending wasted dollars on expensive office space, capital improvements, and front desk eye candy those dollars could be spent on opening new sales channels. Acquisitions, sales personal or even new partnerships. Lazards bank was notorious for have the most drab office space, but they generated loads of cash.
Three: Clients are the most important part of your business, even if they are friends. My motto has always been when I'm talking to a client they are the most important thing in my life at that moment. Never should your staff or even family interrupt you when you're with a client. "The building better be burning down" is my response when my staff tries to interrupt me during client meetings. I had no idea (I'm sure his staff didn't either) on why I was meeting with my friend that day. Was he going to ask for money, was he just catching up on old time, or did he just need advice.
Till next time.
Cheers!
Recently I arrived at a colleagues business for a lunch date. He's been having financial problems and wanted me to stop by. He's heard about our successful real-estate projects and knew that I ran a few lucrative businesses. When I walked into the office I noticed that he had a nice setup. The carpets were new and fresh. The building was trendy and modern. The front desk lady was good looking, tall, and very sweet. She greeted me with a big smile and let me know he would be with me in a minute. She then grabbed a paper bag lunch off her desk and out the door she went. My friend walked in minutes later looking frazzled and said he was running late. He was the only one answering the phones and needed to cover. During our short conversation he was interrupted 3 times by his staff. I then asked him nicely "Are you the owner of this company or do you work here?" He looked shocked and baffled by my candidness. The only thing he could do is laugh it off and go back to work.
The moral of the story:
One: Once your employees start dictating what you do and how you do it you are no longer an Owner but an employee. Just part of the staff. He had three other resources that could have handled the little stuff. This would have given him more time to spend on selling, working on the company vision or analyzing his financial statements.
Two: Image is important but execution, selling, and management is more important. Perhaps instead of spending wasted dollars on expensive office space, capital improvements, and front desk eye candy those dollars could be spent on opening new sales channels. Acquisitions, sales personal or even new partnerships. Lazards bank was notorious for have the most drab office space, but they generated loads of cash.
Three: Clients are the most important part of your business, even if they are friends. My motto has always been when I'm talking to a client they are the most important thing in my life at that moment. Never should your staff or even family interrupt you when you're with a client. "The building better be burning down" is my response when my staff tries to interrupt me during client meetings. I had no idea (I'm sure his staff didn't either) on why I was meeting with my friend that day. Was he going to ask for money, was he just catching up on old time, or did he just need advice.
Till next time.
Cheers!
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