Archive for January, 2010
Time to Tune up Your Business
January 31st, 2010 | 
Author: When is the last time you checked under the hood of your business? Checked for leaks, outdated business strategies and inefficient process? After time, many businesses are put on autopilot using systems and automation that may or may not be creating revenue issues or operational inefficiencies. In today’s age of rapidly moving technology, educated consumers, an increasing competitive environment and an unstable economy, businesses need to adapt to survive. Many business owners who fail to incorporate “tune – ups” into their businesses often find themselves in a reactive position when challenges arise. Here are some suggestions to tune up your business:
1. Experience “The Customer Experience”
To ensure that your customer’s are being treated at you expect them to, it is a good idea to go through the entire process exactly as your customers do and take notice of the details that make up the experience. Is it what you intend it to be and what can you do to improve it?
2. Look for ways to automate
Evaluate what your employees are doing and the tasks that they perform every day. Often, there are ways to automate that will bring your business significant efficiencies and a streamlined process. Look for things like keystrokes – how many times a piece of information is entered into multiple systems. Look for reports and paper and a way to use digital files. Look at your accounting systems, can you easily get downloads from your bank to easily populate your system or can you pay on line and eliminate checks and postage.
3. Integrate your efforts
As technology continues to move forward, the ability to integrate your efforts becomes easier. Look for ways to eliminate tasks from your operations and sales efforts. If you use outside providers or business partners, can your system talk to theirs? In your marketing efforts, can you integrate information from your sales efforts thru to your operations and to your accounting and follow up processes?
4. Watch your spending
In an economic downturn, many business owners immediately begin to slash budgets often resulting in a poor customer experience, loss of market share and missed marketing opportunities. Since most of your peers have pulled their marketing effort, here is a time for you to amp yours up. But if you do need to cut back, look for the best approaches to pulling back such as, marketing tactics that do not yield you desired results or business non-essentials.
5. Don’t cut price – add value
Successful business starts with value and do not succumb to market pressures by cutting prices. Price reductions are difficult to recover from especially when the market rebounds. Your brand message is created by the value you bring to your customers; do no commoditize your brand by immediately cutting your pricing. Instead, see how you can add more value to your customers and create marketing messages that show your customers you care and what you are doing to help them weather the economic storm.
Taking the time to tune up your business at least once a year, will assure that you are moving with the times , keeping your business fresh and ensuring the relationship you have developed with your customer is being nurtured how you intend it too. If you don’t alter the way you do business, you risk not being in business in the long term.
How is your business running?
Kellie D’Andrea, The Small Business Mentor, teaches small businesses how to attract, convert and retain more customers. She is the creator of the BLAST Marketing System, a program designed to teach you how to brand, lead and sell your products and services so you attract the right clients to your business. To learn more and to sign up for her free weekly marketing class “Marketing Mondays” go to ht
tp://www.kelliedandrea.com
Posted in 
5 Things to Consider When Building a Powerful Brand
In today’s world, it takes a strong, branded identity along with a memorable customer experience that generates a good buzz to keep the brand going and the profits flowing. The goal of every business owner is not just to create satisfied customers but to create the WOW experience that leads to brand evangelists. In today’s market, complete with word of mouth marketing, PDAs and social media, a company’s brand is controlled by the consumer and these days, a brand’s reputation can be supported or destroyed within a click of a few keys on a computer. Here are five things to consider when building your brand: Read the rest of this entry »
Attract New Leads in Less Than 30 mins a Day
One of the biggest challenges business owners face, is keeping their pipelines full and attracting new customers into their funnels. But so many are still struggling to attract quality clients to their business. To help small businesses learn simple strategies to position themselves and attract more customers, I have written 21 Super Marketing Strategies to Attract More Clients and Keep Your Funnel Full.
Attract more clients, web traffic and the press with 21 Super Marketing Strategies. Simple and proven techniques to generate more leads to your business “How to Attract New Leads and Keep Your Funnel Full in Less than 30 Minutes a Day” and for only $7.00 Pick up your copy here
Top 10 Branding Pitfalls to Avoid
1.Not developing a strong brand promise that is specific, consistent and true.
2.Not believing in your brand and designing a branding touchpoint strategy.
3.Relying on marketing and advertising alone to build a powerful, emotional brand.
4.Creating a brand identify that is too easily copied.
5.Building a brand on something expected , obvious and generic, like “great customer service”, or “one stop shop”
6.Commoditizing your brand by making it all about price and profits.
7.Not connecting emotionally with your customers.
8.Focusing on products instead of relationships and experiences.
9.Thinking of branding as an afterthought and not designing a business in the beginning around branding.
10.Not being consistent with messaging ,brand identity and brand positioning.
12 Biggest Sales Blunders a Business Owner Can Make
For many owners, the thought of “selling” is a scary thought and often causes them to focus on the wrong things but the truth is, sales is the lifeblood of the organization and it is important to not fall into bad habits and make the big mistakes that so many make. So what are some of the biggest sales blunders a salesperson (or anyone in a sales capacity can make)
1. Failing to network
Making connections is the single most important task a business owner must be involved with everyday. You will not grow your business sitting behind a computer or staying in your store, or in your office. You need to connect with people so they can get to know you and build a relationship with you but remember, the goal of networking isn’t to get a sale at that moment, but to meet people who can lead to your next sale.
2. Talking too much
Marketing your business is about making an emotional connection with your customers and you cannot accomplish that without learning about the other person. Often business owners get really excited about getting their own message out, they forget to ask or learn about what their prospect challenges are, what opportunities may exist and what things they have in common that will enable them to make a connection. So take the time to let the other person open up and ask questions and stop doing all the talking. Read the rest of this entry »
Kellie D'Andrea is CEO of Kellie D'Andrea & Associates, LLC., a company devoted to empowering motivated entrepreneurs to reach their goals and to build a business that yields results by providing them the tools for success.
