1. Not Having a Clearly Defined USP.
Do you want to fit in or stand out? In order to thrive in today's cluttered marketplace, every business owner must be able to clearly articulate an answer to the question, "Why should someone do business with me rather than my competitor?" "What makes us unique? Your answer to these questions constitutes your Unique Selling Proposition. What is your USP? 24/7 service? Lowest price? A unique product not found elsewhere? A strong USP helps you to stand out in a very crowded field.
2. Selling Features Rather than Benefits.
Someone once said, "No one ever bought a drill bit. Millions of people have bought a hole." People don't buy features, they buy benefits. They are tuned into Radio Station W.I.I.F.M. (What's in it for me?) Tell them clearly how the features of your product/service will help them, make their life easier, etc.
3. Not using headlines in print advertisements.
You have at most a couple of seconds to grab someone's attention when they read a newspaper, website, magazine, etc. Using an attention-grabbing headline ensures that the reader will continue to read the rest of the advertisement. Think of your headline as an ad for the ad. Take a look at some newspaper ads. Which ads attract your attention? You will probably find they have an attention-getting headline.
4. Not testing headlines, price points, packages, pitches . . . everything.
How do you know what ad, price, or offer most appeals to your prospects? By putting them to a vote. Test everything. Rather than running one newspaper ad for three weeks, why not run three different ads for three weeks and measure which draws better? Rather than putting all your advertising into one medium, why not split between a few and measure the results? Why not price your products/services at different points and see which sells more? Is cheaper always better? Not necessarily. Each situation is unique. One price may out-perform another for a myriad of reasons. Your job is not to know why, but to find what works. Test. Test. Test.
5. Making it difficult to do business with you.
Is your sales staff knowledgeable about your products? Does someone answer your phone promptly and in a friendly manner? Can people find your phone number, location? Can customers find things easily in your store or website? Put yourselves in your customers' shoes. Don't make them work-because they won't - they'll simply leave. I've seen a web site that undoubtedly cost the company thousands of dollars and NOWHERE could I find a phone number or email address. Your customer has better things to do than struggle to do business with you.
6. Not finding out what your customer's true needs are.
What is the first step in filling your customers' needs? Discovering what they are. What is most important to them? Don't even try to guess. You may think price is most important when what they really want is fast service. You may believe fast service is what they want when what they desperately want is a friendly, personal touch. How do you find out? People won't tell you unless you ask. So ask.
7. Not maintaining an up-to-date customer database.
Your customer list is pure gold. Rather than always working to bring new customers in the door, why not take advantage of the good will you have already built with your existing clientele? Experiment with extending special offers to your customer base. Ask for referrals. Send them a card on their birthday. Call and ask what they most enjoyed about doing business with you (or what they disliked about doing business with you). You worked hard to develop these relationships. Recognize their value and work hard to "re-delight" them.
8. Not eliminating the risk.
What stops a customer from buying from you? Are they unsure that your offer is worth their hard-earned money? Make it easy to decide to buy from you. How can you reduce their risk? If you are in a service business, let them try your service at no cost. If you are a lawyer or consultant, offer them a free consultation. Offer them a money-back, no questions asked guarantee on any product they buy. Why not? Are you afraid people will take advantage of you? Give it a try for a month. You may be very pleasantly surprised. Not confident in your product or service? Then go to work on improving your service.
9. Not educating your customers.
Don't just claim that your service is better. Explain why. Is your staff better trained? Do you utilize a technology that increases turnaround or quality? Don't expect people to just take your word for things. Quality, Service and Value mean nothing. Everyone claims to offer these. Make these claims real for the customer by offering credible explanations why they should do business with you.
10. Not knowing what works, and sticking with it.
Do you know which ads are effective? What media pulls best? What offer gets the best reaction? By testing (see above) you will. When you find something that works, don't change it until you find something that works better. Just because you're sick of an ad/offer isn't a good enough reason to change it. You can supplement with other ads and offers. If it works, keep it.
To your success!
© 2003 JSC Marketing, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
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A marketing and business development expert with over 25 years of experience, Jill St Claire and her team of skilled professionals develop strategic Digital Marketing and communication systems, design dynamic websites, and perform custom Search Engine Optimization. St Claire provides businesses, large and small, cost-effective and results-driven solutions to achieving their business and marketing objectives.
Jill St Claire, Founder
JSC Marketing, LLC
www.DIGITAL-RETURNS.com
jill@jscmarketing.com
TF (888) 435 5156
Article Source: www.businesshighlight.org
