As Caribbean entrepreneurs or any entrepreneur we sometimes lose sight of our real vision. Pressured by the everyday need to pay the bills and meet mounting demands on the business for cash we “do what it takes!” This is quite understandable and even necessary to ensure you remain viable. The challenge however, is that without a clear focus and determination you can quite easily find yourself veering off course what you said you always wanted to do with your business.
Every business has (or should have) a clear sense of why they are in business. The owner should have an easily articulated sense of exactly what he or she wants that business to achieve or become. When that is lost a lot can go wrong in any business. Your focus starts to be on how much money you can acquire and you start to do things the business was never designed to do or intended to do. You start to try to be EVERYTHING to EVERYONE and loosing your real sense of purpose and difference.
Though the money will come with some of these diversions, often times it is not lasting as you would have ventured into areas where poor planning or in some cases no planning will result in damaging outcomes. Those better prepared and equipped to do and handle your “fly-by-night” escapades will quickly show up your inefficiencies. Soon you will be far off course and trying to refashion your true reason for being in business—Your Real Vision. All hope is NOT lost however, there is a way to pay the bills while you build your business and we like to call it the Blue Print and every business entrepreneur should have one for their business. It is the clear indication as to why your are in business, how you will run it and when you need to change. It is more than a business plan it is your pathway to achieving your vision and once you have it you are much more likely to stay the course providing you follow the markings of the BLUE PRINT!
More on Achieving your blue print in a subsequent post.
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We deal with alot of Caribbean entrepreneurs and we often hear the complaint about the high cost of marketing. Though this might be true in many cases there is always another way. The unfortunate thing is that many overlook the hugh difference the simple things could make in driving your marketing when money is short.
So to help some of our cash strapped entrepreneurs we decided to just state a few “no-budget” marketing strategies that are sure to give your sales a boost in troubled times.
1: Partnerships.
For many this could be a bad word but if business owners were to take the emotion out of this decision they would be able to realize meaningful benefits. Seek out other businesses who compliment your product or service and look to offer both your customers bundled packages. This allows you to tap into a new customer source and keeps your product or service turning over. Eg: A Barber shop partners with a clothing store to offer their customers specials on hair cuts to compliment the purchase of outfits. There is a lot more that can be done through partnerships. This is but a small example.
2: Use your email signature.
This one always surprises me. So many persons loose out on the opportunity to educate potential customers by using their email signature as a tool. For example: Every email a shoe store sends to its customers, suppliers or service providers could have a message which says, “The majority of back pain begins with your feet. Have your shoes checked to ensure they fit well and support your posture in the correct way. We can help.” This builds interest outside of the hard sell and is an easy way to have your message forwarded to others by the recipient. Also having your website and telephone numbers in your email should always be standard. Many entrepreneurs still miss this.
3: Ask your customer.
This one is so easy yet we hardly ever do it. If you are constantly known for delivery a good product and have been complimented by your customers take it one step further. Ask them to recommend someone who they believe could benefit from your product or service the same way they have. Just ask for one person. Make that a habit in your business and you would be amazed at how many referrals you are able to act on. Remember being in business is not about being shy it is about being proactive. So get to asking and the response might surprise you. Be aware however, you might not always get a willing participant but the objective of this exercise is to achieve success through persistence. when a person is treated like a king or queen he or she is likely to boast about their experience.
These are just but a few examples. The total cost is you only time and dedication. They are some of the many activities in the arsenal of the ”no-budget” marketing strategy.
Start your own strategy now or let us at TEN help you. www.tenspace.biz
“The world is more malleable than you think, and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape. ” — Bono, musician
Many might argue that the entrepreneur’s biggest investment could be in plant and equipment, marketing, a great sales team or an accountant. And they all would be right. Let’s however, for one moment consider another investment— The Network— that collection of individuals which make up your vital chain of connections to opportunities and advancement.
It is amazing how many entrepreneurs would not have this on the list of their most crucial investments. What is even more amazing is that it is often the least financially involved investment that pays the highest returns.
Today business has to be all about doing more with less so consider how much your investments are worth. It might very well be that your highest paying is the network you invested in. And what did it really cost you? Time and effort!
Begin investing in your network today, the return might surprise you!
As entrepreneurs we can never belittle the power and opportunity behind embracing networking. The simple act of connecting with others to build relationships that extend far beyond our own circles is an investment in the future growth our companies.
We need to understand the dynamics of this very powerful marketing tool and realize that successful networking is not about looking for what you can get from others but seeking to help others grow by connecting with them and listening to their challenges and seeking to provide them with solutions. Helping others solve their own business challenges is one sure way of growing our individual businesses.
The reality is that the more more weak businesses we have around us the less economic growth there is to participate in.
As entrepreneur we must make part of our business development and marketing strategy the fostering of relationships that are designed around helping others achieve and in turn they will drive your success.
The end result? EVERYBODY WINS!!
Living and running a business in the Caribbean exposes you to certain mind sets. One of the most debilitating I believe is the approach to ideas.
When a Caribbean entrepreneur gets an idea for his business it quickly is shrouded in secrecy. Often fueled by the fear of intellectual theft the entrepreneur hoards his ideas and often looses out on the opportunity to strengthen it. The end result is a poorly executed idea or one that never gets done!
A better approach is sharing! Sharing your aspirations, intentions and growth ideas for your business. It is amazing when others are able to add to your thinking the end result is a far stronger idea.
One of the greatest ways to do so is through networking.
See how much power can be had when you tap the collective! www.tenspace.biz/mixer
I am sure you too have heard this statement made time and time again, “We need to maintain our market position!”
Let’s consider for just a moment the high performance athlete who has to face up against other well trained and determined athletes in her quest for goal. The high performance athlete is and cannot be content to simply “maintain her times.” Her training regime is one geared towards bettering the best times and improving on each and every performance.
This approach and mindset allows the athlete is remain constantly driven and focused on excellent results.
Transpose this same approach and thinking to your Caribbean business and your methods of marketing. Does the approach of ‘maintaining market share or position’ one that truly gives you the advantage?
It is time we begin to see the need to adopt the attitudes of high performance athletes as we catapult our companies into high performance businesses.
Start with examining your marketing strategy (your training regime). What could you do differently that will improve your results.
Secondly take small but deliberate steps to correct the flaws in the strategy one at a time.
And finally… put it into motion. Don’t wait. Act NOW!
“Focusing on the intended result allows you to see past the disappointment to reveal the hidden opportunity.” — Selwyn Cambridge: www.tenspace.biz
With ailing revenues, mounting bills and encroaching competition many Caribbean businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs get caught up in “just making the sale” and lose sight of the all important ‘connection’ which is necessary to build customer loyalty.
I think enough of us acting as consumers realize the power in referrals when making a purchasing decision. We listen to our friends, other customers and hardly ever pay attention to the advertising or sales driven press surrounding any product or service we are interested in. Yet many businesses continue to get caught on the tactics of “old world” thinking and the “salesman approach” when it comes to driving revenues.
Just think for a moment what inspired your last purchase? Was it the flashy ad in the paper, the salesman telling you how great it was or a friend who believes in it or just a conversation you read on Facebook?
“Selling” as we knew it is over and ENGAGEMENT is in and you either choose to drive revenues with engaging conversations or drive the customers away with “Sales talk!”