I fundamentally believe that individuals who are bold enough to face adversity in the face and stand strong to say, “Yes I Can! Yes I Will Do This!” deserves every encouragement.  As Caribbean entrepreneurs you are sometimes forced along a very lonely and often frustrating path having to rely only on your passion and pure determination to get through. The creation of TEN was to help those individuals like ourselves who believe better can be had and who deserves better!

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

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!

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!”

I am constantly confronted by a comment made by entrepreneurs which is an obvious indication of their belief. I get this a lot, “I can’t afford marketing.” Nothing could be more untrue.
What entrepreneurs can’t afford are misguided advertising strategies peddled to them by traditionalist.
The real truth is ANY entrepreneur can afford to market on ANY budget. The difference is clearly in the details.