Customers Are Your Best Asset - Article 1

Sam Walton said it best “Everyone knows we are in a recession, but I choose not to be in one.” Each month I am going to share with you different strategies that will give you an edge on your competition and allow your business to prosper and grow.

My name is Ron Elkman and I am a marketing consultant. My career began at CBS Television in New York where I designed promotional campaigns for General Mills, Lincoln Mercury, Motorola, and Pepsi. I left CBS and started Group Two Advertising in Florida.  The Ad Agency attracted many prestigious accounts including; Kodak, Bridgestone, the PGA of America and General Electric.  I was also invited by Florida Atlantic University to teach marketing.  I now consult for companies and specialize in branding, positioning and designing targeted marketing programs.

I realize how frustrating it is be in business today regardless of whether you are a doctor, lawyer, manufacturer or retailer. Sales are down, you’ve cut your expenses as low as you can and you don’t know what to do next. If you are stuck at the stop sign, stopping is not an option! You must move forward and have a plan for growth.

In this my first article, I want to talk just a little about your best asset and how to grow your business and increase your sales now. I am talking about your customers. These are the ones that are currently using your products and services. Through some simple and inexpensive strategies you will learn how to motivate them to refer family and friends to your business, as well as attract new first time customers that will result in increasing your sales.

Before I share with you how to do this, you first need to do some homework. I want you to write down everything you know about your customers. If you have other key executives in your company get them together to work on this. Make it a fun project. Here is an example of what your report should look like:

We will call our company the “Yummy Candy Store” a one store operation located in a suburban neighborhood. Our findings are that approximately 80% of our customers come from within a 5 mile radius of our store. The average individual purchase is about $8. Most of the customers are between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. About 30% of them shop in the store twice a month. You get the idea. By doing this simple exercise I am sure you will quickly realize that you know much more about your customers than you even thought.

In my next article I will give you specific examples of what you can do with this valuable information. If you take the time to do your homework I promise you some eye opening programs that you can tailor to your specific business needs that will increase your sales now!

I have one last bit of homework. From this moment forward I want you to eliminate the word “problem” from your vocabulary and replace it with the word “opportunity”. I don’t want you to ever speak this word again. In reality every problem gives you the opportunity to change and improve an outcome. I won’t elaborate any more other than to tell you this simple little word change will affect your life in ways you never imaged. Just try it and see how many great things will start to happen.