I think businesses are beginning to understand the power of focused advertising.  It cost a lot of money to get your message out there in front of prospective customers.  And it makes little sense to spend that money on people that are not going to be your customers.  Advertising in the newspaper, when your customer base only represents 10% of the papers demographics, is not money well spent, whereas, if you can spend the same money in a format that is 90% of your customer demographic you have a much higher probability to reaching your target customer.

So if you begin to think this way, you will understand that the first thing you need to do is to evaluate who you customer really is.  Not only who the customer is but what is the motivation for this customer to take advantage of your product.

Let’s think of an example.  Let’s say you are a deli and you want to increase your evening business.  Well a deli is not a place I think about going to dinner and especially during the week.  But you could sell a wonderful dinner package for carry out.

Now who is a customer that would appreciate this service?  Well, I would think that any family that both parents work would greatly appreciate a good meal that would be easy to grab on the way home.  If this is working for you so far, let’s start identifying the locations for you to advertise.

Perhaps you could buy a banner ad on local daycare websites.  I say local, primarily because the parent is driving right past your deli to pick up their child.  You, too, should check with larger employers in your area.  They may have a method of promoting deals to their employees as part of a benefit package.

Maybe you could work out a deal with the movie theater down the street.  Where you both agree, if the customer shows your receipt at the theater they get a 10% discount.  Likewise, if a customer shows a ticket stub they get a 10% discount off their meal.  The advertising could be put together in one ad that you split the cost of with the theater.

So, what happens if you do not have a deli, or one that is open in the evening?  How can this work for your insurance office?  Your travel agency?  Or your scrap booking store?  Get to know your customers.  Find out their needs and how you can help.  And then find out where they hang out.

Oh, and by the way, if you own the daycare you might want to consider selling banner ads on your website.  Creating multiple income streams, you know.

Photo by tony newell

Last night I watched a show called “Kitchen Nightmares” with Chef Ramsey. The show was kind of a “then and now” type show. He went to three restaurants that were on the verge of closing their doors. Of course, he offered them his words of wisdom, made several changes and then left them to run their business. After a few months, he returned to see how each was doing. Fortunately, this group of restaurants all took his advice and upon his return were doing well.

What I found interesting though, is that while all of the restaurants had several problems, they all had one in common. They all had one person that was not doing what they were supposed to and it adversely affected the entire operation. So much so, that these businesses were about to close their doors.

Care to take a guess as to who this person was? It was the same person at all three restaurants. Give up? It was the manager and in each case the manager was also part owner. They all were very aware their business was doing badly but the problem, in their mind, was with someone else. In each case, the morale of everyone working in the restaurant was very low and this affected every aspect of the business including the customers. No matter how hard the other owner or owners tried to compensate for this person, they could not change the situation. It took a third-party coming in to evaluate the situation and confronting the people head on before they could see what everyone else in the business already knew.

In a previous post, I spoke about how we could train ourselves to spot quickly things that we are aware are common problems throughout the day. We also have the ability to block out problems. To allow ourselves to get so stressed, so wired up that we really can’t see anything.

In each of these cases, one person forgot that they were part of a team, part of something bigger than themselves. We all need to remember that we are not alone in our businesses. Even if our business is a “one-man operation” so to speak, we are not alone. Each of us has a team. It’s our suppliers, our customers, and our network. They are all part of our team and should be treated as such. Once these three people realized that, their businesses were able to turn around. Everyone’s stress level dropped dramatically and they began to look forward to going to work. That’s getting back to basics.

How’s your team? Is it everything you would like it to be? Maybe it’s time to step back and take a good look around you. Then, go develop the most awesome team you can possibly develop. It will pay off, not only for you but for everyone on your team.

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