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Casual Articles - The Small Retailer's Survival Guide - Part 3 - Strategic Pricing
I read an old newspaper account of three tragic deaths. Two men and a youth (Arnold Dobson, Harold Most and his son Harold, Jr.) perished in the blasting summer heat of Death Valley in California. Sheriff deputies found the bodies at seven, fourteen and seventeen miles from their abandoned car. In leaving their stranded car to seek help, the three had headed in the wrong direction going towards a ranch house they had passed thirty miles back. Just a mile in the other direction was a grove of willow trees and a spring.How often have we made the same mistake? We look back to what we know, rather than seek the unknown, the unfamiliar. We trust what we think is the correct path without looking into what could be our salvation. The future always seems a little scary, but events in the past were just as uncertain and sometimes even looking back casts doubt on our decisions.What could the future hold? What will tomorrow bring? How will business be different next month, next year or the year after? We never know, but we need to train our minds to be open and accepting of the possibilities . . . just a mile down the road.
(ii) your store may have exemplary standards of customer servic
Many wonder if free advertising is an effective way for their website to get exposure. Contrary to what you might think, there is not an easy answer to this question.We know that advertising on television can be effective as well as radio advertising. We have seen many people use free advertising on classified websites that have had no success. On the other hand, we have also seen many others that have had tremendous success using free website advertising.The issue that must come to head and be addressed with any advertising (whether free or not) is writing good ad copy and by making sure that you are selling your target audience what it needs or wants.One of the biggest reasons free advertising as well as paid advertising does not work for some is because most advertisers fail to send a clear and precise advertising message to their potential prospects. Make sure your advertisement is clear and concise. Your free ad must be "catchy" as most people do not enjoy reading or having to decipher through hundreds of different ads. Good advertising will be delivered best through high impact with a short message.As with any type of advertising, a big key to free advertising is to have your ad exposed on many websites at once. Y
Now hear this: if you are going to sell you products at high prices which are above your competitors, you'd better have a unique selling point that sets you apart from those competitors. Here is a list of some unique points that may justify higher prices:
(i) your store may be far nearer to the main catchment community than competitor stores
(ii) your store may have exemplary standards of customer service
Do you ever hire or put work teams together? Are you ever developing relationships with clients, advisors, supervisors, or your staff? Do you ever have to make career choice decisions? Are you ever in position to decide about a new product and what quantities to produce, distribute, or acquire? Do you have to stay ahead or at least up with the trends? If you answered yes, then you may want to read on and explore how you can tap your deepest and strongest levels of wisdom...An executive buyer for a national retail chain of full service department stores played a "hunch" and created huge profits and national recognition for her stores. She had learned her job over several years and understood her customers but when it came to predicting the fashion trends she was still more guessing than using statistical analysis. Her intuition told her that an overlooked style would be a "hit" and proceeded to order the dress in certain fabrics and in large quantities. The manufacturer, being an honorable business associate, tried to dissuade her knowing that every other major buyer had overlooked or discounted this particular style. The buyer being strong willed and very strong on this "gut feeling" maintained her large order. A large promotional campaign was l
Now hear this: if you are going to sell you products at high prices which are above your competitors, you'd better have a unique selling point that sets you apart from those competitors. Here is a list of some unique points that may justify higher prices:
(i) your store may be far nearer to the main catchment community than competitor stores
(ii) your store may have exemplary standards of customer servic
Recently a critic slamming the ability of the online article submission sites to perform and return value to online authors who posted articles on their sites launched a scathing attack. He accused the top online article authors as being “poor writers” and stated that there was absolutely no empirical proof that it was a viable marketing avenue. His argument and challenge claimed that since there were no University Level researching reports proving this that it could not be real.Well this is silly. First there sure as heck are studies proving article writing is a viable marketing tool. There are many books on the subject of article writing to promote a company’s PR campaign. Even Proctor and Gamble uses “Buzz Marketing” even got attacked for it, because it was working so good that the competition complained, see FTC VS Proctor and Gamble (buzz marketing). Additionally article writing is a form of “Buzz Marketing” only more honest, because at the bottom of the article it states who is Buzzing and why?Therefore it is silly to contend that this is not a good marketing tool. And every University teaches “word of mouth,” “friends and family” and “PR” as ways to promote any product or service. Further the University of California at Riverside h
Now hear this: if you are going to sell you products at high prices which are above your competitors, you'd better have a unique selling point that sets you apart from those competitors. Here is a list of some unique points that may justify higher prices:
(i) your store may be far nearer to the main catchment community than competitor stores
(ii) your store may have exemplary standards of customer servic
It can be daunting when you're faced with a blank page. What are you going to fill it with?The key thing to remember is: make it interesting for your readers. In many cases, that means you cannot afford to fill your newsletter with information about you and your business alone. If you want to make your newsletter a "must read", then you should include information that people really look forward to.Here are some ideas for great content -- and ideas about how to make the parts of the newsletter that are about you interesting, too!Local news and events: Write a short report on a local sporting or charity event or include an agenda of interesting activities going on in your area in the next month. This will help make your newsletter extra useful.Local guides: How about including a listing of important addresses, such as drugstores and pharmacies, doctors' and dentists' offices, schools, and community centers? You'll be able to use this article in every newsletter you produce, and it gives a reason for people to keep your newsletter in their homes as a valuable reference.Success stories: Don't brag, but there's no harm in telling some encouraging stories about people who
(i) your store may be far nearer to the main catchment community than competitor stores
(ii) your store may have exemplary standards of customer servic
Effective management of a computer service business is incredibly important, and the ability to delegate responsibility is a critical skill for any manager. Good delegation allows a computer service business to run more smoothly. Delegation is more than the simple process of giving an employee a task to complete. It involves putting trust and confidence in an employee and giving him the power to complete a job.There are five different components of good delegation: determining assignments; providing detailed instructions; offering comprehensible instructions; conducting review meetings; and giving employees authority. Before delegating tasks, a computer service business manager needs to know all these components so he can make sure the project is completed in a timely manner and according the all specifications.Determining AssignmentsAs an effective manager of a computer service business, you should know the capabilities of every employee. You should consider training specific team members to handle certain business aspects. That way you can easily match jobs that come up with certain people. If any tasks fall under a different category, they can go to you.Giving Detailed InstructionsA computer service busines
(ii) your store may have exemplary standards of customer service and hygiene
(iii) you may sell an exclusive range of goods or have the exclusive license for lottery or other services
(iv) you may offer a loyalty scheme where customers can have cash back or money off in return for historical purchases
If you cannot demonstrate any of the above advantages (or any others I have not listed) that benefit most of your customers, then you are in the thick of the battle and you simply cannot afford to overcharge for the products you are selling. If you do, life will be one big struggle as most potential customer
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