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Casual Articles - Do You Market Your Small Business Like an Ant or Grasshopper? Being the Grasshopper is Bad
Some people decide they want to start their own home business and know exactly what sort of business they want. Many other people who want to work at home have no idea what sort of home based business might be suitable for them.If you fall into the second category, it makes sense to look for a product or service people need and then decide whether you could provide it. Another way of finding your own little niche business in a big competitive world is to examine your skills and think about what you enjoy doing. Sometimes, people don't even have a vague idea about what they could do to work from home and they come across their ideal opportunity by accident. That's what happened to me, but my friend Mick's story t
Now the ant, he had a different approach. The ant knew that sooner or later his food (or customers and referrals in our example) would run out. It was essential to continue to add to his stores for when times got tough. The ant had a plan to get more of what he needed, and he executed his well-designed growth strategy over a lo
Ghost Hunting can be very fun and yet at times it can be one of the most terrifying things you will probably ever do in your life.The following are just a few of the things folks have encountered during ghost hunting or paranormal investigations:1. Smells: These smells can seem to come from no where, and develop instantly and disappear just as fast. The smells are often putrid like rotted meat, or like fresh bowel movements, and are very overpowering at times.2. Apparitions: Some spirits appear as barely visible forms, while some become as solid and normal looking as a living person.3. Clouds - Mists - Masses: Often fleeting shadows, things seen out of the corners of the eyes are enc
During a sit down meeting I'll eventually ask her/him, "What is your current marketing strategy, and what are you doing to outreach and attract new customers?" But in my mind I am asking, "Are you an ant or a grasshopper?"
More often than not, business owners that are as sharp as tacks get this curious, glazed-over expression on their face. After a about 5-10 seconds of uncomfortable silence they say with a sheepish look on their face, "We'll right now we're just relying on word of mouth advertising and referrals to sustain our business".
I shudder when a client tells me this. I think to myself, "Yep, I am talking to a grasshopper". Let's break down what the client said here - what he/she truly meant by "…we're relying just on…":
· We don't have a marketing strategy, or at least a consistent one
· We don't have any outreach programs or ways to attract new customers
· We are confused or apprehensive about marketing and promoting our business
· We are putting the company's success and growth in the hands and mouths of our customers (who aren't being paid)
· We need help badly
Is your business heavily reliant on getting referrals to survive? Does that scare you a little bit?
Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper, and how the grasshopper assumed the weather would always be good so he didn't look to gather food for when times got tough? When it comes to gaining market share and growing their customer base, a lot of businesses are like the grasshopper - they have no plan, and they just assume and hope things will be okay. Well, if you've every read or heard the story, the weather does turn bad on the grasshopper, winter comes early, and he starves. Not a good ending for the grasshopper or your business.
Now the ant, he had a different approach. The ant knew that sooner or later his food (or customers and referrals in our example) would run out. It was essential to continue to add to his stores for when times got tough. The ant had a plan to get more of what he needed, and he executed his well-designed growth strategy over a lon
As a business owner, you’re probably inundated with advertising offers and salespeople who want your money to advertise on billboards , radio and television, in newspapers and magazines. These salespeople promise massive exposure and hint at lucrative results and return on your investment. But you’re concerned about the risk. A lot of advertising simply won’t work for you. The good news is that there is an alternative.The advertisers have space available and it costs them very little. That’s why they’re trying to sell it. Here’s what I did. (I always talk with the Decision Maker, not the salesperson, who only wants a commission). I was approached by a well-known national business magazine to advertise my marketing s
More often than not, business owners that are as sharp as tacks get this curious, glazed-over expression on their face. After a about 5-10 seconds of uncomfortable silence they say with a sheepish look on their face, "We'll right now we're just relying on word of mouth advertising and referrals to sustain our business".
I shudder when a client tells me this. I think to myself, "Yep, I am talking to a grasshopper". Let's break down what the client said here - what he/she truly meant by "…we're relying just on…":
· We don't have a marketing strategy, or at least a consistent one
· We don't have any outreach programs or ways to attract new customers
· We are confused or apprehensive about marketing and promoting our business
· We are putting the company's success and growth in the hands and mouths of our customers (who aren't being paid)
· We need help badly
Is your business heavily reliant on getting referrals to survive? Does that scare you a little bit?
Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper, and how the grasshopper assumed the weather would always be good so he didn't look to gather food for when times got tough? When it comes to gaining market share and growing their customer base, a lot of businesses are like the grasshopper - they have no plan, and they just assume and hope things will be okay. Well, if you've every read or heard the story, the weather does turn bad on the grasshopper, winter comes early, and he starves. Not a good ending for the grasshopper or your business.
Now the ant, he had a different approach. The ant knew that sooner or later his food (or customers and referrals in our example) would run out. It was essential to continue to add to his stores for when times got tough. The ant had a plan to get more of what he needed, and he executed his well-designed growth strategy over a lo
Promotional t-shirts are among the most popular promotional items given away by companies in the UK. Custom t-shirts have a long and colorful history. Since the 1950s when James Dean wore a white t-shirt under a leather jacket, t-shirts have been outspoken in their attitudes – but it wasn’t until the mid-sixties that they began to be used to deliver messages loud and clear. Disney was one of the first companies to use promotional t-shirts for their business, but they started a trend that is still growing and snowballing.In the late sixties and early seventies, rock and roll concert promoters jumped on the bandwagon with t-shirts printed with the tour logo and dates. Those t-shirts became hot collectors items that pro
· We don't have a marketing strategy, or at least a consistent one
· We don't have any outreach programs or ways to attract new customers
· We are confused or apprehensive about marketing and promoting our business
· We are putting the company's success and growth in the hands and mouths of our customers (who aren't being paid)
· We need help badly
Is your business heavily reliant on getting referrals to survive? Does that scare you a little bit?
Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper, and how the grasshopper assumed the weather would always be good so he didn't look to gather food for when times got tough? When it comes to gaining market share and growing their customer base, a lot of businesses are like the grasshopper - they have no plan, and they just assume and hope things will be okay. Well, if you've every read or heard the story, the weather does turn bad on the grasshopper, winter comes early, and he starves. Not a good ending for the grasshopper or your business.
Now the ant, he had a different approach. The ant knew that sooner or later his food (or customers and referrals in our example) would run out. It was essential to continue to add to his stores for when times got tough. The ant had a plan to get more of what he needed, and he executed his well-designed growth strategy over a lo
High-risk merchants such as telemarketers, Internet/e-commerce businesses, merchants in the travel and cruise industries, businesses that conduct Internet auctions, and businesses offering membership clubs may face difficulty opening a merchant account.Just because you have a high-risk business it does not necessitate the fact that you cannot open any merchant account, you would be required to open a high-risk account. The banks and independent organizations that provide merchant account services will evaluate your case on the basis of certain information such as how long you've been in business, your credit history, and any previous merchant accounts you've held.In such a scenario, the length of time that you
Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper, and how the grasshopper assumed the weather would always be good so he didn't look to gather food for when times got tough? When it comes to gaining market share and growing their customer base, a lot of businesses are like the grasshopper - they have no plan, and they just assume and hope things will be okay. Well, if you've every read or heard the story, the weather does turn bad on the grasshopper, winter comes early, and he starves. Not a good ending for the grasshopper or your business.
Now the ant, he had a different approach. The ant knew that sooner or later his food (or customers and referrals in our example) would run out. It was essential to continue to add to his stores for when times got tough. The ant had a plan to get more of what he needed, and he executed his well-designed growth strategy over a lo
The modern corporate world is fast becoming integrated with the social aspects of a person's professional life, and this trend can no longer be ignored. At a time when networking abilities are touted as critical to rising in a career, it is important to reflect social niceties such as sending get-well gifts to ones colleague, boss or junior, when they are unwell.Selecting the right gift is always a challenge especially in a professional context, as it reflects a lot about the person or organization presenting it. Gifts are very often used as image builders and hence, care should be taken when picking them. With so many gift items to choose from, many companies prefer to opt for corporate gift basketsGet-well g
Now the ant, he had a different approach. The ant knew that sooner or later his food (or customers and referrals in our example) would run out. It was essential to continue to add to his stores for when times got tough. The ant had a plan to get more of what he needed, and he executed his well-designed growth strategy over a long period of time. The ant would have made a good businessperson, not only would he have survived he would have been very successful.
Are you running your business more like the grasshopper or the ant?
Business owners always hope to grow their business, attract new and better customers and separate from the competition. Hope is great, you need hope - but you need more than hope, you need a strategy and you need to be consistently working at it (just like the ant). No one plans to fail, they just fail to plan - the grasshopper failed to plan.
So what can you do to be like the ant?
Start by shifting your thinking. The key to attracting more customers and separating your business from the competition is through marketing, advertising and design. The more you can do this, generally the more customers you can attract. The more customers you attract the more money you can make. Are you following me?
The hidden power behind them is through consistency. Marketing, advertising and design are not expenses. If you see them as such, you're sunk. Rather, these are golden opportunities for you to catapult your business above the rest of the competition that are "relying just on word of mouth". Like the ant, successful businesses are consistently developing new outreach programs to find new customers and to continue to sell to the customers they already have. People that are succeeding in business understand how marketing and design are integral aspects to their business on a daily basis. Coke gets this, so does McDonald's, Trader Joe's, Arizona Tea and even Poore Brothers Inc. snack chips.
I know what your thinking, "I don't have millions of dollars to invest in marketing and advertising", that's okay, I can show you strategies that will work that fit your budget. What's important is that you recognize that relying on hope and others isn't where you want to be. Are you as successful as y
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