January.

For retailers, it’s cold not just outside, but indoors when it comes to moving the stock off the shelves. After the Christmas-buying sprees, most shoppers are back at home cooling their heels while retailers try to entice them back out to buy. The one stand-by many local store owners turn to is holding big sales, and they’re finding that in a tough economy it’s necessary to offer deeper and deeper discounts to get folks back and willing to buy. It’s great to have warm bodies in your store again, but it’s not great if your sale ends up making you no profit due to all that deep discounting.

So what’s the method of success that allows you to get the customers back and still make a profit? Is there a way to get both?

There are several methods you can employ to attract business and still maintain a profit margin. See which one of these (or more than one) will work best in your restaurant, retail store, or service-based business and give it a go.

Know Your Bottom Line, and Sell Just Above

This is the method to use with that inventory that needs to move out the door, not with that great new batch of products that just came in for Spring. Calculate your bottom dollar on these items: how low can you go and still make something, even if it’s a small something? Then make your strategy to sell many of these items, each bringing in that small amount of profit, and you’ll end up with a good amount of profit when all is said and done. Plus you’ll have cleared your store of excess, aging inventory.

Create a Loss-Leader

Grocery stores use the loss-leader method just about every week; their circulars advertise a deal that’s “too good to pass up” for their shoppers. In many cases, the grocery stores are taking a loss on this item, but they know that just getting the customers in the store is worth that small loss. How many times have you gone to the grocery store and bought just one item? Most of us don’t shop for groceries that way, and why not? Because in the process of locating and purchasing the loss-leader item, we’re unable to ignore the displays of other great merchandise – some also discounted, some not – that we have to walk past and around to find our goal. Use the same strategy in your store; advertise a huge discount on a popular item, set up a great display for it, and put it smack in the middle of many other great displays with enticing offers of their own.

Offer Package Deals

Another angle on the loss-leader strategy is to offer package deals and discounts; this method allows you to package your items of choice together, being sure that one of them is a cheaper item for you to purchase, which gives you greater wiggle room for a discount. You can offer a greater discount on a combined package, knowing that your combined investment in all the package items is still well below the discounted package price. You might even use a “buy one of these, get one of these other things” free method to sell a costlier item without a discount while taking the “loss” on your cheaper, freebie item. It’s the same method beauty product companies’ use when they offer a “special gift” with a purchase.

Add Value that Doesn’t Cost You Cash

What can you offer your customers that doesn’t come with any cash cost to you? Look beyond the basic inventory, and think about subscriptions, memberships, special discount or dining clubs, consultations, or other perks that offer a huge incentive for customers thinking about a purchase. The value is still there for the customer, who would otherwise have to pay to get the subscription or membership or consultation; but the value-added item isn’t costing you cash that you can’t afford to lose. Use these value-added items to upsell; offer them as freebies or part of a package, which allows you to give your customers an increased value for the same cost without decreasing your profit margin.

What method sounds best for your business?

Image by Alan Cleaver2000.

Where do you look these days to find good returns for your money?

Do you have investments that pay big returns in this current economic climate? What sort of return do you consider “good”?

I talk to a LOT of business owners in my line of work. Over the past fifteen years, I’ve noticed two interesting things about many small business owners:

1. They view their business as a paycheck source.
2. They believe that the capital invested in their building, equipment (much of it dated and aging), inventory, etc. somehow will be enough to support them in retirement when they close the doors and/or sell it all.

These views are only part of the picture – and if this is your only expectation from your business, you are selling yourself far short and missing out on possibly the biggest opportunity of your life – financially speaking.

I want to challenge you to think differently about your business.

Your Business Is An Investment!

The first key to making more money as a business owner is to quit viewing your business as a just a paycheck. You must view your business just like you do your stock portfolio – except with a position of control. Business ownership first and foremost is an investment. And investments by nature should produce a return on investment.

The Modern Guide to Making Money in Business

This blog has always and will always be about helping people sell stuff. It’s also what I do in my professional life. I’m a professional rainmaker. Whether you are selling services, products, experiences, or charitable support – we are here to help you sell more of it. And despite popular belief, selling more starts with the mindset on your part that every penny you invest in your business or turn over inside of your business should produce big returns… You should be able to measure everything and know that your business is paying everyone a fair wage (including you if you are working in the business actively) AND that there is still profit being taken OUT of the business on a regular basis. That is what making money looks like.

The first step to making money in 2011 is to actually believe that small business is a great place to invest your money.

You can only accomplish this if you maintain wise control over your investment. While the rest of the world seems to be falling apart, you will start acting like your business is an investment – and do business with that in mind on a daily basis.

What do you think?

Photo Credit: K.Hurley

On Thursday, Facebook announced major changes to the platform that we all know – and hardly love. Through the wonders of modern technology (thank you, C Spire), I watched the entire presentation through streaming video, from my car, while Andy drove. An hour or so later, my summary and comments went to the media in the following statement. To begin what will certainly be a lengthy discussion on this blog of the money-making possibilities for a variety of businesses with the new Facebook platform, I wanted to share this release with you.

Chapman Comments on Facebook Overhaul

September 22, 2011 – Today, changes were announced in the last few hours by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg. Below is a summary and extemporaneous comments from The Gibbes Company’s Director of New Media Marianna Chapman.

Today, Facebook announced major changes that in the words of their CEO Mark Zuckerburg will “reinvent industries.”
Among those that will be transformed by today’s announcement are music, video, media, and businesses selling lifestyle brands, products or experiences… that’s a pretty broad range of reinvention!

Facebook’s announcement today centered around two major changes and a third change that I believe is the most transformational of all for business. Today’s announcement will forever change the way that life is shared and how content spreads virally throughout the social web.

Most importantly for business, I believe, is the introduction of “verbs” to the open graph. Last year, Facebook introduced nouns to the open graph, allowing users to “like” a variety of people, places, things, experiences, etc. Many businesses have experienced the benefit of the “like” button as it has driven personal preferences for brands, products and experiences virally over the past year.

Now, verbs are added. Developers will be able to add any verb they wish to the open graph and insert those reactions into the open graph in a variety of ways. For example, the possibilities include the addition of a “want,” “ate,” “cooked,” “read,” “listened” or “watched” buttons that operate similarly to the current “like” button. For business purposes, this allows marketers to personalize more specifically how users engage with products, brands and experiences in a way that boosts social sharing – and thus the exponential power of their marketing machine when used strategically.

Beyond this development, two major interface changes were announced.

Beginning immediately for developers in beta format, and then rolling out to all users over the next few weeks, Facebook will introduce the Facebook Timeline. The Facebook Timeline will entirely replace the current personal Profile for Facebook users. Facebook calls this Profile replacement a way to present the “story of your life.” This new format looks to me a lot like a “Tumblr style” blog presentation of all the various types of experiences in your life including photos, videos, wall posts and comments, travel, and interactions with all of life among other things.

Next, canvas apps will allow for “frictionless experiences” with apps, and therefore products, brands and experiences, on Facebook. Think of it like the demise of the pop-up box and the birth of more real-time web-based social sharing… That’s a mouthful! But the interface looks fantastic, and the development options for business are mind-boggling. Facebook will immediately introduce music, video and news apps with the launch of Timeline.

These Facebook developments present a fundamental leap forward in the power of Facebook for viral marketing as well as the overall power of social sharing on the greater web.

Want to talk about this more?

Contact me directly at mchapman at gibbes dot net, or let’s chat in the comments. I welcome your thoughts and this discussion is just getting started to be sure!

A client of mine sent me this magazine clipping from a recent edition of Lucky Magazine a few of days ago. He loved the layout and educational nature of this photo editorial. Lately, we’ve been spotting more and more of these types of presentations in off-line magazines and retail web sites lately.

But did you know that you can make your retail photographs look like Lucky Magazine?

The concept isn’t that difficult to pull off for your own retail business if you set it up correctly.

I consulted with Haley Montgomery over at Small Pond Graphics, and she gave us some great tips for pulling off this look without hiring a professional photographer.

What you’ll need:

1. A ladder or a position that will allow you to photograph from above.

Haley said, “Clothes don’t look good with the sharp perspective of taking this shot from standing in front of it. [The photograph] needs to be from overhead so it’s straight on.”

2. Additional lighting.

I found this great tip on lighting:

Professional light kits can cost from several hundred to several thousand dollars, so a good cheap option for lighting equipment is to purchase some metal shop lights from your local hardware store.

Three of these lights with bulbs will cost you under $20, and they’ll give you a huge increase in the amount of control you have while you film. You can bounce lights off of walls, mirrors, or any other flat, lightly colored surface to provide more ambient “fill” light.

 

3. Mock green screen.

It doesn’t have to be green, but you should create a flat solid surface of a color that is distinctly different from the color of the items you are photographing. Haley recommended using a big piece of solid colored cloth – something in an odd color that separates itself from the color in the subjects to be photographed. She said that this allows a graphic artist or in-house Photoshop-user to easily select, delete and/or replace that background color.

My quick tips for a successful recreation of this sort of look for your own retail store’s marketing:

1. Assemble items to be photographed.

Gather your pieces and your props all together in one place. Practice laying them out in such a way that you can easily see everything and so that it all makes sense to the reader. Edit out a few things… don’t try to include every possibility in one photo. Put the look together – then simplify.

2. Setup the shot.

Spread the “mock green screen” on the floor or a large table surface. One client of mine actually uses the surface of a pool table as the flat surface AND the green screen for smaller items!

Layout the items to be photographed as desired and in a clear and simple manner on this flat surface.

Position the lighting so that there are no shadows and also no harsh direct light on the subjects.

3. Take the shot.

Position your ladder as closely as possible to the items. Alternately, balconies and stair banister areas sometimes provide other good elevated opportunities for photographing straight down onto something if you’re not a professional. Get as close to “straight down” as possible and snap quite a few shots with different settings on your camera. Try to get clear, steady shots so the items are crisp in the final photos. If your camera allows to adjust the “white balance” based on the environment, I recommend doing that. My cell phone camera even allows this, and this simple step makes a huge difference in the outcome (and color accuracy) of your photographs.

4. Edit the shot.

Move the photos to the computer and identify the photos that are most clear and show the most real representation of the colors and textures of the objects.

Using Photoshop or a similar photo editing program (free or low-priced options are available online), select the background “green screen” and delete it.

In one example that we saw, a corkboard look was used as the new background. To accomplish a “new background” after eliminating the green screen, layering stock imagery or even a separate photo of fabric or texture with the retail shot you just edited. In essence layering two images together to get the end product.

Voila!

Moneymaker Notes

This is a great look – and it can be realized in many variations with standard desktop tools and a decent camera. It is definitely possible to do it your self.

However, I must caution you: my recommendation at the end of the day is that it’s a great idea to know HOW to do something like this, so that you can more intelligently discuss projects and marketing concepts. But when the rubber meets the road, the best investment a small business owner can make is to hire professionals to help create investment marketing pieces for their business. Outsourcing frees up our time – and it makes us money by leveraging our time and resources. Professional commercial photographers and graphic designers are worth their weight in gold when you utilize their services in an educated way. But know how they work allows you to keep them reigned in appropriately when it comes to their time and your budget.

Photo Credit: Cell phone photo of a spread from a recent Lucky Magazine. To learn more or subscribe to this creative fashion mag, visit www.luckymag.com.

Below you will find some great resources on New Media Marketing from my recent speaking engagement in Heritage, Ohio.

The Case for a New Approach to Marketing

View Video

Your Marketing Toolbox

This PDF download lists the various tools that you’ll want to put in your marketing toolbox to have the ready for upcoming promotions and marketing efforts.

Twenty Blog Post Ideas that you can use & use again

Download PDF

Headline Ideas & Where to Use Them

PDF coming soon…

E-mail Marketing Explained and other ideas

Following are links to blog posts on this web site that will help you in your quest to successfully convert your email list into economic benefit to your community.

Improve Conversions from E-mail Marketing with this Simple Tip

How to Collect Customer Information This Holiday Season

How to Collect More E-mail Addresses from Customers

E-mail Marketing: Mix It Up with the “Letter” Format

Five Tips to Improve Twitter E-mail Open Rates

Seven Reasons to Keep Using E-mail Marketing

When to Send E-mail Marketing

Recommended Tools, Blogs & Books

This PDF download lists the various recommended resources that have been especially helpful or inspirational to me and my team over the last six months.

Case Studies Worth Watching

The following are links to the various businesses and events mentioned in my presentation. These are live events, and they may cease to exist or change and develop over time. Hopefully you can learn from them and the other promotions that these businesses conduct – and use those ideas in your own community!

It’s time to consider using video to market your business. It doesn’t matter what size business you have, video is now an affordable and most importantly, effective, tool that can improve sales significantly. The following statistics about marketing with online video using video sharing sites should make you think twice about ignoring this powerful marketing tool:

“Video in email marketing increases click-through rates by 96%.” – Implix 2010 Email Marketing Trends Survey

“Press releases that include video components receive 500% increase in views.” – Eloqua, April 2010

I found these stats over on Pixability’s web site that say that sites with video receive…

• 30% more clicks
• 18% more calls
• 30% more store visits
• 24% more purchases than those without video

In July 2011, a Pew Research Center study said that 71% of adults watch online video like YouTube or Vimeo videos. According to this study, rural and minority Internet users are no less likely to watch online video than suburban or city dwellers. Men and women are also equally likely to use video-sharing sites. Also of interest, parents use video-sharing sites more than non-parents. Some 81% of parents in the Pew study reported using video-sharing sites compared to 61% of the non-parents.

Mobile use is on the rise, too… It seems that 34% of cell phone users in the United States have shot video with their phone, 26% have watched video on their phone and 22% have posted videos or photos online… all from their mobile phone.

YouTube viewership has grown from 8 million views a day at the end of 2005 to 3 billion views a day in 2011, according to YouTube.

All of this on the heels of Forrester Research’s stunning announcement in 2009 stating “You are 53x more likely to appear on Page 1 of Google’s search results if you have video on your web site.”

Now. That is shocking.

Why aren’t you using video in your marketing? What is holding you back? Ask your questions or share your roadblocks, and I’ll try to answer your questions in future posts on this blog.

Photo Credit: Mike Jennings

From time to time, I update the readers of this blog on the goings on of the blog and our other business interests. It’s been quite some time since I’ve made such a post, so here goes…

This morning I was considering that next year (2012) will be the 10-year anniversary of my blogging on this URL (some of the original content has long-ago been eaten by the interwebs as a result of my learning curve back near the beginning in doing things such as this…). That seems noteworthy to me in a world of often changing technologies, the blog has held its own and continues to drive an immense amount of business our way – and also to our clients who blog on their own domains. It’s a powerful tool, and one worthy of more attention in the coming months.

One-Year Ago

In March of 2010, we introduced the new logo on this blog, and what ensued was the most successful year of this blog’s history in terms of traffic, reader engagement, and social sharing. At the same time, we launched an effort to get small business owners to connect with one another in more of a community format, free of charge. We provided a free business directory listing exclusively for locally owned and operated small businesses (the sorts that don’t get marketing assistance from an outside power and really make 100% of their decisions at the local level). That part of the experiment didn’t go as well. We learned, as I think some other major bloggers and business people are learning as we speak… small business owners don’t have time for extracurricular networking online. I was reminded that this happens on a local level – where they are pressured more to participate in Chambers and business development groups – and so they do. Over the year, we’ve backed off of wishing business owners would spend more time using us as a networking center and have been happy that they’ve increasingly relied on us for information and ideas.

Promotional Ideas via Email

As such, we’re pursuing more ways to get more information and ideas out to small business owners in a way that they can digest it. Saving you steps saves you time, so just two months ago, we launched Promo Ideas that Work in This Economy – a weekly e-letter delivered directly to your Inbox. For only $27 a month, you don’t have to think about what sales or promotions you’re going to have, we cover it for you and make the ideas easy to implement. And we do NOT focus on discounting: four out of every five-promo ideas is for selling in a way other than discounting. If you haven’t yet signed up for this, may I recommend that you do – it’s a long, beefy letter every single week, delivered to your Inbox.

Some Things Always Stay the Same

I have been reminded that in more than a decade of being self-employed, technology and marketing tools have changed a LOT, but the lifestyle of a local small business owner has NOT changed much at all. The obstacles of limited time, limited know-how when it comes to technology, and limited ability to maintain consistent, effective marketing are all still in place. And these are the challenges that we must help you overcome.

What the Future Holds

As such, the future holds more “on the ground” services that will be bundled and made ridiculously affordable for small business owners AND save you time, save you having to know about technology at all, and save you from the emotional and financial roller coaster that results from inconsistent marketing. The blog will carry on, and it will be a supplement to new business models that will bring services to your door (yes, with a real live person). It will bring expertise to your community. And it will bring even more ideas and information to your Inbox and to this blog. I’m not ready to make any formal announcements yet, but suffice it to say, we’re very excited about the iteration of our relationship with you. I hope you’ll stay in touch and continue to help us learn how to help you better as we go along this path together.

If you don’t get our blog posts delivered to your Inbox, now might be a great time to subscribe, so you don’t miss any opportunities for you or your community as we announce them in the coming months. I welcome your feedback. Our passion is to help you succeed.

Image by: By ▌ÇP▐