Vision Of Success

Even some of the most successful people in business are adjusting their prices. And it’s not because of the economy. It’s because everyone else is doing it.

In times of recession and a slowing economy, is it necessary to lower prices, and offer what everyone else is offering - just to keep up with them?

I don’t think so. Instead, now is the time to concentrate on what you offer, how you offer it, and adjust it to give your clients even more value.

In good times, we can offer a ton of products and services and sell them quite easily, simply because people have a lot of money to spend and don’t see a time when they won’t have a lot of money. Why not have a little fun and get exactly what you want?

But when the economy slows down, people begin thinking more about what they truly want to buy. They look for:

1. a great value on something they’ve been wanting

2. great customer service from a company that sells what they’ve been in the market for

3. a new product or service that will provide them with something they’ve never had before

People don’t quit buying - they just channel their money into places that provide them more of what they are looking for.

So instead of doing what everyone else is doing, give them something no one else is. And continue growing your own business!

Every day the news is enough to send you spiraling into depression. We’re deep in recession, gas prices are sky high, businesses are shutting down left and right, and the airlines are either going out of business or merging every day.

But what if you focused on your customers instead of focusing on your problems? What if you gave them the extras - and charged them for it - but made it so much fun it was worth paying extra for?

Movie theaters have been having a hard time over the past few years. I know several in our area that have gone out of business. But a new one opened up in December that’s filled every time we take in a movie. They charge a couple dollars more than other theaters in our area, but they have a self serve area for popcorn and soda. The seats are leather and are very comfy. You can even by VIP loveseats for a few dollars more, and you’ll have a waiter serve whatever you want from their cafe.

Great customer service giving their guests exactly what they want - and what they complain at with other movie theaters (high prices for popcorn and sodas) .

What about the airlines? What if they gave you free Internet service while you were in the air? What if they gave you a free movie for your kids to watch? What if they gave you free drinks and a great snack? What if you could get a pass to go through security faster? What if carry on baggage was easier to carry on and stow?

People are willing to pay for things they put a value on - mainly time savers. Be up front. “Yes, you’ll pay a bit more, but we won’t nickel and dime you on the back end. Get exactly what you want.”

What can you do to improve your customer service? What are your customers willing to pay more for to receive the best quality service available?

I have a new exercise for you. Have you ever taken a moment to think about what your customers are searching for when they are looking for you? Why not ask them.

As a business owner, you are locked in to your business ideas. You think about your products and services every day. And I know many of you assume what your customers think.

So when you start looking around on Google, you make decisions about what keywords and phrases you would like to achieve high results on. But are you thinking the same way as your client?

In many cases, the answer is no.

It doesn’t matter if you are ranked number one under “city of lone tree Colorado orthodontist” if your prospects are all typing in “highlands ranch Colorado orthodontist”. What matters is getting to the places your prospects are actively seeking you out.

Have you ever typed up a web address, only to have it look like the page isn’t live, and still under construction?

In many ways, this is a lot like putting your phone number in the yellow pages before your phone is connected. You’re asking for people to contact you, then not being available when they do.

And in many cases, it’s simply a mixup.

Have you ever checked your web address to make sure it’s available by both:

ABCompany.com and

www.ABCompany.com

You would be surprised how many people don’t have both formats directed to their website. And if you only have the www.ABCompany.com live, yet tell people ABCompany.com, you may be losing precious traffic.

Go out and check today to make sure your designer has set you up correctly.

If not, what else has he missed?

Lori

In the traditional world, you can say things and not get in trouble – most of the time. It’s hard to hold someone accountable if you don’t have proof, and only someone’s word.

But online, what you say can be found “forever”.

If someone puts photographs up of you at a party and labels them with your full name, they’re findable.

If you comment on a political blog about your beliefs, it’s findable.

If you work for a charitable foundation, or are an activist on an issue and use your name, it’s findable.

Now I’m not saying that’s always a bad thing.

If you want people to know your beliefs on a subject, by all means post them.

Just remember that the Internet world goes on “forever”. And once it’s written online, it has the potential to be found, by anyone, anywhere.

Have you ever Googled your name?

If you are a creative professional that is trying to build up your expertise, are you building up your online references? In today’s electronic world, it’s important to build up your name in as many locations as possible.

On a recent Google of my name, there was over 18,000 pages for my name (there is another Lori Osterberg, so I’ve got competition ) I want people to be able to find information about me through a variety of sources - including my name.

I also Google my business name periodically, and see what comes up that way too. What pages are ranking well? What can you do to influence what’s most popular?

In today’s fast pace world, it’s all about exposure. What are you doing to get noticed?

Lori

p.s. Domain names are under $10US per year - do you have your name as a domain name? Get it now.

Once again, the debate rages on as to which is better for business: html or text email.

With a text email, you can get through to more of your clients. Most email accounts allow text email through the spam filters much easier, making text email an almost guaranteed deliverable. Text also looks like a more personalized message, thus may get read more than an html email.

But text does have its downfalls too. You can’t show off your products, or create branding that instantly connects with your website. And if you send too much information in your email, it can tend to run on and on … meaning more readers may close and delete your message.

Html messages allow you to add color and graphics, and to create a unified look between your site and your email. You can make text links clickable, and track the clicks to find out how many are actually opening your information. It’s also easier to break up your information into sections, making it more readable.

The obvious downfall is many email programs block graphics, giving your message a harder time coming through to your readers.

So which is better?

Both!

Know your customers. What do they prefer? For my photography newsletter, I send it in html because photographers are very visual people. I have a very high open rate on my newsletter because it’s branded to my site, and people expect my information. The same with my VisionOfSuccess newsletter.

Do what brings in your customers, and what keeps them happy.

Lori

I just read an interesting article about the ease of a website in relation to how many sales it brings in.

The fact is most customers abandon an online shopping cart before completeing the order. As they work their way into your system, the difficulty prevents them from making the sale easily, and makes them choose to move on to another site instead.

Walk through your site as a customer. Do you require customers to open up accounts, choose uernames and passwords, and provide unnecessary information before allowing them to buy? Do they have to go through several pages before the sale is complete?

Or can they do it all on one page, see their order, hit the “Buy Now” button and complete the sale in a matter of minutes?

The easier you can make it, the better your sales will be.

Lori

I’ve been sending out postcards lately, and wanted to share my results.

With my postcards, I have one course of action: visiting my website and sign up for a free report. That’s it. It’s simple to read, and requires one course of action.

I’ve had a 4% signup ratio based on the 1,000 postcards I’ve sent out.

I’m not asking for a sale. I’m not asking to speak with a person. I just give them the option to head to my website, and sign up for a free report.

And I’ve had a 4% sign up ratio.

What results have you found with postcards?

Lori

I still see it all the time. As a business, the business owner promotes her website as ABCCompany.com, and then lists her email as ABC@aol.com

AOL and MSN were made for easy access to the Internet for individual people. I myself had an AOL account for years. But several years ago, they began “protecting” individuals more than a business owner. And that’s when I turned off my account.

AOL makes it easy for anyone to list an email as spam. With just a single click, you can instantly label an email as spam - even if you asked for it and are expecting it. Maybe it’s been a bad day, and you’re tired when you open up your email to 100 messages. So you just start clicking “spam” to get rid of them.

But once a server has been labled as a spammer, AOL will no longer accept email. Which means even if you send an email asking a question, I may never be able to respond. AOL simply will not accept my message.

Now think of that from a business owners perspective. You should NEVER block a prospects email from coming into your business. But if you use AOL, that’s exactly what you’re doing.

Rumor has it, both AOL and MSN are now blocking out email messages based on the length of the email as well. Which means if you are sending a detailed response to a client, it may get blocked!

What can you do to protect yourself as a business owner? Set up your email account based on your domain name. If your company is ABCCompany.com, use you email as abc@ABCCompany.com Your designer or hoster should easily be able to do this. Not only will it make sure you begin receiving all of your email, you’ll look more professional too.

Lori