How Do I Make A Dollar in Today's Market?

Every day I hear from my customers the same story. Sales are down and margins are terrible. Most products today come from China. Anyone with a few dollars can import, keep a small inventory and market their product. The differentiation is what you sell it for. If you are small your overhead is small and you can undercut the big boys. That is why you find the big companies in trouble. But like you there are other people with the same idea. This is where you need to differentiate yourself. Testimonials or word of mouth are becoming crucial. People are reluctant to try someone they don't know so all things being equal they will go with someone they know. This is why networking, Linkedin, Facebook and direct mail are important.

A second idea that helps is the personal touch. People search the internet anonymously, but when they want to purchase over 80% prefer to deal with an actual person. Instead of voice mails try having a live operator answer the phone. At worst reply to your voice mails with little delay. With the speed of people's decision making and their demands, a delay of even hours can cost you the sale. this is especially true if this is the first time they are working with you.

A third idea is the use of promotional products. This industry has boomed. The real trick is not simply to put your name on things for awareness, but you should have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish before you start. Are you trying to increase sales or decrease costs. ROI or return on investment must be a key piece of your campaign to know if its effective. To see the different items that are available for promotions, just Google promotional products. A great use for promotional products is for it to be an incentive for something. An example would be to poll your existing customers on what they like best about your company. For every response you would mail them out a useful promotional product that would reinforce your company brand. Your return would come from learning what works best for your customers. This way you could tailor your marketing efforts to meet their desires. It's a win/win situation for both. An example of using ROI with promotional products would be to mail out a unique eye catching personalized promotional product to one of your prospects. You can email out a gift card with a unique numeric number on the back. A mention of a few prizes is usually enough for the prospect to call your office or log on to your website to see what they have won. It's a lot easier to talk to an elusive prospect when they are calling your office rather than leaving messages on their voice mail.

What ever method you choose, in order to succeed in today's market you need to think out of the box, no matter how big your company is.

If you need any help with these ideas or others it would be a pleasure. Just drop me a line at steve@solutionsink4u.com or search out any of the 800,000 promotional products we have at our website or just Google promotional products. When I first started people helped me and I would like to pass it on. Good luck.

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