Saturday, February 7, 2009

Reaching Clients

By David Trumble

Are you frustrated with empty promises from those get rich quick schemes?

Building your own sewing machine repair business, does not promise millions of dollars for sleeping in a hammock. It does offer a real business opportunity. Success in this business involves a very simple formula. One: Learn the skills and knowledge to repair sewing machines. Two: Attract Customers. Three: Service customers sewing machines. Four: Hold On To customers.

In this article, we will discuss the second task: Attracting Customers.

Every business must find|get| attract customers and make sales. Without sales there is no business. This is true no matter what business you consider. Unless you attract customers, you cannot make a sale. Unless you make sales, you cannot get income. Unless you have income, you do not get paid. Unless you get paid you cannot pay your bills. So, getting customers is an essential task for every business. It is also essential for your sewing machine repair business.

So, how do you get customers? You can advertise your business, or you can get others to advertise your business. First, we will consider effective ways to attract customers by advertising your business.

What advertising choices do you have? Think about it. Where have you seen advertising items? You may come up with your own list of dozens, maybe even a hundred different choices.

Why promote your business? Of course, to find new customers. Advertising is the fastest and easiest way to attract prospects and make them customers. In just a few days, you can have real customers and be making real dollars.

How much money can you afford to flush down the toilet? Ouch, sounds gross. Unfortunately, most advertising does exactly that. It is not only very expensive. It often does not work. If you are just starting your business, you need to understand that any money you spend on advertising may be like flushing it down the toilet? For that reason, you need to be careful. You goal is to make ten times ( in sales) whatever you invest in advertising. Your bottom line must be getting buying customers.

ROI is the key issue. Return on investment. Exactly, how much does this type of advertising produce in sales? Or, what do you get from the money you pay for promotion? When you examine marketing types, you will find that some do better for your situation than others. If you make the right choices, you will enjoy the results. Otherwise, you may very little return on investment.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Business is all about making decisions. The choices you make with regard to your promotion will have a big impact on your bottom line. What are the best promotion for your business?

If your customers are going to bring their sewing machine to your home, how will you get them there?

Space ads are often the first advertizing choice. In a moderate sized town, the ad rates may run $10 a column inch. If you know that a newspaper has twenty large pages, averages 75 advertisers, and that 20,000 papers are distributed. , but in larger cities the same ad might run $75 or more per column inch in a much larger paper with hundreds of advertisers. What are the chances that your small black and white ad will be seen by enough potential buyers to justify the expense? Try to determine exactly how many prospects are going to be reached by your ad. Calculate your investment by your customer reach. Track your results, when you use this medium. Then calculate your investment by your actual customer response. Determine how much each customer cost in terms of the advertising.

When people pick up the newspaper, what do they do? Read the headlines, look at the pictures, read an occasional story, and of course check out the classifieds. It is here that you can often get your best bang for the buck. Your ad is strategically placed in the category appropriate to your service. When people see it, they know you want their business.

Have you considered direct mail, direct distribution, or batched marketing? Going directly to people is very powerful. Mailing an attractive postcard can cost as little as seventy five cents per address. Remember to consider costs for mailing list, piece production, and postage. Some organizations distribute fliers, door hangers, etc. for local businesses. These too can be very cost effective when properly managed. Sending out your ad with several others in a package like ValPak, can also work.

Unless you have money to burn, avoid expensive media. Radio and TV are expensive. Think about it, if you spend $35 per thirty second ad spot, how many people will you gain as paying customers? Ten minutes of advertising spread over a week will cost $700. By the way, it may be nice to see yourself on TV.

Evaluate your advertising based on the actual cost per customer response. You can afford to spend on advertising ; only if it produces real sales from real customers at an affordable rate.

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