6 Foundational Ecommerce Marketing Tactics to Stop Your Bucket from Leaking

by Richard Lazazzera 

As an online store owner, you’re always on the lookout for new ways to drive traffic, but how many times have you invested time, energy and money into a new method of driving traffic only to receive low conversions or maybe even none at all? 

 

Facebook Ads, Google Adwords, SEO, blogging, social media and guest posting are all great methods to drive traffic, unfortunately, most of the time they don’t work as expected. There are lots of possible reasons for this, however, many times it's because you have a leaky bucket. A website that leaks visitors as fast as you can bring them in. 

 

In this post, you’ll learn six foundational marketing tactics that will greatly help convert visitors on your site, bring back qualified visitors that do end up leaving your site, and get the most amount of money from each of your customers, increasing your average order size. 

 

It's time to fix your leaky bucket.  

 

Your Online Store Is a Leaking Bucket

Think of your sales funnel or rather your ecommerce store as a bucket. You have to spend a lot of time, energy and effort to fill that bucket with water (traffic). The problem is, your bucket has holes in it. Big holes. So you keep spending money, burning energy and investing time to keep filling the bucket with water, but the water is pouring out of the holes almost as fast as you can fill it.

 

What Are Some of These Holes?

There are lots of holes and lots of reasons for these holes. Arguably, every ecommerce business has holes in their bucket. Some are just bigger than others or more prevalent. It can be poor product descriptions, crummy product photos, confusing navigation or maybe high shipping prices. However, many times visitors just weren't ready to purchase quite yet and you let them walk away. 

 

How an Ecommerce Sale Actually Happens

The reality is that most of the time consumers don't purchase the first time to your site. Many will require multiple touch points and nudges to convert them from a visitor to a customer, sometimes over the course of days or even weeks. However, without a few fundamental marketing tactics in place, a customer that leaves your site only has their own memory and experience to rely on to come back and make their purchase. 

 

By implementing several marketing tactics that some of the most successful ecommerce businesses use, you can significantly increase your chances of making a sale. Additionally, when visitors do fall out of your bucket, there's a greater chance you can bring the qualified people back in. 

Let’s take a look at one company that is executing these tactics flawlessly, DODOcase.

 

DODOcase - Website Walkthrough

DODOcase makes handcrafted iPad cases using traditional book binding techniques in San Francisco and were the winners of the Shopify Build A Business Contest in 2010. They obviously knew what they were doing then, and apparently still do.

 

DODOcase has a marketing strategy that plugs as many holes in their bucket as possible to get the best possible return-on-investment from their advertising dollars. Not only do they do several critical things to keep their visitors in the bucket, but they also implement several strategies to bring customers back that fall out of the bucket and to get the most out of every customer. 

 

Let’s take a walk through a purchase on their online store and highlight some of the key marketing activities they're doing well:

 

 

To start, there’s no doubt they have taken the time to develop a beautiful shop with great photography and product descriptions. All the usual conversion optimization tactics are being employed here, but let's see what else they're doing.

Let’s add a product to our cart and checkout. A DODOcase Folio for the iPad Air should do.

 

What’s this? An upsell suggesting several other products we may be interested in. Let’s add the the Leather Card and Case Wallet to the order.

 

Hmm, $220.24, that’s a little expensive right now. Maybe we will wait a bit to buy it. Let’s close this tab.

 

Wow, that’s a good deal. 10% off just for joining their email list. We will add our email. Maybe we will use the 10% discount later. 

 

 

24 hours later:

An email from DODOcase. Let’s see what they have to say:

 

 

The next day while browsing some info about the new iPhone, look what we see. A retargeting ad from DODOcase offering 20% off. That DODOcase is starting to look pretty tempting.

 

Another day later, while scrolling through Facebook we are hit again. Another reminder of the DODOcase we were looking at a few days prior, again with a 20% offer to come back and complete our purchase.

 

 

Ok, ok… after a few days and a few reminders we are ready to purchase, and hey, the 20% off discount is a great deal.

 

DODOcase's marketing doesn't end at the sale though. After making the purchase, we are hit with a referral offer. In this case, DODOcase offers customers $20 for every person they refer and the people that are referred will receive 15% off their first purchase.

 

 

So What Exactly Is DODOcase Doing Right?

As you can see from the short case study above, they're doing a lot of things right and have a pretty comprehensive marketing plan in place to make the most of all their traffic, paid and organic. They have implemented several key tactics to keep people in their bucket, to bring qualified visitors back, and to increase the average order size from customers.  

 

Let's take a look at each one in a little more detail: 

1. Product Upsell - Upsells are important because they give you one last opportunity to present the customer with complimentary products that a.) they may be interested in, b.) might make their experience better (think batteries if they purchased something that doesn’t come with batteries) and c.) help increase your average order value. If that's not enough, one analyst for Forrester said that product recommendations (upsells) are responsible for an average of 10-30% of ecommerce site revenues.
2. Newsletter Sign Up Popup - Upon trying to leave the site (exit intent), realizing you don’t want to purchase or aren’t ready to purchase, they display a last second, secondary call-to-action. In this case they try to get you to sign up to their newsletter while also providing you with 10% off in the hope that the 10% will sway you over to completing a purchase with them. Although it's important to note that popup signups to some people are considered annoying, in almost every study they convert higher, many times 100%+ better than standard signup forms embedded on your site. The emails collected from a popup can be instrumental in bringing back visitors and don't forget, emails is consistently rated as the best marketing channel for return-on-investment.  
3. Abandoned Cart Email - Abandoned cart emails are vital in ecommerce. An average of 68% of people abandon their carts. These are people that had enough interest to browse your products and add items to their cart. They completed the first step of the checkout but decided to abandon their carts at that point. Abandoned cart emails give you an opportunity to bring that customer back to complete their transaction while it's still fresh in their minds.
4. Adwords Retargeting - The next day DODOcase began retargeting with display ads on the Google Display Ads network. Retargeting helps reinforce your brand and serve as a reminder to your recent site visitors of your products. In this particular case, DODOcase offered 20% to come back. Retargeting ads have proven to be much more effective than traditional online ads. In fact, in one study web site visitors who were retargeted with display ads were 70% more likely to convert.
5. Facebook Retargeting - Again, several days later, they began retargeting on Facebook with the same 20% off deal. Combined with the Adwords retargeting, and they were unavoidable if you had an internet connection. 
6. Referral Offer - Upon completing an order, DODOcase offers their customer $20 credit for referring friends in addition to giving all referrals 15% off their first purchase. Referral marketing is incredible important as it represents the perfect opportunity to get your most recent and happy customers to talk about you. Study after study has come to the same conclusion, that people trust and purchase products more from a friend recommendation than any other form of marketing. In fact, according to Neilsen, people are four times more likely to purchase a product when referred by a friend. 

 

How Can You Plug the Holes?

The six marketing tactics discussed above make for a rock solid foundation for your ecommerce business and help you plug some of the biggest holes, leaving you and your site, much more prepared for paid and organic traffic alike. 

 

To begin implementing these tactics yourself, we have rounded up some incredible Shopify Apps to help you get started right away:

• Upsell - Shopify App: Product Upsell 
• Email Popup - Shopify App: Pop-Up Window
• Abandon Cart Recovery - Built into Shopify or Shopify App: Klaviyo
• Google Retargeting - Shopify App - Adroll
• Facebook Retargeting - Shopify App - PropelAd
• Referrals - Shopify App - Forewards

Conclusion

Building an ecommerce business is no small task. The "if you build it, they will come" notion does not apply. It's takes a lot of hard work and many times, money to drive targeted and consistent traffic to your online store. That's why it's vital that you have a solid foundation in place to make sure you're making the most from every visitor you do drive to your site.

Implementing even a few of the suggested methods above can have a dramatic effect on your return-on-investment and overall business success, leaving you with a bucket of cash as oppose to a bucket full of holes.

 

 

 

To view the original article please visit: Shopify 

The Psychology of Creating Repeat Customers for Your Business

If You Can Master These Underlying Principles of Engagement, Nothing Can Stop You

August 19, 2015 — Posted By Ryan Robinson 
           

            

Apple. Netflix. Starbucks. Amazon.

 

Chances are, you've bought something from each of these companies within the past few years. In fact, I'd be willing to guess that you've made multiple purchases from every one of these brilliant brands. I know I have.

 

There are several reasons why I've bought multiple products and services from these companies, but what's important to note is that they have successfully made me a repeat customer and what's more; I'm happy about it.

 

These companies worked very hard to become habit-forming by nature, and as a reward, they can rely on getting a certain amount of revenue from me every year with somewhat regularity.

 

With Apple, I truly love the products. Netflix has excellent original content and has become almost the only form of television I watch. Starbucks is everywhere and is incredibly convenient, consistent and quick. Amazon carries almost everything (including the Kindle) at low prices and can ship it straight to my door in 2 days with Prime delivery. I'm still trying to figure out this equation in my own business, right now.

 

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting in on an incredible class on this exact subject with Best-Selling Author and entrepreneur Nir Eyal. In this class, Nir shared with us the psychology behind how any business can maximize their ability to create repeat customers at every turn.

 

That's me with Nir, above. We got to chat live in the class about how we at CreativeLive can increase engagement and re-purchase rates with our online education business. One of the most core concepts I took away from our conversation was the importance of always creating only the highest quality, results-driven content for our customers.

Even delivering an incredible amount of value isn't enough, alone. You have to give your customers a reason to come back for more on a regular basis.

"Today, just amassing millions of customers is no longer good enough," Nir says. "Companies increasingly find that their economic value is a function of the strength of the habits they create."

Repeat customers save your business time and resources. But most importantly, they give you the peace of mind to focus on creating the best products and services you're capable of.

How can we learn from the most successful addicting brands in the world, and apply the same principles they use, to our businesses?

Here are the two fundamental principles of creating repeat customers for your business. If you can master these, the sky is the limit.

1. First-to-Mind Wins

"A company that forms strong customer habits enjoys several benefits to its bottom line. For one, this type of company creates associations with 'internal triggers' in customers’ minds. That is to say, customers come to the website or store location without any external prompting," Nir shares.

Whether it's in the form of a Starbucks along your morning commute to work, or to flip on your favorite Netflix show every night because you love the way watching it makes you feel, these are prime examples of successful internal triggers.

"Instead of relying on expensive marketing or worrying about differentiation, habit-forming companies get customers to cue themselves to action by attaching their services to the customers’ daily routines and emotions. A cemented habit is when users subconsciously think, 'I’m bored,' and instantly Facebook comes to mind. They think, 'I wonder what’s going on in the world?' and before rationale thought occurs, Twitter is the answer. The first-to-mind solution wins," Nir says.

"Successful habit-forming companies attach their services to their customers emotions." - Nir Eyal
The same principle applies to how I shop for a new book. My first instinct is to head over to Amazon, pick up a Kindle book and begin reading from my Apple devices. I'm hooked.

Related Article: Under Promise, Over Deliver: The Must-Do's of Customer Retention

 

2. Manufacturing Desire

How do companies create a connection with these internal cues needed to form habits?

The answer: they manufacture desire.

As Nir illustrates, "fans of Mad Men are familiar with how the ad industry once created consumer desire during Madison Avenue’s golden era. Those days are now long gone. We are now a part of a world filled with distractions, ad-wary consumers and a lack of ROI metrics. The combination has rendered Don Draper’s big budget brainwashing useless to all but the most popular brands."

"Instead, the successful smaller companies today are manufacturing desire by guiding customers through a series of experiences designed to create habits. I call these experiences “Hooks,” and the more often customers run through them, the more likely they are to self-trigger."

Here's the Hooked Model Nir designed, to illustrate how the best businesses guide their customers through an experience of rewarding desired actions, and encouraging deeper investment.



With my own online course business, my clients consistently come back for more content every time I release something new. I've applied some of Nir's principles of providing genuine value and carefully giving my customers a feeling of accomplishment so that they naturally want to keep coming back.

When your customers continuously experience the feeling of reward at the end of a desired behavior for your business, they'll begin to form internal triggers, which become attached to existing habits and behaviors of theirs. If you do this right, your customers will soon be internally triggered to think of your product or service every time they feel a certain way. In this way, the internal trigger becomes part of their routine behavior.

How will you create engagement hooks for your customers?


To view the original article please visit: Business.com

How to choose the RIGHT swimsuit for your body type [infographic]

Whether you're the one buying or you're helping your customer find the perfect swimsuit- this infographic can help you find the right suit for each body type!

Shopping for the perfect swimsuit can oftentimes be tough, but once you know what bathing suits work for your body type, you’ll find the most flattering swimsuit in no time. Our friends over at Farfetch, designed this infographic for us showing how to find the ideal cut and style that will give you the perfect beach body.

Whether you have a large chest or a tummy you want to camouflage, this infographic will make your next swimsuit shopping a breeze.

 

Read more: http://www.hotbeautyhealth.com/trendsetters/bathing-suits-for-body-types/

4 Ways to Drive Traffic with Cross Promotion

Collaboration has led to some of the greatest achievements of all time ranging from the discovery of DNA to the creation of Fortune 500 companies. So why shouldn’t the same idea work for your business success too?

 “Shop Local!” has been a popular theme giving the small to medium size retailers the business opportunity to collaborate and reach new customers that will keep coming back. We have a few suggestions of how to make your business standout in your community by finding the right partnerships to increase sales growth.

 

1.       A Passport Program
Talk to similar businesses in your community to create a passport program for customers to engage in! You can schedule the program for any length of time, but by having it occur for a day or over a weekend, you will have a much better chance of customers getting to every store.

For this passport program, each retailer will give a stamp whenever a customer makes an in store purchase during the designated time frame. At the end, customers who have filled their passport can turn it in to be entered to win a gift basket with goodies from all the places they shopped that day! This is a great opportunity for you and your customers to promote this on social media and tag retailers to drive traffic to their website.

Not only will you have an increase of traffic through your front door, but you’ve created relationships with your retail neighbors that can be very valuable in the long run!

Ex. South Lake in Pasadena hosts a Holiday Fest each December that all of the local retailers can participate in and promote!

 

2.       Choose a Charity

If the passport program is a success and your new team of retailers would like to host another event, selecting a charity to receive your donations is a great way to build mutually beneficial partnerships while helping others. You can select certain items in your store or a percentage of each purchase can go towards the proceeds to a charity in your local area.

This gives retailers involved a chance to cross promote on social media, in store, and directly to customers while assisting those in need!

Ex. Three Dog Bakery hosts a food drive for one month at each of their locations. They’ve made it into a competition between their stores of who can raise the most money for their local animal focused charity!

 

3.       Know your niche market and utilize it!

Knowing who your market is and where to reach them is crucially important. Teaming up with companies that consist of your possible clientele can be great for new business.

 

For example, if you own a store that sells athletic clothing such as yoga pants or running gear, hosting a trunk show for your local Yoga or Pilate’s studio or running club gives you direct contact to your niche market! People may not buy everything at the trunk show, but it provides an incentive to stop by your store later or you can ask the owner if you can leave business cards or flyers at their front desk and see your customer base grow! You can also offer an incentive to those that make a purchase at your store for the opportunity to try out a free sweat session at a local Yoga, Pilates, dance studio or Crossfit gym

*This will help cross promote to your target demographic while creating mutually beneficial business partnerships within your community.

Ex. A Snail’s Pace teamed up with running shoe company, New Balance, for their pub run! Runners were able to try out new shoes from New Balance and finish the night with a drink.

 

4.       Sharing Advertising

Marketing your store can be expensive and you want to make sure you’re utilizing the right tools for the best bang for your buck. Social Media has great platforms for retailers to communicate directly to consumers, but if they’re not searching directly for your business, it can be difficult to reach the right audience.  

Consider working with a retailing neighbor to split the cost of mailers or sponsorship for a community event in your area. There is a high chance that any advertisements will be posted in their store as well, giving your business more promotion!

Ex. The Ann Arbor Summer Festival has many different levels of sponsorship allowing for any size retailer to be a part of the event!

 

Teaming up with other local businesses gives every retailer a chance to be more involved in their community and increase traffic to their stores.  Once the customers are in your door, it’s up to your stellar sales staff and unbeatable customer service to create loyal customers who are excited to return, even when there isn’t a promotion occurring. Start partnering up and encourage people to Shop Local!

If there is something that has worked for your business we would love to hear your story and share it on our social media platforms! Please feel free to email us at: info@onestepretail.com

By: Kimmy Evans
July15, 2015

5 Ways to Handle Difficult Customers

No matter what type of work you do, it’s likely you have encountered a difficult customer. It’s more likely, however, you have encountered many difficult customers. Maybe – just maybe – you are even a difficult customer yourself to others on occasion. After all, customer service nowadays isn’t always what it should be. Keeping that in mind, consider the five tips below on how you can deal with difficult customers.

Tip #1: Let Your Customers Vent 
Customers don’t always aim to be difficult. Often, they become difficult because they feel they cannot express what they have experienced, how they’re currently thinking or what they want from you to make them feel satisfied – or at least better. While you can’t always give them what they want in exchange for their complaints or requests, you can choose to listen to them. Letting your customers “vent” can help them feel as if you care, as well as allow them to get whatever it is they want to say off their chest. From your own first hand experience, you can probably understand this is often the best medicine to heal something that isn’t working right.

Tip #2: Genuinely Listen to What Your Customers Say 
It’s easier said than done, but genuinely listening to your customers can help you more more efficiently find a resolution. Too often, however, employees choose to “tune out” when customers become difficult and instead respond to them in a generic fashion that does not lead to a resolution. Make the choice to hear what your customers are telling you, as well as aiming to understand their perspective. While you can’t always deliver a final resolution that meets their expectations, you can acknowledge that you heard what they said by repeating the key elements of their complaint or frustrations. By repeating what they have said, customers are more likely to gain trust in you and feel supported in your efforts to help them.

Tip #3: Identify Any Constraints You Have in Supporting Them 
Difficult customers vary in reasons, but one thing they have in common is that they all want direct attention in helping to find a resolution for their problem. One way to help deliver this is to tell them right away any constraints you have in supporting them. For example, if they want a full refund on something they purchased and you know you can’t immediately give this to them, let them know. Yes… you’re likely to hear another ear-full of frustrations and disappointments from your customer, but follow this with what you can do for them. In business, if you can deliver bad news with good news, that always helps ease the pain of the not-so-great news.

Tip #4: Act Quickly When Supporting Difficult Customers
Time means everything to an upset customer, so make it your company’s priority to act quickly when a client isn’t happy. This could be as simple as replying to a tweet they shared with you that expressed their concern or refunding them for a defective product. Whatever their “difficult” is, react to it in a timely fashion to avoid them becoming more upset, frustrated, disappointed and difficult. Very simply, don’t put off peeved customers. However you can help them, do so right away.

Tip #5: Learn From Every Difficult Scenario 
Difficult customers – like it or not – have a lot to teach businesses. Are you finding that most of your difficult customers are brought to life by similar circumstances? Possibly your difficult customers have some other things in common? Evaluate who your difficult customers are,then evaluate why they are this way. While there are always exceptions, often you may find that the root of the problem is not the customers themselves, but rather your business…or worse,  you or an employee on your team. By taking time to unveil these problems, you can take the time to find solutions that will help avoid difficult customers in the future.

 

In Conclusion
Life – like business – introduces conflict, frustrations and more. Make it your choice to deal with these moments and the people involved in them in as professional of a fashion as possible to avoid more escalated, undesired scenarios later. And as I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, you may even learn a thing or two from difficult customers that can help your business and even you find stronger success.

To view the original post please visit: http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleleinbachreyhle/2015/07/03/5-ways-to-handle-difficult-customers/

7 Marketing Ideas to Make Your Mother’s Day Profitable!

by Charles Gaudet

 

Growing up as a kid, my mother would say: “Everyday is Mother’s Day!”

And while that may be true (after all, motherhood is the hardest job of them all), Mother’s Day presents a tremendous opportunity to boost sales with creative marketing ideas.

 

Strategic Entrepreneurs take advantage of these celebrations as a way to increase profits and provide value for their customers.

Spouses, children and grandparents will be spending money to help celebrate the positive contributions our mothers have made to society.

As Entrepreneurs, it’s our job to think of creative Mother’s Day marketing ideas to help make our customer’s buying decision a little easier … as well as make the day as special as possible for their moms.

Just a little effort, sprinkled with creativity, could produce a windfall of profits for your business!

While restaurants, spas, salons, florists, and clothing retailers are usually the first to come to mind when looking to spend money on mom … strategic entrepreneurs in almost any industry can also use this holiday to create a spike in sales, regardless of the business.

With honed Mother’s Day marketing ideas, retail and service businesses alike can develop methods to stimulate sales.

Mother’s Day marketing ideas need to be interesting, unique, and give your customers a reason to pay attention while creating some exciting buying opportunities for your customer!

Here are a few creative Mother’s Day marketing ideas for small business owners:

1.  What do you buy the mom that has it all?  Stores and websites can make this process easier for children, spouses, and others looking to buy something for that special lady by offering a gift guide or suggested selections for mothers based on their interests.
2. Offer a special combination of products or services just for moms, offered at a discount over each item purchased individually.
3. Free gift-wrapping is always handy and welcome (especially for busy spouses with limited time to sneak away to wrap mom’s gift).
4. Create an event for children to come inside your store and select items just for mom. Perhaps offer a special discount to children, or offer a special low-priced selection just to kids. This will bring spouses into your business that may also be looking for a gift.
5. If you’re offering a service, consider creating a tangible gift that a spouse or child can wrap up to give to their mothers. For example, if you’re a fitness trainer, perhaps you can offer a free gift basket with the purchase of a boot camp.
6. As the entrepreneur, if you know your customer or client is a mother, why not recognize them with a special gift, card, or invitation?
7. Host a special event for mothers at your store. Make it a big event (and kid friendly) as to drive traffic and interest.

Remember, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box, people love being entertained and love originality!

To view the original article please visit: http://predictableprofits.com/5-mothers-day-marketing-ideas/

10 Small Business Marketing Lessons You Need Regardless of Size

by Heidi Cohen in Small Business

 

How To Market Your Small Business With Limited Resources

Are you certain you’re taking advantage of every aspect of your marketing to get the maximum results possible given your limited resources?

 

Don’t think that this doesn’t apply to your business because it’s larger and has greater resources.

 

The reality is that the more resources you have the more complex your marketing is and the more likely it is that you’re not getting the biggest bang for your marketing buck.

 

Small businesses by their nature must ensure that every aspect of their company supports their revenue generation and growth.

 

10 Small business marketing lessons you need regardless of size

Here are the 10 small business marketing lessons I learned.

  

 

1. Take the time to get to know your customers.

Many owners jump into their business without examining and understanding their target audience.

 

Actionable Small Business Marketing Lesson: Create a marketing persona to get insights into your buyers and their purchase needs. This will save you time and money since you’ll know what your potential buyers are looking for.

 

2. Distinguish your offering from your competition.

Assess what your competitors (and close substitutes) are doing from your customers’ perspective. Then map out where there’s a gap in the offering you can fill.

 

For example, in a sea of sheep wool offerings, Bijou Basin offered yak yarn and blends. It stood out from many different types of sheep yarn.

 

By contrast, Tess Yarns provides color, color and more color. Unlike any other yarn vendor, Tess Yarns organizes their offering not by yarn size or type, but by color.

 

Actionable Small Business Marketing Lesson: Stake out an unserved or underserved segment in your market. Before you start, assess the size of your potential audience to ensure it’s big enough for you to attract sufficient prospects (Bear in mind that you’ll only convert a very small percentage of them.)

To this end, create your small business brand to distinguish your firm.

 

3. Promote your business.

You must get the word out about your business whether it’s via word of mouth or advertising. Marketing is necessary.

 

A leather craftsman named Lanny had a booth where he sold his handmade wares such as high quality belts that he sized to order while you waited. Unfortunately, he had no signage to attract shoppers or helper to handle the sales.

 

Actionable Small Business Marketing Lesson: Publicize your firm using the best methods you can afford to effectively reach your customers. Maximize every business element and interaction by incorporating your message in contextually relevant ways.

Don’t put all of your effort into doing your business to the exclusion of letting people know that it exists. (BTW—Peter Shankman wrote a great post on this: Are You a Shoemaker’s Kid?)

 

4. Choose your location with care.

Think beyond the rental cost since location, location, location matters! Sales depend on being where your audience is.

 

On digital and social media engage and provide content where your target audience spends their time. Also, choose your URL or digital address with care for memorability and ease of spelling.

 

At one point, I worked for a well-known clothing brand whose management chose its retail locations based on the cheapest price. Lower rental prices translated to lower sales.

 

Actionable Small Business Marketing Lesson: Choose to establish your business where people normally spend their time, both in the physical and the online worlds.

 

5. Appreciate that product presentation matters.

Show your product in a setting that makes people want to own it. This is why you need to provide the 5 basic content types including styling.

 

An auctioneer sold wooden thread bobbins with remnants of thread and yarn on them for $0.50 each. These spools were thrown into a box on an out of sight lower shelf.

 

While I wondered if the yarn was knitable, two women wondered how many they could get into their suitcases. When I ask what they intended to use them for, they responded that planned to sell them for $15 a piece as a home décor item. Some markup!

 

Actionable Small Business Marketing Lesson: Invest time and resources in presenting your product to attract the optimal price. You must balance the cost of your time and resources to improve your product presentation with the net increase in price. Don’t spend more than you’ll recoup in profits.

 

6. Use packaging to distinguish your offering.

Astute yarn vendors like Miss Babs monitor which patterns are popular with knitters on Ravelry, a knitting, crocheting, and spinning social media community.

 

Based on these trends, Miss Babs creates coordinated multi-color packages of pre-measured yarn that sell at a premium for the amount of yardage. Buyers are willing to pay a bit extra rather than buying larger amounts of each color.

 

Actionable Small Business Marketing Lesson: Take advantage of current trends to create more tailored offerings for which your audience will pay more. This has broad applicability for small businesses seeking to exploit opportunities such as larger quantities and home delivery.

Not sure what your audience wants? Ask them.

 

7. Underestimate customers’ desire for quality at your peril.

All else being equal customers seek superior products. In fact, many customers will pay extra to get better products.

 

With products that include an element of craftsmanship like specially produced or dyed yarn, customers choose to pay more and perceive the investment to be worth it. As a result, you make higher margins.

 

For example, no knitter wants to invest time in making an item only to have the color bleed onto their hands and clothes.

 

Actionable Small Business Marketing Lesson: Provide customers with the best quality product you can afford to keep them coming back for more.

At the Sheep and Wool Festival, knitters rush to shop at the top quality vendors and wait in long lines to purchase.

 

8. Low price always attracts buyers.

There were several examples of vendors offering bargain basement prices for odd lots of mass produced yarn. They continually attracted lines of buyers.

 

Understand that once you start competing on price, it’s a slippery slope that only leads in one direction (and that’s down.)

 

Actionable Small Business Marketing Lesson: Leverage opportunities to provide more custom, quality products where you can charge a higher price.

Have a sales bin or rack where you offer older or last season’s product at a greatly discounted price. It’s a great way to move excess inventory for your cost.

 

9. Build personal relationships.

There’s truth to the adage: people buy from people.

 

I bought a hank of fine white lace wool from Wales to make a wedding shawl because Polly, the owner, and I spent time talking about her country. She then showed me the difference in the various weights of yarn and how it knit up into shawls. I was sold.

 

Actionable Small Business Marketing Lesson: Invest your time in interacting and engaging with your prospects and customers. It will come back to you in repeat business and word of mouth reviews.

 

10. Don’t do everything yourself.

Most business owners and executives need help, especially in today’s world of vanishing support staff. Consider the value of your time and lost business if you do everything yourself. You’ll be like the leather craftsman mentioned above.

 

Actionable Small Business Marketing Lesson: Determine what tasks you can give to someone else. If you don’t have the resources to invest in hiring people, get creative about how you pay and use your time.

 

Determine if there’s some way you can exchange services or use your time to create more sales. Still need help, try your family and friends.

 

 

The bottom line: Check every element of your marketing to ensure that it’s pulling its weight in terms of yielding the highest return possible. Use these 10 small business marketing tips as a checklist.

 

What other small business marketing lessons are needed regardless of size

 

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