| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Testing Your Way To Prosperity
I have always enjoyed talking to a Realtor friend of mine about his Father-in-laws business. His business is Gold Mining and he has been involved in it full time for nearly his whole life. My friend has a good relationship with his Father-in-law and often spends time helping him in this business and has learned a lot about prospecting and mining and the other facets of this extremely risky industry. One of the interesting things that I learned from my friend is that gold mining is a lot more complicated than it seems. You don't just go find nuggets and start digging, at least, not any more. There are very few places where gold can be found in large enough nuggets to make this an effective option. In most instances the actual gold is very fine, often almost too small to see, or is embedded in some other rock. You don't just sift through the dirt and pick out the chunks of gold. Instead you have to dig up tons of earth (sometimes as much as 2 tons per ounce of gold), crush it and run it through several physical and chemical processes in order to extract the small amount of gold from the rest of the dirt. Prospecting in business is much the same. You have to go through a lot of useless dirt before you find the gold. Unfortunately for my friend, there is no set system for processing the ore and turning it into the much desired end result, pure gold. Since the geological and chemical makeup of the rock and earth varies dramatically from location to location one has to test different processes through trial and error to determine whether or not there is a cost effective way to extract the gold. For instance it doesn't do you much good to pay $500 to extract an ounce of gold if the going price of gold is $300 an ounce. Finding not only an area that has rich reserves of gold but also a cost-effective process for extracting it is the key. Successfully accomplishing this is called "CRACKING THE CODE" by some in the industry. Once you have cracked the code you are set, because you know that it's just a matter of how much raw material you put in the front door that will determine how much gold comes out of the back. Your business is no different. "Cracking the Code" should be your major focus. Once you have successfully cracked the code, or in other words, created a system that regularly and dependably brings in business regardless of the external environment you have effectively created your own little gold mine. It will simply be a matter of how much you put in the front door, so to speak, that will determine your income. The important question then is: "How do I crack the code?" Just like gold mines different businesses have different dynamics. There are any numbers of variables that change from industry to industry. The fact is that each of us has a somewhat unique situation we call our business. And some techniques will work better in some businesses than others. Therefore, the only way to "crack the code" in your business is to do the same thing as the gold miners do. You must systematically test different tactics and faithfully track your results. This is the only way to know which systems are working and which are not. If they are not working you must refine and improve them. Even if they are working you should continue to test in order to continually improve your results. In gold mining you have to put out thousands if not millions of dollars attempting to crack the code. In business the only risk you have to take is an inexpensive test. Each of these tests puts you that much closer to cracking the code for your area. Don't underestimate the power that one or two small changes can make in your business. There is real power in testing. By improving one area of your business you will improve your business geometrically. But by testing and improving in multiple areas of your business you can create exponential growth in your business. For instance, let's say you are able to improve the response rate to an ad by 20%. If the other factors of your business stay the same then this will result in a 20% increase in your business (for no extra cost because you are paying the same for the ad whether it produces better or not). Now, on the other hand, let's say you improve the response rate to your ad by 20% and you also improve your conversion rate of leads converted to customers by 25%. Now you not only are getting more leads but you are converting more of them to business. This actually results in a 50% overall increase in your business and income. That's exponential growth! All of this at no extra cost to you. You are simply making the existing systems in your business work harder for you and work together. After this you could find other cost-effective promotions for bringing in leads and other ways to improve your conversion, you could work on increasing the income per completed transaction, or increasing the number of referrals received from past clients or increase the number of ads you run. The potential for improvement is nearly limitless and the risk in nearly nothing. It is amazing to me how few people test and track the processes in their business. They place the fate of themselves and their families and perhaps many others on the hope of pure guesswork. It's no wonder so many small businesses go under. Constantly testing and refining your marketing systems will yield rich rewards and is simple to do. First, look at your past history and establish a baseline for each factor in your business. Such as: Cost per lead Second, conservatively test the individual factors of your business. Such as: Ad Copy Third, change or add those factors which testing proves to be better. If it is a better way of doing a certain part of your business then replace the old way with the new. If it is an additional way of increasing business then add it to your existing system. By continually testing and improving your way of doing business you assure yourself of staying ahead of your competition and guarantee future growth that can be exponential growth. The sky is the limit. Shawn Meldrum has spent the last two decades marketing everything from almonds to landscape lighting. He currently specializes in marketing for mortgage brokers, loan officers and real estate agents. For free mortgage marketing articles and much more visit: http://www.MortgageMarketingTips.com/
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Direct Mail Marketing Done Correctly, Cannot Fail So how do you do it?Direct mail marketing. When it comes to marketing your product or services there are two basic challenges:1. Where to Look for New Donors for Your Fundraising Letter Appeals Have you ever studied your best donors and wished you could clone them all? Maybe you can, with a bit of creative thinking.1. How to Really Get Your Customers What Really Makes Your Postcard Mailing Successful? The biggest single factor in the success of your postcard mailings is who you send your postcards to.You need a list of people or businesses to send your postcard offer to. After The Mailing Is Done, What Happens Next? If you're doing any sort of marketing effort, whether it's getting news coverage or sending a postcard, you must be prepared for what happens next. If you're sending postcards promoting your business, and you have people working for you, tell them that you sent the card. Youre Halfway There!...Or Not Part 2 Now that you have had a chance to create a game plan for accomplishing your business goals during the third quarter of this year, let's focus on the fourth quarter of this year.These last three months of the year are not only crucial for meeting business goals for this year, they are also crucial for making sure you head into the next year on track towards meeting and exceeding future business goals. 15-Minute Marketing: Lots of Results in Little Time Do you think you don't have enough time to market? Here's a solution that can help you get started on marketing, or any other task you've been putting off.Promise yourself you will spend 15 uninterrupted minutes working on one aspect of marketing. Do You Really Know Your Prospect? I'd like to introduce you to someone. I don't actually know his name, but I'm hoping you do. Eight Steps To A Great Marketing Plan Step 1: Where Am I Now? Before you decide where you want your marketing plan to take you,you need to find out where you are now. How have you positioned your business in the market? How do your customers see you? You may want to ask some of them for feedback. T.E.A.M Profit As you network and meet other business owners, keep this philosophy in mind: "Together Everyone Achieves More Profit"Remember this when you meet someone with a business that serves your target market. Think about how each of you can work together to achieve more and grow your businesses. Why Market Research Will Help Your Business Do Crucial Market Research For Free, On Your OwnIs market research only for big corporations with deep pockets? No-actually, any business can put simple market research into place, and get about 80% of the benefit of the big, complex, expensive methods-without paying a penny.In my own one-person business, I've used informal market research to:Determine where ad dollars were effective, and where they were wasted. Happy Hunting! Before you ever get on the telephone, send a marketing piece or set up an appointment with a potential customer, you must first identify whom that customer might be. To do that, you will need to create an "ideal customer profile"-a profile of who would be the best possible prospect for you and whatever you are selling. How To Use The Og In All Of Us To Make More Money 5000 B.C. How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 1 In the following 'special report,' I will reveal some very powerful marketing strategies and psychological motivators that can easily help you make more profits from your business, no matter what business you're in.Be sure to read it thoroughly, and take notes as needed so that you can take maximum advantage of the information being covered. Marketing Miracles - Do They Just Happen? A simple answer to that is: Yes, Marketing Miracles happen! But, these marketing miracles do not just happen. The process is not instant. Network Your Way to Success- 12 Tips to Jumpstart Your Business Lots of people network but few reap the rewards of zeroing in on their potential when it comes to networking. Here are some tips to help fill the gap between where you are now and where you can be. Self Promotion Brings Business Success Your business success depends on your ability to promote your services, your products, and yourself. Fortunately, promotion is simple. Get Results: Start with Your Marketing Message and Objective Recently I was talking with a very bright traditional marketer on the value of integrating Internet marketing into an enterprise's marketing mix. Personally, I have witnessed significant and measurable increases in the online results of an enterprise when they include traditional marketing strategies like direct mail, radio, television or publicity with their internet marketing strategies. The Right Logo The Logo: a little historyLogotype, commonly know as a logo, is a design, a graphic representation/image/trademark symbolizing one's organization. Designed for instant identification, a logo can appear on company letterhead, advertising material and signs as an emblem by way of which the organization can easily be recognized. Top 10 Dos and Donts for an Effective Business Referral Network! Every business - particularly small, entrepreneurial or professional businesses - must have a powerful referral network. It is very unlikely (and terribly expensive) to "advertise your way to success". Direct Mail Formats: How to Choose the Right One for Your Next Mailing Which pulls the best response, a postcard, a self-mailer or a letter? The answer, you'll be irritated to know, is clear. It depends.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |
