Want a simple, low-cost way to boost your sales? Just uncover the narrowly defined sub-markets hidden in your main market. Then create special versions of your advertising to focus on the specific needs of prospects in these hidden market segments.

1. How to Find Your Hidden Markets

Start by evaluating your existing customers. Look for groups of customers with similar characteristics you do not currently cater to in your advertising. Then create new versions of your sales message appealing to their specific needs. You will attract a lot more customers just like them.

For example, the owner of an accounting service marketing to small businesses noticed that many of his new clients were landscapers or insurance brokers. Therefore he created separate web sites highlighting the unique benefits his service provided to clients in each of these businesses.

The two sites looked similar, but their sales content was customized to appeal to the specific needs of potential clients in each market. Visitors to either site probably assumed he specialized in working with companies in their industry. Within 2 months he was able to increase the number of new clients from each group by over 25 percent.

Tip: You can also narrow the appeal of an existing web site without losing its effectiveness with your main market. Just create customized web pages for each market segment you want to target. Then add a link to each of these specialized pages on your home page.

2. Adapt to Your Customers and Become a Specialist

As you work with a lot of customers and prospects in a narrowly defined market, you gain special insight into how they think and what they need. You will be able to communicate with them as in "insider" using their own special vocabulary and style.

Prospects and customers will think of you as being "one of us" …a specialist who caters to their unique needs. They will want to do business with you because you understand their special situation and know exactly what they need.

As a specialist you also eliminate much of your competition …even if their prices are lower. Most customers will pay a little more to buy from a specialist so they can avoid the risk of doing business with a competitor who has little or no understanding of their special needs.

Bonus: When you deliver results as a specialist you also establish yourself as an expert in your field. Customers will proudly refer other prospects to you. They appreciate what you did for them and are confident you will deliver the same results for others.

You can boost your sales significantly by using the two simple, low-cost steps revealed in this article. Just (1) identify the narrowly defined sub-markets hidden in your main market. Then (2) become a specialist catering to the unique needs of the customers in each of these sub-markets.

Copyright 2008 Bob Leduc www.BobLeduc.com

Here are 9 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to help you boost your sales and profits fast.

Tip 1:
Look for some low-cost ways you can enhance the perceived value of your product or service. Then test raising your price. Don't be surprised if both your sales and your profit margin go up.

Tip 2:
Try to limit your customer's decision making to either "Yes. I'll buy." or "No. I won't buy". Don't risk losing them by including "which one" decisions. The more options you offer, the more likely some customers will procrastinate and never make the decision …causing you to lose a sale needlessly.

Tip 3:
You can demonstrate a low cost for your product or service by breaking down the price to its lowest time increment. For example, "Enjoy all of this for less than 90 cents a day" (for something priced at $325 a year).

Tip 4:
Add an unexpected bonus to every sales transaction just before completing the sale. It prevents customers from developing any last minute hesitation …and changing their minds about buying.

Tip 5:
Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. Postcards are inexpensive and easy to use. Most recipients who ignore other types of advertising will read a brief ad when it's delivered to them on a postcard.

Tip 6:
Prospects who ask questions are usually close to buying. Take advantage of this. Don't just answer their question. Include a reason for them to buy as part of your answer. Then ask for the sale …or tell them exactly what to do to place their order.

Tip 7:
Collect testimonials from your customers and use them in all your advertising. Testimonials provide evidence that your product or service delivers the results you promise. For maximum impact, use only testimonials that describe specific results the customer enjoyed.

Tip 8:
Include "benefit rich" headlines on all your web pages. Many visitors arrive at a web page then immediately click away …unless something instantly catches their attention.

Tip 9:
Continually test and evaluate everything you use or do to promote your business. Allocate 80 percent of your advertising budget to proven promotions. Use the other 20 percent for testing new variations. Most businesses using this system continue growing - even in highly competitive markets.

Bonus Tip:
Handle customer complaints quickly and with a positive attitude. Strive to preserve your relationship with them instead of your immediate profit from the transaction. They will reward you with repeat sales and referrals …instead of punishing you by telling everybody they know about their unhappy experience and causing you to lose future customers.

Each of these marketing tips provides a simple, low-cost way for you to boost your sales and profits quickly. All you have to do is to put them into action.

Copyright 2008 Bob Leduc www.BobLeduc.com

You'll always need to find new prospects for your business. But don't overlook the prospects you already attracted. Many are close to buying. Use these four simple procedures to convert those "almost customers" into paying customers.

1. Make A Memorable Impression

Create a reason for prospects and customers to notice you …and to think of you when they encounter a competitor.

Many prospects who do not buy from you the first time will come back to buy later. Existing customers will also remember you. They'll come back to buy again — and they'll send pre-sold referrals to you.

One easy way to establish a memorable identity is to create an important reason for customers to do business with you instead of with your competitors.

The advantage you offer doesn't have to be dramatic to be memorable IF you promote it aggressively. It can be as simple as delivering faster results, more personalized attention or a better guarantee than your competitors.

Tip: Combine several small advantages like those described above to create a big (and more memorable) advantage over your competitors.

2. Follow Up Consistently

Most prospects do not buy the first time they see or hear about you. But they will if you follow up with them.

Your follow up can be as simple as contacting them occasionally with a new offer. Or it can be more complex such as publishing a weekly newsletter with useful information and articles.

If you don't already have a way to collect their address, you can get it by offering a valuable gift that you deliver only by email or postal mail.

For example, offer a special report, a list of sources or some other valuable information they cannot get anywhere else. These are valuable to customers and prospects — but they won't cost you much to provide.

3. Make Sure You Answer These 7 Buyer's Questions

Prospective customers will not buy from you until all 7 of the following questions are answered. Customers may not consciously think about these questions. But they will not buy until all 7 are answered in their minds:

1: Exactly what are you offering?
2: Why do I need (or want) it?
3: How can I believe your claims?
4: Why should I get it from you?
5: How fast can I get it?
6: What if I don't like it after I get it?
7: What do I need to do to get it?

Make sure you answer all 7 of these buyer's questions in your web site, sales letters and other selling tools.

Tip: Present everything in term of the benefit it provides to customers. For example, don't just list testimonials from satisfied customers (your answer to question 3). Point out that those testimonials prove you really do deliver what you promise.

4. Keep Your Ordering Procedure Simple

Use an uncomplicated and fast ordering procedure. Every additional action you ask customers to perform and every additional decision you ask them to make after they already decided to buy can cause them to reverse their decision.

For example, many online marketers use a shopping cart to process their orders when they could use a simple online order form. Each unnecessary step in the shopping cart process is an opportunity for customers to abandon their order …a sale lost needlessly.

Tip: Don't ask for unnecessary information during the ordering process. Instead, send a personalized "thank you" message after the sale and include a brief request for the additional information.

Don't overlook the easy sales you can get from old prospects that are almost ready to buy? Use these 4 simple procedures to cultivate your "almost customers" and turn them into paying customers.

Copyright 2008 Bob Leduc www.BobLeduc.com

Here are 7 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to help any small business find customers and generate sales quickly.

1. Don't Advertise Like a Big Business

Big businesses advertise to create name recognition and future sales. A small business can't afford to do that. Instead, design your advertising to produce sales …now. One way to accomplish this is to always include an offer in your advertising - and an easy way for prospective customers to respond to it.

2. Offer a Cheaper Version

Some prospective customers are not willing to pay the asking price for your product or service. Others are more interested in paying a low price than in getting the best quality. You can avoid losing sales to many of these customers by offering a smaller or stripped down version of your product or service at a lower price.

3. Offer a Premium Version

Not all customers are looking for a cheap price. Many are willing to pay a higher price to get a premium product or service. You can boost your average size sale and your total revenue by offering a more comprehensive product or service …or by combining several products or services in a special premium package offer for a higher price.

4. Try Some Unusual Marketing Methods

Look for some unconventional marketing methods your competitors are overlooking. You may discover some highly profitable ways to generate sales and avoid competition. For example, print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your website or generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.

5. Trim Your Ads

Reduce the size of your ads so you can run more ads for the same cost. You may even be surprised to find that some of your short ads generate a better response than their longer versions.

6. Set up Joint Promotions with Other Small Businesses

Contact some non-competing small businesses serving customers in your market. Offer to publicize their products or services to your customers in exchange for their publicizing your services to their customers. This usually produces a large number of sales for a very low cost.

7. Take Advantage of Your Customers

Your customers already know and trust you. It's easier to get more business from them than to get any business from somebody who never bought from you. Take advantage of this by creating some special deals just for your existing customers …and announce new products and services to them before you announce them to the general market.

Also, convert your customers into publicity agents for your business. Develop an incentive for them to tell associates and friends about the value of your products or services. An endorsement from them is more effective than any amount of advertising - and it is much cheaper.

Each of these 7 marketing tips provides a simple, low-cost way for any small business to find customers and generate sales quickly.

Copyright 2008 Bob Leduc http://BobLeduc.com

What do you think?

Today we will look at three of the forces in the Porters Five Forces Analysis.

1. Threat of Substitutes

Substitute products are products in other industries. 

From an economist's perspective, a threat of substitute is when demand for a product is affected by the price change of a substitute product.

A product's price is always affected by substitute products.

As more substitute products become available the demand becomes more unstable because customers have more options. If a substitute is very similar to the original this limit's the company's ability to raise prices.

The competition that comes from a Threat of Substitute comes from product outside the industry.

For example, the price of aluminum cans is affected by the price of glass bottles and plastic containers. These containers are substitute but not rivals in the aluminum can industry.

In the trucking industry, tires are expensive and have to be replaced often. Therefore, retreading old tires is a viable market and serves as a Threat of Substitute to new tire manufacturers.

In the cloth diaper industry, disposable diapers are a threat of substitute and keeps prices in check.

Price competition isn't the only way Threat of Substitutes impacts a business. In the entertainment industry new technology creates substitutes because there are now a variety of ways for consumers to access entertainment (cable, satellite, cell phone, and internet).

For example, to compete with free TV, cable TV has to offer a greater variety of stations and entertainment.

2. Buyer Power

Buyer power is the impact that customers have on an industry. When buyer power is strong, the situation is what an economist terms a monopsony.

This is a market in which there are many suppliers and one buyer. Under these market conditions, the price is set by the buyer. In reality there are only a few pure monopsonies, but there often is some imbalance between an industry and buyers.

Here are some factors that determine buyer power:

Buyers are Powerful When:

- - Buyers are concentrated, leaving only a few buyers with significant market share. For example,
    Department of Defense purchases from contractors
- - Buyers can threaten to buy the firm or a competitor's firm
- - Buyers purchase a significant proportion of output - Example: Circuit City and Sears' huge retail
     market gives them power over appliance manufacturers.

Buyers are Weak When:

- - Producers can provide their own retailing and distribution 
- - Large buyer switching costs - Buyers can't easily switch to a new product
- - Buyers are fragmented because there are so many of them and no buyer has any special influence
     on the price. This is the case with most consumer products.
- - The products supply a critical component to the buyer - Example: PC manufacturers' reliance on
     Intel.

3. Supplier Power

A business that manufactures products requires raw materials for those products as well as labor and other components. This creates relationships between buyers and suppliers.

Powerful suppliers can exert a large influence on the industry by selling raw materials at a high price and keep some of the industry's profits to themselves.

Here are some factors that determine supplier power:

Suppliers are concentrated. For example, the drug industry's relationship with hospitals
Cost of switching suppliers is too high - Such as Microsoft's relationship with PC manufacturers.
Customers are powerful

Suppliers are Weak If:

- - There are many competitive suppliers and the product is standardized- - There are generic brands
- - Customers are weak
- - Purchases are concentrated 

SWOT analysis considers an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

The greatest strength of SWOT is also its greatest weakness: flexibility. Because of the flexibility the SWOT analysis can be used in a variety of situations, such as developing a career plan, as we've discussed in a previous article.

But this flexibility means that there can be a number of irregularities in the data. To overcome this, you can add the following to your SWOT analysis:

Personal Experience

How do you personally fit into the SWOT analysis? Your attitudes, experiences, skills, beliefs all have an impact on the SWOT. Also make note of any biases you might have.

The Proper Order

Sometimes the marketing manager will accidentally reverse opportunities and strengths and threats and weaknesses.

The difference between internal strengths and weaknesses and external strengths and weaknesses can be difficult to spot.

For example, in the case of global warming, one could mistake the environmental movement as a threat rather than as an opportunity.

Weighting

It can be helpful to use percentages while weighing the factors of the SWOT analysis. For example, Threat A = 15%, Threat B = 80%, Threat C = 5%. Make sure it adds up to 100%.

Emphasize Detail

Details, explanations and justifications are often omitted from the SWOT analysis. Instead, SWOT analysis reports often just contain lists of single words.

For example, under opportunities one might find the single word "technology." 

This one word doesn't tell the reader very much. A description like the following would be much more informative:

'Technology makes it possible for marketers to communicate via mobile phone right up until the point of purchase. This gives the opportunity of a competitive advantage for our company.'

Writing out detailed descriptions will assist you when deciding upon how best to weight each of your elements.

Rank and Prioritize

Once you write out the details and you've weighed the elements and assigned the appropriate percentages, you can then give your SWOT analysis some strategic meaning. In other words, you can begin to select those factors that will be the most important as you create your marketing strategy.

This will be a mix of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. You should rank them highest to lowest. Then you should prioritize those with the highest rank.

For example: if Opportunity C = 50%, Opportunity A = 35%, and Opportunity B = 15% - your marketing plan should pursue Opportunity C first, and Opportunity B last.

It is important to focus primarily on opportunities because your business should be market oriented. Then you'll match strengths to opportunities and look for a fit. If there are any gaps between current strengths and future opportunities you should address those.

Also, try to rephrase threats as opportunities (as with the above global warming and climate change example) and address weaknesses so that they become strengths.

Perform a "gap analysis" to determine where you are now and where you want to be. Come up with strategies to bridge the gap between them.