Tool Box
Issue No. 15 - February/March 2004
Sweating the Small Stuff of Marketing
70 Ways to Increase Sales
by Reg Templer
After working with small business owners for 12 years now, I’m still amazed at the number of people who expect miracles——hence the common use of that abhorrent term ‘marketing guru’. An even more common complaint is: “I can’t compete with the big boys.” What a lot of garbage! If that were true we’d have empty shopping malls.
Let’s be clear: marketing, like any other discipline, is plain hard work and won’t deliver miracles. If you want a miracle, pray hard and find a real guru. Marketing is about gathering heaps of information, making a detailed analysis of it and using that information to build strategies in a properly sequenced plan to make the business grow. Most of the time it’s a slow, plodding process.
What really makes the difference in marketing is lots and lots of ‘small stuff’ that is individually insignificant, but when analysed reveals gaps or patterns in markets that provide opportunities for businesses to grow.
Let’s look at small stuff that matters and makes a difference. While each business or industry differs, most of the items discussed here will apply to most.
When we look at The Good, Bad and Ugly of a business on a first visit, here are some of the things we see before even going inside.
- Location. Is the business on the right side of the road in relation to the type of business and traffic flow, or does it have access through a traffic island?
- Is parking easy; are there plenty of spaces, easy access, marked lanes? Are the entrance and exits clutter free and clearly marked?
- Are the surrounds clean and tidy and the garden colourful and neat? Is there shade and rubbish bins? What obstacles do you have to negotiate? Are shopping trolleys stacked in bays? How safe is the area?
- Are the shops clean, with attractive bright signage that clearly identifies the business? Are footpaths and windows clean? Is the area lit at night and if so what time?
- Do they display goo...
