The following is a guest post by Keith Avis. You can find him over at keithavis.com, where he offers independent and honest views on the world of internet marketing.
When I first started blogging in February I looked at the screen and thought, how am I going to offer anything that will be of interest to people? I had trawled through the web for inspiration and had landed on some really useful sites, such as this one. My aim was to offer a different perspective on the world of Internet Marketing, specifically addressing why the failure rate is so high, but I’m not an experienced internet marketer so I struggled with how could I add gravitas to what I was saying.
It was on my way to work in London that I suddenly realized that we are exposed to good (and bad) business practices every day – it is just a matter of tuning your mind to look for them.
I remember taking a photography course when I was younger. My tutor told me to look at everything as a potential picture, and I think you can apply that logic directly to business – you can look to gain inspiration from all that is around you. I use that technique to bring my blogs to life and I’d like to use this opportunity to pass on some of the examples that I have found.
The Power of Simple Solutions
How many times have you had a palm of the hand to the forehead moment, where you come across something that is so strikingly obvious you wonder why it had not been thought of before? I had that a couple of months back.
I was walking past a cafe on the way to work and noticed that it had changed management. It was a pretty standard set up, selling the usual fare to regular custom. I didn’t imagine that it was making a great deal of profit, but it was placed on the corner of a market, so there was definitely custom to be had if you could attract people through the door.
So this all seems pretty unspectacular on face value, but the most amazing thing – and my reason for covering this with you – was that within a month, the new owner must have tripled the profits. So what did he do?
He opened a window.
In short, he noticed all of the people walking by the cafe in the market, and instead of trying to drive them through the door he sold food out of the window to passing trade. Of course, it was important to have a good selection of food to secure the return custom, but word soon got around and the cafe continues to be incredibly successful.
I think the point here – which can be applied to any line of work – is that sometimes it is the simple ideas that can produce amazing results. Certainly in this instance, the owner recognized the need to make his cafe more accessible to customers and found an easy solution.
Value Your Customers and They Will Value You
Everyone in business talks a good game about valuing customers, but in my experience, few actually put what they say into practice.
Having said that, I had a really positive experience a few weeks ago. One of the brake lights had stopped working in my car, so I drove to my local repair shop for a new bulb. The cost was about $5, but in making my purchase I was taken aback by the assistant who offered to fit it for me – free of charge. I accepted and ten minutes later I drove off with my new light.
It is not usual for me to receive such good service, so I mentioned the story to my friends. As it turned out, one of them was looking for a new satnav and on my recommendation he went to the shop – the outcome being that he ended up spending the best part of $200. So, the ten minutes the shop had invested in my $5 spend had turned into $200 worth of custom.
There is often talk of the ‘long dollar’ – investing in something that is small with an eye on longer term profits, and I think that the above story is proof that it works. It’s also a great example of the power of good customer relations that we can all apply. Through a good customer service experience, I have now become a walking advertisement for the shop and am driving custom to them.
Adding value definitely pays, but as a business owner it also makes you feel good about what you want to achieve. It’s a win/win situation.
Invest In Your Customers’ Experience
It goes without saying that every business should have a vision of what they want to offer their customers and how they want to develop. But there is a danger in this approach: that the business reflects what the owner has in mind, rather than what the customer wants.
Around where I live there is the usual selection of large supermarkets fighting for my custom, which has resulted in the familiar price war. Strangely, the shop with the biggest custom is not the cheapest – it is the one that has recognized what customers need.
The shop realized that we really don’t enjoy food shopping – we want to be in and out as quickly as possible and don’t like spending time at the checkout. So, the shop was the first to introduce hand-held barcode readers in the area. The potential downside for the shop is that customers can monitor how much they spend when shopping, so you would think profits would be down. But that does not seem to be the case. Sure, they probably make less profit per customer, but if they are getting more people through the door because they are offering a more convenient service then I’m guessing that the balance sheets are looking pretty healthy.
The moral of the story? It is vitally important to know who your customers are and what they want from you. If you are offering a service that they need then you should be onto a winner. It sounds simple, but if you look around, it’s amazing how many businesses are missing a trick here.
Don’t Follow the Pack – Play to Your Strengths
To my mind, there is nothing more pleasing than to see a new entrant to a market ruffle the feathers of some of the established players. It’s great for competition and consumers, but it’s so easy to get things wrong.
Last year, an independent coffee shop opened up in my local shopping mall. They were in direct competition with the usual chains, but, I thought, had a real opportunity to offer something a bit different and be flexible in targeting their customer base. Unfortunately, they decided to tackle the big players head on – basically copying the style of the shop and offering the same selection of drinks, pastries and cookies. The result was that they were squeezed out of the market within six months.
It’s a pretty sad story, but it does reinforce my belief that anyone new to a market needs to understand the competition and play to their unique strengths – offering an alternative to what else is on offer, whether it be through new products or a different customer experience.
And to Wrap Up…
I do strongly believe that anyone can be successful in achieving the goals that they have set for themselves. In my view, sites such as Leaving Work Behind are a great way to exchange views; not just to hear how people are progressing in their own field but to learn from their experiences as they do from yours.
I think that it’s important to draw inspiration to help us move forward in what we want to achieve, and that doesn’t have to be through reading a mass of books. I am more of a thinker than a reader and I hope that some of the examples I have used here have given you some food for thought.
I am still a relative newbie so I look forward to engaging with you on the LWB Community Forums and hearing about your journey. Good luck with your own ventures!
Photo Credit: marfis75
Taylor says
The “don’t follow the pack” point is especially important for me as a personal finance and budget lifestyle blog. There is a gazillion of us. I’m still trying to flesh out what makes me different in a sea of bloggers that talk about pretty similar topics. And down the line when I offer products I’ll have to create something that goes completely against the grain or it will get lost in cyberspace.
Erika Volk says
I can certainly relate Taylor. I have a fitness, nutrition and lifestyle blog. I though about going into a less competitive niche but I am passionate about fitness. This post inspired me to be more observant of what others in my niche are doing.
Keith Avis says
It’s an interesting point Taylor. My view is that there is a balance to be achieved. On the one hand I think it is important to understand and give your customers what they want. But at you say, it is also important to stand out from the crowd and offer something that is unique.
Keith
Ivy says
Keith, great post. I love the idea of simple solutions. I have a tendency to to over-think things and make them more complicated then they need to be! When you are new to something, like I am to blogging, its also easy to overload on all the information and advice (good and bad) available on the internet. Do you have any tips for simplifying your thought processes?
Keith Avis says
Ivy, I also had a tendency to over-play things, but as I’m trying to build up my website while holding down a full time job, its important for me to manage things as efficiently as possible. Some of the things that work for me are:
– To be clear on what success looks like, and then work back to understand the milestones and workstreams to achieve it. This helps me to prioritize on what is really needed.
– I know if I have a sound plan that I have taken the time to fully scope out I am more likely to stick to it.
– I try and work up a ‘to do’ plan every week as that keeps me focused.
– If I do come across something new that looks interesting I’ll generally bookmark it for the future, but I’ll stick to my original plan.
I hope that this helps. As I say, this seems to be working for me at the moment.
Keith
Ivy says
Thank you! I think that is very sound advice. Come to think of it, I am usually able to keep a much clearer mind-set when I have a plan. I also have a full-time job aside from my writing, 1 toddler and a baby on the way so these tips are more important than ever to me!
Gina says
You can do it Ivy! I’m a working mom of two, 2.5 & 1 & an aspiring writer. Why can’t we make it happen?
Great article Keith, good luck!
Ivy says
Gina, thanks so much for the words of encouragement! I think we can definitely do it! 🙂 Good luck with your writing!
If you ever want to connect, you can find me at thewideopenmind.com. I have some inspirational articles on there about the challenges of parenting while doing what you love. Best of luck to you!
Shay Leonora says
Thank you…I was feeling a little down about my business but your post has re-invigorated me!
Keith Avis says
It’s great that you are feeling re-invigorated about your business Shay. Sometimes it’s tough to keep going, but I always revert back to why I started in the first place and that seems to give me the push that I need.