Key Tactics For Small Business Success.

Written by: Dr. L. P. Jones

For most small business owners, business ownership is a dream come true. However, operating successfully requires implementing effective strategies to overcome challenges.  Here are some tactical approaches to marketing that are sure to make your business a success.

1. Devise A Unique Selling Proposition.

Customers are attracted to things that benefit THEM. A unique selling proposition emphasizes the benefits your customers will gain from doing business with you.

 

The benefit is not about you, however. It is about your customers.

Think of a unique benefit or combination of benefits your competition cannot or is not willing to offer. For example:

• Freebies
• Durability
• Flexible return policy
• Quicker service
• Excellent customer service
• Access to resource

If you want to stand out, propose to your customers with offers that benefit THEM.

 

2. Promote Complementary Products

Today’s customers are focused on getting what they need conveniently. So, if you have products that complement their needs, create ways to attract them to those complementary products. Not only can you increase your sales volume, but you may save your customers time in getting more products they can use in one shopping experience.

 

3. Offer Deals With Expiration

On-going offers encourage procrastination and do little to persuade customers to act quickly. If your customers know they have little time to take advantage of a great deal, they will likely prioritize making that purchase while the deal is available.

 

With these simple tactics, you can overcome some marketing challenges and steer your business toward success.

 

Five Ways to Gain Expert Recognition

Regardless of your profession, being the most credible in that area of expertise is an advantage. To build expertise, however, takes hard work and experience. It involves studying, developing, and mastering practical skills, and then applying those skills to the highest standards.

If you feel you are an expert in your field, here are five ways to start establishing your reputation.

Publish a Book or Series of Reports 

The internet has made this much easier. You can now create an e-book that can be downloaded without having to involve a publisher. A well-written book or series of reports will establish your reputation as an expert in your field.
 
Write Articles

By publishing information-packed articles, you will soon enjoy the status of being seen as an authority on your topic. This can lead to joint ventures and many other exciting opportunities that you would have never enjoyed otherwise!
 
Create a Website

Set up a user-friendly website that will appeal to customers, and you have expanded the reach of your reputation. Keep it timely and informative, and people will continue to return to your site. If you do not know how to set up a website, there are plenty of web designers who do.
 
Do Public Speaking

Speaking to a local group of people can establish you as an expert and get you referrals that may lead to a wider audience. If you are not sure you can speak in public, preparation and rehearsal are the keys to success. 

• Aim your presentation at the right level,
• Follow a sensible sequence,
• Try not to sound like a dry textbook-like monologue,
• Write down your main points so you are not relying solely on your memory, and
• Start in front of a small audience. 

 
Teach Workshops or Seminars

If you have knowledge that people would like to tap into, you can pass on your expertise. Give a well-planned presentation, and they will recognize you as an authority in your subject. You will also meet people who are likely to recommend you to others.

Summary
Any of these methods will start building your reputation as an expert. Use them correctly to gain the sort of reputation that will have potential clients approaching you, without you having to seek them out. 

The Pressure For Productivity

 

With more professionals working from home, organizations have yet another cause for concern about productivity. The assurance that employees are putting in the time and effort to do their job has led companies to take some steps to keep tabs on the activities of their workers.

Many companies have strict guidelines for employees to show they are on the job and are being productive. The approaches they use include virtual clocking in and out, monitoring work laptops, tracking mouse and keyboard movements, and monitoring employees’ emails and communications.

In working remotely, employees might feel a greater need, too, to show they are available to their companies, which may lead them to stay online for longer hours than they would if they were working at their physical work location. The pressure to meet productivity expectations, however, can leave less time for personal rejuvenation, and lead to mental fatigue, poor health, and exhaustion.

While effective management is essential, a joint effort between organizations and employees to combat the pressure could result in greater productivity as well as preserve a healthy work-life balance. There are four tips leaders can try.

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Here four tips workers can try.

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How We Transformed to Digital

It happened so naturally that when a colleague asked about the impact of COVID-19 on my business, I responded, “Hmmm. It was minimally.” In some cases, I easily answered, “It didn’t have an impact.” 

At the time, I didn’t see, feel, or even thought about the impact. 

It took weeks of privately mulling the question, on and off, before realizing just how much God’s directive to transform to digital had lessened the impact on my company. His directive was months before COVID-19 became a major concern in the U.S., and, notedly, even the awareness of God’s role, in initiating the process, was slow coming. 

It was nearing the last quarter of 2019 when a thought occurred to me, out of nowhere or so I thought, to shift my focus and marketing efforts to digital. Until that moment, my husband, who is in charge of sales and marketing, had prioritized his preference for personal selling. And he was good at it. The sale of my books was going well. In fact, prior to releasing my latest novel, Everything She Needs, he had generated a sizeable amount of pre-orders that getting the book in the hands of the readers felt urgent.

The request for our professional development training was increasing as well. Although we have an online platform, he focused on in-person training, primarily. In planning for 2020, he had already booked dates with local organizations and was in talks with prospects from Africa to expand our reach. We had conducted training sessions with entrepreneurs from Gabon, and he was excited about the developing plans with contacts there to expand into the region.

It was amidst the planning that the thought to prioritize a transformation to digital occurred to me. As the link between the company and the public, this meant my husband had to change his marketing strategy. I discussed it with him, made it the theme for 2020, and built a marketing course for us.  

After conducting research, I also invested in new marketing software, digital delivery services, and built an online store to expand the distribution channels for my books, beyond Amazon. I revamped our Learning Management System (LMS) platform for delivery of our courses and training, and developed a marketing plan that prioritized online activities.

From a business perspective, the restructuring was necessary to keep with the growing trend towards “online everything” in the business environment. However, as a small business, the steps were taken in strides. My husband slowly adapted, and we embraced the steep learning curve. By the time COVID-19 was generating major concerns and forcing businesses to go remote, we were ahead of the curve.

Transforming to digital is not a new concept. However, with the impact of COVID-19, now more than ever, small business owners should consider it a necessity for survival.

Benefits of Transforming to Digital
1.     Reach more potential customers
2.      Increase sales
3.      Engage customers
4.      Improve efficiency
5.      Enhance creativity
6.      Improve the speed of delivery
7.      Collect data in real-time
8.      Make informed strategic decisions
9.      Satisfy environmental responsibility
10     Stay competitive

While transforming to digital presents small business owners with more ways to add value to their product offerings, aspiring entrepreneurs, too, can take advantage of digital technologies to seize the opportunities in the altering business landscape. 

Laura P. Jones, PhD

Managing Stress

Three Tips to Combat Stress

By: Laura P. Jones, PhD

There’s something about a social disturbance that can stretch and bend the components of our emotions into a meltdown. 

From the disruption of a pandemic lockdown, job loss, and economic uncertainties to the deprivation of the most basic necessity, air to breathe, the pressure from stresses in life can default us to a state of screaming, silently, in our heads, I can’t breathe. 

As life at that moment can feel most hopeless, and the triggers of a fixed-mindset persona easily set in to dominate any thoughts of overcoming, there is not a better time to protest, within ourselves, for the right to grab hold of the fading glimmer of hope dissipating in the despair. 

For any reason, the strength to transform our minds amidst life’s disturbances is a right we owe ourselves, and we can develop such strength even in the face of life’s most stressful and even prolong ordeals. 

Here are three tips to do just that.

Identify the Stressors

Stressors can be people, things, events, or experiences that pose a real or perceive threat either physically, emotionally, or psychologically. Pinpointing them is the first step to managing them. 

Eliminate Whatever is Tiring, Unnecessary, and Unimportant

Creating balance in your life is critical. Find the pieces of life that hold worth and importance to you and focus your time and energy on those things. Whenever possible, isolate yourself from people, things, or events that drain your energy and pursue things that bring you joy and contentment.   

Nurture A Positive Attitude

A positive attitude is a choice. It requires finding the good in situations and directing more focus toward it. In troubled times, doing so might seem an impossible task. However, it is not. Some of the simplest things that are overlooked, can be reasons for gratitude. A focus on these things can bring calmness and help in managing your thoughts, emotions, and behavioral responses in a way that enables overcoming the upheavals from the stresses in life.

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