Page 41 - Flathead Beacon // 12.31.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM BUSINESS BUSINESS IS PERSONAL Mark Riffey
Reinvigorate Your Business W For The New Year
HILE I SUSPECT YOU’VE walk away.
already done your strategic Among other things, it’s the sign that business planning for 2015, they can’t read, the phone that wasn’t
DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 41 It’s Worth the Drive on
406-844-3501 23705 Highway 93 S. Rollins, MT
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you might still be wondering what else you could do to “turn the knob” on all or part of your business.
It’s a natural thought process at this time of year. In the words of Saturday Night Live ... you think your business “needs more cowbell.”
Here’s a checklist of baby steps you can take that will help you reinvigorate your business without spending a ton of money.
MARKETING
The best way to not spend a ton of money on marketing is to track the re- sponse you get. You can do this with tools ranging from a yellow pad and a pen, to a spreadsheet, to sophisticated software. The key isn’t the tool you’ve chosen as much as it is that you actually track response and make future market- ing decisions based on what those re- sponses tell you.
For example, if you advertise on the radio, on cable TV, in a newspaper, email, web advertising and via direct mail, you need to be able to tell which of those are making the phone ring and making sales happen. It may not be one of them, it might be all of them or a subset of them.
You need to know which media work for you and which don’t. It doesn’t mat- ter if one works for someone else if it doesn’t work for you.
Likewise, sales copy that works on the radio may not work on one or more of those other media.
You need to know which campaigns work on which media.
Ultimately, you need to know what works so you can stop spending money on what doesn’t.
ACCOUNTING
Do whatever it takes to make this as easy as possible. Without a clear view into your numbers, you might be making decisions that are taking your business in the wrong direction.
If this means getting help, find a way – even if you have to use temporary help or an online service. If it means chang- ing the tools you use, do it.
Even though accounting is not par- ticularly sexy or fun, it’s the only score- board you have.
SALES
Close the sales prevention depart- ment.
The “sales prevention department” includes all of those things that make prospects shrug their shoulders and
answered, the salesperson who didn’t attend to them, the cashier who bare- ly looked up from the register except to look at their phone, the website they can’t use to do business with you, the process that made buying not worth the trouble, and the inane, repetitious pa- perwork that wore them out before they could give you their money.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
If your customers bought something in the last 90 days, have you followed up with them simply to check that their purchase did what they wanted? What if it didn’t? What did they do? Was your staff of any help?
Follow up.
BACK OFFICE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
What costs your business time and money every day? If you asked each staff member what would help them do their work more effectively and efficiently, what would they say?
Ask them. You might learn some- thing.
COVER YOUR ASSETS
If you can’t find instructions that would help someone restore your data if computers were stolen or burned up, your business is at risk. What are you go- ing to do about it?
Do you care if your business outlives you? If you do, ask yourself this: “What would happen to my business over the next month or so if I died in a terrible ac- cident today?”
COMMUNICATIONS
Can you reach all of your customers with a message personalized to them?
Can you reach all of your customers without placing an ad on TV, radio and in the newspaper?
In both situations above, can you do so by the end of the day today? How about the end of next week?
WEBSITE
I could discuss this topic in great detail and suggest lots of changes, but remember, we’re talking about rein- vigorating your business website on the cheap.
Does your site have your phone num- ber on it? Does it have a map on it? Does it have your physical address on it, where appropriate? Little, easy to forget things make all the difference.
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Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a business, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site, rescuemarketing.com, or contact him via email at [email protected].
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