RECESSIONBUSTERBLOG.COM

Dr. Kevin Flood offers extra comforts to add value and has a Financial Coordinator to help clients plan for dental care

2009-10-28T22:52:00Z

This video tour of Dr. Kevin Flood's Dental Health and Wellness Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan shows how adding value by including heated massage, virtual reality video goggles, music, hot towels, and special state of the art protocol not offered at competitors is making his practice quite possibly one of the most desired in the region. Dr. Flood also gives patients an easy way to save for their dental care by providing a "Preferred Clients" monthly payment program. Details at FloodTheDentist.com under the promotions tab click "Preferred Client's Save 25%"

Watch the video tour below. You can schedule an appointment on line at www.FloodTheDentist.com or by calling Tiffany at 616-974-4990

Passing low costs onto customers and making "mini services" are ways this salon has increased business in a down economy

2009-10-18T23:39:00Z

Lauren Cole, proprietor of é-cotuer Salon in Grand Rapids, Michigan says that mini services like 30 minute facials and lunch hour hair washings are ways people can still enjoy themselves, relax, and look great while paying significantly less for salon services. Additionally, Cole notes that passing along the lower prices maintained by her vendors is noted by consumers who continue to purchase retail products because of their quality matched with a decent price. Watch this video tour to learn more about é-cotuer salon:

Video: How to affordably optimize your website with the best keywords, descriptions, and texts to get better search engine placement

2009-08-07T19:46:00Z

Watch Video Below
Making sure you have a properly optimized website can help to ensure that new and existing customers find you before they find your competition when they go searching for your business on popular search engines like Google or Bing. Whats more is that submitting your site to many smaller regional search engines, blogs, and listings will potentially increase your site exposure to a large number of people reading contextually relevant information pertaining to your product or service.

(continued below)

There are many ways to optimize your site, however the video below explains one of the simplest, most affordable ways I have used. I encourage you to watch this video and then try Search Engine Visibility from World Source Tech. It is easy, requires no technical experience and will help you get more traffic to your site very quickly:

Click here to see pricing and detailed information and please use the comments area below to ask any questions about SEO or web marketing in general! As always, I invite you to call me at 616-446-0200 with your questions.

Using top customers to define a market and increase sales

2009-07-29T18:00:00Z

Determining how you will focus on your target market or who your target market is for that matter can be very easy if you have been in business for a while. If you have not been in business for a while I strongly recommend reading what Dr. Flood and Michelle Gordon have to say about markets in their earlier posts on recessionbusterblog.com.

Target market definition and focus can come from determining your top ten customers and analyzing these clients to determine commonalities in lifestyles, personalities, purchase motivations, business size, type, location, and any other similarities that become apparent.

ACTION PLAN: How to determine your top 10 customers and increase sales (continued below)

Step 1: Make a list of your last 90 days of sales (6 months if you have a slower sales cycle) If you have quick books, look through your "customer center" to see purchase histories or run a "sales report detail". If you have another formal system there is probably a way to export this information to excel or view it in report form.

Step 1 a) Organize your information in a spread sheet. You can use Microsoft(R) Excel(TM) or Google Spreadsheets. In the first column list your client's name, in the second column the total amount of income generate from that client in the last 90 days in the third column list the total number of products or services purchased by each client during this period of time.

(SEE EXAMPLE AND END OF THIS POST BELOW)

If you want help with making spreadsheets for your business please call me at 616-446-0200 to set up a training session or learn more about my computer training services at www.worldsourcetraining.com

Step 2: Sort on amount of sale to get top clients by income

If you can sort within your accounting or sales program great! Otherwise you can use the spread sheet to sort the data. Simply click on the column header for the amount of sale (should be labeled "B"), click "data" and then click "sort", select "ascending" and click "ok". Woo Hoo! you have your top ten clients by income.

By the way, if you don't have a formal way of getting your top ten clients, I recommend this very easy to use Customer Manager that organizes customers, sales, invoices, and everything else to do with your customers. It is very inexpensive (less than 50 cents a day) and very effective in keeping your billing organized, keeping track of customer contacts, projects, and everything else to do with generating sales and managing the sales part of your business.

Step 3: Sort on amount of transactions/ number of products or services sold to get top clients by units sold

This tells you which clients purchase the most number of products and services from you helping you to determine the stronger, more loyal clients in your business. The more products and services a single client has with you, the less number of similar products and services they purchase from a competitor. When a client uses you as a primary vendor you become the trusted source for the solution to what ever problems you solve with the provision of your products and/ or services.

Step 4: Write down a list of common characteristics for your top ten clients in the fourth column of your spreadsheet

Are your clients all small businesses with 1-10 employees? Perhaps all or most of your top clients are from a particular geographical area, age group, or industry. The majority of your small business clients may do business with you because of a commonly shared perception, what is it? Perhaps your top clients are trying to solve a similar problem with the purchase of your product or service, what is that problem and how does your product or service work to solve it.

Step 5: Where did you get each of your top clients?

In the fifth column make a note of the source of your client. Was it a referral, print advertisement, web advertisement, face book, etc?

Step 6: Write a paragraph statement about your top clients:

For me it was:

"My top clients are small to medium sized business owners aged 40-60 with advanced education in their field and over 10 years of experience. My top client are all gay friendly, well traveled, and self starters. Most of my top clients purchase from me 4-6 times per year because they are looking to solve the problem of needing more advertising exposure and sales for their business. Their perception is that I can provide this with a website and web marketing tools and their repeat business is due to this perception being satisfied upon purchasing a product or service that I offer. Most of my top clients were gathered via referrals, although one high worth client was from networking at a group like BizNet4Free and another from a print advertisement I placed in a regional LGBT magazine."

My top clients are from the industries:

Printers, Dentists, On line Retailers and Interior Designers

Step 7: Determine how you can find more of these individuals and repeat what you did to get them in the first place

Repeat what ever it was that you did to get your top ten customers. If most of them came from print advertising in a particular magazine or publication then do more advertising; if most of your top clients came from networking in groups like BizNet4Free then do more of that!

I think focusing on your top ten, going back to them to offer additional services that will truly help and of course doing more of what you did to develop those top ten relationships are solid ways to build an excellent target market.

Upcoming Articles:

7/30/09:
How to create facebook, twitter, linked in, and myspace pages to drive traffic to your website and sales to your business
8/1/09:
Client loyalty, cross sell, and attrition
8/7/09:
How to optimize your website with the best keywords, descriptions, and texts to get better search engine placement
8/14/09:
How to use free, in person, and online networking opportunities like BizNet4Free to generate leads and capture new sales

EXAMPLE OF MY SPREADSHEET:

1	A	B	C	D	E
2	Client	Sales	Units	Source	Traits/Commonalities
3	Jane Doe	$12,000	4	Print Ad	LGBT friendly, age 55, travel
4	John Doe	$9,000	2	Referral	LGBT friendly, age 46, Dentist

One of the Most Important Concepts for Business Development

2009-03-30T04:50:00Z

Often times we get into business for many reasons but the best one. Some people, (like me) are unemployable- we cannot work well for others-we want to be our own boss. Other entrepreneurs get into business because they have acquired a personal passion or a preference for a product or service. Those entrepreneurs have the “great idea” that will make them rich. So we sell everything we have to start a business

What we often fail to do is define our market. The market is the most important asset to any entrepreneur. Market based decisions to be in business are very rare.

Dr. Kevin Flood,
www.floodthedenitst.com

If you do not define your market your market will define you! For example if you are a dentist who wants to be everything to anyone-why should your prospects choose you over any other dentist-what makes you so special that the prospect would pass over more conveniently located dentists to choose you. In your business if you are everything to anyone it is easy for your prospects to commoditize you-to make your product/service a commodity. Once your product/service becomes a commodity in the eyes of the prospect the only factor that separates you from everyone else who provides the same product/service is price. Offering the lowest price is not a good long term business plan. At the lowest price it becomes difficult to offer great service and a quality product/service. If you are anything to anyone, for example McDonald's, you have a huge market but do you have enough money to really impact the market- your pockets are not as deep as McDonald's

The first step we must all make in this economy is to reassess our market. Who are they? Where do they live? What do they read? How do they dress? Where do they shop? What does this market buy? Is the market I want big enough to support me over an extended period of time? Is the market the right size for my financial resources? Is my market affordably reachable? Is this market already assembled-are others already marketing to this market? Who are they? Can I copy them? Can we work together? Does this market have an affinity for other connections in the community?

For example Dominos Pizza started next to a college. There was plenty of other pizza places close by. They studied the market and realized there was a place for them in this cluttered market. They advertised hot, fresh pizza in 30 minutes or it was free. Now clearly they were not advertising organic ingredients, or the best tasting pizza. They were offering hot fresh pizza in thirty minutes. That became their unique selling proposition to a market niche-college student. A college student market could care less if the ingredients were frozen ten years ago or were the highest quality; they only wanted hot fresh pizza fast. Tom Moynihan made millions with this market and his unique selling proposition.

Everyone sells coffee-why would Starbucks think that they could come into a cluttered market place and charge 3-4 times more than anyone else and be successful. They studied the market. What they discovered was that people not only enjoyed a great cup of coffee but often times wanted to sit down and enjoy their coffee. Starbucks not only provided a superior quality coffee; but also provided an experience. This is an important lesson and an idea that deserves its own article. The experience the prospect has at Starbucks is as important as the quality of the coffee.

In a market niche or a subculture the astute entrepreneur can leverage the marketing budget for maximum return. If you provide a distinct service for a market you are no longer considered a commodity. I am a dentist in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After several years in practice I realized this paradigm and began taking classes and educating myself to blend alternative holistic health trends with a traditional dental model to provide a new paradigm for dentistry that would not only improve your health but also offer the opportunity to change you life. I transformed my dental practice into a holistic or biological dental office.

My market was no longer anyone- I was now marketing to females’ age 35-55 who were concerned about their health. They were concerned about the environment. This market was concerned about nutrition. They would recycle. They would buy organic foods. They would shop at a health food store. This market was concerned about the long term effects of the dental materials on their bodies as well as the effect on the environment.

There are magazines that appeal directly to that market-“Healing" , "Better Homes and Gardens”, “Natural Awakenings”, and the “Women’s Journal”. I gave talks at health food stores.

It became much easier to contact this market. My service was no longer seen as a commodity.

IF YOU DO NOT DEFINE YOUR MARKET IT WILL DEFINE YOU

Dr. Kevin Flood is a general dentist in Grand Rapids Michigan and the entrepreneur of The Dental Health and Wellness Center.

Dr. Flood has taken the principles of dentistry and interwoven them with alternative healing modalities such as nutrition, dental material sensitivity, and manual medicine to create a new paradigm for dentistry.

This new paradigm moves beyond drilling and filling and addresses the relationships of dentistry to the rest of the body.

Read blogs, articles, newsletters and reports on and from Dr. Flood at his interactive website, www.floodthedentist.com

Are you selling your brand? We are! Check out all the cool RecessionBuster! Gear here or go to www.cafepress.com/recessionbuster

2009-03-23T23:47:00Z

Click in this post to check out our live recessionbuster store where you can get cool RecessionBuster products like T-shirts, Polos, Calculators, or anything with your own logo. Check it out below or go directly to The Recession Buster Store

Working My Real Estate business despite the economic downturn

2009-03-22T14:25:00Z

I am honored to be asked to be a quest writer on this blog. Michael asked me to write about what I do now to stay alive in today’s Real Estate market.

Honestly I am busier then ever, and really have not slowed down at all. I still really enjoy what I do and get much satisfaction from helping others. I guess I do not see what I do for a living as a “job”. It is a career and what I do. In some ways defines who I am.

I get to help people everyday. Yes, help people…………I do not see Real Estate as sales, I see this career of mine a way to help people doing what I love and have a passion for.

Many have cut advertising cost and expenses to a minimum. I have not………..actually I have more advertising out there then before and I am increasing again this year. Let’s face it; people want to work with winners, successful people. I am successful, growing and going strong.

My advertising has gotten smarter; making sure what I use gets out to MY market place.

If I had to use one word to describe the reason for my success it would be persistence. I have never given up on my business or the willingness of people wanting to buy. Sticking with people through the hard times makes them remember you when times get better.

I did not push someone to the side just because they could not qualify to buy a home now. I worked with them and stuck with them. I was their biggest cheer leader on the road that leads to American dream. After hard work they too have become home buyers.

Surrounding my self with only positive thinkers and successful people is also another way to keep me going. Successful people are not just people who make a lot of money, its people who have goals and work to achieve them.

Finding the need in my market place and figuring out how to fill the need is very important. How can I help fill a need now and what needs are coming in the future. Then putting a plan together - short and long term goals.

I see many individuals running around just trying to make a living, with no direction. Shooting from the hip, trying to make a buck here and there. If I remember anything from my motivational speaker days –this is not a good idea………make a plan and stick with it. It may take a while to catch on or to become effective. So many put so much energy in multiple jobs and idea’s that your one good idea does not have to opportunity to take off. It suffers due to the lack of attention.

Constantly net working is another way to keep the juices going. I do not wait till I get slow, this is part of my business plan. Just because I am busy now, it does not guarantee I am going to be busy 3 months form now…….I have to keep the pace in busy times as well. It is easy let your marketing slide when you get busy but it will not last for ever unless you keep doing what you did to make yourself busy in the first place. However knowing when to change it up a bit is important too.

I also think volunteering in my community helps ……………. Although I have been a “volunteer” all my life. I was raised to give back and raised my children to do the same. I think giving to the community comes back to you leaps and bounds. No matter what your industry is, I am sure some one can benefit from your knowledge and expertise. Some one needs your help and in today’s market if we all give a little what a better place it would be.

So in a nut shell:

Persistence
Surround your self with successful – positive thinkers only
Have a business plan – Long and short term
Stay focused – do not stray
Continue to advertise
Network
Volunteer

Michaelle Gordon is a seasoned Real-Estate expert in Grand Rapids, MI
Gordon writes a blog dedicated to helping professionals and their families relocate to Grand Rapids at www.relocationgrandrapids.com/ she can also be found on the web at www.yourhomewithmichelle.com.

Michelle Gordon

630 Kenmoor SE Suite 101 Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Mobile 616-443-0596 | Home 616-575-9053 | Fax 866-792-5311 | www.yourhomewithmichelle.com

What are you expecting?

2009-03-22T03:06:00Z

The way in which we look at the world as business owners directs the future of our business success. Philosophical? Perhaps, but this is really true. Our point of views and placement of value or priority on everything from politics to family life influence how we interact with our clients who ultimately pay the bills and create the dreams we had when we started.

I would like to propose that we all take a moment to answer some questions about ourselves. The answers might provide the next action step automatically. However, if still lost at the end of this brief introspective process, I will provide some pretty solid tips. Please copy these questions, create a comment, paste the questions and post your answers after this post.
______________________________________

1. What is your passion?

2. Is your passion related to your business? If so, what part of it and how often is that part of your business engaged?

3. From where did you initially obtain your clients? Why did they do business with you then?

4. Who are you clients now and why do they continue to use your products and services. Is there anything obviously different about how you acquire clients now and how you did when you started?

5. Do you test different marketing, advertising, sales, or customer service methods to determine which are best for business? If so how? If not, could you?

6. Do you network with your clients, are you involved with them in community organizations or other functions?

7. Do your clients like you as a person?

8. What is the demographic make up of your client. If it varies I would like you to describe the ideal client.

9. What sounds better to you? Acquire new clients or service existing clients with additional products and services?

10. Are you interested in the success of your clients. How can you directly or indirectly affect their success. Who else depends on you to be successful?

11. Who would be interested in helping you grow your business? (first names are fine here)

12. When you acquire a new client, who else could you refer that client to?

13. What exactly to you do in your business?

14. In one or two sentences, describe what your clients mean to you.

15. Have your business procedures changed since you started your business? Do you think that reviewing the ways you operate would be a good idea?

16. Do you use metrics? Metrics are ways to measure productivity for your business, employees, etc. You could measure sales per employee, sales per hour, number of products sold per sale, etc.

17. What is a client worth to you in monetary terms over the total lifetime of their use of your services. This is called the lifetime client value.

18. What is the most common complaint about your business? What can you do to solve the problem? Will you do it? Why or why not?

19. Why would someone choose your business over another? The answer is called your Unique Selling Proposition or (USP). This will be important for you to communicate to your clients and prospects.

20. Do you integrate your Unique Selling Proposition (from above) into all of your marketing materials?

21. Which marketing activities do you use now? Do you use direct mail,email marketing, on line, face book/my space (advertising solutions),face book/my space (free profile solutions), google adwords, news paper, phone calls, cold calls, etc?

22. What marketing methods would you like to learn more about before you try them?

23. Who are your biggest competitors and how can you differentiate yourself?

24. Are you differentiating your self from your competitors in your marketing efforts?

25. Are your clients 100% loyal to you or do they use your competitors as well?

26. What is your maximum earning potential per month? Could it be more? If yes, how. If no, why not. Are you just limiting your self?

27. How much does it cost you to acquire one new client?

28. How much does it cost you to sell an additional product or service to an existing client?

29. How many products or services does a client purchase on their first visit or use of your product/service.

30. Within 90 days of their first purchase, how many total products or services has your client used?

31. How many products or services do you offer and recommend to your client on their first visit?

32. Do you take orders for your clients purchase or do you provide advice and recommendations to steer their purchase decisions into a package of products and/or services that will solve their problems?

33. How do you communicate with your clients after the first sale? Do you have a system or pattern for contact? If so, what is it. If not, could you implement this?

34. Have you ever tried to re-gain clients that you have lost?

35. Have you ever tried selling a list of your prospects that never became clients to your competition? This could be a good source of cash flow.

36. How do you protect your clients from risk? Do you provide a service or product guarantee or other type of warranty?

37. At what rate do your clients leave? This is called your attrition rate. Attritionary clients normally leave un noticed. Are you monitoring this?

38. What problem do you solve for your clients. If they want a new hair due, why do they want it? If they want to travel, why? If they want a new house, why?

39. What has been your biggest marketing, advertising or customer service program success to date? Can you repeat it? If so how?

40. Do you feature your clients? If you have business to consumer clients you could have a drawing, if you have business to business clients you could include a featured business in one of your marketing communications.
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Answering these questions will help you to determine what you could be doing to generate additional business, retain clients, and re-activate clients that may have moved on.

I look forward to reading your responses.

Michael Weitzman directs business development and North American IT services at World Source Technologies.

Welcome

2009-03-20T17:35:19Z

Welcome to my blog. Please check back soon for new entries.