PRICING: WHAT IS YOUR PRODUCT WORTH?

Choosing the right price for your product or service can be one of the most difficult, and important decisions, you make as a business owner. After using your best sales techniques showing off all the attributes of your product you inevitably get to that point where your customer asks “How much?” 

Often this is your only chance to close the deal, but if the price is too high the customer walks away thinking they can’t afford it at this time.  It is very difficult at this point to suddenly create a discounted price.  On the other hand if your price is too low the quality of the product is cheapened and the customer thinks it might not really be worth it.  Also a low price might cut into your profit margins.  Unfortunately, there’s no guaranteed way to ensure you’ve chosen the right suggested price. However, the following rules of thumb may help you in setting a realistic price.

Research Your Market – find out what similar products in your market are selling for so you can see the normal range of pricing for that type of product.  If your price is higher than the average make sure to have a reason why and be able to explain it to your customer.  If you price your product lower because you really need to make the sale make sure that your customer knows that it is specially priced or on sale.

Base The Price On Value - Don’t be afraid to suggest a higher price for your product, as long as you’re delivering serious value to buyers. If you save a customer thousands of dollars or solve a significant problem for them, it could be worth it for them to pay $50 or more for your product. The important thing is being able to effectively convince them of the true value of your product when you pitch it.

Experiment With Pricing – If you have multiple versions of your product you can test out different prices and see at which price your product sells best. Never assume your prices have to be low to improve sales. Sometimes a higher price can make your product seem more valuable to customers.  The important thing is to regularly make changes in the price and test them, so you can find the most effective price for your product.

Don’t Price Your Product Too Low - Although it can be tempting to suggest a very low price for your product, this can have a downside. It implicates that your product is of lower quality.  If this is not the market you want to be in you should maintain the pricing for that market.  In the long run you will be attracting customers that appreciate your product and are willing to pay for it.

Don’t Price Your Product Too High – A high price can scare off potential customers.  It is important to establish your product’s reputation and its high quality before you ask a price that is in the high end of your market.  Establish the value of your product.  Also, high-priced products may also lead to more refunds, if customers feel your product hasn’t delivered enough value to make it worth the high price.

Make Sure To Include Yourself In The Pricing Equation – Remember that your time and intellectual property are worth something too.  If a product requires a lot of your personal time figure this into your hourly rate into the price.  If you are providing a service make sure you have a good idea of how long the project will take you to complete and make sure you give a realistic price based on this.

Experimenting with differently priced versions of your product can be a great way to find the “sweet spot” for maximum profitability.  Let's hear from you...how do you price your products???

DO YOU USE QR CODES TO INCREASE YOUR BUSINESS

Have you noticed those little squares that look like a chessboard gone wild that are popping up on almost everything we own or buy? They are QR codes and in a recent report that was released by QRStuff.com, a leading website for free QR code creation, there has been 1,235 percent increase in QR code activity in 2011 alone.

Even though the use of QR codes is growing, can they really be used to grow a small business? Some small business owners seem to think so. Here are some innovative ways that entrepreneurs have been using QR codes to grow their businesses.

Increasing Demand by Weaving Information into Small Spaces

One small business owner got the idea to use QR codes as a way to offer perks to increase demand for his clothing business.  He added QR codes to his labels that included discounting and bonuses.  Customers started scanning the labels with their smart phones and when they got an added discount or bonus they bought the product.

An added benefit is that clothing tags with QR codes prevent clothing designers from having to cram too much unsightly information onto their tags. Washing instructions can now be given remotely. Also, it makes clothing more social and interactive. Companies can offer information about the product via video, pictures, or text, and show product reviews while the consumer is still in the store or facilitate active sharing after the item is purchased.

By using QR codes, this business owner was able to differentiate his products from the competition and find a way to increase demand. He reinvented his labeling system using QR codes.

QR Codes as a Product Extension

Another business owner saw QR codes as a way to extend her company’s product offerings. Already working in the micro-fabrication industry (printing business cards, creating tee shirts and other mass produced advertising products) her company decided to focus on making their customer’s QR codes permanent by laser engraving QR codes on permanent objects, such as key chains or card cases, to create a paperless business card.  For example a laser engraved paperless business card such as a tag on your key chain is merely scanned when exchanging contact information.  The information is automatically in your smart phone with no card being exchanged.  You don’t have to worry about locating your business card or having your customer lose it.

The Internet Company Nonotes.com decided to enhance its greeting card products with QR codes during the 2011 holiday season.  They let users record greetings and messages using its special recording service for free during the holidays and put these recordings on individualized greeting cards. The recordings were reachable by scanning the QR code, ultimately making gift notes interactive.  By scanning the QR code on the card the recipient gets to hear a pre-recorded holiday greeting from the sender.  Nonotes.com was able to increase demand for an existing product using QR codes.

While there are almost no limits to how you can use QR codes, it’s the results that count. QR codes can be more than just a novelty. If you think strategically, they can be a catalyst for growing your business.

Have you incorporated QR codes into your business?  Let us know how!!!

A GUIDE TO PROPER E-MAIL ETIQUETTE

A repeated discussion I’ve had with friends and colleagues recently is about emails and how opening your in-box can be like opening a Pandora’s box of incorrect grammar, poor spelling, and even bad taste.  It seems as if everyone knows how to write a snail mail letter and usually takes great care in doing so.  But emails have a tendency to be another matter entirely.   Emails, just like snail mail makes an impression on the reader so when they are poorly written and inappropriate the effect can be devastating to your business and reputation.  It is time for people to step back and think about the content and style of the email that they are about to click off.

Here are a few suggestions that will set your emails apart and hopefully help you to make a great impression!!!

·       Use the recipient fields correctly:  If you’re sending an email to one person, place their email address in the “to” field. If you are sending the same email to others, add these addresses in the “CC:” field. Remember that all the recipients listed in the “cc” field will be able to see all the other recipients’ email addresses.  If this is undesirable (for example, if you’re sending an email to people who don’t know each other), protect their privacy by entering each address in the “BCC:” field. This sends everyone a “blind carbon copy.” For company email, use of "BCC:" may be considered impolite; addressees in the "to" field are expected to take action, and those on "CC:" are for keeping colleagues or bosses informed.

·       Make the subject line useful:  A good subject line provides a useful summary of the email's content, preparing the reader quickly. Email inboxes are frequently swamped, so a good subject line helps the recipient determine the priority of your email. It also helps to prevent your email from being deleted before it has even been read. Since the subject is the first thing your recipient sees, keep it error free, concise, and avoid generic lines such as "Hi," "What's up," or the recipient's name (the latter may be blocked by anti-spam filters).

·       Be consistent in your format:  Some formats use-skipped lines rather than indents for new paragraphs. Some use double space between sentences. Choose either to spell out your numbers or use digits—do not alternate between them in the same email. If a word or notation is capitalized in one case, it should be so in all cases.

·       Avoid prioritizing your messages:  It is irritating and presumptuous to assume your e-mail request is higher in the queue than anybody else's, especially in a work context. Be gracious enough to give the receiver credit for working out for them how to prioritize your message.

·       Greet your recipient:  Letters generally begin with the salutation "Dear (recipient's name)". On the other hand, emails are generally less formal, and "Hi" or "Hello" usually suffices. Depending on the purpose of the email, for example, if it's a cover letter for a job application, you may want to use the traditional format instead. Politeness cannot be overdone.

·       Keep your email concise, conversational, and focused:  It is harder to read letters on a computer screen than on a sheet of paper, so keep emails short and to the point. While there is no ideal email length, keep sentences short, about 8-12 words and leave a space between paragraphs.

·       Use proper grammar and spelling:  An email reflects on its author, and an email with spelling or grammar errors reflects poorly. Use Standard English, and proofread and spell-check emails as you would any written communication. Error-free email is easier for the recipient to read.

·       Schedule reply to emails. Unlike snail mail, emails arrive instantly, and the sender knows this. People typically expect a quick response, and while it's polite to try to meet these expectations, doing so chews up an enormous amount of your time. It is a sensible idea to schedule times to read and respond to emails, making you more productive. Alert your colleagues, through an email signature or response, that urgent items should be done by telephone or face-to-face meet-ups, and that otherwise, you will get back to the person within a specified time frame. People will learn soon enough how your method operates.

·       Determine to whom you should reply:  Emails sent to you solely generally require that you reply only to the sender, but for emails sent to several people, you may need to choose the "Reply to All" option to send your response to everyone. Be judicious: Using "Reply All" all the time creates returns in abundance and leaves messages languishing in the in-boxes of many people. Consider the consequences of receiving an email, hitting reply all and it goes out to twenty people and then those twenty people hit reply to all; it can compound very quickly into hundreds of thousands of emails and everyone feels compelled to hit "reply all" as a means of keeping everyone in the loop because nobody knows who is meant to read it and who is not! Which invariably means that nobody ends up actioning the item!

·       Think twice before replying to just say thank you:  Some people don't want an email that says "thanks". This takes additional energy to open the email and read it just to read what you already know. A new trend is to include a line that says NTN - No Thanks Needed.

·       Edit long emails when replying to them:  Generally your reply to an email will include the original email, as well. If the original email is short, you can just reply to it as is, but if it's longer, delete irrelevant parts (especially headers and signatures). Organize the reply so that you quote parts of the original email and place your responses to each part directly below so that the recipient will know exactly what questions or statements from his or her email you are responding to.

·       Be sure to include info that you are responding to:  Many people, and companies, write and respond to hundreds of emails every day. Avoid sending an indistinct email that says only ‘Yes.’ Include the question that the recipient asked so they know what you are responding to.

·       End your email politely:  Closing with a statement such as "Best wishes," "Good luck," or "Thanks in advance for your help," can soften even a harsh email and can elicit a more favorable reply.

·       Sign your name:  Doing this is polite and personal. Just type your name at the end of each email, or use your email application to create a default signature with your name, title, and contact information.

·       Limit attachments:  Don't add an attachment unless really necessary. Keep attachments as small as possible. Most email applications can send and receive attachments up to 1 MB, but anything over that can be a hassle for you or the recipient, and even smaller files can take a long time to open if the recipient's email connection is slow. If you need to send a larger file, compress or zip it or use online services that will help you send large files such as YouSendIt.com. If you need to send multiple pages, such as meeting plans or large text corrections, send a fax or a typed set of pages in a letter.

·       Don't ignore valid emails. If someone asks you a valid question in an email, reply to it, even if the answer is not what he or she wants to hear. If you need to pass it to someone else, then CC: the sender so they know what is going on. It's frustrating to be ignored. If the person was on the phone or in front of you, chances are you would not ignore them if they asked a question, so don't do it in an email.

·       
Be careful of who you copy on replies. If you reply to a message and then CC: a third-party that the original sender did not include is certain in your mind that the original sender will not be upset about it. This information may have been "for your eyes-only". This is especially important if the original sender is your work supervisor. Be cautious about using BCC: This can backfire if the person being BCC:'d replies back, not having seen that their copy was a blind one.

·       
Think before you send. Don't send e-mails when you are emotional. Feel free to write the subject and text of the email, then save it. Only add the recipients and send it after you have had time to think about what you are sending; you might change your mind and be better off for it. Better yet, pick up the phone or even go to see the person face-to-face. It is hard enough to judge the tone of an email, even with the prevalent use of emoticons. A person's voice should tell you more about his or her intent than the written word will.

·       Be careful using abbreviations and emoticons. This may be acceptable in an informal e-mail such as with a friend. However, in a formal letter you wouldn't have to tell someone that you're "laughing out loud," people may find it inappropriate, and could feel you are being frivolous.

Blogging for Business

Business blogging can be exceptionally rewarding. When done correctly, a successful blog can bring attention to your business, can attract new customers, and can turn your current customer base into the type of fans that companies like Apple, Netflix, and Ben and Jerry’s have: people who will not only buy your product or service, but recommend it to their peers. Of course, like anything, there is a right way to go about starting a business blog and a wrong way.

Creating a blog for your small business isn’t easy; it requires hard work and the ability to think creatively about your work. But if you avoid the five big mistakes laid out in this post, your chances of building a successful business blog will be much better.

Treating Your Blog Like a Press Center

MISTAKE:  The number one mistake that business bloggers make is to treat their blog as an extension of their current newsletter. A blog is not the place for press releases.

Blogging is a conversation and it offers a way for your customers to connect with your business on a completely different level. Press releases, on the other hand, are the exact opposite. They’re impersonal, they’re self- promotional, and most readers don’t trust them. If you use your blog to republish press releases your customers will have no reason to keep reading and they’ll also likely not trust your content.

REMEDY: First, don’t ever put out a press release on your blog. You can use your blog to make product or other business announcements, but do so with original writing and in a more casual voice. Second, do use your blog to write about things other than your core business. Share your thoughts on your industry, share insights into the day-to-day work life and processes at your company, and provide tips and tricks you have learned during your time in business.

Not Blogging Regularly

MISTAKE:  Think about the blogs you read on a regular basis — how many of them publish only sporadically? Most successful blogs put out new content at least a couple of times per week and try to stick to a regular schedule. Consistently putting out quality content will keep readers returning and over time it will help you build a community and turn your customers into fans.

REMEDY: Blogging regularly isn’t easy, so to avoid burning out, brainstorm editorial ideas ahead of time. If you plan to put out new posts every Tuesday and Friday, for example, try not to start writing Tuesday’s post on Tuesday morning. Get other people at your company involved so that one person isn’t shouldering the entire blogging load, and even consider sourcing content from your customers. Remember that anything can provide fodder for a good blog post, so pay attention to the things you read or see on other blogs, newspapers, magazines, or television.

Not Enabling Conversation

MISTAKE:  As I already said, blogging is a conversation, and not allowing it to occur on your blog is a mistake. It’s true that blog comments can open you up to criticism, but blogging is an unparalleled opportunity to connect with your customers. You’ll get a lot more out of blogging if you enable — and even encourage — your customers to respond to what you write.

REMEDY: Obviously the first thing you need to do is enable commenting on your business blog. But beyond that, you need to remember that the conversation is two-way. Get in there and respond to the comments readers leave on your blog and you’ll be more likely to develop a community around your writing that can help turn your customers into fans who will evangelize your products and services and provide you with quality feedback. You should also participate in the conversation on other blogs in your industry by leaving comments on posts elsewhere around the blogosphere. That will help you to establish your “blogging brand” and bring new readers your way.

Making New Content Hard to Discover

MISTAKE:  Your blog won’t be very helpful to readers if they aren’t able to easily find new content. You need to make your blog discoverable and you need to make sure that when you add new content, your regular readers will be able to find it.

REMEDY: There are a few ways to make sure your blog content is more easily discovered.

• Make your blog easy to find by linking to it prominently from your company’s web site and including your blog’s URL in your email signature, on your business cards, and in sales and marketing collateral.
•  Use a full RSS feed (because the goal with most business blogs should be to get read, not boost page views) and make it easy for your readers to find and subscribe to.
• Embrace social media technologies like Twitter and Facebook as a way to notify your fans and followers of new blog content, and make it easy for your readers to share content with each other through social media channels and via email.
• Optimize for search engines by putting relevant keywords in post titles and URL slugs and write about the things that your customers are most likely to be searching for — but avoid sounding artificial simply so you can stuff some more keywords into a post.

Expecting Too Much, Too Soon

MISTAKE:  Blogging isn’t a sprint it’s a marathon. Your blog won’t be an overnight success, and for the first few months it might feel like you’re writing for no one. It can take time to build up your readership and have a regular community of people who participate on your blog. Don’t expect immediate returns from your blog and do expect to put in a lot of hard work.

REMEDY: Set attainable goals and realize that you’re in it for the long haul. Don’t cancel your blogging efforts after three months — give it at least a year of regularly putting out quality, original content. And make sure that your blog is easy to find, and that your readers are able to easily comment and share posts with others.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING

There is a lot of attention focused today on technology, and especially social media, as it relates to business development. Not a day goes by that someone does not mention the importance of Facebook, Twitter or Linked In to increase visibility, sales and profitability.   Along with the accolades for social media comes the critiques that it is a waste of time and could even put your business in danger.

Social networking provides platforms for business people to network online. As a marketing strategy, it relies upon people sharing and commenting on information. It  is really no different from attending a traditional (face to face) networking event except that it happens online where the world is open to anyone with a computer.

On social networking websites, individuals and companies can set up a profile page, post links to articles online, share what they're reading through Amazon plug ins, feed blog posts into the site, and befriend countless people. Technology opens up a broad world of contact through social network marketing.
More and more companies are turning their efforts to social networking as part of their marketing strategy. There are several pros and cons to using social networking as part of a marketing program.

ADVANTAGES


1. FREE - all it takes is a time commitment
2. IMMEDIATE - immediate effects include click thru(s)  to links and company websites
3. SHORT LEARNING CURVE - most sites are easy to learn and easy to navigate
4. FAR REACHING - provides access to global marketplace

DISADVANTAGES


1. OVERWHELMING - using lots of social networking websites at once can be overwhelming
2. ANNOYING  - easy to turn off followers or connections with too many and/or irrelevant posts
3. TIME CONSUMING - consumes a busy small business owner's time

Regardless of the disadvantages, social networking can be an effective part of any marketing plan, but it must be used correctly. The following tips will be useful to small business owners, entrepreneurs, and anyone looking to increase their social networking visibility and use it for marketing purposes.

• Use your social network page to communicate your brand

• Instead of linking to the home page of your website, set up a unique page for each of your social networking sites, and include who you are, what you do and some personal facts to make the profile more user friendly

• Manage online reputation carefully. Avoid posting political, religious, or controversial opinions. Don't use a social networking profile as a platform to spout off about a former employer, coworker, colleague or business associate. What you post online can stay online for a very, very long time.

• Create a careful balance of posts. Too few posts and followers and friends lose interest. Too many and people are turned off

• Be a friend to get friends. Nothing is worse than a person who posts only about themselves, or things to promote their business. Help others and attract true friends.

Give people time to understand who you are and become friends. As with a face to face networking event, not everyone will be a connection, nor will everyone wish to do business. Over time, as people read your posts and learn more, they will be attracted to the business or person posting and seek to do business together. In the long run, effective use of social media leads to more profitable, long lasting, and better business contacts.

BUILDING AN EMAIL MARKETING LIST

     Many business owners say that they do most of their business building through ‘email marketing’, but when asked about their email database or list they don’t have very much information.  They don’t know who is on the list, how big the list is or even how to follow up with people on the list.  Sometimes business owners purchase email lists from third parties and in these situations they are exposing their businesses to problems ranging from wasting time with false or out of date email addresses to spam complaints.  A great email list takes time to put together, but assures that your marketing budget is being well spent and will produce great leads that produce new business.

     Rome was not built in a day and neither is an email marketing list.  As a marketer you need to think like a consumer.  Consumers are smart, and they know what they want. If they receive an email from an unknown source, they will usually ignore or delete it.  If, however, the email comes from a trusted company, they are much more likely to take a look.

     Businesses can use email marketing effectively to develop strong leads, build relationships, and inexpensively get their message out. Whether you create an email list from scratch or build an existing email list, you’re getting qualified leads of customers who are sincerely interested in what you have to offer them—otherwise they would not have signed up. You want to use that to your advantage—and you can, with targeted email marketing.

     Here are some tips to building an effective email list that will help you succeed in the virtual email world:

• Assure Personal Privacy

Consumers are very hesitant to give out personal information and email addresses have become a part of people, some don’t want to share. Gain their trust by reassuring them that their email address and any personal information will be guarded by you. Let them know that they will only receive a certain number of emails per month.

• Keep it Simple

The easier it is to do something, the more likely it is someone will do it. If signing up for your email list is as easy as typing or writing their address—you will see many more addresses signing up.

• Deliver on Your Content Promises

Make promises on what they should expect to receive in their emails from you and deliver (literally and figuratively). By letting the recipients know what they will be getting in their emails from you for signing up they will want to open the emails—to see what you have to offer.

• Offer Choices

     Democracy is a beautiful thing. Giving your subscribers choices of what they wish to receive from you gives you the control to cater to your customers. This also gives them satisfaction of not having to sift through irrelevant material.

     Now that you know why it is important to build a great email list here are some suggestions on hot to collect and maintain those email addresses.

Collecting Email Addresses:

1. Your website – If nothing else, use your website. If you’re not promoting your email list on your website, you’re not using your website well enough.

2. Current email lists – Using current email lists to build your own email list is an essential part of your growth. If your current recipients see something of value to them, they may think their friends will benefit as well. Allowing them to pass your email along may easily add more to your list.

3. In-store sign-up – When checking out or browsing around allow people to sign up for your email list by way of sign up forms.

4. Contests - Register participants address and announce the winner through your next newsletter list.

5. Coupons & discounts – Offer special incentives through email only, allow them to pass along to friends.

6. Advertisements & Direct mail – Never pass up the opportunity to inform readers about your email community. Direct them to your website or have them send an email to you requesting their addition.

7. 

Business cards – On the back of your business card, promote your website and the opportunity to receive informative emails or newsletters.

8. Trade shows & Networking Events – Offer collateral material that requests them to sign-up on their own.



9.     Seminars - Give seminars on your area of expertise and have people sign-up to your mailing list for future seminars, discounted rates, and other announcements.

10. Be creative with these ideas, mix and match, or come up with your own ways to collect emails.

Maintaining your list:


Just as important as building an email marketing list is maintaining your current list.  A few things to remember when doing this are to:

1. Build relationships with your customers—they will stay your customers longer if they feel connected. Ask for feedback and respond immediately. If they know that you care about them, they’ll stick around, as with any relationship.

2. Offer real value to your email readers; make them want to open your email each and every time. Whether this value is in the form of discounts, product information, tips, or fun stories, they should feel a need to read what you have to say.

3. Keep your emails interesting and your e-marketing will thrive. Send out only as many emails a month as you can keep appealing. Put some thought into what you want to communicate and you will have more valuable information.

4. Don’t hassle the loyal customers that have offered to receive your emails. If you don’t constantly bombard them, they’ll appreciate you more. You are privileged to have them on your list and you can respect that by not abusing it.

First, realize that you need to build a list, not purchase one. Planning is essential in building your subscriber numbers. After you decide your objectives, use the previous suggestions to grow your list. Maintaining your subscriber base may be the most important thing you can do. What’s the point of creating something just to let it fall apart?