In todays business Tip from 1Call.biz - The Host/Beneficiary Relationship.

If you’re running a start-up business, one of the fastest ways to get the money coming in is a method that involves creating “host-beneficiary” relationships, with established businesses that cater to a target audience similar to yours.  For this to work well, there must be a win/win arrangement that works to the advantage of both organisations.

The main benefit of this type of arrangement is that the start up (the beneficiary) can quickly reach a large number of highly qualified prospects, with the endorsement of the established host business.  The host is willing to participate because it’s a way to reward loyal customers without incurring any significant cost.  The new business gains new customers, while the older, more established business gains goodwill.

HOW THIS WORKS IN THE REAL WORLD.

Let’s imagine that you sell a premium range of men’s shirts.  You work out that there’s a close fit, in terms of profile, between your clientele and that of a premium car dealership.  You arrange for the car dealer to send a letter to all their loyal customers, informing them that, as a reward for their continued and valued custom, they’re entitled to a free luxury shirt.  All they need do is take the enclosed letter to your store and choose the style of shirt they’d like, to a value of, say, £45.

The actual shirt will cost perhaps £10 to manufacture, so this is the true cost of the promotion.  Also, you incur that cost only when someone actually comes to your store.  The intention, of course, is that, having once seen your store, the customer will both buy other products there and then AND return in the future, giving you a new loyal customer.

HOW TO MAKE THIS WORK FOR YOU.

This type of marketing is actually a simple and relatively inexpensive process that will deliver great results if you follow a few basic rules:

1. PRECISELY DEFINE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE.  You must create a detailed profile of your target customer.  The more areas you can identify, the more potential hosts you can approach.  What types of car do your customers drive?  Where do they shop?  Where do they eat?  Are they members of a gym?  Do they play golf?  Etc…

2. IDENTIFY LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT SERVE THE SAME MARKET SEGMENTS.  Look for companies that have customers who match your target profile.  That way, not only will you be successful in bringing people into your store for the initial offer, you also increase the likelihood that they’ll return to give you repeat business.

3. DEVELOP A SEPARATE OFFER FOR EACH PARTNER.  As far as possible, come up with a free or discounted product or service that has a high perceived value for the consumer.  Do as much as possible to make this offer unique to each new partner.  Remember that some of your customers may already be customers of several potential partners.

4. HIGHLIGHT THE BENEFITS TO THE HOST BUSINESS.  Show them that your plan offers a way for them to reward their customers at minimal expense and with little effort.  It’s also a great way for them to reach out to their customers, reminding them of the long-term relationship.

5. SUPPLY A LETTER FOR THE HOST’S USE.  Providing a letter that can be sent to the host’s customers on the host’s letterhead will help put the plan into motion quickly.  It will also show your potential partner how easy it will be for them to participate.

6. ENSURE YOU HAVE A STRATEGY TO CONVERT THESE LEADS INTO REPEAT CUSTOMERS.  This, after all, is your long-term goal.  If you were running the shirt company mentioned in the example, the obvious step would be to add new customer to your customer database, allowing you to send them future offers and develop an understanding of their buying patterns.

7. REMEMBER TO TEST AND MEASURE THIS APPROACH.  Make sure all the letters have a unique code, so that you can identify the source of the new customers.  If the offer is not producing the results you want, you’ll need to make changes until it does.
If you found this tip useful, why not check out the 1Call Bookshop, where you’ll find a selection of great business books, all of which we personally recommend – http://httv.biz/1callbookstore/

Have a great week in business, and think about how you might use a host/beneficiary relationship….

All the best,
Patrick Moore and Mark Shaw

1Call.biz - taking you from a good idea to an established business

In today’s Business Tips newsletter from 1Call.biz - Be Your Own Customer

In order to improve your marketing, it’s essential that you experience what the customer experiences.  So step to the other side of the fence and become your own customer.

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

If you have a website that sells products, then try to buy those products.  What was your experience like?  Was it easy?  Or was the process too long winded?  Was the next step always clear?  Did you even complete the process?

THEN WHAT?

Get some good friends to do the same.  The reason you’re using friends is that you already know your own products or website.  What you want is people who don’t already know how to buy from you, don’t know where to find the order form, don’t know the details of what’s included in the price, etc…  So use people you know to try things out, and then ask them to be candid (or even brutal, if you can stand it) with their feedback.

THE KEY QUESTION

At the end of that process, how did you feel?.  How did they feel?  Would you buy from That Company again?  Would they buy from That Company again?

USING MYSTERY SHOPPERS

Another way to see how your business is performing is to use mystery shoppers.  There are plenty of companies that offer this service.  You discuss a brief with them, ensuring that they understand specifically what you wish to find out.  Then they send in people to buy your products, use your service, and generally experience what it’s like to do business with your company.

This service is very useful if you have staff.  It’s even more useful if you’re large enough to have staff that are being recruited by someone other than you.

One Company that we’ve used, and can thoroughly recommend, is Impact Mystery Shopping.  Their approach is to discover the facts behind your customer service standards, compliance and other front line activities, enabling you systematically to improve all areas of customer contact.

Typical projects would include a customer service evaluation scheme, a benchmarking exercise or a customer satisfaction survey.  The nice people at Impact Mystery Shopping can assist with any or all of these.

http://httv.biz/mysteryshopping/

Have a good week in business, and remember to keep “eating your own dog food”….

All the best,
Patrick Moore and Mark Shaw
1Call.biz - taking you from a good idea to an established business

Click Here to – Sign Up to our Free Newsletter and Receive a free PDF – 10 Classic mistakes that Sink Businesess.

In today’s Business Tips newsletter from 1Call.biz - Sell, Up-Sell, Cross-Sell and Bump.

You already have the sale; you have a committed customer who wants to buy something from you. Now there’s one thing you can add to your marketing mix that will dramatically increase your profits.

What you’re going to do is offer your existing customers more of what they already want. You’re going to offer additional items that complement the core product or service you’ve already sold. This has two benefits: your customer walks out more satisfied and you increase the value of the transaction.

THE UP-SELL

When you go to buy a domain name, unless you’re with a very poor supplier, you’re going to be buying a relatively low-priced item. Once you’ve bought the domain name, you may well be re-routed to a page on the website that asks you whether you’d like to have your new domain name hosted by them as well. That’s an up-sell. They already have you as a customer, and now they’re offering you an additional item that perhaps you weren’t thinking of buying, and which certainly wasn’t the original purpose of your visit to the site.

THE CROSS-SELL

You’ve bought the domain name and signed up for the hosting package. Now you get transferred to a web page that offers you some software that drives additional traffic to your site. This is a cross-sell. The additional product complements the ones you’ve already bought.

THE BUMP

When you first arrived at the site to buy your domain name, you had the option to select the period of ownership. Perhaps there was a drop-down box that defaulted to “2 years (most popular option)”, even though there was also an option to buy for 1 year. This is a BUMP. The benefit for your customer is that they typically get a lower price per year, plus the bonus of not having to worry about a renewal for two or more years. The benefit for YOU is that you get an immediate cashflow boost, plus two years to sell, up-sell, cross-sell and bump other items to that customer!

WHAT CAN I DO NOW?

Think carefully about the services and products that you offer. Find new ways to increase your profit per transaction, by offering your customers complementary products and services. If you have a shoe shop, offer socks, polish, brush sets, shoe racks, and anything else that you can think of to complement your core product.

Have a good week in business, and good luck with creating additional revenue by using today’s strategies….

All the best,
Patrick Moore and Mark Shaw
1Call.biz - taking you from a good idea to an established business

Click Here to – Sign Up to our Free Newsletter and Receive a free PDF – 10 Classic mistakes that Sink Businesess.

In Today’s business tip newsletter from 1Call.biz - Writing blogs

One way to create a lot of attention for your product, whatever it is, is to write a blog.  If you use a site such as Ecademy to host it, you’ll find it quickly rises up the Google rankings, creating attraction and profile for you and whatever your selling.

One of the big mistakes bloggers make, however, is being long-winded.  Avoid this at all costs!

In a way, there’s nothing new about blogs.  Using clear English, and keeping your sentences and paragraphs to a manageable length, is simply good practice.  On the Internet, when you’re expecting your audience members to read things on screen, it just becomes that much more important.

If you want to see a good example of what we’re talking about, re-read any of our Business Tips.  You’ll find short sentences and short paragraphs, and it’s not a coincidence.  We use that style because it works!

Why not Check out the 1 Call Bookshop, where you will find loads of great books – http://httv.biz/1callbookstore/

Have a good week in business, and good luck with your first/next blog!

All the best,
Patrick Moore and Mark Shaw
1Call.biz - taking you from a good idea to an established business

Click Here to - Sign Up to our Free Newsletter and Receive a free PDF
10 Classic mistakes that Sink Businesess.

In Today’s business tip newsletter from 1 Call.biz - Creating an eBook

eBooks are quite simply one of the best online business ideas that exist today.  You can create an eBook for nothing more than a small amount of your time, and then (if it’s any good) sell it for close to 100% profit!

So, you’re all ready to start writing your new eBook.  But what’s it going to be about?  Well, you’ll be glad to know that there’s a simple process you can follow, which will ensure that you’re spending your time in producing an eBook that will actually sell.  And here’s the process:

1. Decide what your eBook should be about

The key to a successful eBook is to find a problem, give away the solution, and then sell people the next step(s).  Put another way, the eBook is not about you!  It’s about finding a real problem that people are dealing with, and then selling them a new way to solve it.

2. Generate ideas

There are several ways to come up with an idea for a great eBook.  Here’s a selection:

* Improving on an existing product topic that’s already in demand

You can get free tips on improvements by taking the existing products to a specialist audience, who will often be delighted to help you with suggestions on how to improve it.

* Look for ideas through your own personal experience

What problems do you have  or face that might be addressed via an eBook?  You may find that there are many people grappling with the same problem.

* Share your existing business expertise with others

You may feel that your work is boring, because it’s become so familiar to you.  Consider that, to other people, your expertise may be invaluable.  If you have particular expertise in a certain business, then perhaps you could share some insider knowledge.

* Make a business out of your hobbies

Do you have a hobby?  If so, is it popular?  Perhaps that could be the starting point of a great eBook.

3. Think carefully about why someone would want to download your eBook

There are three critical elements that must be present, in order for your eBook to be a winner:

a) There’s a real problem, and you have a solution;
b) There’s reasonably widespread awareness that there’s a problem, and people are looking for, or at least open to, a solution;
c) People are willing to invest money to make the problem go away.

4. Carry out your research

Using Google, use some key words to research the topic.  How big is the issue?  What are your competitors doing?  What are some of the other solutions already out there?  What are people looking for to solve the problem?

Here are some useful tools that will help you along the way:

Wordtracker – by far the best software for finding out what people are REALLY searching for on Google – http://httv.biz/wordtracker

Payloadz – specialist software that will help you to sell your eBook – http://httv.biz/payloadz/

Cover Action Pro – more specialist software, this time for designing a 3D cover for your eBook – http://httv.biz/coveractionpro/

Have a good week in business, and good luck with your next eBook!

All the best,
Patrick Moore and Mark Shaw
1Call.biz - taking you from a good idea to an established business

Click Here to - Sign Up to our Free Newsletter and Receive a free PDF
10 Classic mistakes that Sink Businesess.

In today’s Business Tips newsletter from 1Call.biz, – The First Class Option

If you look around at other Companies, you’ll start to see that some of them offer a “First Class” option, i.e. a premium version of their product or service.  Why?  Because there are always people who are willing to pay more to get a faster, better, more luxurious service.  A good example of this is the airline business.  There are always people that will pay extra to avoid the queues, sit in a wider seat with more leg-room, and leave the plane more quickly at the destination.

If you go to a top amusement park like Alton Towers, you’ll have the chance to buy a premium pass.  This costs considerably more than the standard pass, but allows you to access the rides without queuing.

We live in a world where people are impatient; they want things now!  If you go to Amazon and buy a book, you have two choices: either pay the standard price and get the standard delivery, or pay a premium price to receive the book tomorrow.

If you go to a football match, the theatre or a rock concert, there are seats that cost more, sometimes MUCH more, than a “standard” seat.

WHAT IF I DON’T OFFER A FIRST CLASS OPTION?

If you don’t offer a First Class option, it’s a safe bet that, eventually, one of your competitors will!  In other words, you run the risk of losing your best and most profitable customers.

FIRST CLASS CUSTOMERS ARE USUALLY BETTER CUSTOMERS

What you may also find is that your First Class customers are your best customers.  Customers that shop on price are typically just as demanding, if not more so, because their focus is very much on value for money.  Put another way, they will make sure they extract every ounce of service from you, taking up your time and attention that could be better invested elsewhere.

SO WHAT CAN I DO NOW?

1. Look at your product or service offering, and ask yourself some questions:
* How can I offer a first class option?
* How can I allow people to receive my product or service quicker, at an extra cost?
* How can I offer a premium version of my product?

2. Answer the questions above, and set yourself a target of creating a minimum of one new premium offering per month.

3. Right now (yes, NOW!) take the first step towards creating your next premium offering.

4. Let us know how it goes, by e-mailing your stories to success@1call.biz.

TODAY’S RECOMMENDED BOOK:

Wow! That’s What I Call Service – Don Hales and Derek Williams

Someone makes a connection with you in such a way that you want to buy from that person or that organisation over and over again.  And it’s not necessarily because they provide a superior product.  They give something of themselves that makes you say, “WOW! That’s what I call service!”

It might be the organisation as a whole; it might be just one checkout operator in an otherwise bland supermarket.  But, once you’ve fallen in love, you’ll probably stick with that supplier through thick and thin. You’ll forgive them their failings and their shortcomings, just as you’d forgive a close relative.

http://httv.biz/greatservice/

Have a good week in business.

All the best,
Patrick Moore and Mark Shaw
1Call.biz - taking you from a good idea to an established business

Click Here to - Sign Up to our Free Newsletter and Receive a free PDF
10 Classic mistakes that Sink Businesess.

In today’s Business Tips newsletter from 1Call.biz, we look at one of the most important questions any business has to deal with: the question of what to sell. In many ways, it’s such an obvious question that it tends to go unexamined; yet a poor choice of product can hurt or destroy the most determined efforts to create a successful business.

The truth is that, in most cases, inventing something really new takes a lot of money and a lot of time. Worse still, the odds against success are very high. We would always suggest that you go where the money is already being found, rather than trying to create a new market. In other words, sell something that is already selling.

HOW DO YOU FIND OUT WHAT’S ALREADY SELLING?

There are several ways of doing this. One is to buy the magazines associated with your idea. If, for example, your idea is based around cooking, then buy several top cooking magazines and look at the classified adverts. Do this process for several months, and see which adverts keep appearing. These will probably point to some successful businesses to examine.

Another other option is to go to Google and do a search on “cooking”. Look at the sponsored adverts, and make a careful note of the company and product names. Repeat this process over several weeks, again with your focus on those companies that keep appearing. These are mostly going to be the ones that are making money.

WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT?

Look at those companies; go to their websites; sign up to their newsletters and eBooks; buy something from them; call them; visit them if at all possible. All the time you’re doing this, you’re experiencing their offering, how they’re doing things, what was great and, more importantly, what was poor…. ….because it’s in the things they’re NOT doing well that your opportunity presents itself.

DON’T CLONE THEIR BUSINESS – IMPROVE IT!

The objective of doing all this research is to understand, as fully as possible, what your competitors are doing and how they’re doing it. When you then fully understand this, you can go about setting up your own business. Do not, however clone their business. You must look carefully at their business and find ways to improve it. Cloning it will simply annoy everybody, whilst giving you no competitive advantage.

Improving it, and offering something slightly better or different, may even lead to your creating new products that are a complement for the original offering. In other words, you may end collaborating or partnering with your original competitor.

TODAY’S RECOMMENDED BOOK:

121 Marketing Ideas To Grow Your Small Business, by Rod Sloane

If today’s business tip resonates with you, then you’ll get tremendous value from Rod Sloane’s book, which is one that you’re unlikely to put down until you’ve read it from cover to cover. Rod’s book will tell you everything you need to know about expanding your own small business. Find out how to get started, the diverse issues involved and the pitfalls to avoid, so that by the time you get going, you’ll be confident of having all the know-how you need to make your enterprise a total success.

http://httv.biz/marketingideas/

Have a good week in business.

All the best,
Patrick Moore and Mark Shaw
1Call.biz - taking you from a good idea to an established business

Click Here to - Sign Up to our Free Newsletter and Receive a free PDF
10 Classic mistakes that Sink Businesess.