I’ve been posting many ideas and secrets that have helped to create more than 6 million customers over my career, and I’ve been encouraging you to make comments.  Some of you have commented and shared your experiences; many others haven’t.

Can you imagine if just 10% of the members share an idea or strategy that could help other members…just one idea?

Today’s economy is one that we haven’t seen before in our lifetimes, and if we group together to help one another, we can all survive this economic downturn.
 
Let’s do it together.  Let’s help one another.  What would happen if we gave one another just one idea in answer to any question we may have regarding growing our businesses or creating customers?  I’m sure that we have a wide range of expertise within this group that would make a difference in the growth of our companies.

I want to help everyone in this group grow their business and create more customers.  If you had the opportunity to ask just one question about finding a solution to one problem you are having in growing your business, or in creating customers, what would it be?

I am hoping that when you ask the question, you will receive dozens of possible solutions to your question from the group.   Post your question in the comment section below.

Technorati Tags: Business ideas, creating customers, customer acquisition

The following aren’t necessarily in the order of importance, but if all are implemented you can’t help but succeed.  Next to each To-Do is a link for more information:

1. Create Data Base of your clients.  You need all pertinent data like name, address, email, spouse’s name, birthday for them and their spouse, and whatever data you need.  I would also get the data of every family member.  http://www.kenvarga.com/news/a-method-to-collect-information-to-create-your-customer-database/

2. If possible, connect with your customer/clients weekly. 

3. Dominate your market by becoming the expert that everyone goes to when they need what you offer.  http://www.kenvarga.com/news/dominate-your-market/

4. Do Special Events.  IE:    "Give A Little And Get A Lot— how this simple principle can cause a crowd of people to market your business to the world!  http://www.aweber.com/b/1Bvci

5. If possible, do a 30-minute radio talk show in your local area.  In it, address the pain the listeners are in and how you are able to help them.  http://www.aweber.com/b/1LBOq

6. Each time a customer buys from you, put the transaction in your data base and have an employee call to thank the purchaser for being your customer.  Ask the customer: “Why do you purchase from us and not our competition.” They will give you information that you can use to create more customers. 

7. Create a Referral System where you bring your customer/client from being a customer to becoming an advocate of your business.  http://www.kenvarga.com/news/growing-through-referrals/

8. Make sure your advertising is responsive and measurable.  Create a free report.  http://www.aweber.com/b/1Q_wC

9. Upsell.  Create a package of your products and offer them to your customers as a package.  http://www.kenvarga.com/news/promotions-you-can-take-to-the-bank/

10. Inspect what you expect.  I used to call my own office to make sure my people answered the way they were taught.  http://www.kenvarga.com/news/inspect-what-you-expect/

Technorati Tags: database creation, dominate market, free report, measure advertising, referral system, special events, upsell

What would it take for your business to survive in the face of adversity?  Let’s take a look at the possible bankruptcy filing by Blockbuster Video and what that has to do with you.

All over the country there are now chains of stores that have a video dispensing machine where a person can rent a DVD for $1.  Then there is Netflix where you can order videos on your computer, and there is Hulu, where you can stream video to your computer. 

Last week it was announced that Blockbuster might push for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  In a filing with US regulators, Blockbuster pointed to “significant liquidity restraints” and a steadily-mounting debt.

This is what they said, according to the Associated Press:  “The increasingly competitive industry conditions under which we operate have negatively impacted our results of operations and cash flows and may continue into the future. These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.”  Blockbuster lost $569 million dollars last year and currently has more than $975 million dollars in debt.

Could the era of video stores be coming to a screeching halt?

How does this apply to you?

Here are my thoughts on what may have happened at Blockbuster headquarters…

Blockbuster saw the rising trends, but they believed they could withstand them.  They added an online arm to their business to try and address the online trend, but their offline business model remained basically the same.  They thought that if they marketed heavily enough they could have the best of both worlds. 

Many of the upper managers were probably also trying to protect their jobs, so the solutions they were coming up with were all limited to solutions that worked along the lines of job protection.  If this was the case, no one could really come up with creative solutions that matched reality…the growing trends.   Their solutions could only be extensions of the old blockbuster model, which didn’t take into account the current technological trends, since those trends did not exist at the time the model was created.

Coming up with solutions to extend the old model in the face of new trends is certain to lead to demise of a company.   If the company is to survive, the model has to be changed to include the new trends, not patched up or added on to.  No amount of marketing will help the company survive unless its model is redone to accommodate the new trends.

How about you?  Is your business model being redone to accommodate the new trends in the business world?  Or are you hoping that with enough marketing, perseverance, and grit you will pull through?  Are you or your employees holding on to the old model because you believe that’s the way to protect your “job”?  Actually holding on to the old model is the guaranteed way to lose your “job”.

If you haven’t done so yet, start taking the trends you observe seriously, and begin to adjust your business model to incorporate those trends.  Unless you do, your business may meet the fate Blockbuster is facing.

Let me know your thoughts about this article and what challenges you may be facing in adjusting your business to make sure it survives and thrives in the face of the rapid changes going on around us.

Technorati Tags: Blockbuster Video, business challenges, business model, trends

An Obituary printed in the London Times – Interesting and sadly rather true. 

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: 
– Knowing when to come in out of the rain; 
– Why the early bird gets the worm; 
– Life isn’t always fair; 
– and Maybe it was my fault. 

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. 

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. 

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. 

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. 

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. 

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason. 

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; 
I Know My Rights 
I Want It Now 
Someone Else Is To Blame 
I’m A Victim 

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. Hope you still remember him.

Technorati Tags: common sense, london times

Don’t you know it! 

Just when you think that “FREE” has been worn out because every buyer now expects a free report, a free trial period, a free sample, someone has come along to take the concept up another notch.

And that someone is none other than Chris Anderson, the founder of Wired Magazine and the inventor of the Long Tail idea.

In his new book, “Free”, Chris gives  a perspective that opens up the playing field for “Free” way beyond what we’ve become accustomed to. Or at least he has put in writing what we may have known subsciously.  He shows you how to compete while your customers are giving away for free what you are selling.

For instance, Chris gives examples of how some companies are now being built around the concept of free—not as a lead generation device, but as a model of their business.  These companies are not using free as a marketing strategy; they are building their whole business model on the idea of providing their main service or product free to the buyer (permanently; not as a trial) and making their money from ancillaries.

This ups the ante folks.  Get a copy of Chris’ book, read it, and start preparing for the changes that are coming.”  Get a copy here:

Technorati Tags: business model, Chris Anderson, Free

I was watching the morning news, and the reporters were talking about a video that was on You Tube about Domino’s Pizza, and about how two of their employees in North Carolina taped themselves sticking sticks of cheese up their nose and sneezing into a sandwich, and using the cheese sticks they stuck up their nose into the sandwich.

Well you can imagine the uproar individuals seeing this video felt about Domino’s Pizza.

I was left wondering what Domino’s could have done to limit the damage that occurred when the video appeared on You Tube?

All of us, at some point, could have negative publicity staring us in the face.  I doubt if we could absolutely avoid it occurring, but there are mechanisms that could be in place to react immediately.

I say “immediately”, because Domino’s didn’t react positively immediately.  When it did respond, it issued a statement to the press and created a Twitter account to answer any questions the public might have had. They also created a You Tube video, where the president Patrick Doyle, conveyed his outrage, announcing the arrest of the workers, and extra vigilance in hiring.

These types of responses could be too little, too late these days.  First of all Doyle’s apology came 48 hours after the video was posted, after it was viewed nearly one million times, and it also had a lot of play on other  social media sites. Individuals on Twitter were wondering about Domino’s silence.

Even LinkedIn created a forum on what the company should do.

If there is a lesson here, it’s that companies must have an active presence on the Web to monitor their brands continuously and to enlist loyal customers to help deal immediately with any damage.

Pizza Hut, a competitor, just announced it is seeking a Twitter-based intern to monitor its reputation online.  And Domino’s now has their own Twitter account with over 1000 followers.

So, have a monitoring mechanism in place, then react immediately. 

Let me know your thoughts about this, and other suggestions you might have for other companies.  For example, what should a real estate firm do, a Medical provider do, or others?

Technorati Tags: reputation protection

I recently read Seth Godin’s blog about change and it reminded me of the blog article I wrote about Innovation a few weeks ago.

Here’s what Seth says, "In down economies, the only thing that’s going to change things is changing things. This is hard for a lot of marketers who are used to defending the status quo, but it’s truly the best option.”

“If you’re not happy with what you’ve got, what radical changes are you willing to make to change what you’re getting?”

Seth is a seminal thinker.  I highly recommend reading his blog, if you don’t already do so.

For the original post, and other comments by Seth, you can go here: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/02/change.html

Also, re-read my blog post on Innovation at http://www.kenvarga.com/news/willing-to-innovate-like-this-guy-did/ and let me know your thoughts.

Technorati Tags: change, innovation

Last month, I flew from Aruba to Las Vegas to attend the Speakers & Authors Networking Group Event. When the event was over 3 days later, I flew back to Aruba.

The reason I went to all of this trouble of flying, is because I’m still investing in myself and still learning from others. And whenever I learn anything, I impart it to you.

The speakers at this event included Alex Mandossian, Tony Robbins, Rich Schefren, Joe Polish, Joel Bauer, Les Brown, and quite a few others who are making tons of money in these tough times.

The key message from everyone was that there definitely is an economic problem and we won’t come out of it soon, but that it is in these tough times that we all need to help each other to survive. I’m doing my part to help you survive, so that you and your company are still here when the economy turns around.

If you are having problems in any areas of your business, get some help. Don’t try to solve it all by yourself. Get input from others. As a matter of fact, you can get input from me by asking your questions using the comment box under this message.

Technorati Tags: alex mandossian, business survival, joe polish, joel bauer, les brown, rich schefren, surviving the recession, tony robbins

Here are a few ways I’ve used to make my competition irrelevant. 

Focus on the moment of truth, the place or position that your products or services will be offered to the customer.  For example, if you have a retail establishment, this may be a wall display or a counter display.

On the internet this may be an on-line store, E-bay if you have an account with them to offer your products, or your own personal web site.  Sometimes the moment of truth may be in the form of a bid or proposal after several months of working to convert your prospect into a client or customer. 

The moment of truth is the moment that the customer has an option to make a purchasing decision, to buy your product, or to invest in your services.  This is the moment you need to put your best foot forward.

Each time you present something to your prospect or customer, provide a value proposition to them.  Your value proposition should be something that can be conveyed in three to five precise and succinct statements. 

A value proposition should contain the essential elements of feature, advantage, benefit, and offer.  This is a reference to a specific important feature of your offer, the advantage as compared to the competition and what’s in it for your customer. 

The other thing you can do is to differentiate yourself from the competition.  Common examples of differentiation for products may be size, speed, color, or accessories.  Examples of differentiation for services would be performance, quality, availability, or ease of use.  Show how your product or service is better than the competition.

In today’s world, our clients and customers are bombarded with so much information, advertisements, and commercials that it is sometimes impossible to keep the attention of your prospects focused on what you are saying to them. 

If you focus your methods on the Moment of Truth and create a differentiation, you will leave your competition in the dust.

Technorati Tags: differentiation, differentiation and positioning, differentiation of products, differentiation of service, value proposition, winning against competition

When faced with a downturn in the economy, there are a couple big mistakes a business can make:

1. Do nothing

2. Do the wrong thing.

Doing either of these can put the nails in your coffin.

The problem is that the fear of doing the wrong thing often
causes many business owners to do nothing. This often leads them to stop or cut back on their marketing. This is the worst thing a business owner can do.

But if you want to give yourself the best chance of making the right decision, what can you do?

Well one smart thing would be to pick the brains of successful business people and model what works.

What if you could have 38 of the top marketing experts tell you what they would do in a recession to keep their business growing? Do you think that you might be able to pick up at least one thing you can do to help you prosper in this shrinking economy.?

Recently, I was interviewed by Scott Aughtmon about what I would do in a recession to make sure my business continued to thrive. Scott also interviewed Jay Levinson, Seth Godin, Michael Gerber, Yanik Silver, Alex Mandossian, and 32 other top experts in business, sales, and marketing about how they would survive in a recession.

To see what these experts said they would do, and to learn what you can do to prosper in this recession, GO HERE. It is definitely worth your time to check this out.

Technorati Tags: experts on recession, growing business during recession, Recession, survive the recession