As One Doors Closes, Another Opens for Small Businesses

Now that the Circuit City has closed its doors in the Town of Wallkill, an opportunity for smaller electronic stores has presented itself. With Circuit City going belly-up, the estimated sales opportunities for businesses nationwide is in the billions of dollars. Although all evidence points towards Best Buy and Wal-Mart as the two dominant companies that will profit from the end of Circuit City's 60 year run, your small electronics business can carve out its own share of the potential profits.

One tactic that is sure to sway consumers your way is to give them the better deal. 40% of consumers said that price was the main reason they chose Wal-Mart or Best Buy over Circuit City.

Shoppers have been changing the way they shop. They are expecting the same quality for less. This was a trend that began establishing itself well before the recession. Give them better prices on products. Offer consumers a free laptop inspection. Brainstorm to discover new ideas to bring former Circuit City customers to your doors.

It is not always easy to beat Wal-Mart on price, but you can compete on knowledge. Use your sales staff to establish your business as viable source of information on electronics. Yes, Best Buy is known for its knowledgeable staff  and their television advertisements boast this. But when the customer is in the store, does their brand promise carry through? Does the high school kid in Best Buy always have an answer for your electronic questions? Or can you always find a sales associate? 

Give yourself the advantage and make sure that your sales staff is more knowledgeable than those at Best Buy and Wal-Mart.

Research-The Unsung Hero of the Marketing Program

Research s key to any successful marketing program. Often it's also the main reason behind why other programs fail. We've all heard the phrase, "What you don't know won't hurt you." And as we all know, this phrase is usually used by someone trying to avoid telling you something that is going to hurt you. The same applies to marketing.

Read my latest article published in the Hudson Valley Business Journal describing ways to make the most out of your marketing program through smart research strategies.  

http://www.bbggadv.com/Research-Hero_of_Marketing.htm

June Bisel

Partner

BBG&G Advertising and Public Relations

Customer Relations Build Brand Loyalty

Your devotion to your customers is becoming one of the most important influences of what makes consumers love you and continue to come to you - or abhor you, and take their business straight to the competition.

This increase in demand for value is not just a by-product of a bad economy. Excellent service has always made customers likely to return. Who doesn't want to go to a bar where everybody knows your name? Companies need to consider brand loyalty marketing, to let the customer know that they are appreciated.

Customers want a heating company that will inspect a broken heater before charging for repairs or a store that will offer to bring their heavy bags out to the car.

Developing new ways to assist the consumer is a prime opportunity for a company to differentiate itself and become memorable to the consumer.

The concept of offering different services to consumers also applies to the internet. Midas provides tips and advice about a car's exhaust and brake systems to help educate the consumer. Furniture giant, Ikea, lets consumers design a bedroom through their web site.

Use your marketing communications and service offerings to show your customers that you are devoted to them. Research proves it will pay off for you in the long-run.

June Bisel

Partner, BBG&G Advertising & Public Relations

BusinessCardContacts.com

Got a Green Thumb?

Food prices continue to rise. The economy continues to decline. So what is an average American to do? Grow your own food!

The National Gardening Association's most recent survey findings are indicating that growing numbers of people (including myself) are planning to grow their own fruits, vegetables and herbs. In fact, gardening is expected to increase by $7 million in 2009. And 54% of those surveyed said that they are turning to gardening in order to save money on food bills. Another 48% are interested in growing food that they know is safe from pesticides and growth hormone products.

This is an opportunity to thrive! In 2008, consumers spent $2.8 billion on home food gardening and in 2009 it is expected they will spend considerably more. You can be sure that this is a trend large retailers, like Lowes and Home Depot, will capitalize on. But if you're a smaller business that sells gardening tools, soil, seeds, fencing, or other gardening-related products, make sure to reach out to your customers and benefit from this new trend.

BusinessCardContacts.com offers an affordable method of marketing for businesses large and small. Sign on as a member and let us assist you in having a successful 2009!

June Bisel

Partner

BBG&G Advertising & Public Relations

BusinessCardContacts.com

The Internet's Social Networking Movement

We all know that the Internet is the newest incarnation of the wild western frontier and that marketers are desperately trying to figure out how to strike gold on it. One thing that you smart businessmen and women can do to see where the Internet is going, is to ask your kids how they spend their time online. When they tell you that most of their time online is spent on Facebook or Myspace or Twitter, it is an indicator that the Internet is quickly moving towards social networking media.

Consumers appreciate companies that use their websites as more than just an opportunity to talk about themselves. Creating dialogue between businesses, among consumers, or between the company and its consumers are important ways to make an impact through the web.

Skittles is creating a substantial buzz with their new web interface, turning their company website into a social networking portal, with its Facebook page as the homepage and links to its, YouTube and Flickr pages. Besides generating an incredible buzz on the web and among those in the industry, the benefits of this experimental move have yet to be determined. But we do know that word of mouth is one of the pillars of Marketing, and starting dialogues on the Internet is one of the most innovative ways to get people talking. Use BusinessCardContacts.com to start a conversation about your services, or to give advice to the BusinessCardContacts community, and explore the newest frontier of the Internet.

Wedding Day Memories

Planning a wedding? Or perhaps you own a business within the bridal industry... either way, here's some interesting information on how the recession is changing how brides are choosing to spend their wedding budgets.

A recent study conducted by Modern Bride magazine showed that many of us are not reducing our wedding budgets, but instead, are shifting how we're divvying up those precious, hard-earned dollars.

And, no big surprise to me, people are choosing to invest in items and memories that are long-lasting -- specifically, big diamond rings, quality photography, and great honeymoons.

Hey, I'm right there. While really big weddings are fun for guests, if you are the bride and groom it's so stressful to organize, and the day goes by so fast it seems like a blur.

Give me a decent ring (doesn't even have to be new -- could be an heirloom), some good photos to look back on, and a week or two away with my honey accompanied by a simple day of celebration with close friends and family. That is what would make me happy.

What do you think? If you're planning a wedding now, we'd love to hear from you.