Here is a Marketing Technique a small business entrepreneur should not do without.
I have been posting FREE ADS on the Internet and I noticed the following advantages:
1. WIDE AND IMMEDIATE REACH.
(Ad that I posted in the afternoon would generate a lead by the next
morning especially if the title of the ad is in High-Demand)
2. IT'S FREE.
(How much lower marketing cost do you want?)
3. DOES NOT GET STALE.
(Sometimes the item I posted is sold already but I was not able to
delete the ad yet and YET, a lead would call and this is my
chance to sell him another item)
4. UPSIZE IT.
( A copy from the fastfood chain. When the item I am selling is
not exactly what the Lead/caller needs, I take the opportunity to
sell him a higher value item)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
More on Business Networking 101
Today, while writing on my blog in a coffeeshop in a mall north of Manila, my friend, a fish meal distributor, gave me two business opportunities:
1. Find a buyer for his 1,000sqm warehouse in Malabon and I earn a percentage of the proceeds of the sale
2. Offer his fish meal to poultry growers and piggery owners and earn on the markup which is usually certain pesos per kilo. This could be significant since a truckload is about 20,000 kilos and a guarantee of repeat orders. ((Pigs and chickens do eat a lot.)
1. Find a buyer for his 1,000sqm warehouse in Malabon and I earn a percentage of the proceeds of the sale
2. Offer his fish meal to poultry growers and piggery owners and earn on the markup which is usually certain pesos per kilo. This could be significant since a truckload is about 20,000 kilos and a guarantee of repeat orders. ((Pigs and chickens do eat a lot.)
Friday, June 4, 2010
By Helping My Friend, I am Helping Myself
When we help people, two people feel good: the person to whom help is given and me ( that's us). I do not look at it as a debt that has to be repaid. If I am able to share what I have, it is enough that I helped them with a way to earn.
And when I talk about help, I do not mean a dole-out. I am not blessed with tons of money and in fact, I too have my share of fund shortages from time-to-time just like a number of us.
When I mean I help, I help the person to earn on his/her own-- it may be a selling opportunity or a small business to start. I am a believer of the saying " Give a man fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"".
Yesterday I sat down with a dear friend who I believe needs all the help the world can give just for her to make ends meet and not lose her mind in the process. I offered her options to be my agent or dealer by splitting commissions as I know she is in no position to contribute financially.
The silver lining (Blessing) in what I just did is that I might be more successful in my business as she has a wide network of prospects that are now untapped and the saying that One Plus One Equals Three is definite as on my own, I may not be able to do it without a treasure of prospects.
And when I talk about help, I do not mean a dole-out. I am not blessed with tons of money and in fact, I too have my share of fund shortages from time-to-time just like a number of us.
When I mean I help, I help the person to earn on his/her own-- it may be a selling opportunity or a small business to start. I am a believer of the saying " Give a man fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"".
Yesterday I sat down with a dear friend who I believe needs all the help the world can give just for her to make ends meet and not lose her mind in the process. I offered her options to be my agent or dealer by splitting commissions as I know she is in no position to contribute financially.
The silver lining (Blessing) in what I just did is that I might be more successful in my business as she has a wide network of prospects that are now untapped and the saying that One Plus One Equals Three is definite as on my own, I may not be able to do it without a treasure of prospects.
Internet Cafe Owner wants to Set-up a Lotto Outlet
Last Wednesday, June 2, 2010, I met with the owner of an Internet Cafe in Marikina, which is a few kilometers east of Manila. She is the sole breadwinner of her family and relies on the income from the Internet cafe for financial support. Unfortunately, income from the Internet Cafe has been steadily decreasing due to stiff competition and price undercutting amongst them Computer rates have dropped more than 20% from P20/hr to P15/hr. She forced herself to learn a little about computer hardware maintenance so she can save the salary of having a full-time technician.
She saw my ad about offering a "How to Set-up a Lotto Outlet" seminar for only P2,000.00. We met at Mister Donut in a mall in Quezon City and during those 2 hours, she grilled me about my Lotto operation and after that, she came away knowing the following:
1. Management (What type of Entrepreneur is suited for this small
business)
2. Site Selection (Points to know if choosing the right rite; Not all
lotto outlets are earning)
3. PCSO Application Process
4. Total Investment Outlay
5. What to do when Your Application gets denied
6. What to Expect in your Lotto Operation
7. How to choose your Lotto Operator
(Picture of Lotto Outlet with customers playing Lotto and Scratch It Cards)
8. Internal Controls and Fraud Prevention (You Need This)
9. Marketing of your Lotto Outlet and what are the latest develop-
ment in the Lotto Industry that can affect Your Lotto)
For those interested in availing of the "How to Set-up a Lotto Outlet"
seminar for only P2,000.00/person, please contact me at PLDT
514-2905 or text me your name at 0922-8831225.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Cheap Value People place on their Own Lives
This is a scene along EDSA, the busiest main thoroughfare in Manila. The particular spot where this picture was taken shows a car racing down a Flyover which is just a few meters away from where the two bright guys stood--waiting to cross.
The sign used to say "BAWAL TUMAWID. NAKAKAMATAY" (eng- Do Not Cross. It causes Death) but according to the guard of a bank on that corner, the sign was changed to "BAWAL TUMAWID. MAY NAMATAY NA DITO" (eng - Do not Cross. Somebody Already Died Here) after a woman was killed a few days before the picture was taken having been hit by a motorcycle coming down from the Flyover. The woman's body was thrown about and tumbled several spins along the highway.
Was the sign effective? See the picture below-
The sign used to say "BAWAL TUMAWID. NAKAKAMATAY" (eng- Do Not Cross. It causes Death) but according to the guard of a bank on that corner, the sign was changed to "BAWAL TUMAWID. MAY NAMATAY NA DITO" (eng - Do not Cross. Somebody Already Died Here) after a woman was killed a few days before the picture was taken having been hit by a motorcycle coming down from the Flyover. The woman's body was thrown about and tumbled several spins along the highway.
Was the sign effective? See the picture below-
Is it WORTH Keeping Customers Loyal to Me?
This seems to have an obvious answer but IS IT?
1. We have read that it costs more to get new customers than to keep your existing clients.
2. I remember an article by Ned Roberto, a noted marketing guru, about the subject and the impression I got is that it does not matter.
3. For a needed product or one with strong demand, customer loyalty does not matter. The customer will still buy because he needs it. And for many customers, there is no other choice.
In the case of my lotto, am not sure about that statement. One reason why I got new customers despite there being 5 other lotto outlets within spitting distance (if you can call 50 meters a good spit distance) from mine is that the customers found the Lotto Operator of the others as being "MASUNGIT" (in english, haughty and rude)
4. Have we really figured out how much it costs to give GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE???
Here's an example: In the mall where I am in, MetroBank says BDO has high labor costs because MetroBank has only about 8 pax versus the 18 that BDO has but truth be told, service at BDO is highly efficient despite the huge volume of customers.
BDO is the only bank I know in the Phils that aside from the regular tellers up front, all New Accounts and other non-teller clerks are deputized (given cash fund) as TELLERS whenever long lines are apparent. Likewise, I also see Branch Manager Madonna (where I bank) doing Teller work when still more teller are needed!!!!!!
Try that at other banks wherein lines overwhelm the tellers and yet there are dozens of other clerks just sitting/chatting in their itty-bitty cubicles oblivious of the long lines and the sour faces of customers. (These banks' lines are similar to the game SNAKE on your cellphone, right? ) And to add tons of salt to the wound while all of this is happening daily, the other bank's manager sits like Cleopatra pretending not to know about any problem among her subjects (that's us. the customers).
5. Does it pay to be CUSTOMER-CENTRIC???
Again I have to cite the BDO at my mall. When Bank Manager Madonna noticed that lines were becoming a daily occurrence because they had to service many customers from other BDO branches to the detriment of her own BDO depositors, she decided to create an EXCLUSIVE LANE JUST FOR DEPOSITORS OF HER OWN BRANCH.
I typically visit her Branch 4 times a day to deposit, withdraw and get coins and its heaven sent what Madonna did. Whereas before the EXCLUSIVE CUSTOMER LANE. waiting in line took 30mins or more, now its more like 3 minutes.
Is it worth it for Madonna's Branch bottomline? Figure this, Metrobank has been Number 1 for ages and now, they are in Second. Guess who's Numero Uno-----BDO.
p.s. Another cliche--Who remembers who came in Second?
6. Because being GOOD to your customer is highly subjective, is there a tool by which a small business entrepreneur may use to measure its worth in pesos and cents??
7. Lastly, GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE should not mean raising prices because that is the biggest DISSERVICE TO YOUR CUSTOMER.
Help the small business owner by sharing what you think.
Please lend me your thoughts on this. I may be wrong.
1. We have read that it costs more to get new customers than to keep your existing clients.
2. I remember an article by Ned Roberto, a noted marketing guru, about the subject and the impression I got is that it does not matter.
3. For a needed product or one with strong demand, customer loyalty does not matter. The customer will still buy because he needs it. And for many customers, there is no other choice.
In the case of my lotto, am not sure about that statement. One reason why I got new customers despite there being 5 other lotto outlets within spitting distance (if you can call 50 meters a good spit distance) from mine is that the customers found the Lotto Operator of the others as being "MASUNGIT" (in english, haughty and rude)
4. Have we really figured out how much it costs to give GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE???
Here's an example: In the mall where I am in, MetroBank says BDO has high labor costs because MetroBank has only about 8 pax versus the 18 that BDO has but truth be told, service at BDO is highly efficient despite the huge volume of customers.
BDO is the only bank I know in the Phils that aside from the regular tellers up front, all New Accounts and other non-teller clerks are deputized (given cash fund) as TELLERS whenever long lines are apparent. Likewise, I also see Branch Manager Madonna (where I bank) doing Teller work when still more teller are needed!!!!!!
Try that at other banks wherein lines overwhelm the tellers and yet there are dozens of other clerks just sitting/chatting in their itty-bitty cubicles oblivious of the long lines and the sour faces of customers. (These banks' lines are similar to the game SNAKE on your cellphone, right? ) And to add tons of salt to the wound while all of this is happening daily, the other bank's manager sits like Cleopatra pretending not to know about any problem among her subjects (that's us. the customers).
5. Does it pay to be CUSTOMER-CENTRIC???
Again I have to cite the BDO at my mall. When Bank Manager Madonna noticed that lines were becoming a daily occurrence because they had to service many customers from other BDO branches to the detriment of her own BDO depositors, she decided to create an EXCLUSIVE LANE JUST FOR DEPOSITORS OF HER OWN BRANCH.
I typically visit her Branch 4 times a day to deposit, withdraw and get coins and its heaven sent what Madonna did. Whereas before the EXCLUSIVE CUSTOMER LANE. waiting in line took 30mins or more, now its more like 3 minutes.
Is it worth it for Madonna's Branch bottomline? Figure this, Metrobank has been Number 1 for ages and now, they are in Second. Guess who's Numero Uno-----BDO.
p.s. Another cliche--Who remembers who came in Second?
6. Because being GOOD to your customer is highly subjective, is there a tool by which a small business entrepreneur may use to measure its worth in pesos and cents??
7. Lastly, GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE should not mean raising prices because that is the biggest DISSERVICE TO YOUR CUSTOMER.
Help the small business owner by sharing what you think.
Please lend me your thoughts on this. I may be wrong.
Get Caught on Monday. Shoplift Again on Thursday.
Where is the Justice????
To many a small business entrepreneur working on very limited budget and ever slimmer margins, Shoplifting and Passers of Counterfeit money bills are a daily threat. Read the following notes and IF YOU SEE ANYTHING FAMILIAR, YOU ARE ALREADY LOSING YOUR SHIRT, to wit:
1. One Small business owner of a Grocery told me his Security personnel would catch a shoplifter red-handed bringing out the goods and rather than be repentant, would even challenge Security to bring him to the police station as he will be out on bail immediately. Sure enough, HE WAS CAUGHT AGAIN IN THE SAME STORE AFTER 3 DAYS!!!!
2. Habitual shoplifters do not shoplift at random (i.e. go for the high-value goods). Items that they steal are items that already have been ordered by buyers of stolen goods. IN A SENSE, THESE SHOPLIFTERS ARE SHOPPING!!!!!!
3. Shoplifters "go to a school of SHOPLIFTNG". There, they practice how to carry 2 2kg of Nestle Powdered Milk in between their legs (under their skirt) and still walk normally.
4. Shoplifters would come in wearing a pair of denims but leave the store in a skirt.
5. Shoplifters are very much aware of the Law (without being lawyers) i.e. if no charges are filed by the small business owner, the police has to let them go in a few hours (otherwise, Illegal detention charges can be filed against the police).
6. In the event charges are filed, their handler would immediately post the bail, according to exasperated small business owners. (They know this for a fact as borne by the title of this post -- see above title)
7. Whenever a new grocery opens, all shoplifters would swarm into the store to
a. Test the Security Defenses
b. Being store opening day, Store and Security Personnel will be
overwhelmed by the number of customers and kibitzers.
c. Priority is "Pleasing the Customer". The small business owner
does not want a SCENE AS WHEN 5 BURLY GUARDS ARE
TRYING TO MANHANDLE A KICKING AND SCREAMING FEMALE
SHOPLIFTER, isn't it?
d. A new store will use new, young and probably inexperienced
guards. (Cheap Labor)
8. Most often, shoplifters would enter in a Gang moving in different directions to throw-off uniformed and plainclothes Security. LOOK AT IT AS A NUMBERS GAME.......The poor small business owner can only hire a few guards (3 or 4) watching 3 entrances and only 1 or 2 guard on roving duty versus 6 suspected shoplifters amongst hundreds of in and out legitimate shoppers. Its a NUMBERS GAME AS WELL AS A SHELL GAME. Pretty smart huh?
9. CCTV cameras are of the cheap kind (i.e. lacks high-tech Face Recognition Programming, low-resolution, no adjustment for changing light conditions and images/footages are not interfaced with software that will sound the appropriate alarms/SMS messaging). And to top it all, monitoring of the many CCTV units are left with a poor, lowly and very much bored clerk or staffer. Modern CCTV monitoring is computerized to recognize repeat shoplifters i.e. image of every caught shoplifter is stored in a database and the instant a shoplifter enters the CCTV scan range, the computer searches the database and any match will sound the alarm (without any human intervention 24/7). Price? P3,000 for cheap camera and upwards of P300,000/unit for the face recognition etc version. AND OUR FRIENDLY SHOPLIFTER KNOWS WHICH MODEL THE POOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNER WILL BUY.
IN THE END, THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER WEIGHS HOW MUCH VALUE IS SECURITY TO HIS BUSINESS. A typical small business grocer is working on a 3 - 5% margin. A lost of a can of expensive milk can only be recovered after maybe selling 100s of the same product.
To many a small business entrepreneur working on very limited budget and ever slimmer margins, Shoplifting and Passers of Counterfeit money bills are a daily threat. Read the following notes and IF YOU SEE ANYTHING FAMILIAR, YOU ARE ALREADY LOSING YOUR SHIRT, to wit:
1. One Small business owner of a Grocery told me his Security personnel would catch a shoplifter red-handed bringing out the goods and rather than be repentant, would even challenge Security to bring him to the police station as he will be out on bail immediately. Sure enough, HE WAS CAUGHT AGAIN IN THE SAME STORE AFTER 3 DAYS!!!!
2. Habitual shoplifters do not shoplift at random (i.e. go for the high-value goods). Items that they steal are items that already have been ordered by buyers of stolen goods. IN A SENSE, THESE SHOPLIFTERS ARE SHOPPING!!!!!!
3. Shoplifters "go to a school of SHOPLIFTNG". There, they practice how to carry 2 2kg of Nestle Powdered Milk in between their legs (under their skirt) and still walk normally.
4. Shoplifters would come in wearing a pair of denims but leave the store in a skirt.
5. Shoplifters are very much aware of the Law (without being lawyers) i.e. if no charges are filed by the small business owner, the police has to let them go in a few hours (otherwise, Illegal detention charges can be filed against the police).
6. In the event charges are filed, their handler would immediately post the bail, according to exasperated small business owners. (They know this for a fact as borne by the title of this post -- see above title)
7. Whenever a new grocery opens, all shoplifters would swarm into the store to
a. Test the Security Defenses
b. Being store opening day, Store and Security Personnel will be
overwhelmed by the number of customers and kibitzers.
c. Priority is "Pleasing the Customer". The small business owner
does not want a SCENE AS WHEN 5 BURLY GUARDS ARE
TRYING TO MANHANDLE A KICKING AND SCREAMING FEMALE
SHOPLIFTER, isn't it?
d. A new store will use new, young and probably inexperienced
guards. (Cheap Labor)
8. Most often, shoplifters would enter in a Gang moving in different directions to throw-off uniformed and plainclothes Security. LOOK AT IT AS A NUMBERS GAME.......The poor small business owner can only hire a few guards (3 or 4) watching 3 entrances and only 1 or 2 guard on roving duty versus 6 suspected shoplifters amongst hundreds of in and out legitimate shoppers. Its a NUMBERS GAME AS WELL AS A SHELL GAME. Pretty smart huh?
9. CCTV cameras are of the cheap kind (i.e. lacks high-tech Face Recognition Programming, low-resolution, no adjustment for changing light conditions and images/footages are not interfaced with software that will sound the appropriate alarms/SMS messaging). And to top it all, monitoring of the many CCTV units are left with a poor, lowly and very much bored clerk or staffer. Modern CCTV monitoring is computerized to recognize repeat shoplifters i.e. image of every caught shoplifter is stored in a database and the instant a shoplifter enters the CCTV scan range, the computer searches the database and any match will sound the alarm (without any human intervention 24/7). Price? P3,000 for cheap camera and upwards of P300,000/unit for the face recognition etc version. AND OUR FRIENDLY SHOPLIFTER KNOWS WHICH MODEL THE POOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNER WILL BUY.
IN THE END, THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER WEIGHS HOW MUCH VALUE IS SECURITY TO HIS BUSINESS. A typical small business grocer is working on a 3 - 5% margin. A lost of a can of expensive milk can only be recovered after maybe selling 100s of the same product.
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