Progressive Farmer has an article detailing how rural retail is changing, Not Your Father’s Farm Store. Indeed, successful retailers know that much of what they sell can be had in the big box stores, sometimes cheaper. It’s what goes along with the sale that keeps their parking lots full. “We have four certified crop advisers,…
Stephanie Chandler, at Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams, has a terrific idea to encourage word or mouth referrals: Recently one of my bookstore customers mentioned that she originally learned about my store from her hair dresser. That got me thinking about my own hair dresser and how she’s a great source for finding out about restaurants…
Do you have complicated or expensive items to sell? Layering can help you to make more sales. The ProcessLayering is the process of giving info in small chunks. Rather than overwhelm a prospect with the whole story and every detail, break it into bite size pieces. Offer just what they want to know right now….
How do you decide to expand your business? How can you tell if the fit is right, and if this expansion really makes sense? I talked with a potential entrepreneur yesterday. He is having trouble settling his business idea down to just one thing. With so many market opportunities available, he found his new business…
Naming your business is important. Sometimes, businesses end up with names that can project a bad image. Examples: George E. Failing Company. Despite the Failing name, they are celebrating 75 years, after having changed to the initials GEFCO. Glitsch Construction. Greif Brothers Trucking. Quality Prevention Company. I used a couple of these examples before, and…
If your small biz includes your handmade creations, check into Etsy, an online market for handmade items. You can sell anything that is handmade or, a bit more loosely put, hand-assembled or hand-altered. … If human hands put some love into the object, odds are you can sell it on Etsy. It is a marketplace…
Generation Y has its own unique qualities. In Tell Me Y By Elana Centor at BlogHer, Centor gives an excellent introduction to the topic. What I am telling my clients to do is to start reading Anatasia Goodstein’s YPulse, a blog that provides news and commentary about Gen Y for marketing and media professionals. Do…
Rural small businesses are usually not overrun with excess cash. We are usually strapped, so we think about marketing in unusual ways; ways that leverage our effort instead of our dollars. Inc.com had a great article on this topic by Ted O’Callahan. His main points were: Become an Expert by speaking, writing, or sharing Pick…
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