FIND THE HIDDEN MONEY IN YOUR BUSINESS
It?s a common thought that the best way to increase profits in any business is to either work more and get more done, or to cut costs by lowering overhead. These aren?t bad ideas. Getting more clients or customers is always a good thing. And surely lowering the cost of supplies, rent, and other monthly expenses is also a feasible method to increase the amount of money you can take home every month.
The problem with these tactics is that they are too limited. Getting more customers is always welcomed, but more money also has to be invested to gain those customers. A bigger sales team is needed in many cases, depending on the business. Internet marketing tactics have to be amped up to increase production in order to reach more consumers. This could mean paying for additional ads to place on search results or websites, or using extra man power to reach out to people directly through emails or social media.
Lowering overhead also has its pitfalls. How much fat can you trim before the company starts paying a price? Most businesses have ways they could reduce spending, but after a while, all that can be cut has been cut. At that point, there?s not much further you can do.
Luckily, there is an answer in this situation. Companies can learn ways to make more money, if they keep doing the same things they?re already doing. What if you could increase profits without doing any more marketing than you are right now? Sounds pretty enticing, right? Even better, it wouldn?t require that you begin firing employees or trimming expenses out of your budget. You can ?find? money hidden in your business that has been there all along, but which you may have been ignoring.
Then concept isn?t all that out there when you get down to the nuts and bolts of it. The premise of finding money that has been undiscovered in your business involves working smarter instead of harder. You?ve undoubtedly heard this expression a dozen times before, but you may not have really understood what it meant or how you could go about implementing it in your own business. You may have even assumed that only lazy people used that mantra to excuse themselves from doing any real work. This couldn?t be farther from the truth.
So, how can you ?find? money hiding in your business? Follow these steps:
Analyze where your money is going.?It?s amazing how many business owners or managers spend money month after month on things that simply aren?t working for them. Maybe you have hired a social media team because every business has?to have a Facebook page, but your target audience has no Facebook presence. Does this make sense? It doesn?t mean you have to stop using that money, but that you should come up with a plan for using it more wisely.
Once you know where the money is going, figure out where it needs to go instead. Sometimes you may already be employing the right strategies, but you might simply be doing them in the wrong way. For instance, let?s say you send bi-annual direct mailers and get a 2% response rate. That isn?t too bad, at first glance. After all, you make money from each campaign, so you?re fairly happy with it. Conventional wisdom would say that in order to make more from each campaign, you must send out more mailers. Unfortunately, this is where many businesses drop the ball.
It?s not always necessary to send more mailers (or letters, or emails, or phone calls) to increase profits. You might be able to make more money by sending the exact same number of items with each campaign, in fact. How? You need to make them as targeted as possible.
This will require more research and a time investment on your part. The more specific you can get in your marketing efforts, the better your results may be. For instance, if you?re selling life insurance policies, you may have several target audiences to tackle. Instead of sending them all the same marketing collateral, send them each one tailored for their unique situation. This may include senior citizens who want to leave their families with peace of mind, and new parents who want to make sure their kids are secure.
You should also trim your list. Most companies send plenty of materials to targets who are not interested in their products at all. This not only can be annoying for those receiving mounds of junk mail, but it?s also a waste of money. If a person doesn?t fit into one of your targeted groups as being a prime candidate for purchasing what you have to offer, leave them off.
Get more from your existing customers.?Some business spend equal time sending coupons and special offers to those who have never purchased, those who have purchased once or twice, and those who are loyal customers. This is a mistake. Always send more offers to those who have shown to like your products and your business. They will be much more likely to purchase again, even if they?ve already done so recently.
To take this further, instead of investing time or money sending offers to those with a lower level of interest, spend it on sending valuable customers exclusive offers instead. You might keep track of their birthday and send an offer for a free gift or huge discount. If a customer has purchased items for young children several times in the past, you can send them offers for their children, or even for their children?s birthdays.
There may be other tactics you can employ depending on your business. Your goal is merely to figure out where your funds would be best spent, and to target your efforts as much as possible. This will not only make your business more efficient, but will also help increase your profits without you having to invest more up front.
Source: http://www.name.com/blog/startmybiz/2012/12/find-the-hidden-money-in-your-business/
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