[5]By Alliance of Portland Neighborhood Business Associations [6]
From the October Business Voice
Notes from the Seminar
The September seminar on marketing contained a wealth of ideas, tips and strategies for starting, planning, and expanding your business. The following ideas are worthy of note:
The future of small business – Expect an explosion of small business startups, coming from immigrants, semi-retired baby boomers, mom-trepeneurs, and the millennium generation. How to run a business is a different skill set from how to provide goods and/or services. You need to work ON your business as well a work IN your business.
Planning your business – What differentiates you from the competition? What is your “Unique Value Strategy? Who is your target customer? How will you reach him or her? Why should customers choose you – what benefit can you provide? Remember that people buy solutions to problems or things that make them feel good.
Pricing and valuing your business – Find a niche or make one. Financial stability, convenience, reputation, and good customer/employee relations add value to your offerings. If someone complains about the price of a good or service, then you need to make the value of that good or service more clear. “That’s too expensive” could mean, “Please explain the value of this.” Convince yourself that your price is fair and good value. When you have explained to yourself all your arguments and counter agruments then you are ready to explain to customers.
Going international – Every retail business needs a web presence! Let customers search by your product not by your name. Consider a blog or newsletter. Businesses need to evolve more then grow. Consider branch or annex business ideas that are related to, but slightly different from your main business. Work with other businesses in the same field to maximize your advertising and marketing.
Next month, tips from the panel of small business owners.