Making A Small Store Go

I just got a note from a 19 year-old business student who is
determined to start her own business. "It's a trendy clothing
shop. I have the location, the start-up money, a lawyer, and an
accountant" she wrote enthusiastically. "My parents think I'm in
over my head but I'm determined to make my dream come true."

That's a situation most of us can identify with. You've got a
great idea for a new business and you've done every bit of
preparation you can, but in the back of your mind you know you
could fail. What can you do to make a small store go?

By far the most important factor is location. If at all
possible, find a location you can afford that has built-in
customer traffic. Mall locations are great but often too
expensive. Look for a nook near a group of stores or on a major
street that brings a steady flow of shoppers--the kind of
shoppers who would be interested in your store.

Find an affordable way to promote that reaches your best
prospective customers. Here are some other ways to save big
on very effective ads:

* Desktop publishing makes catalogs and brochures easy to
produce. Create your own booklet to include with orders.

* Get a toll free number. Even though long distance calls
aren't nearly as expensive as they used to be, many customers
will call you faster if you list an 800 number. Mine is
888-429-6203. Using the phone to sell person-to-person is often
the fastest way to get a buy.

* Advertise in specialty and neighborhood newspapers. I get
incredible response advertising in an entertainment paper placed
in restaurants. A classified ad is just $10 per week.

* Buy TV ads on cable TV. Cable rates are cheaper and you can
limit your commercials to specific parts of your city.

* Get a big cell phone package and give your cell number out to
everyone. When customers can reach you just about any time, you
get the sale.

* Give away or sell your own video. Nine in ten people own a
VCR. One friend has sold hundreds of his video telling how he
earns a living selling antiques on eBay.

If you can't clearly see how you can effectively market your
store, stop immediately and reevaluate your plan.

Also, remember that marketing works best when it isn't rushed.
The best advertising media require you to place your order well
in advance. Great designers, writers, and (especially!) TV
production firms are usually booked weeks into the future.

Quality. As you can quickly see, you get better quality when you
don't rush your marketing. A top writer can take several weeks
to write your sales letter. We've worked 7 days a week to
improve the speed for good writing, but long copy can take a
professional writer several days of full-time work to complete.
Many expert designers like to flesh out several versions of your
ad, web site look, or logo before deciding on the best. That,
too, takes time.

Price. Planning your marketing well in advance can save you lots
of money. Let's say you started planning this year's ad plan way
back in October of last year. Today you would be taking full
advantage of advance ad buys, slack times for media, maybe be in
line to get cheap regional or remnant space in national
magazines.

More than anything else, planning your marketing well in advance
will help you avoid knee-jerk moves. Most marketing efforts fail
because the owner pulls the plug too soon and starts a new plan.
Insisting on taking your time will make your marketing more
consistent and effective.

Once you've marketed your way into the hearts of your customers,
a great tactic is to find a way to keep them coming back. A great
restarant down the street from me devised a great plan during
this past holiday season:

When I went to the cash register to pay my tab the waiter handed
me a $15 gift certificate. "That's a gift to thank you for
coming in each week," he said. How can this struggling
restaurant afford to give away gift certificates?

I noticed a big pile of these gift certificates next to the cash
register. Obviously they were handing these freebies out to all
their customers.

It's a very smart move. While $15 is a nice amount, my tab
always comes to more. I'm sure that is the case for almost all
their customers. During the cold, dark months of January and
February when others restaurants have lots of empty tables, this
little restaurant is packed with customers returning with their
gift certificates. The amount deducted from each tab is
considered a small price for having the place filled during
otherwise slow months.