The basic concept of any business or service is to be able to provide it at a low price and sell it at a higher price and then profit on the spread. Of course for any of this to work there needs to be a market for what you are providing. In most cases this market should be readily available but you can do the same thing for emerging markets. That's only half the equation when it comes to business, the other half is being able to let the people who would use your business know about it. This is where having access to a few effective offline marketing strategies can make all the difference.
Product Strategies
After a product is created to answer a need what do you do to keep sales up and competition at bay? One of the best things to get started on are additional features which can be directly translated to customer benefits. In fact if you think about it you may already have existing benefits that just need to be communicated to potential customers to make them purchase. In the situation where that is not the case it makes sense to add features which customers can immediately see the benefit from without much education on your part. Product innovation will lead to more loyal customers and keep the competition guessing. You can also look into repackaging your service and products periodically to get the same effect.
Promotional Strategies
With the advent of the Internet and a hundred or more cable channels you have to believe that consumers have access to more then enough information. With this information comes the understanding of choice and discrimination. Consumers know they can make a choice when it comes to a product or service which means you have to give them an overwhelming reason why to choose you versus a competitor. This usually means crafting a unique selling proposition (USP) that differentiates your product or service in the eyes of a potential customer. In fact by having a proper understanding of who your ideal customer is in terms of a persona you can make sure all of your marketing messages in various mediums communicate the ideal USP.
Pricing Strategies
Most businesses understand the discipline of testing as far as marketing and advertising are concerned. Very few have gone so far as to test different price levels. Have you determined in an objective way how high is high as far as what you are charging for your product and services? Raising the price to the right sweet point could mean increased profitability and less headache. This is true on the other side as well since a low price can in some situations convey an inferior offering. Also being able to control where your product is sold or services offered can assist you with a higher price if that location is perceived as having a higher perceived value. An extreme example would be the difference between offering your services from a sign hanging on the side of the wall versus those same services being offered at a high end location. Of course this is usually more applicable to luxury goods and non essential items.
We have covered a number of strategies that lend themselves to improving the amount of business your business should be able to garner. This included product, promotional and pricing strategies. Of course these are only a few of the existing strategies you can use for this. The most important thing to remember is that at the end of each customer is a person who has emotional and psychological reasons for buying from you. Fulfill those reasons consistently and they will be your customers.
