Tired of Getting Price Shoppers and "Tire Kickers" when Marketing Your Business?

Marketing Feature: How you market and advertise your business dictates the quality of customers you attract.

Are price shoppers driving you crazy?

Is their first question to you: "How much is it?"

You want to provide quality, but you might feel that it is difficult to find consumers willing to pay for it. This is a challenge for many companies.

Price shoppers make up only a small percentage of consumers. Some companies manage to attract more than their share of these. Are you attracting price shoppers instead of quality-oriented consumers?

Is your marketing and advertising encouraging price shoppers to think you provide the service and price they are looking for, while at the same time you are discouraging quality consumers from calling?

Marketing decisions are commonly made by the owner. The problem is that they often project their personal perceptions onto their target market. The consumers you want to attract probably do not think the same as you.

Price Shopper or Quality Consumer?

There's nothing wrong with being a price shopper. But you must adjust your message to speak to the consumers you want to reach.

A big mistake is to assume quality consumers find their service providers the same way you do. Often, people ask themselves: "If I needed a (fill in the blank), where would I look?" Answers such as Yellow Pages, ValPak, Google searches or postcards come to mind.

Quality consumers find what they want primarily through referrals from other satisfied customers. They check with their friends, interior designers, home furnishings retailers and people they know from groups in which they belong.

Little Know Dirty Secret: Quality consumers turn to advertising only as a last resort. Referrals and networking are ways you get introduced to quality consumers. Traditional advertising usually draws price shoppers.

Another big mistake is assuming that quality consumers want the same things a price shopper does. You might think speedy service, low prices and impressive guarantees are important. These are exactly the features price shoppers are looking for. The guarantee tag line of "The best product / service ever …" is code for "I'm looking for price shoppers."

What They Want

Quality consumers plan ahead for valued services; they are not in a rush. The thought that they might have to rely on a guarantee brings to mind all sorts of bad memories. These consumers are not looking for the lowest price. They are looking for good value. They know that you get the quality of service you pay for.

Change Your Focus

As an example, I am intrigued and entertained by the Apple Computer television ads that show "Mac" talking to "PC." (Even though I am an avid PC user) These ads don't try to convince consumers to buy a computer. Instead, they point out how much nicer your life will be if you switch from a personal computer's irritations to the advantages of using a Mac.

If you want better quality consumers, make your company available to them where they are looking. This is much easier and you will have a lot less competition. Spending a lot of money on traditional advertising may get your phone to ring, but are you getting the customers you want?

If your marketing message is that you provide the most service for the least money, you frighten off the consumers willing to pay for quality. It takes discipline to view the world from other people's perspectives. Everyone knows that good products and service are hard to find.

If you convey that you provide: "The best professional and most pleasant service experience ever, no matter what," you will be flooded with customers willing to pay top dollar.

- Daniel Sweet is an expert in small business marketing, business leadership, and the creator of the Power of Leadership Training University.

Politicians on Social Security - The Right Fix?

SOCIAL SECURITY:

(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point.)

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years. Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it. You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan.

In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan. For all practical purposes their plan works like this: When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die. Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments...

For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7, 800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000..00 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries.

Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives. Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. NADA!!! ZILCH!!! This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds; "OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK"!

From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer), we can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement. Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!

Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made.

That change would be to jerk the "Golden Fleece Retirement Plan" from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us then sit back... And see how fast they would fix it!

LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON "PEOPLE POWER" AND THE POWER OF THE INTERNET. PLEASE FORWARD THIS PAGE TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE A REPUBLICAN OR A DEMOCRAT! KEEP IT GOING!!!!

Propose it this year: START A BILL TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOCIAL SECURITY

If enough people read this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve.

How many people can YOU refer this page to?

- Daniel Sweet is an expert in business leadership, the author of the Power of Leadership Book Series and the creator of the Power of Leadership Training University. He is also an ordained minister and the founder of God’s Word First Christian Ministry.

Anthony Robbins - How Leaders use Discipline to Reach Goals

Anthony Robbins once said, "If you don't set a baseline standard for what you'll accept in life, you'll find it's easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that's far below what you deserve." As human beings, we grow accustomed to settling for less, and less can be very disappointing.

If you woke up today without a goal or dream to look forward to, then your life can appear very disappointing. There are many mornings upon rising, I felt confused with my current situation; working hard towards a goal without getting the results I deserve. However, I have been learning that with discipline, dedication and focus, a person can achieve his/her goals within a reasonable amount of time.

To maximize your potential and improve in most areas of your life and business, you must have the discipline and the vision to set realistic goals. Leaders that set realistic goals have the discipline to complete the tasks. Leaders with the right discipline and mindset never lie to themselves or to their team; they are aware that honesty is the vehicle to achieve success for both individuals and group.

Disciplined leaders never lose sight of their goals. Discipline to stick to the task in business has helped leaders to stay motivated. Disciplined leaders refuse to discriminate or pass judgment on individuals inside and outside their customer base or their circle of friends. True leaders lead by example; they support, encourage, and inspire others to be the best they can be for themselves and for their team.

- Daniel Sweet is an expert in business leadership, the author of the Power of Leadership Book Series and the creator of the Power of Leadership Training University. He is also an ordained minister and the founder of God’s Word First Christian Ministry.