Does it make good business sense to accommodate a customer who wants to give you money, or should customers expect to play by the rules a company lays out during a sale? Our marketing expert, Andrew Lock, has a strong opinion on this topic -- see if you agree or not.
Failure and success are two sides of the same coin. Anyone who's been successful will tell you it was mixed in with by plenty of failure. Just look at Google, or even a professional challenge our favorite marketer recently went through -- he'll fill you in. Plus, Andrew offers Web design advice, provides a Web tool aimed at anyone who freelances, and a lesson on cross-promotion that you can adapt to your own business.
I talked about Best Buy in one of my first episodes of the show, and sad to say things haven’t improved with its marketing or customer service. I received a 10 percent off coupon in the mail, and when I tried to use it a day early they simply would not let me buy. In this recession, that’s just plain crazy. It was a $2,000 purchase, the price was no different within the 24 hour period, and it makes no sense to me to deny the sale. Oh well.
Google outwardly appears to do no wrong, with a share price that’s gone through the roof in recent years. But did you know that Google has had some spectacular failures -- most recently with Google Wave, Google Coupons, Google catalog, and many others. The reason I mention this is to remind you that if you have a project that doesn’t work out, despite best intentions -- so what?! It happens. Move on, and try something else.
Freelancing can be very beneficial as long as you know what you’re doing, pay attention to marketing your business, and are disciplined. I've found a Web resource that contains lots of helpful articles specifically designed to help freelancers with their business and marketing.
Our big marketing lesson in this episode comes from a company called Northwest Natural Products. I stumbled across an ingenious marketing strategy that it implemented in its gummy vitamin products. I’ll show you how you can adapt it for your small business.
As usual, let me know your opinion about the topics covered in the show to help your small business this week -- leave your comment below, it’s really easy to do, no registration required.
You'll find lots more small business marketing tips and resources from Andrew Lock in our Small Business In-Depth series, Lock in Your Marketing Resources.
Andrew Lock is a self-described maverick marketer and the creator and host of Help! My Business Sucks, a free, weekly Web TV show full of practical marketing tips, advice and resources to help small businesses "get more done and have more fun."
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