I have learned over the years that in business it is important to leave politics at the door if you are going to succeed because when you engage in a political discussion it can go bad real fast and adversely affect your business. In today’s marketplace with the advent of social media it is important to forget the president and simply go about your business planning your work and working your plan making adjustments along the way. In the scheme of your day-to-day operations who the president is should not have an effect on your ability to market and attract new customers while also retaining your existing customer base. I have seen many businesses over the last 16 years suffer because they didn’t forget the president and as a result left money on the table or lost money. Such was the case for a local restaurant who is a staunch supporter of The Republican Party a large group from The Democratic Party was going to book an event at the restaurant however when they saw the photos of the republicans from the area on display they went elsewhere. I share this so as to remind you that many times your political views can hit you the hardest in the wallet for you never know why someone may choose to do business or not to choose to do business with you.
The key to remember when you are implementing a marketing campaign is to leave your politics aside and forget the president. I have witnessed so many people making political posts on social media when they should have been making posts about who they are and what they do and why you should do business with them. The way you choose to advertise is up to you however remember many potential clients/customers and many existing clients/customers read your social media posts and may be swayed not to do business with you because you have a different view than they do. You may think this is trite however people today are so wrapped in their ego that if they feel you bruised their ego they will look elsewhere to get products and services. The key is to forget about who the president is and to continue to strengthen your brand and increase your revenue by acquiring and retaining customers/clients. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Forget The President!!!
When you decide to open your business the most important p word that you need to have in you vocabulary is profit. When you open your business you must have a goal in mind as to how much profit you want to make so that you can take action to exceed this goal with the idea of utilizing other important p words.
People is a very important p word for you will need to reach the people in your desired target audience and have them do business with you. Remember people do business with those they know, like, and trust. In giving people what they desire and building awareness of your products and services you will increase your profits. You may have need to hire people and hiring the right people who are in alignment with your core values will lead you to having success when it comes to customer acquisition and retention. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Important P Words!!!
When you opened your business today what were your priorities? Did you write down your priorities and make sure they were in sync with your goals and objectives? So many times when working with entrepreneurs I find that many do not set priorities and thus continue to be on this endless hamster wheel that creates a struggle. The end result of this struggle is that they fail to thrive and eventually close their business. I always ask people who I work with what did you do to promote your business today? Many times the answer is nothing people will come because they are in the plaza anyway or they are by where we are located and will see us and come in out of curiosity. I give the people I work with the strategy to do out reach to potential customers daily while also having a retention program to keep existing customers. I have worked for people over the last 40 years and I have seen that the successful ones are innovative and seek to stay ahead of the curve while those who close up their business get set in their ways and are closed-minded. I have also found that many business owners do not get out of their own way and as a result they believe they know everything. I was told by a very prominent business coach, Bert Oliva, that “The Day You Think You Know Everything Is The Day You Start To Lose Everything,” this is so true as you begin to alienate those that truly want to help you. What are your priorities today? How do these priorities fit with the over all core model for your business? Are you listening to the people working with you? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Prioritize This!!!
In business marketing it is all about creating a solid base. Many times we call this our tribe or followers. The key is to have a strategic plan and to implement that plan while evaluating the plan and making the necessary adjustments so as to strengthen the brand and increase revenue. In my 40 years of working in the for profit and non-profit sectors I have witnessed a few things about successful businesses and they all have one thing in common consistency. Most businesses tat succeed build a base through effective targeted advertising. It is important to remember that one oh shit can ruin 1000 at a boys so you must strive to keep your base happy by providing great quality products and services while delivering what the consumer wants. Your advertising must build confidence with the consumer by having a strong call to action that will make your base shop with you and recommend you to others. When you are making your advertising choices you must consider who the ad reaches and what return on your investment you desire. When you give your base what they desire and you exceed their expectations you will create a buzz about your business that will then translate into greater revenue. In spending money on customer acquisition it is important to remember that customer loyalty also goes a long way in strengthening your brand and thus increasing revenue. After you acquire your base it is important to retain that base so that you can continue to grow by gathering and using testimonials of satisfied clients who continue to use your products and services.
Advertisement Ideas: Building The Base!!!
The buzz word today is attraction marketing. The idea is to create a niche market and to attract the customer base that fits into that niche. This allows you to narrow your scope and more effectively market your products and services. The idea is to keep ahead of the curve by being a step ahead of the current trends and then having a marketing plan that is very fluid and adaptable that can be implemented at any time for any situation so that customers will still have confidence in doing business with you. I saw today that a business that has been in the same place for 9 years is being forced to move and they are doing a moving sale although they have a second location that could handle stocking the inventory. They instead have marked things down to a point that they are selling off certain items at a loss. This is okay to create quick cash flow and liquidate items that aren’t moving but it also sets a perception with the consumer to wait until they mark down merchandise. This is where knowing what you paid for an item is very important. You can attract customers by doing a liquidation sale and letting them know about your other location that will accommodate them in the future but it is important to let them know that these type of sales are not the norm. Also when you move it is important to let your existing customers know that you moved. In doing attraction marketing you must know your desired target demographic and where they are getting there information. I recently worked for someone who did not have a website and I thought wow you are behind the times as most people are looking for what you have on the Internet. I mentioned that the business should be doing targeted marketing and each time the manager told me that doesn’t work. Needless to say that business closed and he now has a warehouse full of inventory. When you attract your desired audience and turn the browsers into buyers you can capitalize by offering more items. It is when you know what your base desires that you can deliver.
Advertisement Ideas: Building The Base: A Case Study!!!
The year was 1987 I was a Senior at Hofstra University majoring in Marketing when I was given the opportunity to intern with The New York Liberties of Major League Volleyball. I will be forever grateful to Jerry Saperstein who taught me the importance of building a fan base and making sure the fan experience is something to remember. Our team was very competitive and we did many promotions. The first thing I did to build a base was I reached out to the students on campus and gave them FREE Tickets, we made up for the give-a-way with concessions and Liberty Merchandise. I then reached out to the media and invited people like Pete Axhelm to cover the team. I then contacted all the local schools and volleyball clubs in the area. When the season ended we went from 250 people at a game to 400 people at the game. I did this by making sure people knew who we were and that when they came to a game they would have a great experience. I remember one game we invited The Hempstead High School Band to perform and we gave them a donation and they came out in force and their parents and friends came and they started to come to games even if they were not performing. The idea is that when building your base you have to do outreach and make sure people know who you are and give them a reason to do business with you.
Advertisement Ideas: Wake Up And Be Open To Receive!!!
This entry was inspired by my recent foray back into to The Sports Apparel and Memorabilia Business. I worked with two companies that had the potential to be million dollar sales companies and grow. Unfortunately at one company there was an owner who thought he knew more than everyone else and at the other there was a manager that would tell you why things couldn’t work. One of the aspects of business that I have learned over the years is to always get input from your employees especially from those that are very knowledgeable about the industry. I have worked with several people to help them excel and those who listened to my input and took positive action have found success. I believe if you are going to make a profit in any business you must know the business and be in tune with all the current trends in the business. I have also learned that you must be true and authentic when dealing with people. The reason that you may be holding onto to merchandise is that you have items that are not in demand or that you are not marketing properly or that your staff is not engaging the customer.
When an employee comes to you in your sports business and says there is a growing trend toward throwback jerseys you should look into that and have a plan of action to carry the jerseys that people are looking for not jersey that you ordered at the end of the season that people aren’t looking for at that time. The key is to be open to receive new ideas and to implement them with a solid marketing plan. It was funny because one of the places decided to spend $2000 on plaques that had already been in the hands of two other companies that didn’t sell instead of taking the $2000 and buying up to date in demand merchandise. Imagine had the owner taken the $2000 and bought some popular throwback jerseys and advertised in the community that they had the jerseys what might have been. He chose not to do this and is still sitting on cases of plaques that are taking up space and not moving. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Wake Up And Be Open To Receive!!!
When was the last time you got up and went outside of your business to promote your business? I have spoken to many business owners about the importance of putting yourself out there and meeting people as you never know who you might meet and how they can be of service and value to you or how you can be of service and value to them. Sometimes the best promotion is self promotion.
I was out doing a Facebook Live video on January 18, 2017 in front of The Local Subway when a couple Audrey and Rich from Bold Venture Press approached me about this book. We had a great interaction and the next day Audrey surprised me with a post in my Get Motivated With Jonathan JDOGG Lederman group on Facebook stating that on February 4, 2017 during the book launch that they were going to donate a portion of the royalties to The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Sunrise/Tamarac. By getting out in the community and being vocal about who I am and what I do I was able to further my mission to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. I was also able to make a key contact to secure guests for my radio show, Get Motivated With JDOGG, which airs at www.blogtalkradio.com/jdoggsshow on Monday at 5:30 PM EST. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Get Out!!!
As you open up your business today ask yourself what is your why? If you are doing charitable work and cause marketing ask yourself why? When you advertise ask yourself why? It is when you find your why that your impact is increased. There are two great days in a person’s life the day they are born and the day they find out why. It is when you have purpose in what you are doing that you can increase your level of success. In all my years of working with entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders I have witnessed on thing about the successful leaders and that is they are driven by their why and have a defined purpose. Once you find your why you can develop your marketing strategy around that so as to attract new customers/clients.
The most difficult thing you have to do as a business leader or a non-profit volunteer is to find your why. What drives you to do what you do? Once you find that why you can create programs that will impact your what. How many times during the course of the day are you asked what you do? How do you answer that question? Do you tap into your why and say I help people to excel because I want them to have a better personal and professional life or do you simply say I help people to excel? Many times it is not what we say but how we say it that impacts our results. I have found when people know your why they are more apt to do business with you or to support your cause. When all you do is tied back to your why you will see the level of your results change for the better. In working with clients I hear it all the time JDOGG I want to make a lot of money. I always counter why do you want to male a lot of money? When they give me the reasons I have them write those reason down so that when they open their business or go to work in their non-profit position that they are driven by their why.
Advertisements Ideas: Finding Your Why: A Case Study!!!
If you have read this blog frequently you have read about my commitment to Relay For Life. 2017 marks 18 years that I am doing Relay For Life and this year I am asking everyone to donate $18 at www.relayforlife.org/sunrisefl by clicking on donate to a participant and typing in my name, Jonathan Lederman. Why I am asking for $18 is that in Hebrew 18 is represented by Chai which translates into life. Why I am relaying is to honor the memories of all those that I have lost to cancer especially the memory of my mother.
This is my mother, Judith Miller, who was called home to GOD on July 5, 2012 after suffering a massive heart attack while battling non-operable metastatic lung cancer. She has become my why I relay story. Each time I share my story I generate donations. Over the last 4 years that she has been gone it is estimated that I have raised over $10,000. Prior to those years I had many people to Relay for as my Grandfather Leo was lost to prostate cancer, my cousin Jill to Breast Cancer, my Uncle Morty to Breast Cancer (yes men get breast cancer), my uncle Alan to Prostate Cancer, my friend Gary Pancreatic Cancer, my friend Fran to Breast Cancer, and many others. 2017 marks my 18th year of doing Relay and by being driven by my why I set a goal of raising $2500.
When you find your why you will be able to make a larger impact in your business and your non-profit work. It is when you tap into your why that your impact is greater. When you get a moment today sit down and discover your why and then take action with your advertising and solicitation for your business and non-profit work. Remember it is the facts that tell but is the stories that sell. Share your why and take note of what happens when you begin to share your why. So when someone asks what you do answer them with wat you do but also why you do it.
The key in business is to make your customer’s experience so good that when they see you are doing a special campaign or project that they jump to it and come to you every time they seek the type of product or service that you offer. It is important that each time they see your name in an advertisement that they think oh I need to get to that business or I plan to attend that event. The idea is to create such an awesome experience that they become customers for life. Advertising is a great way to enhance their experience by offering specials that you can track and rewarding existing customers for their business. Remember you spent time and money to acquire the customer now you must do what you can to retain the customer. If you are going to continue to build your customer base you need to have great brand awareness and recognition while also creating a buzz about your business giving people a reason to continue to shop with you. In all my retail experience I have made it a point to create good relationships with customers realizing that one oh shit will ruin one thousand at a boys so you must avoid the oh shit moments. Many times it is all about finding ways to enhance the customer experience so as to create customer loyalty. When I was working for a sports apparel, accessories, and memorabilia store I greeted the customer and asked questions so that I could facilitate a sale so that when they came back or we had a item from their team I could show them and build rapport.
If you want to get high in business you must commit to working hard and maximizing your message. If you want high revenue and high brand recognition you must have a strategic plan that defines what type of business you are going to have, who your target audience is going to be, and how you are going to cultivate that target audience. In today’s business world the sole-proprietor is the underdog and thus has to work that much higher having a definitive vision for their business so as to get a percentage of the niche market that will create sustainability. As you continue to open the doors to your sole proprietorship it is important that you are listening to those you have hired as some of those people may have ideas that increase sales and also increase brand recognition. It is important to check your EGO at the door and realize that you may not know everything and the day you think you know everything is the day you lose everything. Make sure you know the demographics of the area you decide to do business in so that you can have the merchandise that they desire. Make sure you know the competition that is around you so that you can create your own unique selling proposition to attract and keep customers.
When I was a member of The Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce) we had what we called a Chairman’s Planning Guide which was really a small business plan that served as a road map so you could have a successful project.It asked what the primary purpose of the project was, what the goals and objectives were, who was responsible for certain tasks, the budget, and the items needed to bring the project to fruition. It also asked questions as to things that could have been done differently and what changes you would make. Many people used the CPG to secure small business loans and continued to plan their work and work their plan making adjustments that they now have thriving businesses. It is imperative to plan your work and work your plan. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Getting High!!!
In the business environment that is ever evolving we as business leaders must be open to change. As we all know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. In my 40 years of working on special events, helping business owners to excel, and fundraising I have recognized so many people who were not willing to make changes or listen to alternatives. These people kept struggling and many went out of business. I have witnessed many a successful entrepreneur or marketing executive gather input from employees and put some of the ideas into action and as a result they have had success as their revenue went up and their brand recognition increased. I have come to realize that when someone is not willing to make changes or listen to ideas that have their best interest in mind you simply have to let go and let GOD knowing you did the best you could to improve their business. In recognizing that changes must be made to create a viable business you will grow your business.
Sometimes in order to make a positive change you must look at the person in the mirror and realize that you may be part of the problem. The first step to solving a problem is recognizing that you have one. In recognizing the flaws that have created the issues you can work on eliminating the flaws and thus grow your business. I have stated it many times that the day you think you know everything is the day you start to lose everything. If you continue to point fingers and blame everyone else eventually your business will be so flawed that you either close it or change your ways and improve it. When evaluating your business you must look at problem areas and make a change. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Being Open To Change!!!
This is my mother, Judith Miller, who was called home to GOD on July 5, 2012 after suffering a massive heart attack while battling non-operable metastatic lung cancer. She has become my why I relay story. Each time I share my story I generate donations. Over the last 4 years that she has been gone it is estimated that I have raised over $10,000. Prior to those years I had many people to Relay for as my Grandfather Leo was lost to prostate cancer, my cousin Jill to Breast Cancer, my Uncle Morty to Breast Cancer (yes men get breast cancer), my uncle Alan to Prostate Cancer, my friend Gary Pancreatic Cancer, my friend Fran to Breast Cancer, and many others. 2017 marks my 18th year of doing Relay and by being driven by my why I set a goal of raising $2500.