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Article of the Month |
Branding in the next millennium
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Tom Shay
The July 2008 article was an interview that I did of several executives in the Christian bookstore industry. The question was, "What do you do to get your name in the front of people's mind; not just in front of them to see, but that you are in their mind when they are thinking about buying.
You will see that it is not just how much money you spend in advertising, but it is everything you do about your business that is 'speaking' to your existing and potential customers.
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Book of the Month |
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The Big Moo
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The Group of 33
It was not until this morning as I sat to write the July e-ret@iler that it hit me. Just this past week, a friend came up to me at church and handed me an envelope. In the envelope was this month's book that I had loaned to him.
Asking how he liked it, his response was, "I have already purchased four copies and given them to employees and friends to read".
How is that for an endorsement? The essence of the book is that Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow asked 33 people to each write a chapter. The 33 chapters are all stand alone stores that give great insight. The neat part is that while he will tell you who the 33 authors are, he will not tell you who wrote each chapter. And, I haven't figured out a way to determine who wrote what - not that it matters.
Far and away, my favorite chapter is 'The say I'm extreme'. As I reread it often, it always gets me charged up to work.
We have more books to suggest for your reading. Click on Book Referralto visit this page on our site.
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Contact Us |
Profits Plus
P.O. Box 128
Dardanelle, AR
72834 USA
(727) 823-7205 Voice
(727) 898-3179 Fax
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All from the 'net
We have been on a burst of energy with regard to our presence on the Internet. Let me give you a brief update of all that is new:
Tom Shay's e-ret@iler conversations blog - A lot of new material there. Take a close look at what is being done by the independent business organizations in Arizona and Lehigh Valley, PA. Their material would be so easy for your community to use as a model for duplication. Don't forget that July 20-26 is also National Independent Retailers Week.
You Tube - From the stories I have told during presentations about the communities and stores I grew up in, we have created a presence on You Tube with a bunch of videos about these very topics. You can search for Tom Shay's Profits Plus on You Tube.
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Internet Tip of The Month |
Small Business Financial Test
During a presentation, I made a mistake of asking a trick question of an audience. I set up the situation by asking several questions like, "Raise your hand if you can tell the difference in current term and long term on your balance sheet."
As almost every hand went up with each question I asked, I then threw in the trick question which also had almost every hand go up again. The trick was that the two terms I asked about were interchangeable.
I suggested to the crowd that just as they thought they knew the difference with me, perhaps they had a similar situation with their accountant; they only think they know what the accountant is talking about.
From that, the small business financial test was created. We invite you to visit this page, take the test (the answers are shown on the screen immediately) and see how you are doing with regard to understanding the terms of your financial statements.
And, a special for the month of July! We are well aware of the financial crunch that these challenging economic times can place on a business. For all of this month, our book on financial management, EZ Cashflow is on sale for only $15 (sells regularly for $28.95). This is the first time this book has ever been on sale. Even Amazon does not discount this book.
Small Business Financial Test
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The Power Promoting Idea of the Month |
Give your best customers advance notice
We picked up this tip from a business in my hometown. Each year they have a clearance sale of several of their name brand gift lines. In advance of their putting an advertisement in the newspaper, they send a postcard to each of their preferred customers, giving them a 3 day headstart on the sale prices.
And as they have time available, they even call these customers to give a 'personalized invitation' to come for the store. They tell us that sometimes this preferred customer sale produces more sales than does the newspaper advertising. Which says something for the concept of promoting to your customers as compared to talking to the public with traditional advertising.
As I write this in June, my much needed and enjoyed vacation time away from business travel is coming to a halt. I had a great time returning to my home towns in Arkansas. And as I mentioned in the Business Advisory, I did bring back a lot of video souvenirs of the trip.
As we get back on the road, here is my current schedule of appearances for the next two months:
July 7-9 Henderson, Nevada
July 18 Chicago, Illinois
July 28 New York, New York
August 9-10 Atlanta, Georgia
August 18 Las Vegas, Nevada
August 20 Chicago, Illinois
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