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9 Ways to Keep the Cash Flowing

admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:49:49 +0000

9 Ways to Keep the Cash Flowing

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

Times are tight in the US economy, and no one is more aware of this fact than small business owners. But don’t despair! Here are 9 expert-tested ways to keep the cash flowing even in an economic downturn.

1. Raise Prices. This is a no-brainer, right? If you need more money then just charge more for your product or service. The ideal result of an increase in prices is that nothing happens. Your customers keep purchasing what you have to offer and you don’t hear anything about it. The less ideal scenario is that some customers may go elsewhere, but don’t let that stop you. Increasing your prices by 5% or 10% provides more profit and an increase in cash flow.

2. Find Old Customers and Invite them Back. Once you’ve gotten contact information on your customers, contact them regularly. Invite them to do business with you again, and give them incentives for doing so. Make an offer they can’t refuse, request their presence at a private sale, send a newsletter, or call them and let them know that they’ll receive a free gift simply for returning the call.

3. Pay Slowly. The key to a slow payout is maintaining a good relationship with your suppliers, so find out what time frame is acceptable for them. If you’re currently paying on a 30-day basis, ask your suppliers if they would accept payment on a 45-day or 60-day basis. If so, you’ve just gotten 15 to 30 extra days to use the money you have!

4. Sales Checklists. If you have salespeople working for you, instruct them to ask every customer to “add on” to their purchase. To make it easier, give every salesperson a checklist of things to offer customers.

5. Payment Checklists. Provide your administrators with a list of each customer and when that customer’s payment is due. Have your administrators set up email reminders for each customer, letting them know that their payment is due.

6. Change Your Terms. The key to positive cash flow is getting money in as quickly as possible and paying it out as slowly as possible. Consider modifying your trading terms so that you get income quickly. If it’s currently 30 days, try changing to 7 days or 14 days.

7. Be Picky About Your Customers. Only deal with customers who will cooperate with the trading terms that are most beneficial for your business. Sure, it may be uncomfortable to cut off relationships with slow customers, but you’ll notice a huge difference if all of your customers are fast-paying customers.

8. Get Endorsements. Find another business owner within your market niche who has a database full of customers that would potentially be interested in what you have to offer. Work out a deal with that business owner that’s mutually beneficial and that gives him the opportunity to endorse you to his customers.

9. Evaluate Your Marketing. Analyze each one of your marketing campaigns to determine whether or not it is ultimately profitable. Eliminate any campaign that results in a loss and use only those that are profitable. If you don’t currently have a marketing campaign, pick a tactic or two and see how they work out for you. You might start with flyers and emails. Your ultimate goal is a profitable offer within a profitable advertisement. Test everything, no matter how time-consuming it is. You’ll see a huge difference when you eliminate things that aren’t working and put more time and effort into the things that are.

An increase in cash flow means an increase in the growth of your business. Start off with one or two ideas and see how they work for you before moving on to others. You’ll find that you get results within minimal tweaking of your business strategy, and you’ll love the results!

10 Holiday Marketing Ideas that Won’t Break the Bank

admin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:00:45 +0000

10 Holiday Marketing Ideas that Won’t Break the Bank

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

Holiday season is just around the corner and you’re probably busier than ever. But take some time to do some extra-special holiday marketing in anticipation of your customers’ holiday generosity and enthusiasm. Even Scrooge will love these great ideas for sprucing up your small business marketing during the holidays.

1. Scratch Their Backs and They’ll Scratch Yours. Examine your business and see what opportunities you have for allowing your customers to get a reduced rate on your products or services by participating in the process. One mechanic told his customers that he would change their oil at a discount if they would bring in their own oil. What are some ways that you could run with this idea?

2. Fancy Up Your Logo. Google does this for every major holiday and event, so why not follow their lead? It’s fun for you and your customers will definitely enjoy it. If you use Twitter, consider sprucing up your Twitter background at Twitterbacks. Once you’ve created a new background, submit it to the Twitterback gallery. Not only will you have a nice-looking background but you’ll get your name out there as well.

3. Customize and Personalize. Use postage stamps with your picture or your company logo. Don’t stop with using these stamps on your own correspondence but also use them for all communication with customers. Get M&Ms or foil coin chocolates with your logo printed on them for holiday parties. You could even bake cookies for your customers, wrap them in cloth bags, and seal them with stickers featuring your company logo.

4. Build on the “12 Days of Christmas” with “12 Days of Your Service.” Feature a new product or service every day during the holiday season. Think about how successful fruit-of-the-month and wine-of-the-month clubs are. This is just another approach to promotion. If you’re a consultant or trainer, consider providing customers with additional newsletters or webinars.

5. Customize a Holiday Greeting. If you simply must send out holiday cards, commission an artist to create a cartoon other image. Once the image is created, you can easily use online card-marking software to finish the job.

6. Make a Holiday Cookbook. Ask your customers to submit their favorite holiday recipes and include them with recipes submitted by your own friends and family.

7. Create your own Holiday Book. Take some pictures around your office, commission a writer, and create your own book for the holidays to send to your customers and potential customers. Make your story light and humorous, but use it to focus on your company values. You might even consider using a case study. Again, make it light and fun.

8. Send out a Digital Picture Frame. Take pictures of all the teams within the company and send each of your customers a digital picture frame full of pictures of the team with whom they usually work. If you have pictures of the customer at a customer appreciation party or other event, include those pictures as well.

9. Send a Video Card. YouTube is so easy to use that it almost seems criminal not to. Get your team together and sing a holiday song complete with shameless product placement that will make your customers laugh out loud.

10. Send Those Holiday Cards. If you really insist on doing this, find a good holiday greeting card template online, create your holiday card, and send it out on heavy, high-quality paper. Do the same for invitations to holiday parties.

Use the holiday season to your advantage by: choosing low-cost gifts or original creations to reach your customers. Whatever your price range is, you can easily find something to charm them, impress them, and keep them coming back for more. Get the ball rolling now, while there’s still a lot of time left and keep your name in front of your customers as they’re getting ready for the holiday season!