September’s Business Insights
September 7, 2009
In this post we want to cover some brief ideas that can give you some ideas for you and your business. Here you will find some ideas that can help you with your taxes, retirement, and give you a brief economic outlook. At Bay Area Mastermind our members always benefit from these insights and you can too by taking advantage of our “Test Drive“.
Why One Business is Thriving and The Other is Going Out of Business
September 3, 2009
All of us are aware of changes that are occurring to business landscape. Some are thriving out there while others are simply being forced to close their doors. The interesting thing is that business failure is not specific to one type of business or based on the time that business has been in business. These days an inability to market can make take out even well established businesses just as easily as it can a new business.
So let’s take a look at one business sector that is very competitive and see what we can learn from their experiences.
Two Things You Need to be Successful in Business (Part 2)
September 2, 2009
In our previous post we discussed the importance of finding a large starving crowd. The second important element goes hand in hand with the first.
Lay-Away is Back in Style… Just Not How You Think
August 26, 2009
Could Someone Tell British Airways That We’re in a Recession?
August 19, 2009
I was flipping through the latest edition of the Robb Report earlier today and saw an advertisement from British Airways on their upcoming new level of pond-hopping service on custom-built Airbus A318s starting at $12,290 before taxes and fees.
Here Is something To Make You Go, Hmm?
August 3, 2009
By Robert Estupinian
The Wall Street Journal reported on three economists from Brown University that have come up with an alternative method of determining economic growth.
They are suggesting that night time satellite pictures may prove to give us some insight
on whether their is an increase or decrease in economic growth.
Has The Economy Affected The Value of Email Marketing?
July 27, 2009
Despite the fact that all of us are a lot more savvy these days, and we are inundated with information,email marketing continues to be a viable vehicle that is driving some real results.
I Was Right About Traffic Being a Forecasting Tool.
July 8, 2009
Those who know me can attest to the fact that I have said , one way to gauge what is happening in your local economy is to look at the traffic in your community. Want to know if jobs are being lost? look to see how much traffic is on the roads at rush hour.
Of course I did not have any empirical proof of this theory until now. A report was published today by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M showing that urban Americans spent an hour less in traffic in 2007 than they did the year before.
It is Interesting to note that higher gas prices were more effective at reducing driving in the U.S. than any policy decision has ever been. Not surprising the report went on to show that a similar correlation was found with regards to parking congestion. So in other words, less cars on the road equaled less cars in parking garages.
A Brief Economic Outlook for June 2009
July 7, 2009
As part of the Bay Area Mastermind membership we provide our members with an assortment of economic information to help them be able to make sound decisions for their business as well as their personal finances.
Today, we’d like to give a quick overview of where we are according to a series of sources that we have gathered. Depending on which economic source you listen to we are now either in the 19th or 20th month of the current recession. By many accounts this has been one of the longest and most severe recessions since the Great Depression of the 1930′s. So let’s take a look at where we are now and what is coming down the economic path.
Why Being The Low Price Leader Won’t Work
June 29, 2009
By Robert Estupinian
Not a day goes by that we don’t hear about a business owner who is complaining about a competitor lowering their prices and causing them customers. It is always tempting to follow suit and match the lower prices. However recent business history has clearly shown that reacting by meeting or lowering your prices to match your competitor does not always work.
In the end most businesses can’t sustain their operations using this tactic. Lowering prices too much will eventually affect gross margins and the overall profitability of the organization. So how can a small business deal with a market place where it appears that competitors are dropping their prices daily and undercutting margins?
Remember the old Cola wars?
The only people who benefited from those price wars were the consumers. Research done during the time showed that consumers were buying whatever brand was on sale that week, and there was NO loyalty to either brand.
Anyone that has been successful on the Internet knows this situation only too well. It is not uncommon that within a few weeks to a month; someone, somewhere, will be copying your strategy and trying to sell the same product(s) at a lower price. Brad Fallon (of Stompernet fame) shared a story of this happening to him with the sale of dartboards and dartboard accessories. As soon as he was doing well other sites began popping up offering the exact same equipment for $10 less than his asking price.
So what did Brad do?
Instead of lowering his price he increased the value of what he was offering. Brad knew that he would not be able to differentiate himself simply by price alone. Instead what he did was offer complimentary information to all purchasers and increased the experience for each visitor and especially each purchaser. When you bought at Brad’s site you felt special and got a lot more than just the product. Of course, Brad did not get all the sales and I am sure that there were some people who did go to the competition because all they were interested in was price. However, years later, Brad is still selling on the web while a lot of those competitors are long gone.
Dealing with price objections and formulating a sustainable strategy is one of the many issues that are covered in the meetings of Bay Area Mastermind. Call our office for a free no obligation consultation to see if your business can benefit from our meetings.