Finding your niche is one of the hardest and most rewarding aspects of marketing. Your niche is the group of individuals that are interested in your products or services. This group is who you will target your marketing plans and future products to. Knowing your niche will save you time and money in almost every aspect of your business. From research and development to marketing and sales, your niche drives your business and can be a constant source of ideas for more products/services down the road. Before you can market to your niche, you first have to find it. Here are five basic questions to help you isolate your niche market.

1.What problem does your product/service solve? Knowing the answer to this question will help you find the individuals who will benefit most from your product.

2.Who has the problem that your product solves? If you are selling insoles, for example, think about all the people who complain about their feet - athletes, cashiers & salespeople, waitstaff, elderly, overweight, and so on.  Think about all the people who could benefit from your product.  Solve the pain of your target market and they will be your loyal fans (and customers!).

3.How old are the individuals who have this problem? This will help you isolate your Niche from everyone else. If you know how old the crowd is your trying to reach, you will know some of what they are interested in, what they do, how they travel, how the communicate.

4.Do the individuals in your niche share any traits? Are they sky divers, scuba divers, race car drivers…? The more you know about your niche the more targeted you can make your marketing efforts. Individuals with shared interested have common media sources. Magazines, blogs, websites, etc.

5.What makes your product different than your competitors? Use the answer as your marketing angle. This is the one fact (or multiple facts) that sets you apart from the rest.

Just as you didn’t copy your product from something already available, you don’t want to copy your marketing plan from everyone else. Be unique, be memorable and always be honest. For help putting a marketing plan together or for implementing a current marketing plan, contact Champion Assistants at 425.605.0205.

Best,

Kristi

Here in the US we’re getting ready for our big Turkey Day - Thanksgiving. I have a lot to give thanks for this year. I appreciate all of you who offered support and encouragement throughout the year, and I am certainly thankful for my dedicated team and delightful clients.

I especially enjoy Thanksgiving as a time to get together with friends and family and share a meal we’ve all contributed to. Our tradition is that everyone makes their own specialty for all to enjoy. It is always the variety of foods and spices that makes the meal great. As always, it’s the people who make the moment memorable!

I would like to thank you for reading this blog and supporting Champion Assistants.  My sincere thanks and wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Best,

Heather

I hope the articles that we publish here help you to be more effective and efficient in managing your business. It’s our goal to write things that are timely and explore trends and ideas in marketing, sales and technologies.  Please let us know if there is a topic you feel we should write about. Let’s all put our heads together and help each other out.  You have experts at your fingertips - just contact us!

From all of us at Champion Assistants!

There are many styles of marketing, but only one that truly works in all applications. That one style is known as Targeted Marketing. Targeted Marketing uses information and planning to reach the right people at the right time. Below are the five basic elements to effectively and efficiently utilize this style of marketing.

1. Know Your Audience: Just like you know your products or services, you likely know who will benefit from them the most and why. What problem does your particular product solve? Are there any other problems that that same product solves? Who has these problems? Bingo, you have found your target. Now you must learn about your target market. What are there habits? Where do they shop? What media sources do they use frequently? Why do they hang out? What do they like and dislike? Knowing your audience in this way will help you to focus your marketing efforts toward them in an efficient manner. If you were trying to reach an 80 year old man you wouldn’t post an ad in Vogue would you?

2. Optimize Your Efforts: For every company this element will vary slightly, but the general emphasis here is to make sure the tools and information you have available to your clients are working for you. If you have a website, make sure the content is updated on a regular basis, the metadata is accurate and accessible including keywords and a site map. The same goes for brochures and other informational leaflets. The information needs to be accurate and honest and the appearance needs to be clean. No one likes looking at something that hurts the eyes. If there are too many bells and whistles or too many vibrant colors you are going to lose your audience. Simple is usually best!

3. Be The expert: Develop the ‘Know, Like, Trust’ effect by becoming an expert in your market. Write articles, have free information available, be honest and upfront. If you have the opportunity to share something that you know and enrich someone else’s business/life they will become a source of referrals down the road.

4. Plan Your Attack Strategy: Whit the information you now have you should be able to formulate your marketing plans. Know what you are willing to spend and where you want to spend that money. Figure out if your going to use mail marketing vs. email marketing and know where you are going to get your mailing lists from. (It is always best to use a source you can trust) Know what keywords are best for finding your information online. Figure out where you need to be so that your customers will find you instead of you having to hunt for them.

5. Befriend the media: The media is a huge source of referrals and are more than happy to learn about new inventions, new techniques, new anything. Use the media to your advantage by sharing information. Think of this as an extension of both elements 3 and 4. You are more of an expert in the public mind if the media mentions you or your business. Press releases, on air spots, and other media events should be a part of your attack strategy.

These five elements take planning and effort to be successful. Just as you wouldn’t leave the house without your keys, you don’t want to start your marketing with only one element in place. Figuring out who your marketing needs to reach, where to find them and how best to reach them makes a huge difference in any marketing plan.

The last tip I will share with you for overcoming any economy is to focus. Know where your company is going, what your goals are and how you plan to reach them. Never forget your customers, but reward them again and again. Always keep in mind that business is more than a word, it’s an emotional connection. Every sale is someone saying, yes I like this product/service and it is up to you to maintain a connection with that someone. Letting these connections in on your goals through promotions or incentives is a great way to make them feel special and desire to do business with you again. Keep the customers you have, find a way to reach the customers you want and above all stay true to your core business.

As human beings we are driven by a need to connect with each other. In business this is referred to as the Know, Like, Trust connection. In essence we do business with the people and companies we know, the products/services we like, and we trust that those businesses, products, and/or services will be as good as advertised. If the trust link is broken, it is extremely difficult to re-earn that trust. The only advise I will give in this area is to be honest in your dealing and truthful in your advertising. Give your clients as much information about the products/services as you can so they know what they are getting into from the start.

I hope the information you have learned in this series of articles assists you in creating a lean, economically sound strategy for your business.

Kristi

Champion Assistant Virtual Business Team

The first three articles in this series spoke about your current business practices and ways to increase their productivity. Now we are going to change gears a bit and ponder a bit on expanding as a way to increase your potential. Yes, even in a time of recession there are ways to expand your reach and your business. Considering a new market is a good way to refine how you reach your current market as well as increase your pool of available customers. Expanding does not have to mean spreading yourself thin or revamping your entire company ideal. In fact it should be more about refining that ideal and finding other avenues to accomplish your goals.

Do you sell overseas? Have you thought about it? It doesn’t take much to market to an international market, but it does take planning. Consider contacting some of the expat communities around the globe. Even if you don’t market all out, this is a great base to make aware of your offerings. Expats living in foreign language countries still buy in their mother language and often want products that are familiar to them. You don’t need to translate everything in order to deal internationally. You just have to know the rules. Be aware of customs fees and regulations before you begin to market yourself abroad. Customs fees vary by country, but it makes sense to look into that and if the barrier to export is low, take advantage of the opportunity!

If you don’t want to expand internationally, consider what other markets in your area might have an interest in your products or services. Talk with online and offline communities to get their reactions and ideas. Expanding interest in your products/services does take effort and research. Before making any changes do your homework and talk with other business owners catering to the markets you are considering expanding into. Use their knowledge to decide what avenue is best for your company.

The last article in this series will be on the human connection and how it affects your business and how you reach your goals.

Kristi

Referrals are the best way to increase business with little to no expense. Referrals are about networking with other people, other businesses. Make a connection, allow these businesses and people to know who you are, what you do and why you do it. Allow them to work for you so you can focus on making more connections.

You know your products or services are intended for a specific audience, find where that audience hangs out or live and find a way to work with other businesses that cater to that crowd. Don’t be afraid to talk with businesses marketing to the same market. What you do may compliment what they do and so referrals back and forth will be forthcoming. Don’t ignore competitors as a source of referrals. Often we view similar businesses as competitors, when we should focus on what is unique about our own business and view our competitors as partners in our success. Competitors spur us to do better, and we can also pass along referrals when things unique to them/us come along.

Even your past customers can be a source of referrals. Word of mouth referrals are wonderful because they come from someone who has used your services and obviously liked that service enough to recommend it to someone else. In cases where a former customer refers new business to you, it is a good idea to send a Thank you to that customer for their support. Maintaining a connection with past customers not only makes them feel special, it makes them want to be repeat customers. We don’t do business with people who are rude, belittle us, or make us feel poorly. We do business with people we know, like and trust. Build that trust and you build a solid referral network in the process.

The next article will focus on expanding your market. I hope it will inspire you to consider the possibilities!
Kristi

Media is more than the local newspaper. It’s a network of information resources that every human being utilizes on a daily basis. Media is everywhere! Traditionally media was defined as belonging to the associated press, but in recent time the internet has changed that definition. Today, media refers to any and all information resources including blog posts, social networks, search engine front pages as well as the traditional TV, newspapers and magazines. Learning to use the media to your advantage is what will separate your company from your competition. Be-friend the press!

Champion Assistants sister company Holiday Assistant is booming after being voted ‘Best of the City’ by Seattle Metropolitan Magazine and getting front page press in several newspapers. Their reputation is soaring higher than ever and orders are flowing in. All this because they befriended the media! (for more information Holiday Assistants visit http://www.HolidayAssistants.com)

Make yourself known to the local press through press releases and other media opportunities. Let them know about the charity work you do, the unique services and products you offer and the ways you share those unique products/services with others. Be specific, be unique, and don’t be afraid to speak up. If your local community has an issue that you or your company might be able to solve, let them know. One of the best ways to get the media on your side is to share information. Offer to write a column for them on a topic their readers are interested in. Use your blog to keep others informed and don’t be afraid to share your knowledge. 

Another great place to share your knowledge and ideas are in social networks such as Facebook and Biznik. Connecting with likeminded business professionals can open doors to new markets and new media outlets. If you don’t let people know you’re here, you won’t be here for long.

Tomorrow we’ll look into referrals and how they can affect the flow of business!
Kristi

Large businesses are scaling back and the bubble looks to have burst, but don’t count yourself out just yet. There are ways to succeed where others have failed. In fact, smaller companies have a better chance of surviving an economic slump than larger corporations because change is that much easier to implement. Corporations have layers of processes that slow down their reaction times. Smaller companies have fewer layers and so are able to react much faster and with much more accuracy. Over the next few days we will share 5 elements that you can implement in your business to not only stay in business, but to flourish!

One of the easiest ways to react is to operate lean. That’s all well and good, but what does it mean? Operating lean is a way of managing your operations, budgets, and processes so they are as effective as possible at as little expense as possible. This means in essence cutting the fat. If you’re paying for a service you don’t use, stop! If you’re a member of an organization that you never meet and get nothing from, drop them. If you don’t have enough work for a full-time employee, think about hiring a part-time contractor. Cut out both the employee expenses and the wasted time you spend every day finding work for that person to do.

Streamlining your business is the simplest way to increase productivity and profits. You know what you do best and where you need to focus. If you consider all the extra tasks you are doing in addition, it becomes obvious that a little help could in fact help to increase the bottom line instead of pulling it out from beneath you. Consider out-sourcing the tasks that are wasting your valuable time and energy. Professional VA’s work towards achieving your business goals and require little more than instructions on the task to be completed and a deadline for completion. There’s no need to supervise, to walk through each task step by step, or deal with breaks and habits that grind at your nerves.

We’ll see you tomorrow when we delve into the media advantage…
Kristi

Have you ever had a customer tell you upfront that they are leaving because of poor customer service, underestimated delivery times, poor quality products or because they don’t like the way you format your e-mail responses to them?  If you have, lucky you!   You would be lucky to receive feedback upfront and have the opportunity to repair the relationship.  If you haven’t, you are with the majority whose customers speak with their feet.  Most times customers won’t give feedback upfront, and will instead take their business elsewhere.

It isn’t easy giving negative feedback, even if it’s constructive.  Especially for customers who receive offers from your competition, both local and international, it is much easier for them to take their business elsewhere than give you the opportunity to improve.  Customers generally only leave after a long time of feeling under-appreciated or frustrated and your competitor has addressed their need.  Sometimes you don’t even know your customer has left because they simply took their business elsewhere without giving notice.  They used their feet.

Oftentimes it isn’t price or competition that drives competitors away.  It’s perceived indifference.  When a customer perceives that their business is not valuable to you or they feel like they aren’t be handled like valued customers, they are more easily swayed to using another provider.  When it comes right down to it, prioduct or service is just part of the equation - customer experience makes all the difference.

What can you do to make your customers feel like they are the precious gems they are?

1. Let them know you value them!  Send occasional thank you’s just because they are a client.  Especially after they have made a large purchase, let them know how much you appreciate their business and how you will help them.  One thing my clients appreciate is that I send them a gift card for something special each year on their anniversary of being a Champion Assistants client.

2. Address their needs.  Make sure your products and services are tailored to your clients.  One size does not always fit all and customers appreciate individual attention.  Nobody appreciates being a customer ID number.

3. Offer proactive support.  Anticipate your customers needs and offer explanations of how you products or services work and the best ways to use them.  Especially if you sell products, make sure your customers know all the benefits and offer your support and guidance in installation.

4.  Make payment expecations clear.  Making payment easy for customers is essential.  There are few things more frustrating than researching a product, going through the sales process and then having a difficult purchase experience!  Offering various payment options and even payment cycles is helpful.

5. Ask for their business.  It’s important to involve your customers in your business by letting them know you appreciate them and are available to provide them with information and answer their questions.  What is also important is to follow up to find out what additional needs they have in case you offer other products or services that address those as well.

It’s infinitely easier to keep current customers happy than constantly be prospecting for new ones.  Treat your customers like the gems they are and they will appreciate your business as valuable to them.

Best,

Heather