Hello again my friend!

We all want more customers and we all want more sales.

But the question everyone REALLY wants the answer to is “HOW the hell do we get them?”

After reading a good few articles and books (understatement of the century, but it sounded less “braggy”), making stupid amounts of notes, and asking around anyone who’ll talk to me… I’ve come to the conclusion that really there is a few key secrets:

1. Make sure your customers are 100% satisfied. From reading that sales ad, to looking on your website, clicking the “BUY” button, and following up with customer service, make sure your customers are ALWAYS 100% satisfied. Why? Well…satisfied customers = happy customers, repeat orders, customer referrals and much much more positive stuff but I can’t be bothered to write it all in here and let’s be honest – it’d just bore you half to death!
2. Be unique. Everyone loves novelty and something fresh and new. The unexpected gets remembered. So try to come up with a USP for your product or company and try to integrate it into your website to distinguish yourself from the competition. It could be an interesting logo, unique way of marketing, or even just a new innovative way of doing something! Doing this means customers will remember you better, resonate with your brand personality and are more motivated to refer you to friends!
3. Be a person, not a business. A business is more than just a legal entity; people look at them like people. They hate selfish, unreliable and annoying people, but love kind, funny and thoughtful businesses who put THEM first. So make sure you are likeable! Try to be more “real” in your marketing and branding. Some ways to think about this might be simply being true to who YOU are, YOUR values and what YOU expect from a company. Customers will inevitably relate to this and you will end up building a more positive relationship with your customers. Ultimately, people only buy from who they trust, so a stronger relationship, higher credibility and faith in what you do and how you do it, can work wonders to encourage people to feel more comfortable buying from you.
4. Keep it personal. People like to feel special and like they matter to your business – not just a number in a system. Crafting marketing and branding in a way that relates to customers; their life problems, their daily routine, their highs and lows etc means they can relate to you more. This means they will be intrigued in your solutions, how YOU can help them and what you can do for them. Try include personal notes, anecdotes and rhetorical questions in your branding that makes your customer feel more at home. Trust me, they will thank you for it

Hope you learned something!

Your Pal, Natalie XO

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Most people have great ideas but never actually get round to starting the business because they think you need all this time and money to get started.

I disagree.

You can validate most ideas for less than it costs for lunch and it usually takes less than a day to do.

How do I know? Well you COOUULLLDD I’ve done it one or two times before, and its how most of the millionaires today actually made their millions. You don’t honestly think they spent months or years testing out every single idea do you?! Come on guys….

HELL NO!

They created the simplest, cheapest, most `ghetto` form of their product or idea and tried it out with their target market using the easiest and cheapest method possible (this keeps their opportunity cost to a minimum)

Okay okay, so how is this relevant to YOU?

Well… most people think their ideas need to have a serriiioouusssllyy complicated website, full scale manufacturing plant, ridiculously sized premises, stock by the tonne-load and a whole bunch of employees to be successful. ehhh-ehhhh WRONG!

Truth is, you need NONE of this.

If someone is really interested in your product, they’ll buy it (or at least look at it) regardless of whether it had a big OTT marketing and operations system in place or not. And providing you are offering something of VALUE to the customer they will keep coming back and hopefully refer you to others too!

So why spend a fortune to find out the same information you could find out for a miniscule of the price!

You ghetto marketing and viability test might be a hand typed ‘guerrilla style’ letter sent to the local businesses in your area advertising your product or services, or a simple craigslist or eBay ad, or even just a poster or questionnaire on Facebook asking peoples opinions on it.

My advice is to do 3 things;

1. Make a really quick and simple flyer

2. Upload this file and post as an image on Craigslist as an ad

3. Walk around your local area and put them up on notice boards, post through letterboxes, walk into local businesses and ask if they will display your ad, and you can even get a little bit cheeky and stick them on the backs of toilet cubicle doors and on walls in corridors etc!

4. If you get  just get 1 order or customer response, you know its something people want and are willing to buy. So NOW you can go and spend a little bit more on developing your idea and editing your ad’s, now you know its a viable product but be sure to ask HOW they found you (so you can track and analyse what works best!) However you get diddly squat back, you can cut your losses now and move onto something else.

With this method you have achieved two things:

1. You might have made some money if someone calls you up or emails you or looks on your website and actually buys your product or service

2. You have found out what people respond to and will BUY. This is UBER-IMPORTANT! Starting a business based on fulfilling REAL  needs and wants is like sellotaping a massive target for success to your back!

Remember, if you never stop trying, you are BOUND to succeed EVENTUALLY!

Hope you learned something!

Your pal, Natalie XO

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