3 Knock ‘em Dead, Sure-Fire Ways To K-O Your Customer Loyalty Program!
You want your customer loyalty program to be the talk of the industry, right? You want every blogger discussing what you did. After all, you want your 15 minutes of fame, and it’s a lot easier to get it when you’re piloting the Hindenburg than when you’re at the helm of a smoothly running business. Follow these three tips, and you’ll create a customer loyalty program that gets everyone’s attention (just not in a positive fashion.): 1. Make sure it’s all smoke and mirrors. In today’s business climate everyone has to have a loyalty program, but that’s really as far as it goes. As long as your cashiers can ask, “Are you a member of our loyalty program” and you can put a “click here to join our loyalty program” icon on your website, you’ve got it covered. The “run-of-the-mill” so-called successful loyalty program delivers value, but the real value is just in being able to say you have a loyalty program, right? Who can be bothered giving away all that free stuff. Let your competitors do that! Save your money. It will come in handy if, for some reason, your customer base begins to shrink. 2. Take a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Hey, if it’s good enough for “Hat Day” at the ball park, it’s certainly good enough for your business. A guy just told me that this month the loyalty program at Panera was giving him a month of free coffee – one a day, all month long. Where do they get off? It’s almost like they noticed that this guy habitually buys a cup of coffee virtually every time he dines at a Panera. The way I see it, the guy’s in a rut. Choose what you want to get rid of and make that your “reward.” That way your customers will get something they seldom buy and you’ll be helping your inventory situation at the same time. It’s the classic “win-win.” And if we want to get a little more technical here – And isn’t that what marketing guroos always want to do? – ignore your demographics and never bother to segment out your buyers. You have better things to do. 3. Make customers jump through hoops. Make it difficult to earn rewards and make it difficult to find the status of their rewards on your website. That way, if and when they do receive a reward, they will appreciate it that much more! This will show your customers that you’re always thinking about them! You know: give a man a fish…and all of that. I know you can immediately recognize the wisdom in these three tips and once you have implemented all of them, they dramatically reduce the cost of your loyalty program, which, in our experience, partially offsets the loss of revenue! How can you beat that? Image: Public Domain...
read moreFinancial Planning Tough For Pot Shops
While the drama between mobster Al Capone and G-Man Elliot Ness have made for great television and movie drama over the years, it was garden-variety tax evasion convictions that put Capone behind bars. The relationship between the IRS and illegal activities has a long and glorious history and a new chapter is being played out right now atop the nation’s patchwork quilt of marijuana legalization laws. Conflicting pot laws. Although several states have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use – It’s an interesting use of the word “recreational” isn’t it? – it remains a federally controlled substance. Uncle Sam doesn’t recognize those locally legal usages as, well, legal. However, that doesn’t, as Al Capone discovered, exempt marijuana sellers from paying income tax. They still must pony up their taxes, but they face one huge legal roadblock which is causing the business dreams of some marijuana sellers to go up in smoke. Section 280E of the IRS Tax Code prohibits marijuana dealers from deducting “normal and regular” business expenses when they file their taxes. The only expense they are allowed to deduct is the cost of the marijuana they sell. This raises their effective tax rate significantly when compared to the average non-pot-selling business. That has created a push for a change in the law as well as some creative accounting practices. Some sellers are diversifying their businesses in an effort to create legal entities where they can write off some of these expenses. Also, the black market remains strong, even in areas where marijuana is legal. Surprise! Some folks prefer to skirt taxes entirely. Uncle Sam will take the money Note however, that despite all the fuss, the IRS is still quite happy to accept what it has defined as illegal drug money. The law isn’t quite so tolerant with banks. “Since all banks are subject to federal law, they’re unable to offer any banking services to marijuana business,” Rob Rowe, vice president and senior counsel of the American Bankers Association, recently told Fox Business. “That means marijuana services don’t have access to checking or savings accounts, loans or any type of card services. The only payment mechanism left without access to the banking system is cash – plain and simple,” Rowe explained. This has led to pot shops installing ATMs. Further, sellers are using personal accounts, holding companies and other “creative” means to deposit their cash in banks. Movement in Washington The House of Representatives recently passed a measure that would prevent federal authorities from spending any money to go after banks that serve pot shops. The Senate has not yet considered the bill. Also, President Obama issued notice that federal authorities wouldn’t pursue banks that did business with marijuana sellers, if they follow certain rules. Just a day or two ago, a Nevada marijuana dispensary, GrowBLOX, was able to open an account with the First Security Bank of Nevada. Is it an isolated case that might get walked back or is the dam beginning to spout leaks? We just have to wait and see. One final note: Colorado, which was expecting a big influx of tax revenue from pot sales, is pretty disappointed so far. Analysts predicted $2 million a month; it took four months to hit that mark. Image: “Medical-marijuana-sign.” by Laurie Avocado. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution...
read moreHow to Survive Your Startup…Financially
One of Steve Martin’s best jokes on Saturday Night Live went something like this: “How can you be a millionaire and never pay taxes? First, get a million dollars…” Every small business owner sets out hoping to make good money, but it doesn’t always go that way—especially in the beginning. So the question becomes: How can you survive while your business gets on its feet? We could take Steve Martin’s advice – first get a million dollars – but aside from some trust-fund kids, that’s usually not an option. However, many start with a significant savings and plan to burn through some of it. You need to know how much of that you’re willing to spend to underwrite your startup. No single answer fits everyone. If you’re young, you may want to take the balance down to zero; you have time to rebound. If you’re at a later stage in life, you need to play it much more conservatively. When I left my first corporate job to start a boutique PR and advertising agency, I was single and carrying a significant burden of monthly payments. I had several clients lined up…or thought I did. A few dropped out. That leads me to the first item on my list of ways to make it through your first months: Get a part time job. I worked part time with a meeting and event planning company. Between that work and my business, it kept enough cash flowing to pay bills. Don’t quit your job. A time-honored way to survive a startup is to start up before you quit you current job. Folks, successfully piloting a startup to profitability is a time-consuming ordeal and your willingness to hold down two gigs at the same time is a good measure of your commitment. Simplify and downsize. Reduce your overhead. Take a cold, calculated look at your monthly expenses and cut anything that’s not a necessity. Rent out your spare room. Move to a smaller apartment. Sell assets. Can you survive in a smaller, less cool car? If you’ve managed to gather significant assets that you’re willing to unload, there are local places to sell and at least one online source, Borro, will lend against or work with you to sell your luxury valuables. Loans. Family and friends are traditional sources of startup funds, but many entrepreneurs prefer to stay away from these entanglements. Much has been written on crowdfunding, and other new nontraditional ways of getting funds are springing up all the time. Your local bank will probably offer business loans underwritten by the Small Business Administration. Local agencies may also kick in some money. Check your state, county and city governments. Finally, I know a lot of startup owners who end up borrowing from their credit cards. However, that’s not where you want to start your entrepreneurial journey. Bring a partner onboard. Often a person with an idea and knowhow will find someone else with the money to fund the project. There are a lot of ownership issues to iron out, but it can work. If you scan this list one more time, you’ll see that several of these strategies can be combined. Do that and there’s a good chance you’ll survive until the cash flow begins to meet and exceed expenses. Oh,...
read moreIs Your Small Biz Ready for Back to School Days?
Back to school promotions are well underway – Is your business participating? – and there are a variety of ways small business can benefit from this yearly phenomenon. The July through September retail season, which includes the back-to-school period, is second only to the Christmas shopping season in terms of retail sales and it’s replete with just about as many promotions and mark downs. And many states toss in something retailers can only dream about for the Christmas season: Tax-free days. Analysts, by the way, expect sales this year to be okay but not extraordinary. Many states carve out a weekend or other short period of time when they forgo the collection of sales tax. This can mean nearly an extra 10 percent off in some areas. Add that to the back-to-school sales prices and it adds up. Stock up your supply cabinet If you study the products closely, you’ll note that office supplies and school supplies are generally quite similar. This can be the perfect time to stock up. Further, many states with tax-free days include computer purchases in the windfall. Give it some thought. On the other side of the ledger, if you’re a retailer, you should be able to find some way you can work the “back-to-school” theme into your promotions at this time of year. I’d like to carry this idea a little further. If you can bring students into your store during this season, beyond making a sale, you have the opportunity to build a relationship. In the not-too-distant future, the students you’re selling clothes, school supplies or electronics to today, will have families of their own. How do you estimate the lifetime value of a customer? What is your cost of acquiring a new customer? If you play your back-to-school cards right, you’ll create a lifetime loyal customer in his or her youth and you’ll have a good chance at snagging the next generation as well. Make an educational donation If you don’t sell a product or have a service that relates directly to students, you can still tie into this season. For example, an oil-change service could donate $2 to a local school or educational service for every lube job. This gives you a way to pull in customers and also raise your image in the local community. Honestly, I love this time of year. While so many things seem to change in our society, the back-to-school season is a cultural rock. Kids are filled with the competing emotions of watching the carefree days of summer sadly disappear while at the same time they’re excited about seeing old friends and meeting new challenges at school. School days, school days, the dear old Golden Rule days… Image: By Staff Sgt. Jordan Jones (U.S. Armed Forces) [Public domain], via Wikimedia...
read moreManta Antes Up For Social Media Marketing
Love is a many splendored thing and when your love is directed at a small business, and captured in a photograph, one of those splendors might be $10,000. Manta is back with its annual Manta Photo Contest. It kicked off in July and runs through August. The idea is to share a photo of your favorite small business somewhere in the Manta social media world, which includes Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Small business owners can also submit photos. Be creative. Find great customers. Artistically frame your storefront. Feature your products. Whether you’re a customer or an owner, here’s what you do: Like Manta’s Facebook page, upload photos to your wall or their fan wall with @Manta #SmallBizLove. On Twitter include @Manta and #SmallBizLove with your tweets. For Instagram tag your photos #SmallBizLove and @Mantagram. Important marketing strategy Encouraging your customers to post photos or updates from your small business is one of the fundamental social media marketing strategies. When you increase the stakes with the possibility of winning $10,000, you give your customers a lot more motivation to participate. I suggest that you design a little poster to display in your business that promotes the campaign. You’ll find a piece of art Manta has designed that you can include in your personal promotion of the contest on the page where the details are explained. Further, you might include a link to this page in email and social media marketing that you do over the next few weeks. There will be one small business featured weekly and then a grand prize winner at the end of August. Beyond this contest, you could use Manta’s idea as inspiration for your own social media marketing throughout the year. Contests are one of the biggest things that motivate people to engage with small business social media. You can continue encouraging your customers to post photos of your business on social media and reward one each month with a gift certificate or other promotional item. Third party apps available There are third party apps that take much of the work out of running a social media contest and marketing campaigns, including ShortStack, Woobox, and Offerpop. Further, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have their own rules, guides or suggestions. So far, Pinterest hasn’t given any specific guidance relating to contests, although contests there are very popular. Also, you need to know the law in your area. So get on the contest bandwagon, starting with the Manta Photo Contest. The worst that can happen is you’ll get some valuable exposure in social media. The best: you or a customer will be $10,000 richer. Image: “Pie eating contest 1923” from National Photo Company Collection. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia...
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