Entrepreneurs, Market Strategies, Global Economic Recovery
Published August 2, 2009 | 
It is impossible to explain and project what to expect with one recession by looking at the causes, affects and methods of recovery of another and come up with a magic formula for stimulating the current global economy back out of the recession or depression, because there are so many different moving parts that might play a significant role in one recession and be non-existent in another, but what we can say with certainty is that economic conditions are typically worse than what is seen on the surface.
Although thorough analysis of the real economic conditions shows continuing erosion in many sectors of the U.S. and Global economies and despite shrinking markets, new and innovative Entrepreneurs are entering the global market in increasing numbers each day to take advantage of new identifiable opportunities present in the market, and it is these global entrepreneurial strategies and spirit that will be the driving force of the global economic recovery.
When examining the entrepreneurial market strategies in general, the hardest task facing Entrepreneurs that are planning to start a business is building a loyal base of customers, since many potential customers already work with other more established businesses, and they are not interested in risking developing a new relationship working with a new business, and this is just one of the many challenges that are typical and to be expected in any start-up situation that Entrepreneurs need to be keenly aware of, along with the tasks of meeting and overcoming the challenges while building the businesses reputation at the same time.
As an Entrepreneur, you always need to put yourself in the potential customer’s mindset: If you were to consider giving your order for services or products to a new business, then ask yourself what are the most important business factors you would use to make your decision, and what would have to be part of the conversation in the way of statements and promises needed to persuade you to commit to trying a new business or firm, and by focusing on development of the most solid answers you can to these questions, the better your new business will perform in the most critical initial start-up stages.
What all this means is that you have to do your homework and put together solid facts from your research, an important point that can’t be overemphasized, and a simple way to begin is investigating your competitors by looking at their websites, Facebook pages, Twitter usage and activity, as well as MySpace and other social media platforms, as this has the potential of freely giving you access to a lot of detailed information, from their mission and vision statements, to what they think their product and service attributes are, possible testimonials, geographic areas served, and other important insightful information. Study the results of your research and adopt techniques and practices that work for them, all the while developing business strength and associated customer leverage with positive practices that compare very favorably to their negatives.
As part of developing market strategies for competition, don’t hesitate and forget to ask potential customers about their personal experiences with your competitors, since they are general forthcoming and will be able to give you some insightful information about what they like, and especially dislike, providing you with extremely valuable 
feedback and information that can be incorporated into your mission and vision for the business, and remember, it is critical for you always to either match or exceed the services of your competition, anything less is unacceptable, since potential customers won’t do business with your new business without a powerful incentive that causes them to take the action you want them to, and not only start doing business with you, but become loyal to your business.
To instigate the customer feedback that you gather, start by adapting their responses to your marketing strategies, for example, if you determine you may need to tailor your operational hours to when the majority of customers would use or visit your business, or require service, and this might be a courtesy you can implement and use in your initial marketing message that shows you value what the customer’s think, and it matters in terms of building your customer base and keeping their business.
Another important point to remember is about human nature and prospective customers, as they like nothing better than getting something for “free” (Even FREE has Important Value), and what you might receive in return, like the customer’s business, will pay off with interest in the long run, for example, if you are starting a barber shop business, offer a free haircut for every ten paid haircuts for the first year, and this can be a relatively small expense to you, but prove to drive both a lot of new business to build your customer base, and keep existing customers returning while strengthening customer loyalty.
It is also critical for Entrepreneurs to remember that without money there is no business, and to get a new business started you need to make sure you have adequate funding, which includes how much money you currently have available to you and how much you need to raise, as statistics show that businesses with less than $50,000 in funding have a higher failure rate, since many times they don’t have a solid capital foundation to build from, and find it extremely difficult to overcome additional unforeseen capital expenditures that always seem to occur.
Entrepreneurs should include everything addressed so far in a formal business plan, which is an extremely critical entrepreneurial tool that should be developed before you start the business, and updated annually to maintain maximum effectiveness. 
Effective and well thought out business plans include a thorough analysis of both the Entrepreneur’s and businesses strengths and weaknesses, and plans to overcome any weaknesses identified, with clearly defined strategies for marketing and production or services.
A proven fact throughout history is that the Entrepreneurs with the most realistic outlook and strategies will have the best survival chances for their start-up business, and remember, a clear, concise, and above all, honest vision of expectations, along with a backup plan for any weakness is best, and it can make the difference between entrepreneurial success and failure.
Market Your Business or Community Like it’s on an Island
Published July 31, 2009 | 
Just imagine that small business you run, or your town or community is on a small island, every personal and business interaction that takes place matters, and every visitor and customer you make contact with is to be treasured.
A couple of simple facts are that there are a small finite number of people you’re going to be able to sell to, or impress during their visit with you, and every single person you interact with is going to know everyone else, so it becomes very obvious to you the “Island Dweller,” that you always have to be on your best behavior.
You don’t have the luxury to say, “forget you” and then go on to the next person, and you can’t run advertising that churns and burns through a never ending supply of unknowledgeable market prospects, since remember, you are in the “Island market”, and there is only one chance to make a first impression, and on the “Island,” that impression really matters most.
Consider an airline in Dallas that can greedily bully and have its way with a seemingly endless stream of business travelers, and compare them to short haul carriers in the west that know that passengers can always switch to the other short haul airlines if available, or drive, and what they really know is that the people they serve have leveraged power because there isn’t an endless supply of passengers ready to take the other’s place in line.
As you’ve probably guessed by now, like most things in our ever changing and shrinking world, whether businesses, small towns or communities, you must now market like you are on an island.
The “Island perspective” is the Zappos loyalty business model and relationship marketing, as the primary sources of the company’s rapid growth and recent acquisition (Amazon Buys Zappos) resulting in repeat 
customers and numerous word of mouth recommendations, and every interaction is viewed as both precious and an opportunity to delight.
In today’s Global Economy, it is a fact that marketers no longer have the money or the platform to harass and promote their way to success, and burn their way through the markets, instead, we have to act like we’re on our own “Island” building, earning, and then nurturing the relationships we need to keep and use to build additional relationships as our network grows beyond our “Islands.”
The “Island Marketing” concept recognizes that marketing and customer 
service are inseparable and transcends the traditionally simple purchase-exchange process with the customer to make more meaningful and richer contact, by providing a more holistic, personalized purchase, and use the consumption experience to create stronger ties and greater value, and validation of the importance to the continuation of the relationship, and the additional benefits of further expanding networks by obtaining the loyalty of suppliers, employees, bankers, customers, distributors, shareholders, stakeholders and the board of directors.
Social networking relationships have become more critical with the development of multi-platforms for social networking, including Twitter and Facebook for easy connecting, developing and maintaining social networking relationships throughout the global economy, and looking at the market through this 
perspective, previously successful banner ads and multiple pop ups are even less effective than they used to be, along with the incredibly ineffective outsourcing of the random dialing of businesses to do telemarketing spam.
By successfully developing their own “Island Marketing” strategies, Entrepreneurs operating small businesses, towns and communities, will adapt and develop the strong national and global relationships needed to recover and greatly increase survival, and renewed success in the ever-changing global economic markets.
Global Entrepreneurial Strategies and the Market
Published July 24, 2009 | 
One important entrepreneurial strategy aims straight at market leadership if not dominance, and is an aggressive strategy right from the very start, planning to have a permanent leadership position, but before an Entrepreneur undertakes this bold strategy they must first realize it is the strategy that represents the greatest gamble, as there is very little room for mistakes, absolutely no room for second chances, and everything has to work out correctly for this strategy to succeed, and it requires significant amount of time for thought, careful analysis and preparation of the business plan. In addition, the strategy demands quite substantial and continuing efforts to retain a leadership position, or all of the Entrepreneur’s hard work simply creates a market for a competitor to take the position as the leader.
Indeed, so many Entrepreneurs over the years have felt like the risk of this strategy is so great that other strategies have been developed, as a result of the notion that the leadership strategy will fail more often than it can possibly succeed, which leads us to another important entrepreneurial strategy that takes what has been developed by somebody else, making improvements that create a better product or service than the original innovative entrepreneurs that first developed the idea.
Basically, this important concept is to let someone else innovate, and then run with their idea, improve on it, and give the consumers of what they really want and most importantly, are willing to pay for. A perfect example of this is IBM creating the PC after Apple created the market with its difficult 
leadership strategy, and within two years it had taken over from Apple leadership in the personal computer field, becoming the fastest-selling brand and the standard in the market.
The main point to focus on here being that IBM chose a far much less risky entrepreneurial strategy, and succeeded at it, and although Apple Computer has been a great success since, as the original innovator it might have failed to fully understand the scope of its success in the beginning, and what was needed to maintain the strategic position as the market leader.
This type of strategy starts with markets, is both market-focused and market-driven, requires a rapidly growing market, satisfies a demand that already exists rather than having to create one, and is likely to 
work most effectively in high-tech industries for the very simple reason that high-tech entrepreneurs and innovators are least likely to be market-focused and naturally concentrate on the technology and product.
The strategy of imitation requires a high degree of innovation that can’t be overlooked, as it is not good enough to offer the same product or services at a lower cost, to the consumer who is always looking for greater innovation in addition to competitive pricing.
Openings and associated opportunities in the market are created by habits and mistakes of market leaders, including arrogance of believing that something cannot be any good unless they thought of it first, focusing entirely upon one segment of the market such as the high profit segment, and ignoring the significant volume of the larger market, and the mistake of misunderstanding of quality, which is not what the innovator puts in, but what the consumer is ultimately willing to pay for. A market leader also tends at times to price products and services too high, creating openings for competition, while failing to adapt to different segments of the market.
The Global Entrepreneur Nation
Published June 19, 2009 | 
“Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.”– Ronald Reagan
The voice of entrepreneurs in the Global economy is a quiet voice that will save the US and Global economy, and although their collective voice is several million, entrepreneurs are quietly working hard every day to operate and maintain their businesses, although certain aspects of Entrepreneur Nation is not so quiet since the economic engine is heard loud and clear for those who take the time to listen, but right now it is being drowned out by the special interest groups that own US congressional members and the White House including labor unions and big business that have seen their better days and now only serve to be a major drag on the rest of the economy as evidenced by statistic after depressing statistic directly related to their market place meddling , and because they proportionally demand too much from the people of the United States just for survival, and in the union’s and big business quest for survival they have brought down every corner of the economy.
Many everyday common business names that many of us have grown up with, and developed the mind-set that they would be around forever, have been forced to close or are faced with liquidation and bankruptcy, while others will be able to reinvent themselves in time to adapt to the ever changing markets and trends.
This is a critical time in the life of the US and Global economies, as this is the time for Entrepreneur Nation begin to awaken through reinvention, change and adaptation and begin to shine and save both the US and Global economies, since innovation and recognition of opportunities are its cornerstones, and as many businesses are forced out of business because consumers that make up the markets are still not spending, and are currently idling in save mode, or paying off their tremendous share of debt built up over the past 20 years.
With the natural forces of the market place, it is part of the natural occurrence and flow of inevitable market events, that businesses with extremely weak and unfavorable balance sheet and cash flow positions, are too weak to continue operating in today’s economic environment, and should execute any exit strategies they might have, and new entrepreneurs and investors 
with clear and concise business plans, and good balance sheet and cash flow positions take advantage and seize opportunities to take their place and meet future demands as markets begin to recover, and develop new innovations to improve services and products.
The Entrepreneur Nation knows that it is unnatural for the tremendously bloated spending and associated debt that is being accumulated by the result of misguided and wrongly influenced bureaucrats in Washington, funding businesses which need to close, or be reinvented or scrapped altogether, scrapped to make room for new breeds of entrepreneurs and business that can meet the new challenges and demands, and change quickly to meet new trends as soon as they are identified and develop new and more effective market strategies. It makes more sense to provide this type of funding to growing businesses with more solid financial positions and detailed business plans to create wealth, jobs and more opportunities.
The Global Entrepreneur Nation is made up of innovators that observe and take advantage of opportunities, create new goods and services, and improve existing products, provide choice by adding goods and services to the marketplace, as they offer variety and design different approaches to familiar problems, and finally but most importantly, hire workers for their businesses, and by consuming resources and provide jobs in the industries that supply those resources, and helps the Global economy grow.
How to Recession-Proof Your Business
Published June 13, 2009 | 
Marketing is essentially, a mind game played by the conscious mind trying to reach the subconscious mind and affect human behavior. A few savvy marketers know how this game is really played, they play it very well, and if you think about it, you are trying to hypnotize your customers and prospects to make automatic or easy decisions, to give you their money in exchange for a set of perceived benefits for which you have created “value,” and if you disagree, it may be time for a career change.
With that said, can smart marketing really protect your business from the recession that has overtaken the global market, and can you achieve growth through smarter marketing in a tough economy? If you haven’t started already, then now is the perfect time to examine where every marketing dollar is invested.
Whether you call it a slowdown in growth or the deepening of a recession, you must revisit your marketing game plan and strategies on a regular basis to ensure success, as the fact is that consumers and businesses have tightened their belts, and you are going to have to work harder to fight for their ever shrinking expendable and discretionary income.
There are no magic marketing pills to cure what ails your business, or to protect you in an extended recession, only the simple fact is that good products and services, delivered as promised – and smart marketing – are your only options, so fasten your seatbelt.
Focus on the gray matter as marketing is a process of educating and reminding, all maintaining momentum toward influencing a buying decision, or reinforcing one that has been made, and reminding your existing customers about everything you can do for them, and remember consistency is key to retaining your best customers.
Learn to dance with your customers and start doing the bump and up-sell, or the bump and cross-sell, for example, sell sheets with that mattress, apple pie with that burger, and…you get the idea.
Nothing beats great performance so deliver great service and treat the customer like gold, as something as simple as handwritten thank you notes in a tough economy sends a very powerful message.
Mindful awareness of marketing will take you to a new level as you stay focused on what you are really selling, and what your customers are really buying from you.
Go deep, and understand the true benefits your customer is buying from you, and once again focus on the benefits of the benefits.
It’s not B2C or B2B, it’s P2P, and it’s about “People to People” marketing, as companies don’t buy software, people do, so strive to understand your customers’ core desires and factor them in to your (emotional) marketing efforts, and remember, the best marketer wins!
Now, hear that zipping sound? It’s your customers closing the purse strings on their wallets until the economy improves and in a recessionary period, more than ever, you will be competing for seemingly scarce expendable income, as your customers delay their purchase decisions.
It’s time to hold your business accountable for making the right marketing decisions, and for measuring each and every marketing program, and in fact, it’s time to make everyone accountable, especially those with customer/client contact.
Staying connected with your key customers’ increases your perceived value and more importantly, through your service delivery, remind them of what makes your unique selling proposition valuable to them. Their testimonials provide social proof, and products and services that perform as promised also strengthen your relationship.
Invest wisely in customer retention and start with an annual hand-written thank you card to every customer and realize loyalty is not a thing of the past, and the best way to build a loyal customer base is to consistently deliver your products and services, exceeding expectations!
Focus on post-purchase reassurance to avoid cognitive dissonance, or buyer’s remorse, and this is especially important for higher priced products and services to reinforce their decision and their choice to do business with you by helping them realize they made the right purchasing decision.
Conduct your own marketing self-examination and look at every program, and focus on what you are not doing but know you should, and an examination will uncover opportunities that you may not now see.
Look at every aspect of your marketing strategy to determine whether your offers are compelling and refreshing, with high perceived value, and continue to develop the customer/client relationships.
Focus on the lifetime value of your customers and start “working the model” to create marketing leverage and up-sell, cross-sell, educate, thank and sell, and stimulate referrals.
Realize that every business tightens their belt in a tough economy out of necessity, and focus on the “fundamentals” and take a lesson from athletes that know this is the secret to success. Increase your commitment to a disciplined, well thought out marketing action plan, become a student of marketing, and look outside of your industry for new marketing ideas, step outside of your own business and see what “best in class” marketing really looks like for your business. Sometimes, we are too close to the business to see the obvious marketing solutions, and smart marketers will use this as an opportunity to keep their share of the market—and take a piece from their (sleeping) competitors, ensuring they are well positioned for growth as the economy improves.