I like to quiz solo business owners about how they spend their time in a typical week. That's about the right length of time to measure both simple and complex tasks that the owner completes.
I find that most do very little active marketing. I believe that's a big mistake for a small business. But here's an even bigger one:
The tendency for most solo business owners is to focus on extending "reach," the breadth of the company's range of customers. They try to market to prospects that are new to the company.
What drives this mentality is a business marketing numbers game. It goes something like this: "If I contact X number of prospects, Y percentage will register at my site, and Z percentage will buy my product. Therefore, it stands to reason that the larger the number X, the more sales I'll make."
While all of this may be true, there is an overlooked fact that stands out about this method of business marketing.
Drawing new customers into a business is always more difficult, time consuming, and costly than making additional sales to your existing satisfied customer base.
If that is the case, then it pays to devote a greater amount of time to your current customers' needs than to prospecting for new ones.
Spend time researching and developing the ideas you might have for products that complement those you are currently selling. Look for ways to add additional value to a product your customer already purchased from you.
Add a "Volume II" or other follow-up to the product mix. Expand your line or even develop additional lines that will go hand-in-hand with the ones you currently offer.
If you don't have additional products of your own, and can't develop new ones, offer your current customers great affiliate products from other non-competing businesses.
Talk to your buying customers and ask them what additional products they would like to see available. Ask them if there are gaps in the niche that need to be filled. Provide them incentives to give you feedback and share their ideas about what would make your business better.
Often I find solo business owners to be great technicians . . . quite but ill-prepared for effective marketing and selling. In the Internet world, the most critical factor to the success of your product is how well it is marketed.
Even a lousy product with excellent marketing stands a good chance of making money. But if no one knows about your product to begin with, no matter how great the product is, you will make few if any sales.
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