The failure of a business or any enterprise, is seldom the result of a single, cataclysmic event. It’s almost always the result of small errors in judgement, repeated regularly.

Selling based on fees or prices. If your marketing is based around being cheap, you will lose. Your profits will be low and you will attract the lowest value clients. Just as importantly, thanks to Google, I can find 10 people doing whatever you do, for less, in just a few minutes. Get out of the race to the bottom. Pump more value into what you do, rather than just lowering the price or fee.

Pestering people. People hate being pestered or pursued. Attract the help and business leads you need, don’t try and annoy your way to success. If you don’t know how, find someone who does and watch what happens to your results. You will also be amazed how much more fun the business of business is, when people come to YOU.

Opting for ease over effort. Sometimes the easy route is the right route. Sometimes it isn’t. When a business owner looks for the easy way, rather than the correct way, they will miss opportunities and make some very costly errors.

Trying to grow your business in this sluggish economy is a little like trying to swim through Jell-O. Ineffective or uncertain leaders definitely need not apply.

So what does it take to lead a small business through this ongoing economic mess? The blogosphere is humming with ideas lately. Here's a roundup of the important traits for entrepreneurs in 2012.

1. Listen. Tune in to what workers and customers are saying, and you'll find great ideas for how to move forward.

2. Give credit. Workers love leaders who acknowledge their ideas.

3. Be yourself. In our age of sound bites and phony smiles, tell your story honestly. It's rare and refreshing, and makes workers feel like they know you -- and want to help you succeed.

4. Communicate. So much company dysfunction can be prevented with clear communication. Otherwise, workers are in the dark. And soon, they won't care.

5. Don't be trendy. Avoid the "strategy du jour" problem. Choose a course and stick to it.

6. Beat anxiety. Stop worrying and turn your negative emotions -- regret, fear, sadness -- into teachers that help shape your character.

7. Be service-oriented. Leaders can be sort of self-involved, forgetting that they are in a position of leadership. To serve customers, shareholders and workers stay focused on others.

8. Be accountable. Define the results you want, and acknowledge when a screw-up is your fault.

9. Use empathy. Demographic changes have foisted more and more women into the workplace. Make sure your communication and leadership style is a fit for today's workforce.

10. Share the big picture. If your workers don't know the company's overall goals, it can be hard for them to solve problems. That leaves you having to micromanage every problem instead of being able to delegate and offer guidance.

11. Keep your cool. The days when being a screamer worked are long gone. If workers are worried about whether you're in a good mood today or not, little gets done.

12. Think like an immigrant. When you arrive on new shores, you often see the business world with fresh eyes. Use your unique perspective to spot opportunities others are missing.


JosephKellner.com

Orlandomakeup.com

Haircolorinorlando.com

Groupon, Living Social, Deal Chicken. They’re everywhere. On television; emailing me; Facebook and ringing the phone at the salon. Their sales reps are exceedingly courteous, not pushy. I’ve given a lot of thought to the pros and cons of couponing. Believe me, in this tough economy we have to consider every option for growing the bottom line. In the end, I always reach same conclusion: This would hurt my brand and probably not worth the risk.

WANTED: Customers Who Value What We Do
Inherently, since the customer base of couponing sites is made up of deal-seekers and bargain shoppers, the obsession with price doesn't necessarily make for brand loyalty or even brand awareness. When customers get something at a much lower price, they then become less inclined to pay full price for that same product or service in the future.

I understand the idea is for the business to romance the client to the point that they are going to like your service so much they will come back and buy from you again. While couponing can be a way of advertising your business through an attractive sales promotion and short term market gain, it’s also proven to have a low conversion rate for repeat customers. Discount shoppers are loyal only to bargains, not to the brand.

SALON TAKES 100% of the RISK
Groupon keeps 50% of the revenues from each coupon deal. Merchants need to gross margins well in excess of 50 percent for Groupon to work for them. In today’s market, privately owned salons are just not operating on those kinds of margins. Groupon aside, it costs salons 5-7 times more to get a new client than it does to keep one. Traditionally even newspaper advertisements have very little return on investment for the salon owner.

PROFITABLE AND SUCCESSFUL MARKETING IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS
Quality has its price. The adage “you get what you pay for” has been around since the beginning of time for a reason. Here’s another one to consider:

"Loyalty is something you give regardless of what you get back, and in giving loyalty, you're getting more loyalty; and out of loyalty flow other great qualities." Jones, Charles ''Tremendous''

In a recent article, I talked about the salon’s vision statement: “Ensure every client who makes contact with the studio is elevated emotionally by the experience. To ensure all people look and feel better about themselves and their lives.” There are three ways we measure success meeting that vision, one being “BE the Role Model for customer service”.

The salon has won several awards for customer service; we’ve been honored by the Better Business Bureau as a recipient of the Torch Award for Market Place Ethics. This recognition comes from consistently focusing on our vision statement.

“JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW I MEAN THIS AS A COMPLIMENT…”
Last week a client leaned over to me and in sort of a whisper said: “Just want to let you know I mean this as a compliment...”. I listened as the client told me how she scheduled a color/haircut and a Shellac manicure today. Imagine her surprise when during the consultation, the stylist said the color looked great, she only needed a haircut. Her experience continued as the manicurist thought her cuticles looked fine; they’d only be doing a Shellac color change. Still smiling she said “You know, I’ve been to a lot of places and this has never happened before. Thank you.”

I’m proud to say, this conversation didn’t surprise me. My staff gets it.

It? It is when you work focused on the best interest of the client. It’s here you create trust, trust is the foundation for mutual loyalty, which brings mutual benefit to both parties in the relationship. The best and most effective form of marketing is the within your control, the least expensive but the hardest to win “word of mouth” advertising. Rewarding referrals from valued customers is much more palatable to me than sending unearned revenues out the door to someone who had zero risk in the equation.