By Moe Lastfogel Director of Sales and Marketing for The Retail Observer Well, another year is almost over. You have about three months left to make year-end sales quotas and meet VR levels. What will the economy do after the election is over? What new options and products, money savings devices, and money wasting schemes will appear? I don’t have a crystal ball — nor do I have the answer, sorry. However, here are some pointers that may help you pinch some pennies and catch up from a roller coaster year. • Drink water rather than soda. I haven't run a cost comparison between an ounce of Coca Cola and an ounce of filtered tap water, but I’m fairly confident that filtered tap water is infinitely cheaper and healthier too. • Work out at home versus at the gym. Being healthy can save you money, but exorbitant fees and inflexible contracts can make gyms a less desirable option than working out at home. Instead, use that money to build a gym at home with previously owned equipment. Heck, you’re already moving boxes at your business, so who needs a gym? • Ask creditors to lower your interest rate. Creditors are feeling the crunch and recognize that it takes more money to find a new customer than to retain a current one. Your creditors might give you a lower rate if you tell them that you don’t want to keep your account unless the rate is lower. • Don’t pay for banking privileges. There are too many free checking accounts out there to pay even one penny in fees for the right to write a check or use a debit card. Many banks and credit unions only require that you use direct deposit or use your debit card a minimum number of times per month to qualify for fee-free accounts. • Adjust your W-4 at work. The fastest way to give yourself a raise is to increase the number of exemptions on your W-4 form to reduce the amount your employer withholds from your paycheck. If you received a huge refund this year, check the IRS website to calculate the number of exemptions you need to reduce the amount of money withheld from your paycheck to an amount equal to your tax liability. • Quit smoking. Besides being an incredibly unhealthy habit, smoking is expensive! Many pack-a-day smokers could easily trim $200 from their monthly budget by kicking the habit. That’s $2,400 a year! If you can’t find any other motivation to quit, use finances. Happy Retailing, Moe Lastfogel [email protected]
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By Moe Lastfogel Director of Sales and Marketing for The Retail Observer Think about marketing your business as a whole Holistic marketing is a marketing strategy developed by thinking about the business as a whole. When using a holistic marketing strategy, every aspect of the business must be carefully considered. The company must think about how a consumer will interact with its product, its website, its advertising materials, and everything else. WHAT IS HOLISTIC MARKETING? Let’s say you are in the business of selling bread. Do you market the benefits of the whole loaf, or the benefits of the slice? • If you market a slice, what affect does that have on the whole loaf? • Do your clients and customers want a loaf or just a slice or two? • How do you know who your clients are? • How do you know what your clients want? • Where will you find your ideal clients and customers? • What is your loaf made from? • What else can you make from the same ingredients to benefit your clients and customers? • How do you know that your clients and customers would not benefit from other products? Not only do you need to communicate with your clients and customers, you need to do so in a way that can benefit them, you and your business. By sending your clients, customers and prospects valuable and useful information via email marketing, web, social media, radio, TV or direct mail you can keep them updated and informed about a wide range of events happening in your business. Although this type of marketing is not a cheap option for some businesses, you can take a look at various marketing groups, local PR companies or even your local college business students to see what they can do to help you get the word out. The more information you acquire to help you understand how to communicate with your clients and customers, the more you will improve your holistic marketing efforts. Happy Retailing, Moe Lastfogel [email protected] |
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December 2021
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