In This Episode

As we are now into November, thoughts of year end are dancing in everyone’s heads.  But first we have Thanksgiving and Christmas before we get to the new year.  We also have Black Friday which is one of the biggest shopping days of the year with people lining up on Thanksgiving night to make sure they are going to land that sought after toy or electronic.

So Adam had an unexpected experience on a recent Saturday morning at the grocery store.  It involved a line 50 people deep at 9am.  Several people had been in line since midnight.  This wasn’t Black Friday and it gave Adam flashbacks to waiting in line to buy concert tickets as a teenager!

So what were people so eager to get that the got up early on the weekend (or stayed up all night)?  It was for bourbon.  But not just any bourbon.  On this particular morning there were about 10 different bourbons that were available in limited supply on a first come first served basis.  And unlike Black Friday, this same scene takes place EVERY Saturday morning at this grocery store and many like it.

It’s amazing how the simple law of supply and demand works in cases like this.  The bourbon suppliers limit the quantity of bourbon available each week so they can increase demand as well as their prices.  What kinds of things are you doing in your business to create this type of demand where people will literally wait in line for your product or service?

We have several clients who have backlogs stretching out over 6 months because the customers want their product or service.  Other clients are selecting their customers and turning away customers they don’t want.  This kind of demand starts with having a good Marketing Plan in place which includes addressing the three key components of Marketing:

• Targets: this answers the “Who” question. Who are your best customers?  What makes them your best customers?  Which customers should you be firing?  What do you know about your customers?  How do you find more of them?
• Messages: addresses the “Why” and “What” questions. Why do your customers buy from you the first time?  Why do some buy again?  Why do some customers leave your business?  What are your customers really buying from you?  Hint, it’s not likely your product or service but what that product or service can do for them (e.g. what benefit it provides or pain it relieves).
• Channels: this answers the question for “Where” your customers found out about you. Was it through a referral, your web site, social media, an ad in the local church bulletin or something else?  This is the part of Marketing that most business owners focus on without spending much time on Targets and Messages.  One place to start is figuring out how your top customers found out about you.

At the end of the day, the Marketing Plan is a key part of your annual Profit Plan because it helps you figure out how you are going to drive sales to your business over the next year.  So if your business is looking to have folks waiting in line to purchase your products or services it starts with your Marketing Plan!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Thomas Edison (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison)

Join Us Next Time

Join us next time when we will be joined by Greg McAfee of McAfee Heating and Air.  Greg will share his 30+ year entrepreneurial journey which included nearly being canceled in the summer of 2020 and how that impacted his business and leadership.