Requests For Clarification -- Small Businesses Discussion Forum

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Subject: Requests For Clarification

Author:
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Date Posted: 16:42:30 02/27/11 Sun
In reply to: Dennis S. Vogel 's message, "All Work & No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy" on 17:34:59 01/30/11 Sun

To conserve space & guard confidentiality, this is a paraphrased summary of questions & concerns. So, I can help many business owners, my response is general. Focusing on one business would mean ignoring others.

Some of what I wrote below may seem basic & boring to some. I want to be sure each of you understands all of the content.

If you feel more comfortable sending me questions & comments via email instead of posting here, please do it that way. Indicate what you want to keep confidential.

Please let me know what you offer or want to sell, who is in your market niche plus how you can reach them & where. I can help you more when you give me enough information.

I hope what I wrote below sums up what people are concerned about.

SUMMARY-

I understand what you wrote in the following paragraph. If you understand my situation, maybe you can help me implement it.

For optimal marketing, each message should offer something. In effect, each time somebody receives your messages, you make your promises again. Even if your products are out of stock or if your appointment book is full, your messages make promises you should fulfill.

Very often, especially in winter, I can only afford to do what you call name, rank & serial number advertising. I also include my store USP, preemptive advantage &/or positioning statement.

(Note - Advertising that contains only the kind of information on business cards is what I call name, rank & serial number advertising. It seems like business owners are prisoners of war revealing only what captors need to inform the other side whom they caught.)

I have limited storage space & a limited inventory budget. Before I advertise specific products, I need to be sure I can get more of it in less than a week. In most cases, I can only afford to stock a dozen of a product. Yet, if I advertise for only 12, my ROI is too low to justify the advertising.

This winter, like some others in the past, either I was snowed in or my suppliers were.

Sometimes, customers will tolerate an out of stock because of weather problems. If it happens more than a few times with the same customer, she thinks I should be smart enough to learn my lesson & plan better.

Some have a hard time understanding my situation. I have to plan my promotions, at least a month ahead. If I would order enough to allow for a weather interruption, I would buy more than I can pay for & more than I can store in my back room.

Even if I advertise limited supplies, people still expect me to have enough stock so they can buy when they respond 5 days after my promotions start.

They expect a limited supply to be at least 50.

Just in time delivery sounds great in theory, but small amounts mean more shipments. If I order the same thing more than once, it costs too much.

Shipping companies charge a minimum price for each package. No matter how much the total price is, shippers will charge no less than the minimum. Example- From usps.com of the United States Postal Service - Express Mail Overnight, most locations From $13.25 Prices based on weight and distance Flat rate envelope available! Weight Not Over (Pounds) 0.5 $13.25

If a package weighs less than a half of a pound & is sent across town, the minimum charge is $13.25. To send a package the next day, a customer would still pay at least $13.25.

It would cost less to ship 8 pounds of merchandise for $27.65 in one package compared to sending 4 pounds this week ($18.90 per 4 pound package) & 4 pounds next week. The price only includes insurance for up to $100. $100 may be too little to cover some merchandise. Additional insurance adds to the shipping costs.

For this example we can think about jewelry being mailed. A jeweler may only have available space in a safe for 20 rings. Plus, if gold costs about $1,000 per troy ounce, for a jeweler in a small store, buying 10 rings may be too expensive for one order.

A retailer who buys too much inventory ties up too much money & hurts cash flow. Even successful businesses have been ruined when they ran out of cash to pay current bills. An electrical utility demands money (not a retail product) to pay for electricity. A retailer, who habitually buys too much inventory instead of paying electricity bills, can have a great security system but no electricity to power it.

The post attached to this is my response to these questions & concerns.

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Basic Marketing Information For Advanced Results	Dennis S. Vogel	19:02:33 02/27/11 Sun