Tempted To Compete On Price?

Resist it, if this is your main strategy! It’s true that prices may come down as competition grows fiercer for the consumers that still have money during this tough recession. However, if your only reason to reduce prices is to gain more customers, this strategy is doomed to fail. It’s not just a matter of people having less money to spend, it’s also a question of getting the best value for their money. If you don’t take the time to create a product strategy that embraces a holistic approach to marketing in bad times, you’ll end up doing what everyone else is doing – lowering prices. And, then whoever can withstand the loss of profit the most will end up winning more of the market share, but at a very steep price. That just simply isn’t a good strategy to build a business that can survive a recession and go on to generate long-term growth.

Remain Price Competitive

Don’t overlook the lowering of prices in your niche, however, don’t play the one-up game that only leads to drastic cuts in your market. This type of strategy works short-term, but eventually it eats up too much profit and it trains your customers to hold on to their dollars until the next round of price cuts. If, however, you do offer some discounts and programs for loyal buyers, instead of just everyone who might drop by your online store, you train your customers to buy more and still get a good deal. So, if you really do want to compete on price, do so in a way that generates buying behavior, and not across the board for anyone that wants to freeload off your hard work.

Create A Perception Of High Value

Another way to compete on price, but not offer lower prices, is to heighten the perception of value for your products. Your products may cost more, but they are also worth more, and therefore deserving of a higher price. The way to do this is to offer more to your customers than they expect to receive for the price. If they expect an overnight stay for $120, and your suite is $150, then throw in breakfast, restaurant discounts, or a couple of tickets to an in demand production. Always seek to offer more than what your customer expects and they will continue to buy, regardless of the fact that you cost more than your competitor. Instead, they will look at you as the deal, and the others as the cheap version of the real thing. On line, the same thing can be done by including extra products in value packages that appeal to a price-conscious consumer. Just remember, that it isn’t really the price tag that is usually the main objection a buyer has towards purchasing a product, it’s more about the value they receive for the money they spent. So, make sure that they get more than their money’s worth.

It’s not big news that having a business card is an essential business tool.   Whether you have been in business for years or are just starting out, VistaPrint is a great resource.   I ordered a bunch for our Pre-wrap business.  We uploaded our own design and opted for the glossy  finish, and I must say - they are gorgeous! We get compliments on them all the time. Click here to get 250 FREE Business Cards.

If you don’t want to design your own, you can choose from an assortment of free cards (they have 42 designs to choose from), or upgrade to one of their thousands of great designs.

Of course, you don’t even have to be in business to have a card.  It’s a great tool for networking, job hunting, or even trading phone numbers with new friends.   Have a teenager that wants to babysit or mow lawns?  A business card is a great way to start.

Tags : Free business cards

My girls were invited to be guest panelists at the CT-YES in New Haven last week.  The symposium, held at Gateway Community College, was designed to be both inspirational and informative for local high school students interested in starting a business.  As a parent, I was thrilled to see so many interested kids!  We’re in tough economic times and gone are the days when kids expect to go to school, graduate and find a company that will take care of them for life.

The keynote speaker, Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, was running a little late and the event coordinator asking my daughters to go up in front of the group and give an impromptu presentation on their pre-wrap business.  It was a proud-mom moment for me.  I had hopes and dreams for them, and watching them be calm, cool, and collected in front of an audience was just fantastic.  They presented their product, told their story, gave a demo, and answered questions.

They met other young entrepreneurs - a personal trainer, a computer technician, and two young ladies that opened a salon.  Most of our business is online, so it was a lot of fun to be out and about.  And of course, the girls were happy to be skipping school!

Tags : young entrepreneurs

I’ll admit it - I primarily hang around with other work-at-home moms that I’ve met online.  They understand me.  They share info, know my businesses, and often bail me out when I’m learning something new.  Recently I joined a forum that has nothing to do with working at home, but it does have to do with finances.  I forget that there are still thousands of people out there that have no idea how to make money online.

Living within your means is not a new concept.  There are budget living sites everywhere, and now with the economic distress, you can’t pick up a newspaper or a magazine without tips to save money on something.

But I’m weird.

I think earning money is easier than clipping  a ten-cent coupon. Or driving to another town to get my favorite coffee on sale.  If I evaluate my time…it’s better spent finding ways to earn money than save money. I guarantee I can come up with ten dollars in income faster than I can save $5.00 on my grocery bill.

Next challenge - can I do both?

It’s not like we don’t have enough mommy guilt, just being moms…

Being a wahm means that the kids actually get to see us at work. They know how tied we are to our computers, to our jobs. They know they compete with the computer for attention. Some savvy kids are smart enough to point it out by stating the obvious. For others, it comes out more subtly.  When my oldest was in Kindergarten, they would have a class topic, and each child would draw a picture. They would create a book and send it home for all the families to see. On the back page was a place to comment.

One month, the topic was “My  Mom.”  My daughter drew my back.  A picture of me at the computer.  She wrote, “My mom is a geek. She is always working at the computer.”  Years later she confided that she thought “geek” was my job title.  I fought back the tears.

Fast-forward eight years.  My girls are now in high school, and when asked what they want to be when they grow up, they say they aren’t sure of anything except that they want to work at home.  My youngest told me that she thinks it’s the only solution for her.  When I asked how they felt about me always working, they told me that they didn’t see it as that. They told me that they saw it as always being there for them.

Amazing what a little hindsight can do.

I’ll admit it. I really want to have a site that helps women become work-at-home moms. I want to teach them how to stay home. I want to offer tips and tricks for every age, from newborns up to teens.  I want to hand-hold them every step of the way. I want to teach them about choosing a business, balancing work and home life.  I want them to have a shoulder to lean on. I want them to have someone to whine to.  I want to be their biggest cheerleader.  And I want to make a lot of money doing it…because if it’s your passion, the money will come - right?

I’ve wanted this from Day One of being a work-at-home mom.  I don’t have to tell you that I’m the only one.  There are so many wahm sites. We can’t even begin to count them.  When I first joined Mom Masterminds, I learned the term USP or Unique Selling Point.   What would be my unique selling point if I had a wahm site?  Could I do it better than what already exists?  Certainly I could do it my own way, with my own sparkling personality and years of experience tossed in.  And what exactly would I be selling that would make the kind of money I’m dreaming of?  Hmmm…

I still wonder if I could make it happen. Nothing makes me crazier than seeing a mom complain about not making any money in a forum post and then reading her signature that shouts, “Make Your Dream a Reality!” or my latest gripe “Six Figure Yearly.” I’d like for one mom…just one mom…to prove to me that she’s making Six Figures Yearly with that program. Wahm sites are crawling with hunters, looking for prey. Looking for that desperate mom - hungry to stay home with her babies. It’s ugly out here on the net.

If you have Adsense on your site, you need Adspy Tracker.  Period.

Friends have been chatting up this neat little tool for months and I kept putting in a mental bookmark to check it out.  I’m sick over the months of lost income that I missed by not getting this earlier.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like to promote something I haven’t bought, tested, and loved.  Adspy Tracker has been on my radar for months now and I just hadn’t gotten around to buying it.  Frustrated with my Adsense swings, I decided to put this one to the test.  What took me so long?  Adspy Tracker is amazing!  It makes me feel like a voyeur on my own sites. If you love statistics, you’ll go crazy over this. If you don’t like stats…hmm…surely you are missing out on understanding your visitors! No more guessing what ad got clicked and where that visitor came from.

Once you know what ads are bringing you success (or lack thereof!) you will simply have a blueprint to copy and repeat!

Do you know what pages are earning you the most money?

Do you know what ads are being clicked on?

Do you know where those visitors came from?

Adspy Tracker is so much easier than setting Adsense Categories!

When you sign up, you get a nice little e-course giving you some solid tips on improving your Adsense income.

Yep, it’s a must-have!

Tags : Adsense Income, Adspy Tracker

If you peeked in our kitchen this morning, it probably looks pretty normal. Kids scurrying around trying to get out the door with camp gear - lunches, water bottles, sports equipment, etc.  I run through the checklists - do you have your knee pads?  Got your lunch? Are you ready for your presentation?  Would you like to go over it before you leave.  Huh?

I guess we are a bit different.  My girls will be “presenting” their pre-wrap business at camp today.  They are genuinely reaping the benefits of their own sales and marketing. Both girls, fairly shy by nature, will get up in front of a camp full of their peers and show their stuff.  Camp directors and coaches have been incredibly supportive…and probably a bit amazed.  The girls have learned to ask if it would be okay if they took five minutes to share their products - what reasonable adult could resist that?

When they get home from camp, they will be buzzing with the games, the drills, the friends they met. And if today is a success, they will come home with their pockets full of money.  They’ll go over what they sold, calculate their profits, and I’ll remind them that they pay local sales tax on all sold.  I’m not a homeschooling mama, but in business I am.

We’ll talk about how the kids and coaches react.  We’ll talk about how easy sales can be when you have a product people want.   And tomorrow will be just another camp day.

I saw this great line in a You Tube video, and the topic again resonated with me when I read Carrie Lauth’s post “Help a Blogging Momma.”  As a busy work-at-home mom, I rarely have time to get my own stuff done, but the more I reflect on my businesses, the more I realize how important my online relationships have helped me not only achieve my goals, but to go above and beyond my wildest dreams for them.

I’m not much of a list maker, but there are times when I need to use one.  My challenge is this:  support your fellow wahms by making a list of four people.

1. Your favorite guru
2. An online friend
3. A new acquaintance (someone following you on Twitter?)
4. A struggling wahm

Visit her site and really do grab a cup of coffee and stay for a few minutes.  Comment on her blog.  Mention your visit on Twitter.  Offer words of encouragement.  Visit an advertiser.  Check out her affiliate program.  Tell a friend.  By the time you are done with your coffee, you will have made someone’s day.  I’m off to go grab mine now!

Photo by Damian Stevens

Tags : wahm