How Stupid Are you?

How Stupid We Really Are As Business Owners

Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
We all have done it and it‘s part of the learning process. Remember, I said LEARNING PROCESS which means you stop doing the STUPID things and do the things that make sense. Read this info and it just could triple your bottom line.

I will use the example of a pizza shop but it could be any business.
A pizza shop owner is deciding on his advertising schedule for the next month. There are a lot of choices out there so he is reviewing them all.
However, this pizza shop owner did something BRILLIANT.
Before deciding on his advertising choices he decided to look at his customer base or potential customer base. When he did this he realized something truly amazing.
None, or very few, of his customers came from a distance more than 11 miles away from his store.
Even though he had been advertising up to 60 miles away, the numbers and demographics NEVER changed.
This owner learned the rule of “exaggerated examination”. This is what happens when we take a look at things in an exaggerated manner.
As an example, would he expect a “potential customer” that lived 400 miles away to order a pizza from him? While this sounds silly, it reveals the proper thought process. This put him in the mind set of determining his TRUE commerce circle. In other words, what is the REAL distance he could expect a customer to drive to his store and make a purchase?

The correct steps.

1. After examining his records, he learned that 85% of his customer base came from a commerce circle of 11 miles.
2. He then only allowed advertisers to speak with him if they could GUARANTEE that all his money would be spent in that circle. REMEMBER, we did not say a larger circle that INCLUDED that circle plus additional coverage. ONLY that circle.
3. He then invested ALL his advertising in that 11 mile circle.

Do you know what happened?
His advertising costs went down 10% and his business went up 60%.

The BIGGEST mistake business owners make is to ASSUME that HUGE numbers or large coverage areas mean a good value. That is ABSOLUTELY INSANE. Marketing that only reaches the EXACT area you want to target is the key to success.

This is why direct mail is STILL the number one choice over all other forms of advertising.
It allows you to “knock on your neighbor’s door” and hand them your message, guaranteed.

Look at the images below and get a better feel for what we mean.

Below is your goal of marketing. It is an 11 mile circle around your store that you know your customers come from. (80 - 95%)

Now here is what you are paying for with "big reach ads".

Here is how effective direct mail can target.

This lesson MUST be learned by ALL business owners and learned quickly. DO NOT get excited about BIG NUMBERS. "We have over 200,000 readers or viewers." That may sound wonderful, but how many of those people truly have a a chance at conversion? How many are honestly likely to become a new customer? If they live outside your commerce circle, they might as well live in Iceland.

Even Google has caught onto this KEY marketing approach. They now offer a "commerce circle" selector in their tools. You put in your business location and chose the "circle" that has the potential for REAL conversion. Simply choosing "United States" is a waste of money for the cabinet shop or car repair center that works within a 50 mile area.

A shocking fact will hit you in the face if you guts to do it.

Talk to 50 people that live within 10 miles of your business.
Ask them if they have ever heard of "this business". (Don't tell them it is yours.) If they have heard of it, ask them if they know where it is located or what they sell. The results will shock you. Your own neighbors have no clue who you are, what you do or sell, or where you are located.

Targeted marketing id the key to any business' survival.
Understand that direct mail is still the NUMBER 1, most effective tool you can use.