Brand Leadership | Teik Oh

Three Lessons For A Small Business In A Competitive Market

Jan 10 2017

It’s a tough world for small business out there right now. When you see global interest rates at record lows, you know the world economy ain’t exactly “booming”!

So if you own a small business and you see customers saving money and choosing wisely about how, where and when they spend their money, what can you do?

Well luckily we have three lessons we can learn from previous tough times.

The first lesson is how to cope with disruption. We know that whenever political, economic social, technological, legislative and environmental changes take place, old business models get disrupted. Take the old manufacturers of camera films – their business was being disrupted, so what did they do…or not do?

Then there’s the lesson about how people talking about you can carve a niche for your business. Early Apple computers became beloved by early-adopters because they “heard” so much about them.

Finally, what about the lesson from being able to provide customers with certainty. How many remember Coca Cola’s foray into “new” taste?

In a tough business world you have to innovate, stay relevant, and make sure people remember you – and you have to do it over and over again.

In a disrupted competitive market, small players can win if they offer a better customer experience.

Social media, depending on your small business, can be multiple times more effective than traditional advertising.

Find the right balance between flexibility and having established processes so that customers experience certainty, but also have a tailored experience.

Why don’t you go over to teikoh.com to check out more tips, tools, and resources to create powerful strategies, show leadership, and grow your business? Sign up by giving me your name and email and I’ll send these free ideas to your inbox every week. And trust me – I hate spam so I will never trade your details to anyone else!

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How To Keep Innovating

Dec 20 2016

“We need to innovate to thrive.”

“Business has to be agile these days.”

“The cheese has moved.”

“Every market sector will face disruption.”

We’ve all heard these phrases haven’t we? “Innovate” and “agile” and “disruption”, what do these trendy words mean?

Well, believe it or not, there’s nothing new under the sun. All these trendy sayings mean something that businesses have had to do for centuries – we all need to move with the times. If you settle, you go the way of Kodak and Blackberry, and in the sense of industries, you face the challenges of the taxi industry in the face of Uber or of the hotel industry when Air BnB is out there.

So you have to innovate. You have to be aware of what is happening around you, to your business, to your customers, to your industry, to your market, and find new ways of doing things or new ways to serve. Yet business success is a game of inches, not Eureka moments.

If you expect miracles, you set up your mindset for the BIG new thing to invent. This makes people feel nervous because they will find it hard to innovate at such a big leap. So they react by working on what they know, and innovation? Nothing.

You need to shift mindsets – yours and those of your team. Believe that innovation is possible but you do it through small improvements. If people are allowed to change their world with small improvements, then they are not afraid to fail because if they do fail, it’s small. When a good attempt has not succeeded, don’t label it a failure – accept that an experiment has given you a result and ask “what did we learn to do/not to do?”

And remember to measure. Take simple measurements like time saved, or cost saved – feel the progress and celebrate, then look for more.

Finally if you are reading this on one of my social media channels, you might be missing a lot of great ideas and tools and resources to help you grow your business, create effective strategy and show leadership. Why don’t you go to my website at teikoh.com and sign up to get these free ideas sent directly to your inbox (not forgetting to mark the email from teikoh.com as safe so that it doesn’t go straight to your spam folder.

See you next week!

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Before You Sell, Start With Why

Dec 06 2016

Tell me, when you started your business, was it just to sell things?

I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. I think you started your business because you had a passion. You wanted to build a better life. You believed you had a solution to a common problem. You were passionate about your ability or believed you could use your experience to help people. I’m pretty sure you didn’t start a business just because you wanted to sell something!

So why, when we talk to potential customers do we start with a “sell”? Why don’t we start with why we are doing what we are doing?

Believe me, people are attracted to a business with a purpose. People are attracted to your product or service because they believe in you. People trust you because they are attracted to the passion you show in what you believe. Customers don’t buy from you because they like the features and benefits of your product – they buy because of the passion for the solution that you see in the benefits that you offer.

Remember, if you really want to attract customers to your business, don’t start with a sales spin, start with why – why you are in your business, why you started your business.

You’re not a personal trainer because you want to sell personal training sessions. You are a personal trainer because you believe in a world where people are fit and healthy and having fun, and that you can give people that lifestyle in an effective and fun way.

You’re not a mechanic because you want to sell someone an oil change. You are a mechanic because you have a skill in making machines just hum and your passion is to make things right.

So tell your customers that. Believe me, you’ll get more customers than just telling them about an oil change.

If you want to get more free tips and tools to grow your business, go to my website teikoh.com and register your email address so that Ican deliver these weekly ideas directly to you.

And if you want to know more about attracting customers who really want what you offer, you need a targeted Marketing Plan. I have an online training and workshop that will take you through 7 simple steps and create your scheduled, focused, practical marketing plan to target and attract your ideal customers – click here to learn more.

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Meeting Customer Expectations

Nov 22 2016

Let me know if this scenario is familiar to you.

You go out for a romantic dinner out with your partner or spouse. You’ve chosen a high-end French restaurant because of it’s reputation for good food, and frankly, the advertising you’ve seen about the food and the overall experience. While you haven’t really specified it, inside, you know that what a romantic meal out means romantic decor with low lights, comfortable seating and some privacy in the way it’s laid out, welcoming service when you enter and attentive service without being too pushy through the meal. Oh and, the meal should be good, or at least worth the price.

Recognise the scenario? Tell the truth, while the quality of the food is important to you, it’s not as high on the list of your needs as all the other factors surrounding the evening.

So have you ever entered into that scenario and found that when you walked in…..

you were ignored for what felt like a crazy 10 minutes spent fidgeting near the door
the lights were so darn dim that you couldn’t see in front of your face
the seats (when you eventually sat down) were modern hard plastic and after half an hour you just wanted to finish and get out because of your sore bum
and the wait staff were all over you or forgetting about you.

The food was GREAT but…..the rest of the experience killed the evening.

Does that sound familiar?

Marketing is all about emotions and expectations. Despite having a GREAT product, you still need to meet all the customer’s expectations caused by your marketing.

This week I am going through what it takes to meet your customers’ expectations.

So, think about that. You need to set up your business to meet all of your customers’ needs:-

It’s not just about a great product
How do you provide that product to them?
What about after-sales service, is it what they want?
Is the price what they expect?
What about the way you package the sale, either of a tangible product, or of an online product, or even of a service – what comes with it, all wrapped up?
Have you trained your staff to give the perfect experience?
What about your internal systems and procedures, do they support giving your customer what they want?

In my SMART Marketing program, step 3 is all about setting up your business to match customer expectations. If you don’t do that then all the benefits of your product will not be appreciated. Click here to check out my SMART Marketing online training and workshop to guide you through the creation of your targeted marketing plan, and collect three free gifts along the way!

Get over to my website now at teikoh.com and register your name and email to get more free tips, tools and resources to create winning strategy, show innovative leadership, and grow the business of your dreams!

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How To Choose Marketing Strategies Suitable For Your Business

Nov 15 2016

One of the questions I am always asked is “how do I choose the right marketing strategies for my business?”

You see, marketing has been historically steeped in mystique. It seems you have to go to a marketing “expert” and then they do some magic and the right marketing strategies for your business just pop up.

It doesn’t have to be like that. You need a process, for sure, but after that you just need to know your product, know your market, and know your business.

To start with, you need to think logically.

What makes people attracted to your business? What makes them want to buy your product?

Then, all you need to do is to match your strategies to their needs.

Watch this video to take you through the simple logic of it all.

See? It’s all quite logical if you follow a step by step process.

If you think your customers are attracted to you because you are a professional brand and they need a conservative approach, then find strategies that show off your knowledge, your experience and your dependability. In such a case, don’t sponsor a football team, go and speak at a business conference!

If they are into health and fitness then show them the results you produce and what fun people have when they train with you. Make sure your marketing activities are about health and fitness through fun and enjoyment, don’t wear a suit and give a boring speech!

If they seek coaching and are attracted to your leadership qualities, create marketing strategies that show off your personality and the effectiveness of your products.

And don’t forget to ask what part of the sales funnel are they in. If they are at the top and need to be made aware of your business and your products, tailor marketing strategies that broadcast your brand and your name; if they are in the part of the funnel that needs to pique their interest then your strategies need to define the difference between you and your competitors; and if they are ready to buy, your marketing strategies need to be about conversion.

Hey, if you want to know more about marketing strategies and actually go through a virtual workshop and create your own marketing plan, check out my online course and workshop called SMART Marketing. This course is specially designed to take you through a simple 7 step process to create your highly targeted killer marketing plan. Click here to learn more about this online marketing plan creation resource.

Now, finally, if you are reading this on one of my social media platforms, you really need to get over to my website teikoh.com to check out the loads of free tips, tools and resources to grow your business or click here to sign up and get free resources emailed to you every week.

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Increase your sales through a highly focused marketing plan!

SMART Marketing: In this book, the owners of a small business are led through the SMART Marketing 7 Step Process to produce a marketing plan targeted at their most desirable customers. Any business can use these principles and in 4 to 6 weeks implement a plan to get them through the door! Find out how...

The SMART Marketing Workbook: Companion to “SMART Marketing”, this workbook sets out the SMART Marketing process in 7 workshops for you and your staff to complete questionnaires and templates that at the end, form the marketing plan you need to sell your REAL product to your REAL customer! View now...

Category - Brand Leadership

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Three Lessons For A Small Business In A Competitive Market

How To Keep Innovating

Before You Sell, Start With Why

Meeting Customer Expectations

How To Choose Marketing Strategies Suitable For Your Business