In return, they shared a little of themselves, too. The girls can sometimes be shy with strangers, but still they chatted up each customer who happened by, asking them how long they were in town for, where they were from, or whether they were having a nice time on vacation. Small-business marketing strategy lesson: “You don't have to spend money on advertising to get customers." 5.
But these are kids, remember: I wasn't about to risk my iPhone getting dropped in the sand. The kids could have rocked Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, too: Creating demand, and sharing news and updates-basic small-business strategy examples so many cash-starved companies understand. Meanwhile, a third friend rode her bike around the streets, shouting, “Lemonade by the beach! Lemonade by the beach! Get yours today!" “Tell your friends!" they said cheerfully to each customer. The kids rolled out multi-pronged approach, which included low-budget outdoor advertising (they taped creative to nearby telephone poles), display (they posted a notice on the town bulletin board), and word of mouth, which is always free. Develop an integrated business growth strategy. Small-business marketing strategy lesson: “No one eats corn muffins with lemonade. In other words, it can be a better business growth strategy to offer one great product and market it really well than haphazardly roll out a mish-mosh of things that drain resources and confuse your messaging without producing results. If lemonade is selling like hotcakes, why not add… well, hotcakes? Or chocolate-chip cookies? And corn muffins? And why not sell dog treats to dogs?īecause you can easily dilute your brand as well as increase your overhead exponentially, and you might bankrupt your enterprise if you don't carefully manage the brand extension and market it sufficiently.Ĭommunicate with your customers in the words and language they use to describe your products and services, not the words and language you use or prefer.
Small-business marketing strategy lesson: “People will buy if they walk by you and then start to worry that they might get thirsty on the beach." 3. So they moved their setup to the head of the boardwalk leading over the dunes, and created their messaging around their unique value proposition, scrawling in marker on poster board: “Last stop before the beach!" Business was okay, but they suspected that competition from the soda fountain across the street-which sells a killer Lime Rickey-might be depressing sales. The pint-sized entrepreneurs originally set up in the town square. This real estate mantra applies to retailers, as well. Small-business marketing strategy lesson: “The good stuff sells." 2. The pair went back to their old recipe, this time adding slices of real lemon and crushed ice to help signal a product upgrade. Guess what happened? Sales-which had been brisk-floundered. But when that ran out, they abruptly switched to some leftover powdered stuff with artificial sweetener scavenged from some forgotten corner of a kitchen cabinet.
The kids started out selling better-quality lemonade they mixed from frozen concentrate. What follows are seven of those business strategy lessons, along with insights quoted directly from the entrepreneurs themselves. In fact, it turned out to serve up some interesting lessons on small-business marketing strategies. What I thought would occupy them for an afternoon turned out to deliver more than that. So after a few days of the beach, my tween-age daughter and her friend made a pitcher of lemonade and set up a stand. I could probably sit for months on end at the beach, parked at the edge of the water, open book in my lap.īut kids can get a little antsy. I spent last week in a tiny seaside village on the coast of Maine.