At ThinkFirst we know that our clients appreciate honesty. Sometimes that means we don’t get any work and a prospective client goes somewhere else for help or decides to do something different.
Occasionally we need to tell people that their ideas simply won’t work. One of the more difficult conversations is about how much to spend on getting marketing right. It’s tempting to go online, or buy a book that tells you everything you need to know about marketing your business.
The truth is that for small businesses, it can be really hard to run the business and stay on top of all your promotions and marketing.It’s certainly possible, and it’s what we recommend – after all you know your products and services better than anyone else.
But, before you get to that point, you need to set everything up to work for your business.
Build your website on the cheap, and the chances are it’ll look cheap and amateurish. Unless you’re a really good writer, don’t write your own copy for your website. Give yourself the best possible shop window and use a professional.
Your product could be the best on the market, but if the shop window is untidy, neglected and doesn’t do your business justice – it could be doing more harm than good.
If you’re selling to tourists from places like the States, Canada and Europe, they’ll be used to buying online, using comparison websites and reading reviews. More local customers in the Caribbean, are more likely to make comparisons between what you’re offering and what they can get back home.
Your customers know where to look to see if what you’re offering is good value for money and, if it’s good quality.