The Clifton Review
The Clifton Review is a tri-weekly column that examines the question of the Clifton project along with the evolution of the war between two billionaires. We covered the start of this war with articles describing the battle over easement rights, the mysterious burning of a home, the blocks to rebuilding, and countless questionable court filings.
While the 2018 series salutes fashion mogul Peter Nygård’s Golden Jubilee detailing his rags to riches story, his incredible business success over these past fifty years and an inside look at how he did it, The Clifton Review will also continue to address current affairs as they relate to the good of The Bahamas.
Strategizing Effectively
By P.J. Malone
There is no doubt that every business owner would love to be able increase their business income by 20%, or any amount really. Fashion mogul Peter Nygard did it during a recession. He took steps to avoid the negative impact of the 2008 recession and he succeeded. Can it be that easy?
We have seen from his successes that Peter Nygard knows how to strategize. Let’s see how we can emulate the types of effective strategizing that he does.
As discussed, you always want to begin with setting a goal of what you are trying to accomplish. We said that we would focus on increasing the business income so that if you lose customers to new competition, it would not negatively impact your business. Here’s our (SMART) goal:
- Increase the business income by 20% for the upcoming fiscal year.
Previously, we began a focus on this by advising that you determine what this translates to in terms of dollar amounts so you have something specific to aim for. We also suggested you begin to work toward this by assessing where you can cut costs in a way that doesn’t threaten business operations.
Now, let’s focus on specific strategies for increasing revenue. You were already given a clue in terms of effectively strategizing. Think about the business you are in. What makes the most sense for you to focus on to be able to increase income? Is it on,
- Increasing product sales each month?
- Offering more add-on items to each product?
- Adding new customers each month?
Each has the potential for increasing income. The area of focus you choose to be able to increase business income should be driven by the type of business you are in. Let’s look at each individually beginning with increasing product sales: There are strategies you can employ from different angles.
- Make the product more financially appealing – Create packages or offer specials.
Use this if you know your customer base and if your products are fairly popular. Keep in mind that you have to work out the actual numbers to ensure that you are still increasing income and not losing money on this approach. The key is to sell more products than usual using packages and/or specials.
This approach would be most effective if customers already love your product and you can be sure that you will likely sell more than usual if you made it even more appealing to your customers by offering package deals or specials.
For example, a café or restaurant could benefit from this approach. Most already offer daily specials. What if you offered ‘buy three get one free’? People rarely eat at the same restaurant every day. However, if you have a fairly strong following, and you offer an incentive to them to return at least two other times in a week, then this could work to increase sales from your existing customers. But, be sure to spice up the menu with exotic new offerings as well so it adds to the appeal.
- Increase awareness of your products and their benefits – launch a product awareness campaign.
This would work for say a health food store or even an insurance company as examples. Stressing the benefits of a product is always a good way to motivate individuals to buy it.
As a further example, if an individual has been having sleepless nights, and all of a sudden they are hearing about the benefits of a particular supplement that aids in relaxation and the ability to sleep better, that will definitely motivate them to want to buy that product. A health food store associate can even inquire of every customer who walks through the door what challenges they may have been experiencing and make recommendations for various products.
The same can be true for promoting the benefits of various types of insurance: If an individual heard of a neighbor or friend who recently experienced a death in the family and had no life insurance benefits to help with expenses or future bills, that could be a motivator to consider taking out life insurance for themselves or family members so they don’t end up in the same bind.
Spend some time thinking about how you can either make your product more appealing or increase awareness of its benefits. You may also have to consider ways to get the word out. Maybe distributing flyers or setting up a referral system. Think outside of the box on spreading the word so you can be cost efficient.
Stay tuned for more strategies.
