All the creative marketing and clever public relations programs in the world won’t be successful long-term unless:

• You offer a product or service for which there is a sustainable market because you solve a problem, satisfy a desire or meet a need.
• You offer your product or service at a price that exceeds its perceived value to the customer.
• You practice exceptional customer service.

Before embarking on expensive, time-consuming campaigns, make sure your business fit this profile.

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A recent study by Rasmussen Reports on behalf of credit card company Discover Financial Services turned up a shocking statistic: 46 percent of the small business owners surveyed said it’s a myth that every business needs a website.

Huh?

The report goes on to say that while the number of small businesses with a website has grown 36 percent in the past two years, only 45 percent of the owners polled currently have one. Of course, that means that 55 percent of small businesses do not have a website. The most common reason given (41 percent) for not having a website was that it is not needed. The second-most common reason (19 percent) was that is costs too much.

I understand the cost objection – it is expensive to put a quality website online. But it has should be viewed viewed as a capital investment, just like a new roof, a delivery truck or an upgraded computer system. It’s part of the cost of doing business.

But not needed? I guess there might be some small businesses out there that don’t need to attract new customers, don’t need to keep their old customers happy, has no need to even make their phone number and address available to the public.

A website, no matter how simple, should function as the hub of your inbound marketing activities. All roads lead back to your website, where you have an opportunity to take prospects into clients or customers.

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The temptation for many small businesses owners is to entice customers with “the lowest prices.” After all, everyone is looking for a bargain, right?

Competing on price might result in some short-term success, but it ignores the categories in which you can distinguish yourself long-term: value, quality, knowledge, customer service, training, and the ability to solve problems, to name just a few. Competing on price alone causes customers to see you – and your competition – as offering identical products and/or services.

Sure, offering the lowest price can help you close a sale, but does it gain you a loyal customer, one who will return time and again to buy from you? In reality, all you’ve done is complete a cold, calculated transaction, another line on the balance sheet. There’s a huge difference between completing a transaction and building a relationship with your customers.

Maybe that “customer” will return if you continue to offer the lowest price. And if the competitor down the street lowers his price? Well, goodbye customer. Are you going to lower your price to woo that customer back? Will they ever feel comfortable paying full price again?

Here’s a suggestion…don’t focus on price. Instead, listen to your customers, learn what they need, how you can make their lives easier and more satisfying. Price should be the last thing you talk about. If you can solve a problem or fulfill a need, price is almost irrelevant.

Your job as the business owner is to find out what the customer wants and needs. Ask lots of questions, then use the benefits of your product or service to show how you can save the customer time and money, or make their life easier and better.

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While most email marketers spend considerable time crafting their messages and managing their lists, little thought is given to the timing of their email. However, a recent study by Pivotal Veracity suggests that the timing of your email is equally important.

Pivotal Veracity’s Engagement Index Q1-Q309 report found that the average elapsed time between when messages are first sent and when they are first seen has grown from 23.2 hours in January 2009 to 25.9 hours in August. “If you’re mailing time sensitive email campaigns you should consider that the average consumer would not see your email for more than 24 hours,” according to the report.

The time between when a consumer sees the message and when he or she reacts is also growing longer, the company found. This suggests that timing is becoming more important than ever as email marketers find themselves competing for customers’ attention, not only against other email messages and spam but also social media and mobile phone content.

Time of day is also important in the success of an email campaign. If it is B2B, morning is an optimal time, as most desk-bound workers start their day by going through their email inbox, according to B2B Marketing Magazine. The problem with morning is that recipients could be more focused on the priorities of the day than your message.

As the day progresses, users tend to have more intermittent interactions with email – shorter in duration than the start-of-the-day episode, the magazine said. Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., users are likely to have five individual episodes of three-to-five minutes apiece, compared to the 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. period when they are more likely to have a single episode that is substantially longer. “On the face of it, this would appear not to work in the marketer’s favor, but your message may be the welcome distraction from an otherwise busy day,” according to the magazine.

Pivotal Veracity’s Email Engagement Index is based on multiple proprietary data sources that are aggregated and analyzed monthly across authenticated mailer domains.

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