Fusion Marketing

We small-business owners are usually hard working, independent people. Unfortunately, that mindset often prevents us from asking for, as the Beatles said, "a little help from our friends.”

One of the most powerful small business marketing techniques is called ‘Fusion Marketing’. Fusion marketing is cooperative marketing with non-competing businesses that share similar types of customers. Each business markets its products or services with its partners.

For example, Glacier Ice Cream in Boulder, Colorado has made fusion marketing arrangements with two local pizza shops. Glacier sells wholesale pints of ice cream to Sun Deli and Skinny Jays. The pizza restaurants put Glacier coupons on pizza boxes. In return, Sun Deli and Skinny Jays display their menus in Glacier’s stores.

Write down a list of businesses that have the same type of customers as your business. Brainstorm ideas on how your businesses can work together to attract each other’s customers. Some businesses are natural fits to work with each other. Here are a couple of ideas:

• Business coaches- Marketers, bankers, accountants, bookkeepers, and advertisers.
  
• Caterers- Photographers, florists, musicians, and event centers.
  
• Real estate agents- Builders, bankers, handymen, painters, plumbers, and mortgage brokers.
• Personal trainers-Message therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, yoga instructors, and martial arts studios.
• Furniture stores-Real estate agents, builders, movers, and carpet stores.

The idea behind fusion marketing is for independent business owners to work together to help each other out with marketing and referrals. You can take it a step further and hold regular meetings to discuss new ideas and co-marketing opportunities. Join your local chamber of commerce to network with fellow local business owners. Make the synergy of local businesses working together a powerful force in your community.

Sell Your Customers What They Want

Sales are slow. You can blame the economy, or the fact that your location stinks. But maybe the real problem is that you are not selling what people want.

You can enormously increase your profits by doing one simple thing: sell more of what customers want to buy. It is a simple concept, but for it to work, you have to have a system to track sales. Mass-merchants like Wal-Mart and Target have made phenomenal profits by implementing systems that integrate sales and inventory. Let's say a Target store receives a shipment of 24 shirts in the following colors:

Six red
Six blue
Six green
Six white

At the end of one week, the store sells six green shirts, four red shirts, one blue shirt, and one white shirt. An automatic restocking order is then generated for the following:

10 green shirts
2 red shirts
0 blue shirts
0 white shirts

Most stores would only replace what is sold. Target's system increases the par level for hot products, and reduces the par level for slow sellers. It doesn't hurt that they have amazing software that re-orders automatically.

Very few small-business people can afford to implement a system similar to Target’s. However, you can still track what people are buying. Systemize your inventory and purchasing system. Eliminate your slow selling products and increase the fast moving ones.

Customers often have no clue why they make purchases, but even the smallest nuance in a product can result in a sale. Analyze your sales. You may have a line of products that amounts to 20% of your inventory but accounts for 40% of your sales. Increase that line and decrease a slower selling line.

Ten years ago, a local business owner started selling pipes, bongs, novelties, and a small line of T-shirts. The T-shirts were unique and sold very well. She kept increasing the clothing line and decreasing the main line of products she started with. Today, this store is extremely profitable and 90% of the products sold are clothing and shoes. She recently opened a second store with only the clothing and shoes.

Start reaping the benefits of selling what people want. The easiest sale you can make is when a customer chooses a product simply because he desires it. Satisfy your customers' desires and watch your profits skyrocket.

"We don't like to be sold, we love to buy."
Jeffrey Gitomer