3 Simple Ways Savvy Small Business Owners Can Increase Their Profits Now!

(Especially If They’re Working On A Razor Thin Shoestring Budget!)

So have you noticed how the vast majority of extremely cash strapped small business owners startups and or service providers/entrepreneurs market their businesses.

For some odd reason, initially, a staggering 95% or more of them will go for the outrageously expensive, traditional ways of marketing their valuable goods or services.

However, those plans are all too often quickly dashed, once the owners bother to look at the sobering return on investment (ROI) data, or lack thereof, these types of promotional strategies tend to yield.

It’s no wonder why within five short years or less, these formerly enthusiastic small business owners are no longer in business! And it’s primarily due to their marketing arsenal of choice.

But cheer up, aspiring entrepreneur. The remainder of this post, as well as part two, is especially dedicated to introducing you to three low-cost, proven ways of consistently growing your business.

This is especially helpful if you're starting out on a razor thin shoestring budget! Click To Tweet

How to Increase Your Gross Profits on a Budget

To kick things off with a bit of a marketing bang, let’s use a local mom-and-pop style retail small business owner of some kind. This type will illustrate the first two proven marketing concepts.

And a typical small business owner will be our third example of these three proven marketing strategies in action.

And please note, none of these hypothetical marketing examples necessarily involve having personal access to large amounts of cash or credit.

You also don’t need huge multi-layered PR departments or massive social media followings (like my expert social media marketing coach Gail Gardner!).

Anyone can benefit from consistently implementing these low hanging fruit marketing strategies.Click To Tweet

However, it truly does help if you have a mind open to new marketing possibilities. It’s useful if you readily embrace capitalizing off of previously untapped sales or marketing opportunities.

How Do Cash-Strapped Business Owners Grow Their Businesses?

Here is concept number one. Let’s say you run a single location, mom-and-pop corner retail store of some kind.

And you sell the usual fairly overpriced merchandise, including some so-so, rather overpriced coffee. Imagine what you would normally expect to find at your typical corner store.

First and foremost, entrepreneur, ditch your mediocre tasting coffee, tea, or lemonade asap! Say what? That’s correct! Instead, immediately replace it with some of your city’s or county’s best beverages. Choose the most delicious gourmet coffee, tea, or lemonade you can find.

Important note: Stay with me entrepreneur please. This one subtle, but incredibly necessary, change will pay you and your major competitors positive dividends for years to come! You get this return for literally pennies on the dollar!

Now then, you or a trusted associate should swiftly find what people generally agree to be the best gourmet coffee within your local area. Make sure you can depend on the local vendor to deliver it regularly.

Then start selling only large cups of it (initially), but don’t charge the normal retail price of, say, $3.79 per “big gulp” cup. Instead, charge two prices!

Remember, your ultimate goal is not to make money selling gourmet cups of coffee; it’s to inexpensively create customer loyalty over the long term!

Set one price exclusively for your extremely valued VIP “Coffee Club” members. Then set another, much higher, retail price for everybody else. You’ll understand the complete method to the marketing madness in just a little bit, so please stay tuned!

Convert Part of Your Loyal Customer Base into Lead Magnets

So your VIP “Coffee Club” members only pay $1.79 or less per cup. A little market price testing will surely reveal which particular low price point will yield the most enrollments.

In the meantime, your non-VIP “CC” members pay the outrageous, normal retail price of anywhere from $3.79 – $4.29 per cup.

Place a large, eye-catching sign right on the table where your customers serve themselves. Be sure you include the power words “see the cashier/owner(s)”.  Then provide complete details about the benefits of joining your VIP Coffee Club.

Give them an annually renewable, laminated, two-sided index card. Simply require $5 dollars due on the card’s annual anniversary date, handwritten on one side of the card.

The VIP Coffee Club recipients receive the three major benefits explained below. Meanwhile, non-VIP CC members temporarily watch in awe.

Your Best Lead Magnets are Limited to Your Imagination

1.) Major benefit # 1: First, your $5 VIP fee (or whatever price you choose) will help pay for the “big gulp” cup you will provide.

Each time they return, whenever they bring the”big gulp” cup back to you, they get a large, great tasting cup of gourmet coffee. This tactic works even better if you have multiple locations throughout the city.

And they don’t have to pay the normal retail price of $3.79 per cup, like all non-members do!

After some strategic market price testing, you will discover that a percentage of your daily customer base is bragging to their friends, relatives, in-laws, co-workers, and employees. They are excited about the cheap, great-tasting coffee they get every morning on their way to x.

And of course, some of them will definitely start spreading the news all over their social media accounts as well! Don’t you agree? And who knows what all their word of mouth & mouse activity could be worth to your business long-term?

Find Ways to Serve Your Clients Better Than Your Competitors Do

2.) Major benefit # 2: There is another exclusive benefit your VIPs get to brag about. Their birthdays should also be hand-written in pen on the back of their two sided, laminated cards.

On their birthdays, they will receive one large free “big gulp” cup of coffee (or beverage of their choice). And you or your staff hole punch their cards as proof they used their one day.

3.) Major benefit # 3: If that isn’t enough, all VIP CC members, also get to purchase (either) donuts, bagels or subs, at 25% off whenever they present their cards.

And once a year, on any day they choose, (such as their birthdays or wedding anniversaries) they also get to buy either a dozen bagels or donuts at your actual cost. Again, all you or your cashiers do, is hole punch their laminated cards.

Think about how many of them will tweet or post on their Facebook pages pictures of their tasty bagels and donuts they got at cost from your local store!

In Part Two of this series, you’ll discover the remaining two business growth strategies. They are especially designed for cash-strapped, savvy small business owners, service providers and or startup  entrepreneurs, working on razor thin shoestring budgets! So see you in just a little bit in Part Two, okay?

Can’t wait for Part 2? Check out this video on using joint ventures to boost your income:

If you have advice people can apply to their businesses, products, or services in the next 30 days or less, please share it below!

As always, if you got any value out of this post, please Google Plus or tweet this. Thanks!

And be sure you grab your explosive, free 22-step small business marketing idea kit series. It will help you increase your profits by as much as 25% in the next 90 days or less.

It will also help you master your effective communication in marketing skills, no matter what your particular niche market is. It’s a $97 dollar value and it’s free!