We went to the local shopping mall recently, and while my wife went shopping, I took the kids on a tour of the two levels of the mall. I have to admit, I’m not the shopper in the family. My wife knows how to find the best deals and save the most money, so I just hand over the paycheck and let her have at it.

augustineisnotmyname / Foter

On the way home, however, my wife mentioned something that inspired me to write this post. It had to do with JCPenny and coupons.

Evidently, JCPenny has discontinued offering discount coupons to its customers. They had a big campaign to announce that in place of coupons, they were going to lower the prices of their products so low that coupons wouldn’t be necessary.

My wife told me that for the first time since she had been shopping at JCP, the store was “deserted.” She, herself, told me that she doesn’t like shopping there anymore, because although the prices are lower, she doesn’t feel the same sense of accomplishment that she did when she was able to use coupons.

I thought about this, and although I’m not a psychologist, I can see how shoppers can feel a bit dissatisfied with their experience at JCPenny now that they can’t use coupons.

Coupons have an important psychological effect on the shopper.

Let me try and explain what I mean:

My wife used to come home after shopping at the store bragging about how she bought some dress or shirt or pants for 30% off regular price. She was so proud of herself that with the use of her coupons, she was able to “beat” the store. It was a small, yet significant, victory for her, even though she spent $40 to $50 at the store. She enjoyed that “winning” feeling.

This is why coupons are so important. They are the shoppers’ “tools.” Shopping, for many people, especially in these tough times, is almost, for lack of a better term, a battle – a money battle.  Shoppers are battling to get the best deal for their money, and when they can come away with a successful feeling, they will return again and again to have that “I-beat-the-store” experience.

With coupons gone, however, there is no way for my wife to receive that feeling in JCPenny. That is why she is now spending my money at Macy’s.

Everybody knows that the store always wins. They will continue to make money as long as there are customers walking through the door. The objective, therefore, should be to get more customers in the store. Coupons serve to accomplish this by giving shoppers something tangible that they can use – only in that store – that will give them an advantage in the money battle.

My advice to small business owners is to take advantage of coupons. Offer your customers that “I-Beat-The-Store” feeling. Give them that psychological victory.

If any of the JCPenny executives are reading this, I would be interested to know what their market research shows with regard to the “no more coupons” idea. I would guess that it’s not working out like they anticipated.

If, however, they are looking for honest and real-world marketing advice, I’m sure my wife would be pleased to offer her opinions on the psychology of shopping to them – for a fee of course – or at lease for some coupons.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think coupons are an important part of a small business’ success?

Until next time, don’t forget to sign up for my Tips for Business Success Newsletter.

Here’s to your Business Success!

Thanks,

Sam

I invited several business bloggers to help me compile some advice for small businesses. I asked them to offer some online and offline tips and strategies that my visitors could use to help them attract and retain more customers.

I was pleased and honored to see how many of these top business bloggers would be willing to take some time out of their busy schedules to help me and my visitors out in this post.

Please take some time and check out their blogs. I know you and your business will benefit greatly by their experience and advice. I know I did!

So, here we go:

Small Business Tips From Top Business Bloggers

1. Ariel Geifman from iMedia Connection wrote: Simply to provide value for your customers. Many business blogs just write in order to be there and have some activity. On the other hand, writing a blog that provides tangible advice to clients generates more engagements, tweets and likes. @GeifmanAriel

2. Ian Brodie from More Clients in Less Time wrote: Share your expertise and knowledge widely and freely. Do presentations and seminars. Write articles. Keep a regularly updated blog. Share your content to demonstrate and prove that you know what you’re talking about rather than just “marketing” to tell people you do. @ianbrodie

3. Robert Tyson from The Tyson Report wrote: Build a list. The biggest mistake any type of businesses can make is to fail to set up the facility to build its own list, nurture it and grow it. By ‘list’ I mean a database of at least the email address, and probably further information, on an audience of people who have opted in to receive regular communications from you – a self-selected audience, in fact, of hot prospects for your products and services.

If you DON’T have a list, you need to start building one as soon as possible, and start thinking in terms of the huge ASSET it can become for you. Research shows it takes 7-10 ‘touches’ before people have enough familiarity and trust to buy from you, and the best way of building that is to communicate with valuable communications over time. Website traffic means almost nothing, unless you have the facility to get a prospective customer to opt-in to receiving further communication. @TheTysonReport

4. Tina Cook from Social Media and Online Marketing Mentor wrote: Reach more customers by installing the “big four” Social Media share buttons at the top and bottom of your posts. The “big four” being Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. Make it easy for your good content to be liked, tweeted, plus-ed and shared. If you are using WordPress there are many plugins that are easy to set up: Digg Digg, Share and Follow or AddThis, just to mention some of the most popular ones. @TinaCook

5. Harry Vaishnav from SmallBizViewpoints.com wrote:It is possible to beat larger rivals. As small business owner, who do not have financial muscle and economies of small, you have to change the rules of the game. You will never be able to compete with them on price. Here is what you need to do:

1) Find a niche. Find gaps in the business model of larger rivals and fill those gaps.

2) Think different. Think outside the box and change the rules.

3) Focus on customer service. This is a key advantage for small business owners. Give personalized service to your customers.

4) Get involved in community. Contribute to the community you operate in. Sponsor local school fundraising, be part of committee, provide free seminars, etc. @AngelBiz

I want to say a special thank you to the contributors to this post.  Your insight and willingness to share your expertise is refreshing. Please visit their blogs for more great tips for business success.

If you haven’t already done so, please sign up for my Business Success Tips Newsletter to get notified when we add more great tips. Click Here!

 Until next time, here’s to your small business success!

Thanks,

Sam

How do you know if your clients were happy with your product or service?

Many small businesses don’t have a clue, and they’r

angry ladies © by jongela19

e missing out on a lot of business.

Smart business owners take the time to contact recent customers and find out what they thought about their experience with their company.

What benefits are available to a small business owner who does this?

I’m glad you asked.

There are basically two different kinds of responses that you will receive when contacting past customers – positive and negative.

Assuming you received a positive response, how can that help you get even more customers?

Positive

If you had customer who had a positive experience, making that personal contact will ensure the likelihood that the next time they need the services you offer, they’ll choose you again.

Another benefit of that contact is that you have the opportunity to get a testimonial from a satisfied customer that you can add to your website and brochures. Imagine if you had an entire page on your website dedicated to customer testimonials. How great would that be in convincing potential customers to use your services?

Also, that personal touch will leave an impact on the customer that will lead them to recommend you to their friends and family.

You might even sweeten the deal by offering a referral fee or a special discount if they send you a paying customer. I still offer a 10% referral fee to my customers who send me new webdesign clients.

What if, however, the customer did not have a positive experience? How can you turn this around to get even more customers?

I’m glad you asked.

Negative

If the response to your customer survey is a negative one, here is what you need to do:

Apologize.

Be sincere, and tell them that you’re sorry for the negative experience.

Investigate.

Find out exactly why the customer did not come away happy.

Offer a discount.

Tell them that if they choose to use your services again that you will give them a discounted price.

Fix what’s broken.

Make sure that future customers don’t have the same negative experience. If one of your employees was the cause of the problem, have a talk with that employee. If there was an issue with timeliness. Get more organized.

Not only do you limit the possibility that the customer spread negative information about your business, but you are given the great opportunity to improve your service or product for future customers.

Negative customer experiences are blessings in disguise. They help you get better.

You want to make your past customers into your future customers. You also want them to help you spread the word about your business.

Satisfied customers are your best promotional tools.

Make sure you keep them working for you.

I hope this was helpful.

If this information was helpful, I would appreciate a tweet or a share.

Don’t forget to sign up for my Business Success Tips newsletter.

Until next time,

Here’s to your business success!

Thanks,

Sam