"Three things that never come back: the spent arrow; the spoken word; the lost opportunity."
Willam George Plunkett
How Social Media Can Be Profitable For Your Business
by Michele Miller
Every time the Garden Center Group calls to hire me as a speaker for their annual fall convention, I’m compelled to ask, “Aren’t you guys sick of me yet?” But secretly, I’m always delighted to get the call.
Over the years, I have taught members of the group about the financial efficiency of advertising on the radio vs. other forms of media. I’ve given workshops where individuals learn how to write different kinds of copy to different female customer segments. And last fall, I plunged them headfirst into the deep end of social media, introducing them to the power of Facebook.
What I love about the Garden Center Group is that no matter what topic I choose, the attendees are like sponges. And they don’t just listen – they DO.
Case in point: Grossman’s Country Nursery, based in Rochester, NY.
After our last workshop, Larry and Frances Grossman returned to Rochester and immediately set up a Facebook page for their business. Ever the long-term vision type of folks, they took the “build it slowly” perspective. Visit their Facebook page and you find a commitment to fans that few local businesses provide – direct contact with customers; blog posts on gardening tips; photo albums of gardens and “before/after” shots; even videos of on-site events.
I emailed Larry, asking how it was going for them in this economy. Here’s an excerpt of his reply after a recent, highly successful event that grossed them tens of thousands of dollars over what was expected:
“Retail sales are keeping pace with last year, people love the LG connection on the business side along with the blog tied in to both the website and Facebook. Day to day I head up Design/Build and am booked out to mid July; again my connection to the customer -
And from a profit perspective, traditional advertising expense is way down from last year. We don’t do paper ads. Nothing has been on sale either. Gotta love sending the dollars to my bottom line instead of slinging mud against the wall. HooAh!”
If you’re on Facebook, look up Grossman’s Country Nursery and see how they’re using social media to not only benefit the bottom line, but also create a lifetime connection with their customers.
Not interested in Facebook? Then you might want to consider picking up your marbles - I think I hear your mother calling.
Stimulate the Economy, with help from Priceline!
This past week end we made a trip to Missouri for our family reunion.
Usually we stay at a cheap motel on the way back, somewhere around St.
Louis, but this time I decided that I would try priceline.com and was
surprised. Pleasantly surprised, that it was so easy a caveman could do it.
I was a bit leary of giving my credit card number and paying, before I even knew if I
had it or not; but my fear was short lived. It came back it just a few
minutes that they had accepted my $75 bid for a 5-star Downtown St Louis
Hotel right by the arch!
You just enter in the price you are willing to pay; kinda like Ebay, and
then enter all your info and credit card and they accept or reject your bid in
just a few seconds. We stayed at the beautiful Hyatt for $75 and walked down
the street and spent $85 on dinner at a really nice steak house by the Arch
called Carmine's Steak House by the Drury Plaza Hotel, #20 South Fourth
Street 314-241-1631. It was exceptional. We would never have spent that much
money on dinner but my wife Barbie figured we had saved $100 on the motel
room so we should go for it. Go for it we did! I highly recommend Price line
to save you money on the room and blow the money you saved on a nice dinner.
In my own little way I'm trying to stimulate the economy.
"What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure
hours determines what we are."
George Eastman
Perhaps now would be a good time to have a complimentary meeting with a Wizard of Ads Partner. Links to their websites and blogs are listed down the right side of The Wizard Times. Hundreds of their articles with free insightful advice can been seen at www.americansmallbusiness.com 2009 would be a great year to attend a class at the Wizard Academy 21st Century Business School in Austin Texas. What is the Wizard Academy?
See you next week.
Clay Campbell
Wizard of Ads
PS. Need help to attract more customers and grow your business?
