For new small business owners and emerging entrepreneurs, self-promotion is a crucial skill. It’s about effectively marketing your products or services without coming across as self-centered and/or obnoxious. Mastering this art can help you build brand credibility, grow your customer base, and create lasting relationships with your audience. Clever Tips Entrepreneurs Can Use to Master the Art of Self-Promotion In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s more important than ever for entrepreneurs to know how to effectively promote their products and services. However, self-promotion is a delicate art. If you’re too pushy or overly salesy, you’ll likely turn people off. But, if you don’t promote yourself enough, you’ll never get your business off the ground. In other words, striking a balance is key. So, with this in mind, here are seven clever tips that entrepreneurs can use to master the art of self-promotion: Be authentic. People can spot a fake a mile away. So be yourself and let your personality shine through in your marketing materials. This will make you more relatable and trustworthy to potential customers. Focus on the benefits. Don’t just tell people what your product or service is. Tell them what it can do for them. What problems will it solve? How will it make their lives better? Use storytelling. People love stories. So use them to connect with your audience and make your products and services more memorable. For instance, tell stories about how your product or service has helped other people. Be social. Get involved in social media and online communities related to your industry. This is a great way to connect with potential customers and build relationships. Give back. Get involved in charitable causes or volunteer your time to a worthy organization. This will show potential customers that you’re a good person who cares about others. Be consistent. Don’t just promote yourself once and then disappear. Be consistent with your marketing efforts so that people are constantly reminded of your brand. Be patient. It takes time to build a successful business. Don’t expect overnight results. Just keep promoting yourself and eventually, you’ll start to see results. Additionally, you can also offer value through original content. Instead of bombarding your audience with sales pitches, focus on delivering value through content marketing. Create interesting blog posts, videos, podcasts, or infographics that educate, entertain, or solve problems for your target audience. This positions you as an authority in your field. Following these tips will help you master the art of self-promotion without being annoying or presumptuous. Just remember to be authentic, focus on the benefits, use storytelling, be social, give back, be consistent, and be patient. For even more ideas, here are some additional tips that may be helpful to small business owners: Use visuals. People are more likely to remember something if they can see it. So use high-quality images and videos in your marketing materials. Keep it short and sweet. People have short attention spans, so make sure your marketing messages are clear and concise. Proofread everything. Typos and grammatical errors will make you look unprofessional. Track your results. So you can see what’s working and what’s not, it’s important to track your results. This will help you optimize your marketing efforts over time. Effective self-promotion is an art that entrepreneurs can master by building a strong online presence, offering value through content, leveraging social proof, networking strategically, and being authentic and transparent. By following these clever tips, you can promote your products or services while maintaining integrity and authenticity, ultimately building a loyal customer base and achieving long-term success. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group to learn more about us and the services we offer. You can phone 602-435-5474 or send us an email.

Disney has a strategy to increase its bottom line and squeeze more revenue out of its most iconic assets – price people out of its theme parks. This definitely seems counterintuitive, but it actually makes a lot of sense when explained. On its face, this sounds ridiculous, except it does seem to have a lot of potential and that’s why the executives are making some very bold moves. Why Disney is Purposely Pricing People Out of its Parks Disney has a serious problem with its parks – they are just too popular and that means they’re overcrowded. Anyone who’s been to its theme parks, particularly over the last several years, has most definitely noticed this. The predicament is most pervasive in Orlando, where ride wait times have gone up to as much as 420 minutes or 7 hours. You read that correctly. Just last week, its newest and most anticipated attraction, Rise of the Resistance, recorded a wait time of seven hours. This, despite the fact the experience opened in December 2019, nearly three years ago. Be mindful of competitors. If they are raising prices, it’s easier for you to do so too. Don’t forget to evaluate how your customers will react (fully accept the increase, stop, or lower purchases) as well as the possibility of maintaining price to generate higher volume (stealing customers from rivals). If the competition holds steady on prices, there is less opportunity for a hike. —Harvard Business Review And, it’s not just the latest and greatest rides and attractions either. Some of its oldest staples routinely experience wait times in excess of an hour, even two or more. What’s more, wait times for sit-down restaurants can easily be two or more hours for anyone without reservations. (By the way, those reservations must be made three to six months in advance.) Just these anecdotal figures should tell you something – the parks have way too many people visiting. In fact, exiting Main Street in the Magic Kingdom after the fireworks show can take up to two hours to get from the park exit to the parking lot on busy days (a twenty-minute trek when crowds are super light). Of course, anyone who looks at these figures would think that Disney would be very happy with its premium capacity. But, as executives have explained on various earning calls, their per capita spending in the parks is somewhat paltry – particularly among annual passholders. Annual passholders are a problem for Disney because they present a conundrum. While they pay a premium for their privileges, they spend relatively little money in the parks. Conversely, families and couples traveling from out of state or from international destinations spend quite a bit of money in the parks on top of the pricey admission. In other words, annual passholders come in through the gate, spend a few hours enjoying rides and attractions, and then leave. Meanwhile, couples and families making dedicated trips plunk down a lot of money on things like hotels, souvenirs, snacks and dining, and Genie Plus (a paid skip-the-line service), as well as special experiences. Should Your Small Business Raise its Prices Too? For the foreseeable future, Disney will continue to raise its prices on everything: admission, food, merchandise, and services and experiences. The company plans to earn more money from fewer visitors. This brings up an interesting question – should your small business follow the same strategy? If you haven’t raised prices in quite some time and/or offer discounted rates to be out pricier competition, it’s probably a good idea to consider. Plus, if your business needs substantially more customers than your competitors to turn the same profit, it’s definitely worth exploring. To answer these questions and more, speak with an experienced business consultant who can assess your situation and help you determine a new pricing strategy. You just may be losing out on revenue that could be going to your bottom line. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

As you reopen your company, people you previously did business with might or might not return with you. Or, it could be the same people, but in different positions, not necessarily having the same latitude and/or resources at their disposal. These individuals, vendors or customers, will most likely continue their relationships, but it will probably be one that’s changed. So, you’ll need to re-establish said relationships and do so in a thoughtful and careful manner. Why Business Relations are Now more Important and Fragile than Ever Of course, whether or not you’re dealing with the same individuals and/or roles Will depend on a number of factors. It’s important to understand and accept the fact that you have no control over these situations. That means you’ll have to make adjustments on your end, in order to make the relationships work. Hopefully, the people you deal with will have some say of their own, but it’s best to hope for the best and plan for the worst. In the early months of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted wide-sweeping shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders across the United States. Now, as parts of the country look to start relaxing these strict measures, small business owners need to think about what’s next and how they will adapt and move forward safely and sustainably. —U.S. Chamber of Commerce As you reopen, some of the individual vendors and customers you previously worked with might not come back. Also, there’s the inevitability of personnel change among vendors you worked with prior to the shutdown. This means they’ll be some level of give and take, and you’ll need to temper your expectations from time to time until the new relationship takes form. How to (Re)Establish Business Relationships Post Shutdown Going forward, This new and strange dynamic will present its own set of challenges. But, with a bit of patience, tact, and along the way analysis, you can either establish new business relationships or re-establish old ones. Here’s how: Reach out. Obviously, this is where you’ll start. Reach out to those you had the strongest relationships before. Then, to others and go down the list to eventually get to those you only occasionally worked with prior to the shut down. Listen carefully. When you do speak to vendors and customers, make a conscious decision to actively listen. Don’t give into the urge to carry on about your business. Instead, take the time to listen carefully to them and learn about their circumstances. Communicate clearly. By the same token, be honest about your situation, exactly where you stand, and where you expect to be in the near future. In short, under promise and over deliver. Offer Meeting options. Not all clients, customers or partners will feel comfortable meeting in person so offer them options. We have asked our clients; would you prefer to do a video or ZOOM conference or have us meet you in person. Just asking shows you are sensitive to their concerns. Pay on time, every time. Also, be sure not to get too far ahead of yourself so you’re always in a position to pay on time, every time you receive an invoice. Otherwise, you’re opening yourself for trouble. Refer good vendors to others. Another thing you can do is to refer your favorite vendors (and customers) to others to show your appreciation. What other suggestions do you have? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.