A few weeks ago, Tex Gilligan was shot and wounded by one of his dogs.
According to the Las Cruces Sun News …
“Gilligan’s son, Mark Gilligan, said he wasn’t surprised to hear one of the dogs accidentally shot his father. ‘They’re kind of rowdy.'”
I can just imagine him saying, “Dad, if you don’t get rid of those dogs, one of them is bound to end up shooting you…”
But I get his point:
Sometimes there’s just an accident waiting to happen. You don’t know when it’s going to happen … you don’t know how it’s going to happen … but you know it’s going to happen …
And, over the years, I’ve seen that with a lot of businesses. They’re headed for problems … it’s just a matter of time …
5 signs your business could be cruisin’ for a bruisin’
Here are some of the signs …
#1: You’re using the exact same offer as last year
Few markets stand still. There are new products, new providers, new pricing …
So if you’re not testing and improving your offer, you’ll inevitably become less competitive.
No big overnight shock. Instead it’s the creeping death of lower conversion rates, higher cost per conversion, fewer sales and lower profit per sale.
#2: You’re not split-testing your web pages
Advertising costs increase far faster than inflation. For example, in Google Ads, cost per click is up around 14% year-on-year. And, for Facebook, it’s even higher: a 36% increase.
Or, to put it another way, if a year ago, you were spending £2,000/month on Facebook ads and bringing in net sales of £3,000, you’d now be spending £2,720. And your profit would have gone from £1,000 to £280.
So, if you want to keep your profit per sale steady – or, even better, increase it – you need to keep improving your conversion rate.
And the best way to do that reliably is to split-test your most important web pages.
#3: You haven’t added any new products or services – or formed partnerships with companies who sell affinity products
As any investor knows, diversification is the secret to longevity.
If you’re dependent on a small range of products or services, you’re more exposed to market contraction, price competition or competitor innovations.
#4: You’ve not added new marketing channels
Same as #3. If all your business is dependent on one or two marketing channels, and one of those channels becomes too expensive, your revenue could be cut in half.
And, because many of your costs are fixed, this could force you to close down.
#5: You aren’t regularly marketing to your customer list
Peter Drucker famously said, “The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.”
Many businesses focus on the first part – the difficult and expensive bit – while ignoring the second part.
They believe customers will simply hang around.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Studies suggest, whenever you go 30 days without communicating with your customers, you lose around 10% of them.
And that’s crazy. Your existing customers are usually your best prospects. They’re the most qualified. They already trust you. And, with email, you can market to them for free.
How to protect your business from future surprises
If your business has any of these 5 characteristics, then maybe we should talk.
I’ll be taking on 2 or 3 new consulting clients at the start of next year. So, if you think your business has the potential to earn another £250,000+ profit a year … but you just need the right marketing in place, then we might be a good fit for each other.
To find out, drop me an email and we can arrange a time to chat.
All the best,
Steve Gibson
