The Science of Business Success
by Brian Li, Head of the UK's Business Growth Centre
Science is the new phenomenon transforming the fortunes of small businesses just like yours and leaving competitors way behind.
You too can discover how to harness the awesome power of scientific marketing strategies and boost your profits in a way you've never seen before.
How good is your business?
Do you have a great product or service and innovative marketing? So do many small businesses that go bankrupt. Traditional marketing simply isn't enough in this new millennium.
Wallace D. Wattles, in his 1910 classic text, "The Science of Getting Rich", and Robert Collier, in his amazing book, "Secret of the Ages, give away the following secrets:
(1) Form a precise image in your mind of what you want to achieve. (2) Then comes the big secret: Believe, really believe, that you'll reap the rewards you are asking for. (3) Practice gratitude daily for all the great new ideas and successes that are coming your way. (4) Finally, set about putting into place the vehicle to achieve what you are thinking about. If this is your business, then do all you can each day, effectively, so you are putting yourself in a position to receive what you are asking. And that's it! You really do become what you think about!
Specialization
Wallace D. Wattles also emphasises the point of becoming rich by being creative and not competitive. This is supported by business guru, Richard Koch, who quotes Soviet Scientist, G F Gause and his interesting experiments on small organisms. The results show the business world that it cannot expect to prosper if it competes in the same market place as a competitor.
If your competitor can invade you, and you can't reciprocate, then you are in deep trouble. Therefore, don't start a business where you can't enter some of your competitor's markets but it can enter all of yours. The big secret for any small business is to specialize in an area where you are substantially different from your rivals and put all your energy and resources into those areas.
Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary Psychology tells us our hunter-gatherer instincts make us take risks only when we encounter danger. Interestingly, the maximum size of these hunger-gatherer groups was a maximum of 150 people. Therefore, larger businesses need to break down their workforce into smaller groups of people.
To quote Richard Koch, we are 21st century imposters driven by neolithic genes. Business units of less than 50 people have proved to be very effective.
People are also charmed by status and responsibility. So create special positions for your staff, for example, Leader of Team A, and acknowledge special achievements with regular awards.
And don't forget to address that risk aversion factor in us all. Make sure you have the best guarantees of satisfaction around. When you take away the risk of buying your product or service, you'll encourage more people to become your customers.
Powerful Pictures
Science discovered the human brain finds lists of features boring - we switch off. So be creative and turn your service or product into a picture! This secret technique is used in memory retention strategies.
For example, do you sell hotel rooms at $100 a night?, or do you sell Romantic Vacations with 4-Poster Beds and Champagne on Ice! Never sell a generic product or service. Create your own appealing picture, sit back, and watch your sales soar.
You can also apply this strategy to pricing. Potential customers can be motivated by being offered discounts if they buy larger quantities. For instance, if you sell small items costing 40¢ each, offer 3x for the price of 2.5x, eg 40¢ for one, 99¢ for 3; and so on. Whatever business sector you operate in, ask yourself this question: What discount can I give my clients when they purchase more of my product or service?
If you operate a business where your customers may use your service several times a year, then make it worthwhile for them to buy your service for a longer time period ie build in discounts for monthly packages.
A great example is a teacher offering their services on a private basis at, say $20 for a private tuition session. You could offer a monthly option for say, $65 (instead of $80). You'll generally find they'll purchase this option for longer periods as well.
Scientific strategies are a powerful option for your business. Start to use them right now and watch your business fortunes soar.
About the author
Brian Li is head of the UK's Business Growth Centre, Home of the "Science of Small Business Success". Discover their powerful program at www.businessgrowthcentre.com. Readers of this article can also gain access to a secret marketing resource: www.businessgrowthcentre.com/secret.html. Copyright (c) 2002 Brian Li