Westlake is the smallest of the six communities with an estimated Jan. 2006 population  of 700. 

• This growth equates to a 314 percent increase from the 2000 Census.
• The daytime population swells to 12,500 due to major corporate firms located in Westlake.
• The three largest employers are Fidelity Investments (planning a major expansion of up to 1500 employees), Daimler Chrysler and First American. 

For the seven year period 2000-2006, the Town of Westlake permitted just over 200 new homes with an average permit value of $973,983.

• The three most active home builders for that period were W B Texas Resorts, Dale Clark Associates and Simmons Estate Homes.

Westlake, incorporated in 1956 and encompassing 7 square miles, is a master planned community.

• Residents do not pay property taxes.
• City government is funded by sales tax revenue, franchise fees and development fees.  

In my May 2007 newsletter, I briefly spoke about the collection of printed marketing materials gathered at our home in just one week.  I’ve been reading that the average American consumer receives anywhere from 600 to 3500 plus marketing messages each day, so this was my personal test. 

I was astonished to learn the collection weighs over 20 pounds and measures 14 inches by 10 inches by 12 inches. 

The collection includes:

• Seven issues of The Dallas Morning News including all circulars (we are subscribers)
• Two Southlake weekly newspapers and circulars
• Eleven monthly glossy magazines targeting our area ranging from Baylor Health, Clipper Magazine, Distinctive Homes, Northeast Tarrant Edition of Living magazine to Society Life.  My collection excludes magazines to which we subscribe!
• Four letters within envelopes which is lower than average.  I’ve excluded inserts within personally addressed invoices and mailings such as our checking account and utility statements, letters from charities we support and solicitations for my home-based business.
• Twenty-two catalogs, with three representing companies I routinely patronize.  The majority are from retailers from whom I’ve never made a purchase.
• Four door hangers and one food drive collection sack
• Six postcards of various sizes which appears lower than average, as some days we’ll receive at least three.

Since reviewing the collection, I must add that we didn’t receive any cellophane packaged or half-sheet circular sets such as Money Mailer or RSVP.  This week alone, we’ve received three sets!  On average, we receive at least three items from realtors every week.  The count also excludes all the promotional pieces sent home by the school district.  I’m going to undertake another collection next week just focusing on postcards and letters and will keep you posted on the results. 

So what does this all mean for the local small business trying to reach consumers?  Unless you have unlimited dollars for promotional efforts, a small business will benefit from target marketing.  This process starts by studying your existing customers.  Important questions include where do they live, what are their demographics (gender, income, age, household type, etc.), and what are their interests (outdoor activities, children’s sports, travelers, professional or college sports enthusiasts, etc.)?  What benefit or benefits do they receive from purchasing your products or services?  How do your customers find you and how do they shop? What efforts have been the most successful in recent attempts?  How do your competitors reach your target market? 

If you would like to know more about target marketing, please send an email to kgbmarketing@hotmail.com or contact us at 817-488-2761.   

What a better day than the Friday of a three day weekend to discuss fun and/or lighthearted ways to keep your name in front of your customers, prospects and industry allies.  Keeping in mind that any type of humor first of all must be appropriate for your small business’ industry or line of work, the use of it may make your promotional efforts striking and less forgettable.       

Some specific uses include direct marketing materials to create interest and response dependent upon a person’s stage within the sales cycle; personal notes or postcards for those whom you know personally and want to recognize such as veterans, nurses or teachers; or events to offer interaction such as customer appreciation day or week.  Two other ideas may be a sales promotion tied to a special product or service, such as Bicycle Safety Day, or the desire to tell your target audience about your selection of a local charity.  As mentioned in prior articles, creating and using a contact or customer database is essential for your marketing activities. 

I’ve included a few ideas for each month and applicable businesses or professions for these events.  If I didn’t mention your industry, sources for other holidays and celebrations are listed at the end.  To my knowledge, some of these dates change from year to year.   

January

Jan. 13 – Make Your Dreams Come True Day, financial planner, insurance agency or interior designer

Jan. 23 – National Handwriting Day, stationery retailer 

February

Feb. 13 – Bicycle Safety Day, bicycle store

Feb. 17 – Random Acts of Kindness Day, non-profit

Feb. 21 – Love Your Pet Day, pet store or veterinarian

Feb. 25 – Quiet Day, bookstore 

March

Mar. 3 – Employee Appreciation Day, any business

Mar. 8 – International Women’s Day, any business catering to women

Mar. 27 – Photography Day, camera store or photographer

Mar. 30 – Doctor’s Day, physicians 

April

Apr 5 – Read a Road Map Day, travel agency or tour operator

Apr. 7 – World Health Day, businesses in the health care profession

Apr. 22 – Earth Day, businesses in the landscape industry 

May

May 6 – Nurses Day, health care industry

May 10 – Peace Day, non-profits

May 15 – International Day of Families, water park

May 31 – National Save Your Hearing Day, ear specialist 

June

June 1 – International Children’s Day, day care business

June 5 – World Environment Day, organic landscaping business or retailers accepting trade-ins

June 23 – birth date of Johannes Gutenberg, 1400, printing business 

July

July 2 – halfway point of the year, accountants and bookkeepers

July 30 – Comedy Day, comedy club 

August

Friendship Day – first Sunday of August every year, greeting card store

Aug. 9 – International Art Appreciation Day, art gallery

Aug. 13 – International Left-Handers Day, for someone your personally know

Aug. 22 – Tooth Fairy Day, pediatric dentist 

September

Sept. 17 – Constitution Day, attorneys

Sept. 20 – International Student Day, educational consultants or tutors 

October

Oct. 9 – World Post Day, postal / mailing centers

Oct. 20 – National Fruit Day, health food store

Oct. 27 – Make a Difference Day, non-profits 

November

Nov. 11 – Veteran’s Day, thank customers who are veterans

Nov. 15 –America Recycles Day, business offering recycling of printer cartridges 

December

Dec. 4 – National Cookie Day, bakery

Dec. 5 – International Volunteer Day, thank customers who you know are active community volunteers

Dec. 15 – Game of Basketball invented in 1891, sporting goods store

Dec. 17 – Orville and Wilbur Wright made first successful flight in 1903, travel agency 

Sources: www.enchantedlearning.com/activitycalendars and Linda Bean, owner of Be In Touch, www.beintouchday.com  

As you can see, there are numerous events and methods to consider based on your industry, personality and budget.  The good news is with a little planning and creativity a method can be tailored to fit your situation.

When it comes to marketing, what or who is the most important element of your business? Your customers! Therefore it’s only logical that you should know a lot about them and their opinions and values.

So what are some of the benefits and end results of placing emphasis on customer knowledge? First, you’ll be able to update your customer database. And if you currently have names on pieces of paper, this process could be the reason for creating a database. Within the database, you can create a specific column to designate if the customer if a key customer; i.e. one of those twenty percent who produce eighty percent of your revenue. Or a column for special notes such as where they went to college, where they’ve lived, what are their hobbies, or how they found you. Take the time and make the effort so your database will work for you!

Second, perhaps you’ll learn about the best way to communicate with your customers. Some people only use email. Maybe they’ll tell you they don’t want to be phoned at their home, or would prefer a postcard reminder. Third, take knowledge about your existing customers and apply it to identifying prospects. This information should help you narrow down the key benefit or benefits of doing business with you, and that’s extremely useful for your promotional efforts.

Fourth, if your business is outstanding, you have an informal sales force to tap. Nothing is better than a recommendation or a ready to implement referral network. Fifth, if you’ve learned about your weakness, you can try to fix it. Some solutions might be employee training or revised hours. An idea shared by one or more of your customers may help you tailor a product or service and charge a higher price, or find a way to shorten your delivery time benefiting the customer and saving you money.

The last question is how can you obtain information from these important people? Some standard methods include phone interviews; written surveys distributed via mail, email, and fax; and in-person interviews. Or meeting those best customers periodically for lunch or better yet, if you’re in the business-to-business sector, introducing them to someone who will help them prosper.

Additionally, I’ll refer to my July 2006 newsletter that focused on ways to gather customer information and demonstrate you’re listening.

• Establish advisory groups, customer councils or board of directors, especially involving your best customers
• Conduct focus groups
• Use after-purchase surveys
• Ask employees for feedback based on discussions with customers
• Use customer suggestion boxes
• Undertake formal written surveys sent within a newsletter or promotional piece
• If you distribute a newsletter, ask for customer comments
• Seek follow-up to customer complaints after problems are solved
• Hire mystery shoppers, especially retailers.

After you’ve decided the benefits from and how you might implement this process, a great place to start when developing questions are issues directly impacting the marketing mix elements. Here are some examples.

Product

• What are the most prominent benefits your customers receive and/or experience from your product and/or service?
• Who are the key employees with whom they interact?
• Do you need to revise your warranty or return policy?

Place

• Is your location convenient? Are your store hours adequate?
• How can you improve the knowledge of your sales and service staff?
• Is it easy to communicate with your business?

Price

• Have your customers compared your prices to your competitors?
• Do you need to revise your financing or payment options?
• Do you have a niche that will allow you to raise your price?

Promotion

• How did your customers originally hear about you?
• Do they want to hear about sales promotions or receive service reminders?
• Should you considering including some of your customers in your promotional materials?

As you can see, there are numerous questions to ask. The good news is these questions and the methods for gathering answers can be tailored to fit your situation.