Practical advice for those who want to start their business but do not yet know:
• How are prices determined? What extra services can they use to increase their “basket value”?
• What should be the irresistible offer that the market will not be able to order?
• Who can they promote themselves to gradually, in phases 1, 2, and 3?
Marketing consultant Gábor Wolf, the founder of Marketing Commando, announced valuable sweepstakes in an exclusive presentation to Telekom Hello Business’s Facebook group in November. The winner took part in a free professional consultation to find out what steps a business could take to “break into” the market. A brief summary of the conversation reveals what is necessary for a successful start, regardless of area or profession.
The winner of the free consultation, Sándor Bécsi, is currently moonlighting as a hobby. It primarily captures weddings, but the coronavirus epidemic has also significantly affected this “industry.” The photographer, due to changed relationships, would specifically target dating with his start-up. Why would you do that?
- “It takes a few seconds to know if you’re going to be “swiped to the right or left” on the screen, i.e. whether you’re sympathetic or not… Instead of a bad selfie or photo, with professional pictures, we can give ourselves a much better chance on dating apps.” the photographer admits.
- “This can be a very well-positioned service. As the response to the sweepstakes showed, since the beginning of the epidemic period, we have used social media surfaces 44 percent more. This is excellent news for us marketers, but so is you, because what you are planning has to do with who uses their phone how much,” said Gabor Wolf, who revealed in the rest of the conversation what else to look out for when starting out.
There’s got to be a good slogan, an effective promotional line.
- One of the important things is to come up with a good promotional text, a good slogan because that’s just your positioning as a “dating photographer.”
For example, “A portrait photo that can only be dragged to the right…”Or: “Photos that can only be pulled to the right…”That’s what everyone wants, right? I’m thinking that when I put a photo there, they pull it to the right. This will give you the top profit your service offers your customers.
How do you set the price? What extra features can you use to increase your shopping cart value?
- I’m thinking primarily of outdoor photography to show people in their natural environment. Smaller packages would include outdoor photography, and a larger one would include photography in the studio. The ideal thing would be to give the client five very well-done pictures after a photoshoot of about 45 minutes. You might want to use photos on other platforms, such as Instagram or Facebook. I’d think about 25,000 forints for that.
- If you have an attractive service, some of them will definitely copy you. That’s when a market price fight starts. You can pocket the largest margin at the beginning because then the competition will start and you will be under some “price pressure”. So in the beginning, you have to start higher than what you think the first time. It is also important to know that if someone clicks on the “please” or “order” icon on your website, the extra options can be added on the next page. For example, “Do you care if we take pictures at home?
Are you interested in taking the photos in a studio? Do you want me to bring a makeup artist? While we’re at it, should we take business photos? That’s it and that’s it, that’s it. On the post-order page, these additional services could be used to increase the basket value.
What should be your irresistible offer that the market won’t be able to not order?
- What makes your offer irresistible? If you give me a guarantee!
It would read:
“I guarantee I’ll take pictures for you that will be pulled at least five to the right in a week, or I’ll give you your money back and you can keep the photos.” The greatest force of this is that you guarantee what you promise. You don’t guarantee he’ll like it. Your service promises to pull it to the right. One of my favorite examples was a wrinkle cream that said, “… If you put this on yourself for two weeks, and if at least three of your girlfriends don’t suspect you’ve been to a plastic surgeon, we’ll give you your money back.” It’s not just a promise, but the manufacturer puts his wallet and responsibility next to it. Obviously, you can play with numbers like “how many people are going to pull right.” The more specific it is, the stronger the warranty. What everyone can count on: there will be people who say “it didn’t work, I want my money back,” and some people who liked it, but they’re fooling me. Don’t worry about it. If someone asks for their money back, we’ll give it back to them. We can even ask for feedback, which we can then put on our website: “XY ordered from us, who was not satisfied, asked for his money back, he got it back in a day.” There’s such a thing as…
Who should you promote yourself to in phases 1, 2, and 3?
- If we don’t have endless money to advertise, we need to see who we can reach the easiest, the cheapest. Obviously, our close friends, relatives, acquaintances. The first task would be to send them a letter, preferably by post, letting them know what kind of business you’re starting, but you can already give them an offer and even discounts.
Like,
“Hi. I have some good news. I’m starting a new business. I’m a dating photographer. I take photos that can only be pulled to the right. If you need one of these, I want you to know that since you’re familiar and you’re one of my first clinics, you’re owed a 10,000 forint buoy! Plus, I’ll give you another one in case you give it to someone you know.”
- The people you start with should be asked to rate on Facebook, Google because you really need to rate satisfied customers that you can put on your website. We need to work on the feedback. You can give a discount or an extra service if someone rates you, for example, within a month. Then, be sure to see how much ads cost on the apps and pages that are relevant to you. On social media sites like Instagram or Facebook, you need to set your audience exactly, you need to know which age group in your area might be interested in your service.
Did you get any advice that’s practical? Which, if we close Zoom now, can you do?
- Yes, of course. Like going out with my immediate friends. I didn’t think so narrowly in the beginning, it’s so much more practical too. They’re going to have a huge advantage, too, because they’re going to have a picture that can only be pulled to the right. It’s the catchphrases, which is very effective, which is what we’ve come up with here. Thank you very much!
- I’ll thank you if you come back here under the video in a month and write about what’s happened since then.
- All right, we’ve got a deal.
Finally, we gathered the top 10 thoughts from the consultation. Our bonus tip; Join Facebook communities related to your business for the tips and tricks and what is trending around your business niche.
10 useful tips for start-ups
- Try to place yourself well on the market. “Hang out up.” The epidemic has transformed many areas, digital devices and applications have never been used as much as during this period!
- I definitely need a good promotional text, an effective slogan!
- Start your bids from a higher price level! If price competition starts, you can gradually go down with market prices.
- Offer extra features to increase your shopping cart value!
- Give us a credible guarantee of your service. Guarantee what you promise.
- Ask for feedback. Increase your credibility with customer reviews!
- There must be an “A, B, C phase” for the appropriate advertising of the business. First, open up to close friends, then to your broader social media followers camp, and then to an even larger audience.
- Set up ad space properly on social media.
- You can spend part of your revenue on advertising to reach an ever wider audience.
- Make a website. Write expert blogs, articles on your website, and don’t forget to display them on your social media pages!
