You Need to Spend Money to Make Money!

Back when I was a buyer for a large department store in Miami, Florida, on the wall behind my desk hung a cut out piece of felt that had a saying on it that read ” You have to spend money to make money”.

At the time retail was struggling and many retailers were cutting back on the quantities of merchandise they would buy to stock or inventory the stores with. As well they were slashing prices every time a competitor blinked or with each day that passed and sales goals were not being met.

I wasn’t any sort of genius, I just felt that slashing prices and the inventory that you stock your store with was only going to detract the customer, not attract them. Who wants to shop in stores with little inventory? So, against management directio
I continued to buy inventory and large quantities of it, continued to promote without heavy discounts (just fair prices) and continued to advertise and market when everyone else was backing off.

That year, especially during the holiday time period (and black Friday) while other retailers, and even departments in my own store, were falling short of sales and exceeding costs, my sales numbers were being blown out of the water while making a profit.

Like I said, I wasn’t a rocket scientist. I just saw that people will still come and buy if you have what they want or need, at a fair price, and you tell them that you have it (let’s not forget to continue marketing, no matter what).

So here are some tips for you:

Do not fall prey to the lack of sales or customers running to your door. Or your competitors fearing for their business so they are slashing prices, big! Do not become the desperate business owner who will take any dollar as long as it is a dollar. This is the time to study what your customer wants and give it to them.

Times are tough right now and folks feel (remember their emotion) they need to watch their money. But they will still buy your product if you have what they need and they feel it is at a good price.

So, do your homework. Talk to your customers, find out what they want, what they don’t want, and at what price are they willing to pay (you can do that by being in the store or office and talking directly to them, email them a quick 3-5 question survey, have a survey available in your store or office). Find out what they want and then give it to them.

Lastly, do NOT cut off all of your spending on buying products, advertising and marketing them, and getting out in front of your customer. Trust me, if it is not you that continues to INVEST in your business, your competitor will, and they will be the one top of mind when your customer wants to spend their money.

Go spend your money, do it wisely, and watch that investment create big returns for you now and going forward.
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