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Editorial
As the Saying Goes . . .
There’s an old
saying we all know, “You get what you pay for.” The idea
being that if you don’t pay very much for something, it can’t
be worth very much either. There’s a parallel saying, “If
it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t.” Well,
like most old sayings, these have a longstanding ring of truth to
them, and a wise person will take heed. On the other hand, like
all generalizations, sometimes they are just plain wrong.
This month we offer two specific cases in point. First, Cheryl Strickland
gives us her top 10 marketing ideas that are absolutely free (see
page 40). If we accept the proverbial wisdom, these ideas wouldn’t
be worth very much. Yet, take a look. Each tip offers a great way
to spread the word about your business and to establish yourself
as an interior fashions expert. They range from the things everyone
should be doing, such as networking with other professionals, to
more unusual, gutsy things such as becoming a guest professional
on a local television or radio program. Still, as Cheryl writes,
“The more exposure you have to people, the better your chances
of picking up new clients.”
Steven C. Bursten offers this advice for growing your business:
Stay in touch (see page 16). He writes, “If you stay in touch,
customers will thank you for your thoughtfulness and will buy from
you more often.” In this case, it’s modern technology
that offers one of the least expensive and most effective ways to
keep in touch with your best customers: e-mail, whether in the form
of a regular newsletter, decorating tip or a notice of an upcoming
sale. By compiling a database of customer e-mail addresses, sending
these out can be done virtually instantaneously and for pennies
apiece. Sound too good to be true?
These articles have another thing in common: following their suggestions
requires taking some action. None of these ideas will work on its
own. In fact, some of them will require real work. Not everyone
can just sit down at a computer and punch out a newspaper column
or an outline for a seminar without working up a cold sweat. Others
might require changing how you do business, and change is one of
the most difficult things to do.
But, hey, no one said it would be easy. After all, “You get
out of it what you put into it.”
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