Self Employed Success

In this episode of Ask Karyn Anything, Delia asks, “How can I get clients to keep returning?”

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u99yU4kB6uU

US postage and stamp prices will increase as of May 12. Many self-employed people are feeling the pinch, especially those who use the mail for direct-marketing purposes or to send products to customers.

Here are some tips for dealing with the US postage and stamp increase:

1. Buy the “Forever” Stamp. As the USPS says, “The stamp will be good for mailing one-ounce First-Class letters anytime in the future — regardless of price changes.” So if you buy it before May 12, it will cost you $0.41, and you will be able to use it to mail letters forever. If you have a hard time getting them at your local post office, purchase them online at www.usps.com

2. Consider converting your books and audio programs to downloadable e-products (PDF files for ebooks, MP3 files for audio programs). With the US postage and stamp price increase, your shipping costs will increase also, and you’ll have to decide whether you’ll pass those shipping costs on to your customers. (If you use UPS or FedEx you’ll see their rates increase as well, as gasoline prices soar in the USA.) With downloadable products, you save on shipping, you save on production costs, you save on fulfillment costs, and you give your customers instant gratification.

3. Ask the clerk at the post office counter for other options when shipping. Sometimes Media Mail will get to your destination in approximately the same time (depends on the destination) and for lots less money.

4. Use the Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes for shipping items. These all-you-can-fit-in-it boxes are a fixed cost, and may be less expensive than sending something weighed Priority Mail.

5. Pay your bills online instead of sending checks.

6. Send correspondence to customers, including agreements and contracts, via fax or email. For instance, I send coaching and consulting contracts to clients in PDF format via email, they sign it, and fax it back to me. No postage on either side of the equation.

While this US postage stamp increase won’t affect everyone, for those who use the mails regularly, it will be a growing business expense. Best to think ahead, because the US Postal Service says that prices will probably increase each year from now on.

Click here for further information on all the US postage and stamp increases schedule for May 12.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but have you heard the news?

The United States Postal Service announced that the cost of a first class stamp will increase to .42 on May 12. No, it’s not deja vu. You are correct in your remembering that postage rates were just increased in May of 2007. Inside sources tell us that we can expect to see postage rate increases every year.

The increase includes not just first class stamps, but postcards and packages as well.

This affects your e-commerce and marketing in a big way:

• Now is the time to re-think your own information product pricing and delivery structure. Ebooks and downloadable audio files might be the way to go to reduce your costs. Yes, there are always security and theft concerns with selling e-products, but you have to weight those concerns against the rising cost of producing and shipping physical products.
• E-commerce shoppers love “free shipping.” But what will that cost you in the future? Will you have to raise the price of your products to offset the new shipping costs?
• It may also be time to re-think your physical mailing campaigns versus email campaigns.

For those who think, “I’ll just use FedEx or UPS,” remember that those costs will continue to rise as well.

Wandering down the street in New York City early one morning, I noticed a group of people standing in front of the doors to Macy’s department store. Since it was 9:00 a.m., I assumed they were waiting for the store to open.

But as I walked by I noticed a sign in every door that clearly said: Store Hours 10AM – 9PM. So why were they standing there an hour before the store opened? Was some sort of special event going on?

As I walked closer to the huddled group, one of the women motioned to the Macy’s security guard and asked, “What time does the store open?”

I am not kidding. She actually asked that, even though she was just six feet away from the Store Hours sign. She had been standing and staring at the door for at least three minutes. The store hours sign is in every door at eye-level. Yet she still preferred to ask another person to verify the truth of the sign.

What does this mean to the small business owner?

• Just because you put something in a conspicuous place doesn’t mean they’ll see it.
• Just because you write something in your marketing brochure doesn’t mean people will read it.
• Just because you have Frequently Asked Questions on your website doesn’t mean people will read it, or believe that it applies to them.
• Just because you write about the benefits of your product or service doesn’t mean people will never have a question about whether those benefits apply in their particular situation.

We work so hard to craft good written messages, but for many people, the written message is only half of the picture. So what are creative solutions? Use graphics and images to also portray the message. Use audio so they can hear you as well as see you. Repeat the message often and be prepared to answer questions in a gracious and courteous manner…even if you’ve answered those same questions a thousand times before.

The security guard at Macy’s was a gentleman and a customer service expert. He said in a genuinely pleasant and smiling manner, “Oh, yes, ma’am, the store opens at 10:00 a.m. and I hope you’ll have a wonderful shopping experience here at Macy’s.”

Smart cookie.

I was in the grocery store the other day, standing near the customer service counter. A woman in her late 30s came up to the counter and asked, “Where can I find Cream of Tartar? My son needs it for a science project.”

The customer service person (who was in her early 20s) looked lost. She didn’t know what Cream of Tartar was either. I piped up and told her it was in the baking aisle, and that it was a white powder in a bottle.

Cream of Tartar, for those who are curious, is used for baking. It’s been around for nearly 200 years (or possibly more). Baking powder is made up of baking soda plus cream of tartar. I can remember my grandmother and mother using it, and every Christmas I dutifully buy a bottle of it to bake Christmas cookies.

So why didn’t this woman know what it was? And why didn’t the grocery store employee know what it was? Because, according to an article I read recently, this current generation is the first generation of people who don’t know how to cook or bake. They use pre-packaged foods and microwave them (or order out). Their mothers and fathers didn’t cook, so they never learned how.

Lesson For The Business Owner: Just because you sell something doesn’t mean that people:

• Know what it is
• Know what it’s used for
• Know where to find it
• Know how to use it in their daily life

The key here isn’t to bash the generation of people who don’t know how to cook. It’s to understand that you, as the small business owner, have to pay attention to your customers’ needs, and educate them if necessary.

The moral of the story is:

1. Know what your customers need (instead of guessing)
2. Educate them on your products and services so they undertand why and how they can use them.
3. If they aren’t going to use your products in the originally-intended fashion, figure out other creative uses for them (like a science project) or dump the services and products and find new ones that fulfill a need

And next time you go into the baking aisle, take a look around. It just might be a whole new world for you and a strong reminder of generational changes affecting a whole industry!