Knowing your Consumer & Staying Consistent

Hey peoples, it was another special one for those on the come up in your everyday business, whether it be artist, model, business owner, or entrepeneur. This week's Money & Music Show proved why we are getting so much attention. Simple answer, information that we can all apply to our everyday practice. The information that only true life experiences and everyday struggles can provide. So if you missed it, you know we got you as always...Click BELOW:

& Enjoy the MONEY & MUSIC SHOW - GET YOUR FINANCIAL TIPS RIGHT HERE! So get your pens, pencils, and notepads, & TAKE NOTES!!

Big thanks to your special guest, L.I., out of Rochester, NY. His name reps his music "Lyrically Intelligient", and proves why he's another Cool V Rated Next.



Not only did L.I. bring some heat on the show, but he also gave us some NEW Heat straight out of his studio, so you hear it first with Money & Music, because we wouldn't be Money with no Music. Enjoy... & Dj's download and get this heat on your airwaves, TODAY!!!

"We like it New" http://www.zshare.net/audio/67213221923a6c61/
"Skate Away" http://www.zshare.net/audio/6723098281d2067b/

L.I.'s Official Myspace Page: http://www.myspace.com/licuedin

Cool V, Money Mike, L.I., and our special callers were able to focus in on the importance of knowing your consumer, and while it's not easy to have a hot product, it's most important to know who you are going to market your product too. While you enjoy the music, here are some important tips to enjoying a successful business.

Knowing your Consumer

An important aspect of providing an effective customer/consumer experience is in the development of the sales strategy/plan. This comes from developing an in-depth knowledge of who your customer is. Your customer may be the same or entirely different than the consumer of your product or service. By definition, the consumer is the end user of your product. The customer is the entity who initially buys your product or service. To illustrate this point consider your product to be your CD. If the Record Store buys your CD's to sell at its stores, then they are your customer. When Johnny buys your CD at the local Record Store, he is your consumer. If Johnny would buy your CD online directly from you on your website, he would be both your customer and your consumer. The key difference you must remember to be effective in business is - you market to your consumers but you sell to your customers! A separate plan/strategy must be developed to both of these groups even if they are the same person. Many businesses fail to establish both an effective consumer based marketing plan and a great sales customer focused selling strategy. It is a one two punch combination you should NEVER be without. Just as in developing an understanding of your consumer, you must develop a through knowledge of your customer. This knowledge must be based on asking:

Who is your customer? What are their buying patterns? Why should they buy from you? How are you going to do business with them? What do you offer that your competitors do not? What is your value proposition?

The answers to these questions will help form the base of your sales strategy. Once you have the answers and in depth knowledge of your customer, you are now prepared to begin the development of the sales plan. In it, the plan should encompass the following:

What product am I selling? Why am I selling it? What value do I offer in the marketplace? Who is my consumer? What understanding do I offer of my consumer? What is the purchase cycle of this product? Where will my sells come from? How do I best merchandise this product? How easy is it to do business with me?

Whether or not your customer and consumer are different or the same, you must effectively address the above questions in your sales plan. Build a case as to why this person/merchant MUST (not should) buy your product from you and why not buying it is out of the question. The sales plan must exude confidence to the customer that you have developed a through understanding of your consumer and their buying needs. While at the same time convincing the customer you know them and their buying trends/needs as well. Most businesses fail to fully understand what is expected from them by their customer and actually know who their customer is? BE VERY SPECIFIC (female or male, ages 5-12, 13-18, 18-24, 24-35, 35+, 45+, 55+,65+etc...black/white/asian, college student/blue collar worker/professional working mom/executive) . You need to take the time to do this to succeed, go out survey personally, find criticism, find likes/dislikes, the more information you have on your customer, the more focus you can have with your sales strategy/plan. You can have the best product in the world and if you can't convince anyone to buy it - what good is it?

Remember - an effective marketing and sales strategy is a one-two punch. To be effective you must develop and utilize both to your advantage. Market to the consumer with an understanding of who they are. Sell to the customer by knowing who and what they want.
**feel free to email "Cool V" and use him as a resource: moneyandmusic@gmail.com
with any questions on how to set up an effective sales & marketing plan for your business needs.

Staying Consistent

In business, we all have to stay consistent at what we do to get ahead. Lack of consistency, shows lack of work ethic, lack of committment, or lack of passion or belief in what you do. When investing in yourself or your business, it is important to make sure once you decide to do something you do it to the best of your abilities and stay the course. There will be good times and tough times, but slow and steady will win the race. The same is for investing into your retirement plan or your insurances, stay committed with the understanding things will change overtime. It is up to you to accept change, be flexible to change, but most importantly stay consistent to your plan. "Money" Mike stressed the importance of starting small, beginning a retirement plan with the emphasis of establishing systematic investment into your plan, monthly. Like your business model, whether it be marketing or everyday tasks, the same should be consistent with your investment into yourself and future.

This link talks about staying invested in your retirement plan, when markets are up or down, as your retirement plan is for the long haul, so start early, start TODAY, start small, and most importantly stay COMMITTED to your long term goals. http://www.nationwide.com/staying-invested-in-a-volatile-market.jspm/staying-invested-in-a-volatile-market.jsp

If you don't want to listen too "Money" Mike and not wake up to the realities of our future retirement and incomes, then no need to read this article, as he continues to speak the truth.

This one is a WAKE UP CALL!!! http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/retirement/2009-10-19-401k-savings-retirement_N.htm

**feel free to email "Money Mike" and use him as a resource: moneyandmusic@gmail.com
with any questions on how to set up your business's investment and or insurance plans, because Today is the Day to Start, not next week...see you then.