Go Big Or Stay Small?
Q: I own and operate a custom glass terrarium company that designs enclosures for reptiles, amphibians and insects.
Currently, I manufacture between 100-150 units per month but would like to boost that number to 100-150 per week. At the moment, all my free time is dedicated to this business as I have not had enough sales to drop my day job.A: Whoa! Slow down and take a deep breath. Marketing can make or break a business but it seems that the root of your problem is growth. If you want to make 100-150 units a week, you’ll need to build up slowly, and that means pacing your marketing accordingly. “You need a marketing plan,” says Lois Geller of Mason & Geller Direct Marketing in Hollywood, Fla. “This should include how many you can feasibly make in a year without sacrificing quality and customer service.”
“Contact companies that sell pets and ask them to pass on your terrarium designs to their largest customers,” she says. “If you get too many orders to handle, create a wait list. Once the project is under way, send updates on the progress of the enclosure, with a projected completion date.” As you build a customer base, you can make a marketing plan for the following year, using newly-earned profits to expand marketing efforts.
Photo by MSDesigns.
Jason Holden on December 18th, 2007 3:40 am
I have taken the liberty of adding a few extra pointers on my blog aobut this Dane, as I feel it is as relevant in the UK as in the US the problem of growing a small business.
Hope you don’t mind.
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