Sarah Petty's Joy Blog

Making Customer Experience Your Competitive Advantage

info@thejoyofmarketing.com (Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck) — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:49:22 +0000

Earlier this week, I shared 4 tips for overcoming mistakes in your small business. And I promised to go into this topic a bit more later this week, specifically giving examples from Simplicity Sofas, a company we featured in our recent New York Times best-selling book, Worth Every Penny, because of the personalized service they provide to customers.

How To Overcome Mistakes In Your Small Business

info@thejoyofmarketing.com (Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck) — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:41:39 +0000

Like it or not, sticky situations happen all the time when you're a small business owner. And when they do, they create the perfect opportunity for you, as a boutique business, to step up. Think about it. If you can overcome a negative situation with a customer, you take that customer beyond basic satisfaction. Now they’re not displeased—they’re thrilled.

How Has the Mom in Your Life Supported Your Small Business?

info@thejoyofmarketing.com (Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck) — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:42:29 +0000

This weekend we celebrate Mother's Day here in the U.S. Like many of you, I've been fortunate to have learned from, felt the support of and been loved by several extraordinary mothers, including my own.

So we want to celebrate the mothers who are making a difference for you, as a small business owner.

We're choosing 3 mothers to this Mother's Day to send a HUGE bunch of flowers - from YOU.

Marketing Tips For Boutique Businesses

info@thejoyofmarketing.com (Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck) — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:34:46 +0000

When you’re a boutique business, your marketing efforts must be boutique as well. Boutique marketing is focused on reaching customers who aren’t price sensitive, customers who want and appreciate all the extra things you do to make their lives better. Your marketing materials need to scream, “You’re the most important part of our day!” Discounters are focused on reaching large numbers of people who are motivated by low prices. The way they market can attract lots of customers. But it doesn’t appeal to people who want the high-touch experiences.

Is a Cool Website Enough to Establish You as Worth Every Penny?

info@thejoyofmarketing.com (Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:10:29 +0000

How important is it as a boutique business to have something tangible to hand a prospective client that gives them an immediate impression of your business rather than saying you should check out my website (when you get home and hopefully you remember me when you are in front of your computer)? No matter how great your website is (which it should be fabulous), as a boutique business you need to do the unexpected.

People expect you to hand them a business card. They expect you to maybe have a brochure to hand them. They expect you to say "Go check out my website." What they don't expect is for you to hand them a mind-blowingly creative marketing piece. We suggest creating one (yes, we said just one) marketing piece that becomes the “This is who we are” establishing piece. We would rather you use your budget to create that one wow piece than waste funds on a sad little template postcard or other mass advertising effort. When you can afford to do a second activity really well, then add that.