Niche Marketing Plans
Marketing a Compost Business
The value and earning capacity of a compost business largely depends on the quality of its marketing efforts. But great marketing takes a lot more than hanging a shingle and hoping for the best.
For a compost business, the line between success and failure is based on more than the execution of core competencies.
In some businesses, marketing takes a back seat to sales and operations. That's a mistake because without marketing, your brand messages aren't being heard. On the upside, great marketing is a real possibility for a compost business willing to adapt its strategy to the demands of the marketplace.
Loss Leaders
Smart compost businesses understand that more customers will walk through the door if a few products are priced at less than full retail value. Moreover, a loss leader marketing strategy can compensate for dead periods when customers tend to making purchases. But to be effective, loss leader marketing requires planning, especially in product selection and price points. When used in compost businesses, the real benefits of loss leaders emerge through the careful marketing of other products, usually offered at a much higher margin. Also, it's important to carefully consider the quantity of discounted products you are willing to offer at the loss leader price since stockpiling or a high volume of loss leader sales can negate the revenue benefits of this strategy.
Cost Tracking
Cost is an issue in marketing a compost business. For direct mailing campaigns and other strategic initiatives, it's hard to argue with the ROI you receive from updated mailing lists provided by the industry's leading list vendors. Good mailing lists are money in the bank; they deliver leads, revenue and most importantly, new customers.
Another way to control costs is to conduct periodic across-the-board cost audits designed to highlight areas that are ripe for reductions.
Industry Resources
Lone rangers don't survive long in a compost business. Most leaders are oblivious to the fact that the marketplace shows no favoritism - for every marketing challenge your business faces, there are hundreds of other businesses and leaders struggling to solve the same problem. The best resources are usually the ones that leverage industry-specific experience and the input of proven veterans.
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