Giving and getting

On-Track is a service where I work one-to-one with business owners to help them grow sales, increase margins and boost cashflow.

There are different elements to On-Track including:

• Helping create a budget with targets
• Performance reporting
• Regular meetings
• Suggestions and ideas

Many of the suggestions and ideas I put forward are based on what I see working for other business, including my own.

I have been researching different approaches to marketing and one of these is called The Purple Cow – a book by Seth Godin. Basically, the idea is to innovate around your product and come up with something “remarkable” so it’s worth talking about.

Remarkable services and products get people talking and can be a key part of your Word Of Mouth Marketing strategy. This is much better than spending lots of money promoting what you do.

An example of business that has done this is TOMS shoes. They run a one-for-one program where every time someone buys a pair of shows they give one to a child in need.

I really like this because it links the giving to the product and it gives a reason to consider buying TOMS shoes rather than other brands.

I’ve decide to do this myself via B1G1. Now, I do not sell shoes but I do encourage clients to refer me and when they do I give a goat. This provides HIV free milk and revenue to a family in need. A client referred me last week and when they found out about this they were amazed.

So far, Sackmans North London has donated:

• 2 domestic animals to Kenyan families to provide them with an income
• 10 children education support for a day
• 10 children a school uniform
• 10 people medical support
• 357 people access to clean water for a day

I’m looking to expand the campaign and will include “giving” and “b1g1” in the On-Track service.

If you like an On-Track Review click here.