| ♦ REFRESH to rotate MAAMAW'S CLICKY NOTES thru this space..... Timely Tips, Best of the Boards & More ♦ |
Be sure to visit the Current Message Board when you're finished here. We're very friendly, so don't be shy... just jump right in and post your question. Scams outnumber legitimate biz ops about a bzillion to one, so it's well worth your time. |
| | View Thread | Return to Index | Read Prev Msg | Read Next Msg | |
|---|
FIB - Scams 101 - Ye Olde Archives
Posted By: BizNewbie In Response To: A few suggestions (start local!) (Mel. White)
Thursday, 19 January 2006, at 2:55 p.m.
Mel,Tom, and Sandi!
The "free books" plans seems like a good start.
I am not planning on competing on price, i will always lose. THe problem is that this company excels in customer service and have all the competitive advantages that I was offering:
1) Full care of warranty work
2)free set-up and delivery
3) price guarantee
4)outstanding customer service
5) same day, set-up and delivery with local representation
etc etc etc
I "tested" them out, I received the best no-hassle service I have got in a long time. Extremely helpful, friendly, giving, and no-pressure.
It is easy to say to "give better service" , but it is hard visualize concrete things to offer. I have thought of offering a free 1/2 hr. computer lesson for newbies; yearly cleaning; free spyware software or antivirus, etc.
It is frustrating because a small business must have a competitive advantage in at least one niche, and they seem to cover it all! After I finished my initial part of my plan, I saw what they were offering, and they matched my "advantages" to a tee!
Any more ideas greatly appreciated!
thanks,
V
An excellent idea!
> However -- the people with less than ideal credit often don't have access
> to the Internet or to computers. Therefore they're not likely to find
> these competitors. Very few of your target market may be computer savvy.
> They're not targeting local or if they are, it's a very broad target.
> I haven't noticed them advertising to college students (well, not at UNT
> Denton, they weren't) and that would be a very good warm market. Colleges
> that cater to the working person going back for a degree (as opposed to
> the youth being supported by mom and pop) will have people in urgent need
> of machines or better machines and who may need payment plans WITHOUT
> digging into the credit card.
> You can also cater to what I call the "micro churches"; small
> churches (often in shopping centers) who need and appreciate computer
> resources but who do not have a congregation large enough to support their
> own IT specialist and the latest machine on the market. Cold calls and
> flyers specifically mentioning church usage would attract these buyers.
> Military bases are another place where people are dependable but may not
> have a lot of money on hand. The military and military families (check
> your local VFW post... network there....) can be another market.
> Erf. I'm not at the top of my form today, and that's all I can think of at
> the moment. No doubt more will come to me later.
| | View Thread | Return to Index | Read Prev Msg | Read Next Msg | |
|---|
FIB - Scams 101 - Ye Olde Archives is maintained with WebBBS 3.11.
|
| PLEASE READ THIS LEGAL NOTICE CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU FILE A LAWSUIT OR EVEN WASTE TIME THINKING ABOUT IT. It has been done before, but never successfully. In fact, the last dodobird who tried it ended up being ordered to pay more than $77,000 in attorney fees ($65,000+ to my attorneys and $12,000+ to my co-defendant's legal advisor).
If your attorney is worth his salt, he's going to tell you that the expense of filing a lawsuit you can't win is a whole lot worse than any "damages" resulting from messages posted on this insignificant little chunk of cyberspace. NEWS FLASH: I didn't just climb down off that ol' turnip truck yesterday. I'm well aware that expressing a negative opinion, relating one's personal experience, and restating provable facts are all legal in this country and do not constitute libel, slander, or defamation -- so you don't want to play games with me, and you sure don't want to start something you aren't prepared to finish. I don't take threats lightly, and I don't accept bribes (or did you call it a "mutually-beneficial arrangement"?). I'll turn you in faster than you can yell, "ARREST ME, I'M SCUM!!" Do yourself a favor and turn your legal team loose in greener pastures. Although we may, from time to time, monitor or review discussions, postings and the like on the Friends In Business (Scams 101) Message Board, we are under no obligation to do so. We are not responsible or liable for any claim arising from the content of any such discussions or postings or for any error, defamation, libel, slander, omission, falsehood, obscenity, pornography, profanity, danger, or inaccuracy contained in any information contained within such locations on the Site. You are prohibited from posting or transmitting any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, or profane materials or any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law. You are likewise prohibited from posting any false claims against any company or individual. We will fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity of anyone posting any such information or materials. By posting messages and/or content on the Friends In Business (Scams 101) Message Board, you give permission for Lesley Fountain/Friends In Business/Shoestring Success Publications to display, distribute and use the posting and content for publication, advertising, promotion, excerption or example. You grant Lesley Fountain/Friends In Business/Shoestring Success Publications complete, perpetual, but non-exclusive rights to use, archive, reproduce, adapt, modify, distribute, sub-license, repurpose, rework, compile, or offer for sale or resale the messages, postings or content appearing on this site in whole or in part, throughout the world and universe, on a royalty-free basis without remuneration. If you cannot accept or agree with the terms of service for this website and discussion board, you are advised not to post on this board. In closing, I would like to remind you once again that it is still legal, in this great country of ours, to express a PERSONAL OPINION, as long as it is presented as opinion and not as fact. And finally, all you scammers out there will do well to remember that TRUTH IS AN ABSOLUTE DEFENSE against charges of libel, defamation, and slander... so if you're operating just a hop, skip, and jump ahead of the law, you might want to think twice before doing anything stupid... (AND SHAME ON YOU!!). |