A previous post on pushcart businesses resulted in quite a few people who own pushcarts asking me for advice to improve their marketing.
Here’s another tip for you: look at other jobs.
Errr, learn from other occupations, I mean.
Here’s how:
Be A Fisherman.
Cast your net wider.
Use a fish bowl. Collect name cards. Build your own mailing list.
Your target audience – e.g. kids or retirees – don’t have name cards? Use plain cards and pass them to people who browse. Get them to fill their names, contact number and email addresses.
Give them a discount if they do. And then reel them in.
Be An Actor.
Here’s something you may not know: someone’s watching you all the time.
If you look bored, your product is boring.
If you look desperate, your product probably sucks.
So act. Look lively. Improve your posture. If you need to, practice in front of a mirror (you may get a shock).
You never know who’s watching.
Be A Teacher.
Not everyone knows why they need something.
Teach them. Show them. Allow them to ask questions.
Have excellent product knowledge. Read up if you have to. Do research.
Be authoritative, not pompous. Command, not demand, respect.
Be A Prostitute.
(This is not a literal suggestion, mind you. It is, however, the oldest profession in the world.)
Separate professional from personal.
Dress and look your price. If your pushcart looks cheap… you are.
Build up and cultivate your regular clientele. It only makes business sense. (streetwalking is tough.)
