Brian Tracy lists seven areas of business operation that are absolutely necessary for survival and success. Look at these areas and consider how you hold up.

Productivity – An efficiently operating business has excellent returns for the time and money invested in it.

Brian Tracy lists Seven Ps of Marketing: Product, Price, Promotion, Place, Packaging, Position, People.

Today I’m going to talk about that very physical aspect of marketing: Place. Where are you marketing from?

Two keys to location are:

1. Be where your customers will be.
2. Be where your customers will go.

Be where your customers will be:

There are so many things people won’t buy if they don’t see it. Look on the shelves in the grocery store: products that have a brand name and are little higher priced tend to be at eye-level – and that’s because it’s where they sell.

There is simply no point opening a maternity wear shop in a retirement village. Think about where your customer base is most likely to be and locate your business there. If potential customers see your shop or service when they go by a few times – chances are they will pop in and see what you have.

If, indeed, you’re selling maternity wear, then consider a location where young couples and families would most likely be shopping – a strip mall in a new subdivision might be a good guess. Near a toy store or a baby clothing store might be another place to open shop.

Similarly, if you’re a wholesale business or are selling industrial products, you want to put yourself in an industrial area where other services that cater your customer’s needs are available.

Besides which, if your main customer is a massive widget factory – there’s no point in being located on the other side of the city.

Be where your customers will go:

Brian figures that there is actually a “right side of the street” when it comes to opening a business.

One side of the street is the “drive to work” side – traffic heading into the center of the city, and the other side of the street is the “heading for home” side – the artery that takes people out of the business core at the end of the day.

Open your breakfast sandwich shop on the “drive to work” side of the street, and open your fish shop on the “heading home side of the street.” It makes sense, doesn’t it?

When you choose a location try to be in the biggest business centre in your state.

• It makes you look big, competent and established.
• You need to have a pretty strong brand before you are going to get clients to drive out to a small town just to buy from you.
• Even if your customers don’t live in the same urban center, they are more likely to make a special trip to see your goods if you are in a location where they can do other business at the same time.

Finally, consider your address.

If you’re opening a tailor shop, don’t put it beside the low income housing development – as a matter of fact, the more prestigious your address, the more prestigious your clientele.

If you think the location of your business might be affecting your sales or if you are planning on opening a new shop or relocating, a Brian Tracy certified FocalPoint Business Coaching Professional has the tools and knowledge to help you make all the right moves – contact one today.