THE MID-MISSOURI SOCIAL MEDIA WATCH TURNS FOCUS TO COLUMBIA

I’ve been writing about the impending social media tsunami that is about to hit local businesses. As many of my fellow experts predict, it will be 6 to 18 months before we see the changing of the guard of local business advertising strategy. But while we wait, let’s turn our focus to the college town of Columbia, Missouri. Does anyone realize the huge untapped goldmine sitting before us for this special town?

The City of Columbia is special. It’s a college town. We have Mizzou, Columbia College, and Stephens College that make up a large portion of the population and culture of the area. Take into consideration the fact that the students of these institutions make up the largest participating percentage in social media websites of any generation, and then think about the enormous size of the pot of gold left untouched by local businesses as such. There is a huge open door of opportunity for all the local businesses in Columbia to dominate and capitalize on the social media route to connecting with its potential young customers.

Until today, I had not thought about the special mix of people in Columbia, and the obvious opportunity it presents for social media marketing. I really think that the impending marketing shift is going to be stronger in Columbia than anywhere else in the state of Missouri, largely due to the student population.

It will be interesting to see which law firms, clubs, restaurants, clothing retailers, or grocery stores make it to the “top-of-mind” pinnacle before their competitors wake up and realize what is happening. In the meantime, the social media prognosticators and consultants like myself will be quietly standing by waiting for the first clients to come by screaming for help!

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ECONOMIC CRISIS VS. PERSONAL ABUNDANCE… WHICH IS YOUR REALITY?

The media has let us know on a daily basis that the economy is in the biggest funk it has ever been in since the Great Depression. Television reports, newspaper stories, radio broadcasts, they are all resonating the same message. Billion-dollar bailouts abound, negative financial reports are the call of the day, and the Stock market has been schizophrenic at best. But could there be opportunity hiding in the midst of all of the economic doom and gloom?

Absolutely. All that matters is what you accept as your reality. That might sound like the age-old “positive thinking” yip-yap, but let’s think about this… are you still spending money on a daily basis? Are people in your neighborhood still making purchases at the grocery store? The gas station? The local clothing store? Yes. Granted, most people don’t have the money to purchase a grocery store, a gas station, or a clothing store. Sure, it would be nice to own a business that offers goods or services that we cannot live without at a society. But for most, we can’t afford it.

But while most of the media wants you to pay attention to the negative reports that come streaming out daily, the majority of people are missing out on a key fact: people still buy “stuff” that makes them happy.

In order to drown out the misery of bad economic news, some people buy jewelry. Some purchase video games. Others buy books, magazines, or CDs. The bottom line is, people are still making purchases for things that lift their spirits and make them feel good.

For example, I will admit that I am the first person to buy a CD-ROM or DVD for $10 that exposes some cutting-edge business secret. I hover at the mailbox every day waiting for the package to arrive. And when it does, it feels like Christmas! The fact is, I LOVE to get stuff in the mail. It’s a thrill. It can represent the highpoint of the day after hearing nothing but negative things all day long at work.

So while the masses of the population sit and complain and focus on the souring economy, the smart entrepreneurial-minded individuals fervently research niche markets and discover hot-selling items that make people happy.

It might seem like the money supply just disappeared, but the fact remains that people are still spending. If you put your focus on the opportunities that abound, and realize that public spending still goes on every day, you will eventually discover a special niche that you can mine for all the money you will ever need.

I just listened to a video report that eluded to the fact that the Halloween niche produced $3 billion in sales this year. Wasn’t that right in the middle of the economic meltdown? Yes, it was. But droves of people spent un-godly amounts of money to dress up, look silly, and attend Halloween parties to… you guessed it, FEEL GOOD. That’s proof enough to let you know that you are only hurting yourself financially by putting all of your attention on the negative things around you. I never would have guessed that people would spend that much money on a silly pagan holiday, much less during one of the more dire financial times in our country’s history.

So there you have it. Proof that an economic duality exists. A recession, or even a depression, can exist peacefully right along with economic abundance and endless income possibilities.

Stay tuned for more information on how you can discover the diamonds in your own back yard!

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Let’s face it. We’re in for rough times ahead. But will you participate in the negative downturn in the economy, or try to figure out a way to prosper from it?

One niche market area that I see growing tremendously in the midst of trying economic times is wholesale sourcing. Right now, each and every retail-oriented business out there is looking for ways to cut costs and increase sales at the same time. Business owners know that they have to add a pile of value in order to coax would-be buyers into parting ways with the money that is stuffed deep into their pockets. One way to increase value and cut costs is to find new sources for their products.

That’s where wholesale sourcing comes into hand. Anyone who has started a business from scratch knows how time consuming it is to find true wholesalers out there in the real world. When you search for wholesalers on the internet, you find that 95% or more are really retailers with low prices, claiming to be wholesalers. Most of these companies sell directly to the public and don’t require a sales tax ID or reseller’s license. But the ones who truly sell wholesale don’t need to litter the internet with ads, because they don’t need to advertise to the general public.

True wholesalers tend to connect with buyers through trade shows, trade magazines, and referrals. That’s why you have to dig so deep to find them. They know that selling directly to the public would undercut their true target customers, the business owners. Rather than to bother with selling items in low quantities, they would rather sell in bulk and move as much as possible. That’s why they are in the wholesale game in the first place. They’d rather leave it up to the retailer to have to deal with cranky customers, returns, shoplifting, stocking, price adjusting, and so on.

It isn’t just the startup companies looking for new wholesalers. It can be well-established retailers who either want to find lower-cost alternatives, or who may want to expand their inventory offering to include other high profit items. If you can learn the game of digging up wholesale companies and connecting them with the retailers that seek them out, you have your hands on a possible thriving consulting business.

Wholesale sourcing consultants can typically charge anywhere from $75 to $150 per hour for their work. Or, they may charge per wholesaler that they estabilish an account for on behalf of the retailer. The retailer stands to save a ton of research time, plus they have the benefit of connecting with a wholesaler that comes recommended by someone who has had a relationship with them.

Retailers look for wholesalers that have aggressive pricing, quality products, flexibility on case ordering quantities, and most importantly, ones who stand by their products no matter what. Build a list of wholesalers in a niche area and establish a firm working relationship with them. When the trust factor is solid, you will have no problem marketing these companies to retailers that are looking for new suppliers!

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