Businesses Find Gold In New Year’s Resolutions

Kunkletown, PA, December 29, 2006 — Everyone is familiar with New Year’s resolutions. You’ve probably made a few yourself to lose weight, stop smoking, or maybe spend more time with your kids. But if you own or manage a business, the New Year is more than an excuse to lose that potbelly. It’s a chance to boost your bottom line and get 2007 off to a profitable start.

According to Karl Barndt, president of the marketing firm Electric Ink, Ltd. (www.DirectResponsePro.com), “New Year’s resolutions are powerful motivators. People see the New Year as a time of renewal, a chance to start over and get it right. That means they’re primed to buy what you have if it will help them keep their resolutions. You don’t need to sell hard when people are ready to buy.”

If your business in any way helps people to improve themselves or their lives, then you need to jump on the resolution bandwagon. Chiropractors, cosmetic surgeons, beauty salons, spas, health and fitness clubs, health food stores, marriage and family counselors, travel agencies, realtors, and golf pros make up a small fraction of the businesses that can profit from New Year’s resolutions.

And this opportunity isn’t limited to businesses that cater to consumers. Business-to-business sales can also leverage New Year’s resolution promotions. Accountants and business consultants, for example, can offer new and existing clients the chance to “get their business on the right track in 2007.” Barndt suggests spending time to identify your clients’ greatest concerns, then focus on those concerns in your promotions. “Remember,” he says, “people buy on emotion, backed by facts. Find and push your buyers’ emotional hot buttons, then give them enough reasons why doing business with anyone else would simply be foolish.”

Don’t worry if you haven’t started your New Year’s promotion yet. You still have a little time. Surveys show that by February, over 90% of those resolutions will have been broken. That gives you the entire of month of January and even into early February to use a New Year’s resolution promotion. And it gives you another angle to employ in your advertising and promotions. After January 1, use guilt to prompt people to take action. Use ad headlines like, “Have you already broken your New Year’s resolution to lose weight? (or improve your golf swing, become a more loving spouse, close more sales, etc.)”

Barndt goes on to say that if your business helps your customers improve themselves—in any way—then you need to reach out to them now. Some of the ways he helps his clients capitalize on the New Year’s resolution market include direct mail, print advertising, radio commercials, and email.

So make a resolution to boost your business in January of 2007 by helping people keep their resolutions. For more information, visit www.DirectResponsePro.com.