If you are looking to increase top-line revenues for your business then you can do so in a number of ways, primarily by:

• increasing more first-time customers or clients who found you without any referrals
• increasing more first-time customers or clients who were referred to you
• increasing the size of the average transaction per customer
• increasing the number of average transactions per customer
• finding brand new revenues “hidden” within your business or industry

It is that last line item I want to discuss today in order to help you and your business become more profitable.  Some of you know that I have a background in the professional independent baseball leagues (some know them as the “independent minor leagues”).  I was a bullpen catcher, a player, a team official and a league official; and I maintain a few websites dedicated to various aspects of this subset of the professional baseball industry.  Most of these teams are operated by owners and front office staff, as well as league officials, operating under the mindset that, in order to be profitable, the teams primarily must focus on being “local, affordable, family-friendly entertainment.”  This model, however, does not work in all markets even when the owners and front office staff members are ethical, hard-working, and dedicated to make their teams successful.

In recent weeks some national attention has been given to these teams which are failing to pay vendors for months, have players living in substandard situations for minimal pay, and others which have to fold their operations due to not selling enough tickets and sponsorships.

When you have a moment, please take a look at any/all of these 3 blog posts:

• http://www.independentbaseball.net/independent-baseball-teams/joliet-slammers-president-talks-profitability/
• http://www.independentbaseball.net/players/awareness-players-living-clubhouse/
• http://www.independentbaseball.net/independent-baseball-teams/improving-independent-baseball-game-delayed-worcester-due-vendor-demanding-payment/

Inside each of these articles may be some ideas which serve as a catalyst to help you think about new ways in which your specific business can become more profitable.

This website is called MORE THAN SEO, and it was chosen for a few reasons:

• many business owners and executives are being sold “SEO” services multiple times each week, some of which produce questionable results
• these services often keep the business owner “in the dark” and not explain why something is being done
• to be good at SEO requires a mindset that often is different than an executive or owner has; and not conveying why something must be done often causes problems
• SEO is just one way to get targeted first-time customers or clients.  Other ways include all forms of online paid advertising, social networks, social news sites, video marketing, and many more

While I love SEO because it suggests a hyper-targeted searcher can find you, it is not the only way to help you increase your profits.  Therefore I have to offer more than just SEO, hence the MoreThanSEO.com name.

By the same token, to increase profitability you may have to look at your business’ growth as being MORE THAN JUST getting another customer or client.  Here is an example:

If you run a local, hamburger established serving families with young kids then you have to acknowledge that your customers are also likely to grill steaks and burgers at home.  While you want them to come to your restaurant 100% of the time they think about red meat, it just won’t happen!

One way to improve revenues in this example is to produce helpful content (e.g. articles, videos, images) which could give tips on grilling techniques.  Your chef could suggest a certain type of grill, grilling accessories, or suggestions for the types of plates which help maintain flavor and temperature the best after grilling.

These pieces of content could be distributed to your customers when they show up at the restaurant (QR code invitation, request to join e-mail newsletter, etc.).  You also could ask your customers to share the video/PDF/article through their e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other channels.  Embedded in the bottom of that content could be an affiliate (tracking) link where people, anywhere in the country, can click that link and order the suggested item(s).  This way friends and family members of your customers who live outside of the area now have an opportunity to put money in your pocket 365 days a year.  This is because you would earn a small percentage of their orders before shipping costs.  By giving away helpful content which does not harm your premium product/service, you can expand your awareness (leading to first time customers) AND you can start to produce some additional profits for simply directing people to a place to order relevant items.

The above example is similar to suggestions I already have made to several independent baseball team owners.  Some of them are starting to understand that they can increase profits, and possibly increase attendance next season, through giving away helpful content.  You can read the articles listed earlier and begin to look at your business differently.  Obviously, you do not want to minimize your main revenue models; so just borrow principles and ideas from the pro sports world to help you grow your business can help you to complement or supplement your current business model.

Feel free to contact me with your questions.  If you want help for your specific business then please contact me through the contact form, and we can arrange a time to help you expand your business with strategies customized to your specific needs and regulations.  Thank you for your time and you are welcome to share this post with anyone you know who might find it helpful in some manner.