Marketing Strategy…Are You Connecting the Dots?
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A Great Marketing Strategy Leads Prospects to Connect the Dots
If there is one thing I’ve seen consistently over the last 4 ½ years of working with small-to-mid sized business owners, it’s the absence of a real marketing strategy. There is often no real plan of attack. From one week to the next, it’s one random activity after another. Small business owners hope this approach will lead to more clients, but end up dissappointed. Sales are up one week and down the next.
Putting a winning marketing strategy together should give the prospect an experience similar to playing Connect the Dots.
What do I mean?
When a child follows the ordered sequence of connecting the dots, they end up looking at a picture that has two characteristics. One, the finished product is usually something they recognize. (I trust that you can see the banana in the current unfinished example to your left). Any school age child who is old enough to follow the numbered dots and complete the drawing would immediately recognize a banana upon completion.
The second thing is…they helped complete the picture. The actual process they went through involved some thinking and active participation. Active participation is important because it increases the learning. The active participation needs to have meaning from the perspective of the prospect. Great marketing speaks to the conversation that’s already going on inside the mind of your prospect.
That’s what good marketing does. It requires the prospect to get involved in the process. A good marketing strategy will often cause the prospect to ask themselves questions and make evaluations that guides their thinking process. One thing I want to make clear. Ethical marketing is about guiding the thinking process – NOT manipulating it. Read More→
Dr. Glenn Livingston will answer questions about small business marketing.
Imagine this. It’s the day after 911, and you’ve just made the BIGGEST business blunder of your entire career. You loose $2 million (that you don’t really have), and go into debt for $750,000.00. What would you do if you were in that hotseat?
Well…Dr. Glenn Livingston (and his wife Sharon) lived through that ordeal. They specialized in doing market research Fortune 500 companies like AT & T, American Express, Bausch & Lomb, Burger King, Chase, Citibank, Hallmark, Exxon, Kodak, Kraft, Mastercard, and Nextel (just to name a few).
After reinventing themselves, Glenn and Sharon have emerged from that situation debt free (as of November 2008), and are now running a search engine marketing agency that often-times has a waiting list of new clients because of their impressive track record.
I have followed the Livingstons for the last 2 1/2 – 3 years and I find them to be people of integrity who do not oversell or hype their products and services at all. Read More→
Small Business Advertising…How to Make it Work
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Small Business Advertising Secrets Offer Big Payday
Has your small business advertising failed to pay off? Do you get that funny feeling in your stomach when writing out that renewal check to your yellow page rep (who only comes by once a year)? Are you seeing a questionable return from your newspaper advertising?
Maybe you’re an independent professional, a coach, or a consultant who hasn’t figured out the marketing piece of your business. You might even be an author who wants to sell more copies of your book and get more speaking engagements, but getting cash-paying customers to your website has not been easy.
I’m going to give you three tips that will wipe out your frustration, provide you with a blueprint, and help you to put more money into the bank.
1. Increase Traffic with a Winning Value Proposition – In today’s economy, many small business owners are rattled by fear. They lie awake at night wondering if their business is going to survive this recession. Fair question. Big business bailouts in addition to the housing crisis have everyone thinking twice.
However, the rules of business have not changed. The law of supply and demand still exists. The question is, are you selling something that has a demand in the marketplace? If so, what problem are you solving for your customer base?
People buy solutions that solve their problems. When you position yourself as a problem solver and give advice that is truly helpful and rare, you will capture people’s attention. That is the first rule of marketing. Get their attention.
Beyond that, what is your competitive advantage when compared to any of your competitors? If people are buying the product or service that you are selling (from any other company) what reason are you giving them to buy from you? Your value proposition is what causes your market to stop and listen to your pitch when they have other things to do. They will come into your storefront (web store front or brick and mortar) if your offer is compelling enough.
Assuming you have something that people truly want to buy, you have to get your value proposition in front of more people. If you need help creating a winning value proposition that captures the attention of your market, you will want to be on my next teleseminar where I will give exact steps on how to create a value proposition that will allow you to outsell your competitors. Read More→
iPhone Sales are Strong…What About Yours?
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Innovation and Quality Sells..Even in Recessionary Times
iPhone 3G S sales make me ask the question…is there really a recession? After all, who doesn’t already have a cell phone? According to The Times Online (as of June 23, 2009), “Apple Inc. sold more than a million units of its latest iPhone model in the first three days, making it the most successful debut for a smart phone yet”.
In September of 2007, the iPhone entered the market at $599 for the 8GB model and people stood in line for days to get one. I heard a report of one man, a pastor, who had a phone delivered to him and he commenced to break the phone open in order to see who the manufacturers of the component parts were. He wanted insight to know what stocks to invest in.
Apple reported that sales were up 88% in Q4 2008! Admittedly…people are losing jobs, but iPhone sales prove that opportunity yet abounds.
Two years later, the iPhone is exponentially faster, more flexible, and comes with 32GB for just $299. The 3GS model was released just a couple weeks ago and once again people were waiting in line to get their hands on one. Read More→
How to Grow Your Gross Profits 25 – 100% in 48-90 Days
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Are You Interesed in this Kind of Growth in Your Business?
Here are the eight steps that will position your company to see a dramatic increase in gross profits in 48 – 90 days. The first four steps work without you having to spend any additional money in advertising. Once the foundation is laid with the first four steps, then the second four, which often require additional resources, can be implemented out of the increased profits from phase one.
First, you must develop a well-rounded unique selling proposition. This is where many small-to-mid sized business owners fail. My years selling yellow page and internet advertising allowed me to learn that most small business owners do not have a well-rounded unique selling proposition (USP). The USP is the most foundational aspect to effective marketing. Why? It tells your market why they should do business with you instead of your competitors. If you don’t distinguish yourself from your competitors well, your prospects and customers will buy from whoever has the lowest price.
Second, you need to integrate your USP into all of your marketing efforts. This includes your business cards, email signatures, brochures, websites, stationary, sales scripts, and any other forms of communication. Read More→
Effective Marketing & Advertising Always Promotes Solutions to Your Prospects Problems
Here’s a topic that will deliver real nuts and bolts insight for coaches, consultants, and independent professionals on how to grow a business in any economy…sometimes on a shoestring budget.
I’ve sold yellow page advertising (both online and you traditional print directory), pay-per-click advertising, register receipt advertising (many many moons ago), and websites. One thing is for sure. ALL of those mediums CAN deliver a very targeted and ready to buy prospect to your business when you employ the right methodology. However, use the wrong marketing method, and you might as well be using your money to make paper airplanes, because it’s certain to fly away.
Traditional Advertising
Brand or image advertising carries with it the thought … ‘get you name out there’. It’s the kind you normally see on TV and in magazines. The company will typically show a picture designed to grab attention, and then come up with some sort of catchy slogan or phrase that either makes the person listening/watching laugh and (hopefully) remember the company favorably when they are in need.
This is the kind of advertising that big companies use when they have a lot of money to burn. I realize that 95% of those who are reading this blog are solo-preneurs like myself. We do not have thousands of dollars to experiment with. In many cases, the mortgage payment, car note, and possibly your children’s college tuition for the following semester is on the line. Therefore, my commitment is to provide you with insight that makes a real and measurable difference to your bottom line in the short run. Like in 48 days or less. Read More→
Website Traffic Troubles?
By · CommentsWhy let Website Marketing get you down? …Optimized Press Releases are the Lazy Man’s way to Targeted Traffic in 48 Hours or Less
Put an end to your website marketing stress
Getting targeted website traffic can be tough. In addition, these recessionary times are making many small business owners nervous. While studies show that online research being done by the consumer is driving offline sales at an increasing level, not everyone has figured out how to get targeted traffic to their website. Hard work is always a part of success, but today, I’m going to share with you a little known way to get targeted traffic to your website in just 48 hours or less. What’s even better is…this is the lazy man’s (or woman’s) approach…hands down. It’s called Web PR, or optimized press releases.
First off, press releases have been around since 1906. Ivy Lee, father of the modern press release, understood the need to tell his version of the story before a different and perhaps less favorable perspective got out. As a result, his company issued the first press release to journalists, and that was the beginning of fostering open communications with the media. Read More→
Yahoo News along with several other news search engines are changing the way that small business owners attract media and customer attention. Studies show that 98% of journalists go online daily. Ninety-two percent start their article research online, and 73% are going online to find press releases. Studies also show that content from PR is 70% more believable than traditional advertising because it’s ‘editorial content’.
SO…here’s the point. A well-developed online press release strategy will place your marketing message in front of TWO significant groups. One – your market as they are researching and making their buying decisions. Two – the editors, reporters, and bloggers who influence those who will or will not buy from you (or your competitors). In addition, the number of customers who shop online is constantly on the rise. Business owners who stay abreast of the times will look for creative ways to position themselves to be seen in the news search engines if they want to increase the targeted traffic coming to their websites.
Getting more targeted website traffic is everything –especially during this economic slowdown. With it being much more difficult to gain access to credit, the old saying is truer than ever…there are few problems that cannot be solved with additional sales. One key to more sales is increased traffic. However, many entrepreneurs who are marketing online are challenged by not being able to get enough quality traffic to their website. A few are learning the value of leveraging the existing traffic of top news sites like Yahoo News. Read More→
Of course it is. The real question is…how is it working? In other words, “What are you reaping today as a result of seeds sown yesterday?” Sometimes, we go through seasons in life where nothing seems to go the way we would like it. Business may be slow, therefore cash is tight, relationships may be a bit bumpy, and who knows what else. Things just aren’t going the way we would like them to go. These are some of the best times to look around and consider the question, “Who can I help to move their situation forward?”
I was inspired after reading a segment from Today God is First, a daily devotional by Os Hillman. In today’s segment, he talks about The Power of Serving Others. As I read it, the message resonated in my heart as something that we all need to remember…especially in difficult times. It’s one thing to be generous when times are good, but in reality…we really need to be generous when times are hard. Why do I say that? The scripture reads, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble“. (Psalm 46:1) Read More→
Want a Recession Proof Business?
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Steps to Thrive in a Recession
If you’ve got 8 minutes, this post will give you a quick read on the first steps of developing a recession proof business.
My last query on this keyword shows that approximately 27 people per day are searching for ‘recession proof business’. If you go to http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/ you can simply type in the words ‘recession proof business’ or ‘recession proof’ and you will see what I’m talking about (take a moment and do this if you would). After doing that (assuming that may have been your first time using a tool like that), you now know how marketers like myself begin to get a pulse on the marketplace. Once you know what questions people are asking and what solutions they are looking for, you can begin determining what questions you need to answer in order to provide value. That, sir or ma’am, is one of the most important steps to developing a recession proof business. Read More→