Archive for learn marketing
How To Market A Small Business: Q & A Thursday
Posted by: | CommentsIn today’s Q & A Thursday we’re going to talk about a question that comes in pretty frequently, in various formats, including, “How to market a small business?”
First, let’s talk about the concept of a ‘small business’ vs any other type of business.
There’s this idea that somehow, because you’re ‘small’ or a ‘solo-entrepreneur’ or you don’t make $100k yet that you have different marketing needs than other businesses. While you may be at a different stage in business, most of the fundamentals of marketing will still apply – in fact, you are even more likely than most big businesses to have the opportunity to take better care of your marketing. So, while most things will be similar, there are a couple of things we can discuss from that perspective.
The most important difference is that it is imperative to small and growing businesses that we market SMARTER than other businesses.
We have to market smarter because we may have less resources, in terms of money, team members and the like, but what we do have is the time to figure it out and the ability to really dig in and learn what works and what doesn’t. So let’s first address what doesn’t work…
‘Madison Avenue’ style advertising generally doesn’t work.
Kitchy, cute or funny taglines, videos or ads don’t necessarily work (there’s more to it than entertaining and being memorable).
Throwing your crap at the wall by shoving your message into as many faces as possible doesn’t work very well, and might not work at all.
So, what’s a small business owner or entrepreneur to do?
Get down and figure it out.
Let’s look at each of these and why they aren’t the best bet – so this is how you will be behaving differently that many big businesses, that have big budgets…
- Instead of ‘Madison Avenue’ style advertising (like a woman laying, scantily clad, on a beach with a small picture of a bottle for some perfume on the bottom corner of the page), you want to use advertising and marketing that EDUCATES your prospects on what desire you can meet or what problem you can solve. Ads with lots of text sell, and they sell well.Image ads? No one really knows – they cost a fortune, and generally serve to build ‘brand awareness’, but how many times have you looked at one of those ads and said, “Oh my gosh – I HAVE to get that right now!” That’s the response you want from the targeted people who see your marketing/advertising.
- Tag lines are extremely important – but they need to speak to a benefit that your product or service delivers, and, even more specifically, they need to address a benefit that your target prospect REALLY REALLY wants.It can’t be something they only care about a little bit. It’s got to satisfy something important. It’s your 2-3 second chance to land your message and make them want to know more.
- Reaching ‘many eye balls’ seems like a good practice – in theory… but what if I told you that you just won $1000 dollars to spend on direct mail marketing. Would you rather send that direct mail piece to any old household in a suburban area and hit maybe 10-20% of the people who are your target prospect – so 80-90% of the people couldn’t or wouldn’t use what you offer at all? You’ve wasted 80-90% of the money, and you probably won’t have enough coming in to even try again.Or would you rather identify that most of the people who buy from you turn out to be married men, between the ages of 50 and 65 who own their home and have children in college? Now, you can send that direct mail piece to only the people who can be identified as fitting that description (using one of the many list services available). Now, closer to 80 or 85% of the mail delivered will land in the hands of someone who is much more likely to want and use your product or service.Now you’re chances of making money on that mailer are significantly higher. ‘Many eye-balls’ is relative – you can lose money on your efforts, or you can hit the right people and make money – it’s your choice.
A couple of weeks ago I offered free access to a Target Market exercise download. If you haven’t already, you need to get it. You can do that here.
You need to get clear on who your target market is, what they want and need that you can provide and how to share that with them, which is, essentially, your message (that ‘benefit’ driven tag line). THEN you can figure out what kind of media you want to use (social media, email, direct mail, post cards, banners, billboards, magazines – you get the idea).
So, when we start to get clear on how to market a small business, we have to simply start with the basics. Once you have them in place, your next step is to plan and layout strategies to reach the right people with your properly identified message.
Small Business Marketing Strategy: The Dirty Little Secret…
Posted by: | CommentsWhat’s the ‘dirty little secret’ that is so essential to your small business marketing strategy?
It’s something that a lot of entrepreneurs avoid like the plague.
It’s something that, quite ironically, can feel like a massive rusting, jangling cast-iron ball and chain.
We think that way because, as entrepreneurs we are huge seekers of FREEDOM (it’s one of our most important driving factors), and we think this ‘thing’ will drag us down like a pair of cement boots in the Hudson River.
And, I guess, now that I think about it, maybe it’s not so much of a ‘secret’ as it is a ‘red-headed step child’ based on the fact that we probably KNOW we need it, but pretty much get glassy-eyed and zoned out, or even run from the room when it comes up…
What is that ‘dirty little secret’?
It is SYSTEMS.
Yup. I said it… And you need them. Probably quite a few of them.
Why do you need them?
It’s quite simple really. Systems are THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS.
You might want to hear something else… You might want to believe that you can just be happy, float around cheering yourself and other people on, ‘living your authentic you’ and the money will magically start to float down from the heavens onto your head. While those things are extremely important (if you know me, you know I’m a big believer in Law of Attraction and feel that if something isn’t your passion you have no business doing it, but I’m serious here, so stick with me), it is equally as important to have systems to keep you on track, keep you consistent, and most importantly to build the foundation for your marketing strategies.
I have been thinking about, building and talking about systems for most of my life. Sometimes it feels natural and sometimes it doesn’t. I went for a few years ‘bucking the system’ too – refusing to have anything to do with systems, refusing to be consistent, refusing to do things ‘regularly’.
Where do you think that got me?
Absolutely NOWHERE.
So, if you’re ready to get serious about building your bad-ass business and opening the floodgates to some serious profit, you need to take a long hard look at your systems.
What should your systems include?
Here’s a short list… it’s not inclusive, some businesses need more, most won’t need less… but the bottom line is, every business needs them. And the businesses that make money – GOOD money, 6 and 7 figure money – have GREAT systems…
1. Planning Systems (No, you won’t get a pox from planning, so you don’t have to keep avoiding it!)
2. Product/Service Development Systems (if you plan these out, they’ll be congruent, they’ll make sense, and they’ll grow, along with your customer base…)
3. Marketing Systems (like this blog – if you make it into a system, it becomes a part of your marketing efforts and, believe it or not, gets EASIER to keep up with because you have themes, plans, a checklist to follow, etc)
4. Sales Systems (like scripts, yes, they’re GOOD for you…)
5. Follow-Up Systems (Your business’ biggest asset is your existing customers, and it’s one of those things many of us ignore…)
And, as I mentioned, you probably need several more.
If you aren’t sure what systems you need to put in place or how to go about doing it, you may want to check out this new program I’m doing with a simply AMAZING entrepreneur, named Lindsay Vastola, who has grown her business to multiple six-figures with systems and she now gets to do things like take off for Italy for 3 weeks without having to worry if her business will keep running.
The program is called Six Figure Systems – we chose that name because we both believe that getting to that milestone becomes not only plausible, but downright simple when you have the right systems.
Bottom line? Effective Systems + Accountability = Insane Profits and Ultimate Freedom
And, just so you know, several people have told me we are WAY undercharging for the program… two people told me we should TRIPLE the price! Lindsay and I wanted to make sure that someone with just about any size business could get involved, so you should definitely check it out.
Making a Big Splash
Posted by: | CommentsAs I was walking up 5th Ave the other day I came across a new store with a very splashy entrance… it’s just a few doors away from another one of the stores I’ve thought about including here on the blog, so I’ll do this one first, then get to the next one…
It is a new Hollister location and the entrance to the store includes video screens that run at least 6 feet high and a minimum of 12 feet across, with the door in the center, which you’ll see in the video. As you watch you’ll also get to see what’s in the door…
It will be interesting to see if the two very scantily clad models (and 2 people with winter coats on – after all it was only about 30 degrees when I shot this) are still there over time, or if that is part of the big opening.
What works well with this store front (and you can search YouTube to see what I mean – my video is just another example of it) is that they are getting free media from other people, people like me sharing the name and images because it is new, interesting and unique. Whether it actually translates into more sales, I don’t really know. They are also using some of the same techniques their neighbor a few doors up has used for quite a while….
Abercrombie & Fitch. Here’s an image I took over the summer, and this ‘line’ of people waiting is a daily occurance. It’s a brilliant strategy when you think about it, a lot of people are very influenced by lines and the appeal of something that is ‘exclusive’.
Abercrombie & Fitch manages to keep a line of people outside the door during most seasons of the year – which makes people stop and wonder what is going on, take pictures, and often, get it line.
As you think about your business, how can you create ‘Buzz’?
What is it that you can do that will attract unusual attention?
What can you do to help your customers and clients feel like they are part of an exclusive and fortunate group that gets to use your product or service?
It’s just a piece of an overall marketing strategy, but making yourself exclusive can be a very successful way to bring in clients. And, creating something, like the ocean view and the pool of water on 5th Ave in the middle of winter, can really make you stand out. But, before you spend a fortune creating something beautiful or unique, make sure you have a way to track the results, and test it in a smaller way to see if it has an impact on the bottom line. Once you are sure, you can consider rolling out a bigger, flashier version.
While there were many people milling around the new Hollister store, taking pictures and enjoying the ‘scenery’ (both digital and real…) I didn’t see very people going inside. It may have been the day and the time, but an installation and investment like that really needs to pay off, so go slowly into it as you chose how to use your marketing and advertising budget. There are many ways to create buzz or an air of exclusivity without spending a fortune.
Twitter Tools: TweetChat
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Great Twitter Tools: TweetChat.com
Just wanted to share another one of my favorite twitter tools with you… I love it and use it all the time. It’s called TweetChat.
As with many twitter tools, this one can be used in a variety of ways, first let me explain what it does:
TweetChat allows you to, put any hashtag you might want to follow or use into a box at the top. Once you do, you will see every tweet in the last few weeks with that hashtag displayed on the screen. If you log into your twitter account through the site you will also see a ‘tweet’ box at the top where you can enter your own text and send a tweet – with one difference – every tweet you write will have the hashtag automatically affixed at the end. No need to type it in, worry about forgetting it or mis-spelling it.
(Note: if you don’t know what a hashtag is, it’s also known as a ‘pound sign’ and looks like this: #. An example of a typical twitter hashtag is something like #ff, which is short for #followfriday – and just so you know, you can use either one…)
Using your Twitter Tools: A few of the best ways you can use TweetChat
Create Your Own Conversation: You can create your own conversation by choosing a hashtag. No one owns hashtags, just check and see if the one you want to use has been used in the last month or so. If it hasn’t, you can ‘claim it’ and start using it – and you can use TweetChat to check, just enter the tag at the top and see what shows up. It’s a good idea to do a quick search on Twitter too, just in case.
Once you select your hashtag, you put it in your own tweets, invite people to participate and you can share a conversation. (If this is all still unclear to you, the best thing to do is participate in a chat and see how it works. Check out this list of scheduled chats to observe one that interests you.)
Give Participants A Way To Interact With You: During teleseminars or online radio interviews, if you use a hashtag and share TweetChat with your listeners, they can post questions and interact with you during the call or interview. It gives them a way to feel like they are participating more and being heard, and it lets you address what they want to know without having to open noisy call-in phone lines.
Follow What People Are Sharing Or Share Yourself: You can also use TweetChat to watch what people are sharing and add your own information to the mix. For example, many people share music on Mondays – the hashtag is #musicmonday. You can share your own musical interests, or see what others have posted. (You can also do this kind of a search within Twitter or another twitter client like Hoosuite, TweetChat is best used for conversational purposes, but you can do this if you like.)
TweetChat is one of the best twitter tools you can add to your tool box, it’s very versatile and adds to the depth of your ability to use twitter for your business. Click here if you’re interested in more twitter tools that can help you use twitter for marketing. And, to get to TweetChat, click here. And, if you want to see TweetChat in action, click here to see the YouTube video: Twitter Tools: TweetChat. You can also get a few more ways to use TweetChat, by checking out the article here.
Learning How To Do Marketing
Posted by: | CommentsWhile I don’t have the exact quote (I will keep looking for it), Earl Nightingale is credited with saying essentially that if you read or study for juts 1 hour a day for 1-3 years you will become a world-class expert in that area of study. There are other versions of this saying out there – another I’ve heard is 20 minutes a day for 3 will make you an expert, and if you continue for 5 years you will be one of the top experts in the world.
So, you say you want to learn how to do marketing for your business? Well, here’s the answer… schedule just 1 single hour a day toward beginning to master the skill of marketing. You can learn in whatever format you want these days too… whether you prefer to read, listen to audios, watch videos and DVDs or go to live seminars and lectures. If you watch TV daily (which, as most statistics tell us, most of us do… I’ll admit, I unwind pretty frequently to funny sitcoms and relaxing movies), imagine taking just one of those hours and devoting it to learning how to do marketing, or sales, or anything else that you find interesting… or perhaps NECESSARY to the success of your business.
Ok… here’s the assignment. Start out by finding just 20 minutes a day. Then decide how you will proceed… do you want to learn how to do marketing by reading blogs like this one or by other marketing minds? Are you disciplined enough not to let them take you off in some other direction? If not, then start with some basic books on marketing – some of the best include the ones by Dan Kennedy or the Guerrilla marketing series by Jay Conrad Levenson. As you begin to dig in to learning how to do marketing, you’ll find that each of the resources points you to more. You won’t run out of options… and if you keep going, you can not only build your business with your new knowledge, you can begin to share it with others as well.
