 Remember the old Yellow Pages ads that said, “Let your fingers do the walking?” (Yes, I just aged myself.) The phrase was clever slogan meant to encourage consumers to shop by browsing the yellow phone book page listings for a product or service. In other words, let's allow your customers to do the talking so client and customers do the walking to your website or business to give you the business. So in this blog I'm going to talk about how customers testimonials are very effective to your marketing plan so read on and enjoy!
 Which would you rather be in your business: Efficient or Effective? If you're like most people, your gut-level response is BOTH of course! And you can be. But.... have you ever stopped to think which one needs to come first? Steven Covey in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People said:
It's incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busy-ness of life, to work harder and harder at efficiently climbing the ladder of success only to discover it's leaning against the wrong wall. It is possible to be busy - very busy - with being very effective" This is especially true when it comes to marketing. When your busy working on your business most people often make the mistake of "doing something, even if it's wrong", mistaking activity for effectiveness. It's easy to do in the real-time world of social media where everyone is looking for instant gratification in the technology world we live in. They get busy placing adds, buying lead lists, building a web presence, sending out mailers, attending networking events, creating brochures, and so forth. In other words, they get busy doing something and in this blog I'm going to talk about how to be efficient and effective while using both strategic and tactical marketing to your advantage so read on and enjoy!  In the world of marketing, controversy and contrarianism are often used to gain an audience’s attention or generate media exposure. Many people confuse these two methods as being the same thing. Yet, there is a marked difference between being controversial and being contrarian. And in this blog, I'm going to discuss the differences based on the current issue that has created headlines and a firestorm of emotions from people all across the country. So ready on and enjoy!
 KICKSTART your Marketing with a Complimentary Business Assessment! Today I’d like to teach you about the three most important start up marketing tools you need to get and keep new customers.
None of these will work if you don’t have a quality product/service to back you up! Here are the key steps for putting together your start-up marketing tools:
“Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs” Peter Drucker, management consultant Here’s another one I love from an icon: “If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.” Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company This lesson has offered you the tools to put together a start-up marketing plan that can be used over and over again to help your customer base and business grow in a manageable way. The tools offered in my complimentary business consultation offer these very same things  Don't waste your marketing dollars! Today you’re going to learn how to find a target market of potential customers so you aren't wasting precious resources on blitz marketing. So, the two questions you have to ask yourself are:
Once you figure this out you will know who is more predisposed to purchase your products/services. Then, you find other businesses with the same customer base who you can create a strategic partnership with and customer share. Come up with an incentive and great arrangement to encourage both of your customer bases to shop at both of your stores. The basic concept is this:
So, here’s your step-by-step process:
If you need help working through this process, ask for a FREE business assessment and consultation to help move your business in the positive direction with the most comprehensive system of marketing tools and resources. Educate them about what, you may be thinking. Well, consider this, many businesses focus solely on attracting new customers, but you NEED to spend a good chunk of your time retaining current and former customers. These are people you already know to be a good sales potential…they've already bought from you!
Take the time to market and sell new products to your old customers and less time trying to sell old products to new customers and you will see a drastic change in your sales, customer quality and branding position. Here are a couple of key elements to use to retain your current customers:
Stop wasting all your time on new prospects while your current customers fall by the wayside! As Jay Abraham says, “Your best prospects are your existing customers. If you’ve been putting all your marketing efforts into acquiring new customers, stop and diverts some of your resources into reselling, upselling, cross-selling to those same customers. In every ways possible – through package inserts, regular mailings, special offers – stay in touch with those customers and get them used to buying from you.” So, there it is! Remember, my FREE business marketing consultation can help you put together the resources and tools to do exactly that. I can help you educate your customers and you can watch the benefits pay offer many-fold.  We live in a society where controversy sells. Know don’t misunderstand me, I just want you to think for a moment. Just think about Miley Cyrus and her recent ridiculous marketing antics. Our society loves juicy news, shocking revelations, and scandalous topics.
Most of the biggest TV programs that are on TV right now is based off of mocking established traditions. SCANDAL to name a few has start followings, viewing sessions, and have trended consistently on social media sites for a while now. Some of the biggest products and TV programs in the world are predicated on mocking established traditions and social values. For example, you might remember the old MTV reality show, "Jersey Shore," created a firestorm of attention, because so many people were intrigued by the controversy they generated. Some controversies even fuel religious and political groups to publicly make an outcry about the situations and what to do to ban them from programming and organizations. I say all of this to ask a question. And that is; If controversy works so well, does it deserve a place in YOUR marketing plan with your business or brand? No, because there's a better option. Controversy just for the sake of shock value usually produces a detrimental side effect. You may get a lot of attention in the short run, but in the long run you may end up sacrificing your reputation. Remember, marketing is not a sprint, but a marathon and you don’t want to lose the integrity of your brand with the public because it’s very hard to get it back. Instead here is a better alternative to use before putting your name or brand on the line: Be contrarian, rather than controversial. There's a big difference between the two. You see, controversy is usually based on a self-centered motive to gain attention to yourself. In contrast, a contrarian approach usually centers on helping other people by challenging and STRETCHING the way they think. You attempt to benefit others by stretching them beyond the status quo and offering an unexpected set of ideas. You know you're being contrarian in an effective manner when people respond, "Hmm, I've never heard that before...I haven't thought about it like that...I'll have to give what you said some more thought, creating conversation and engaging your clients, customers, and fans with a different way of thinking and opening them to seeing something in a different like. Now I know you may think, Ron! These marketing tactics are the same! They may appear the same in the way they stir and rouse people’s emotions. But the difference is between helping yourself and helping others. Controversy leaves a negative taste in everyone’s mouth because it’s almost like your begging for attention, like standing in the middle of rush hour traffic in your birthday suit with a sign saying LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! In contrast, contrarianism tends to leave a positive feeling with everyone, because people love people who consider their best interests to heart. Leave controversy to the businesses and brands that are here today and gone tomorrow. Take a long term view by being a contrarian and create a long standing relationships with your audience that values and respects you today and years from now. |
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