Have you ever wondered how things would change, if every company you dealt with, treated you as if you were the husband or wife, parent or child, of it’s owner?
Most companies genuinely try hard to make the customer experience as good as possible, but many set their gold standard for service, too low. This is because they allow the typical customer experience within their industry or profession to determine what counts as either good or average. Here’s why YOU need to avoid this…
Sales leads or enquiries, are an essential part of the marketing process. After all, a steady flow of good quality sales leads, when acted upon correctly, can lead to a regular stream of lucrative business and allow business owners to plan ahead with confidence.
SO, this post gives you TEN 10 popular and powerful lead generation ideas, to add to your marketing arsenal…
Endorsed Relationships, have been referred to by marketing experts, including Jay Abraham, as the most powerful form of marketing in the world. I totally agree. This brief post, will show you what endorsed relationships are and how you can use them to market your business.
What is an Endorsed Relationship?
An endorsed relationship, in marketing terms, is simply a relationship you form with another person / company / brand, where they endorse (or recommend) you and your services to their clients, customers and contacts. This can come via literally any form of marketing…
Joint Ventures, often known simply as JV’s, can be an extremely effective way to generate new business. This is probably why so many of you asked me for information on Joint Ventures, when I asked you for your marketing questions recently.
The following is a brief explanation of what JV’s are and how they work…
In order for me to make this blog as valuable as possible to you, I need to know which marketing challenges or problems are most important to you.
For example; lead generation, email marketing, social media marketing, mail shots (direct mail), networking, retail marketing, referrals, joint ventures, etc.
So, I would really appreciate it, if you would [...]
Successful marketing is all about people.
It’s not about; brands, venues, websites, companies or social media tools – Marketing is all about people. You see, without people, none of those things matter.
I met with a friend of mine this morning, who owns a large and very successful nightclub. We had our meeting this time, in the nightclub itself, rather than his office, and the sensation was amazing. I have only previously been there, when it’s been packed with hundreds of people, having a great time and enjoying the music. This morning, you could have heard a pin drop, as we sat, drinking coffee and talking about his marketing.
You see, it’s not the building, fixtures or fittings that makes his nightclub a success; it’s the people who work there and party there. Without people, the place means nothing. The value is in the people…
As a marketing coach, I love working with people, who are passionate about their businesses.
Passion is infectious. Passion is inspiring and motivating. Passion is power. You see, no matter how great your plans are, without the passion to see them through, they will simply remain plans. How sad would that be? What a waste – To have the ideas and make the plans, but to lack the passion to see them plans come to life.
Here’s what my mentor, Jim Rohn, used to say;
“We each have a decision to make. We can either pay the price for discipline or the price for regret. Discipline weighs ounces, but regret weighs tons!”…
Is your marketing shouting at people?
If you go into Starbucks today and start shouting at the people around you, you will definitely grab their attention. However, it’s not the kind of attention you want to attract. Many small businesses use a very similar approach with their marketing. In an effort to capture attention, they act in a way that gets them noticed, but for all the wrong reasons.
They not only fail to generate new business; they can permanently damage the reputation of their business too.
Some examples of how companies shout at people with their sales and marketing:
* Adding people to their newsletter list, without permission. It’s spam.
* Spamming people on Twitter.
* Meeting people at networking events and using that transparent crap; “tell me about your business and how I can help you.” Wake up, it’s not 1985 any more!
* Asking people to join their Linkedin network, claiming they worked with them (when both parties know it’s a lie.)
* Unwanted telemarketing calls to people’s homes at 8pm. Just what you need when getting a young child to sleep or relaxing after a hard day….
Which are you better at: Marketing your services or servicing your market?
I have lost count of how many outstanding businesses I have seen go broke, simply because they failed to market their services correctly. They enjoy superb customer retention, because their services are so good that people just don’t want to leave.
However, because they win too few new customers, their revenues and profits stagnate and if they do lose a big account or have a large, unscheduled financial commitment pop up, they can suddenly be running at a loss. If that loss goes on too long, they are in deep trouble. If only they adopted better marketing, they could achieve great things…
If you run a business, you will already know how precious your time is. This is why it’s so important to ensure that you avoid time wasters, and that’s what this post is all about.
One of the biggest time sucks in business, are those seeking free advice from you, with no intention of repaying you in any way. Often, these time wasters will disguise themselves as prospective clients or customers, in an effort to get the benefit of as much free information from you as possible.
These are the time wasters I am going to focus on in this post…
There’s a big difference between learning something and learning something of value. When I speak with people about my services, I often say;
“Some coaches teach so others can learn – That’s not me!
Some coaches teach so others can accomplish – That IS me!”
This is because not all information is the same. I meet with businesspeople all the time, who tell me how much they enjoyed a certain book or how interesting they found a seminar or workshop they attended – BUT that they still have the same problems or challenges. They were educated, but with the wrong information for their unique situation…
Marketing goals within small businesses are typically just a list of numbers. If you want to set yourself some motivating, inspiring marketing goals, ask yourself this question:
If my business were perfect in every way, what would it look like right now?
Your answer to that powerful, yet simple question, should be the foundation of your marketing.
It will tell you the type of clients or customers you should be marketing to. It will tell you how many additional, high quality sales you need to make. It will tell you what your business needs to generate in revenue and profits, to give you the quality of life you really want.
Through effective sales and marketing, you can develop your business deliberately and by design. However, before you start using powerful sales and marketing tools, make sure you are using them to develop the profile of business that motivates and inspires you.
If you use email or blogging to market your services, I believe you will find the following information really useful.
It’s all about the importance of avoiding certain words or phrases in your emails and blog posts, which could get them blocked from reaching your readers.
Whilst there are many different things that can lead to an [...]
One of the secrets of great communication, is to pick the correct delivery method, to get the maximum, targeted exposure for your message. We refer to this as “giving oxygen” to your marketing.
Marketing oxygen
Some of you will have noticed that when I made my BIG announcement here yesterday, I closed the comments section for that [...]
This quick marketing tip, will help you communicate with more people in your marketplace than ever before.
If you have studied marketing, you will know how important it is to be able to communicate your message effectively. That makes sense. It’s no good having something great to say, if you can’t get your point across.
However, a [...]
This is possibly the most valuable information I have given you via this blog!
That’s quite a statement, but I’m about to show you a business model, which you can use in order to secure your financial future. It’s based on how I earn the vast majority of my income and how every wealthy person I [...]
Do you have companies you buy from or stores / places you visit, where they make spending money with them an enjoyable experience for you?
I’m sure you do, and this post will give you some of the reasons why you feel the way you do, when doing business with those rare providers, who “get it” [...]
I want to share a valuable piece of advice with you, which I received from my mentor; the late, great Jim Rohn. Here’s what Jim used to say;
“Have something worth saying and say it well.
Jim would use that phrase when speaking about effective communication and I believe it’s also a very simple, powerful way to [...]
As regular readers will know, I’ve made a career out of helping businesses and entrepreneurs achieve measurable sales results.
Recently, I have started to use the term “bankable results” to refer to my style of marketing. This phrase was commented on by one of my readers and regular contributors, Robin Dickinson. So, I thought I would [...]
If you are planning to start the New Year with a marketing push, here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself, before you proceed. Think of this as a simple, New Year marketing check list.
So, before you invest a penny of your money, or your time, on marketing for 2010; take a [...]
