Jim's Marketing Blog

Would you like to get far more, highly targeted client/customer enquiries?

If you just answered yes, then I have a suggestion for you. I want you to consider a more deliberate approach to your marketing. It’s about intentionally choosing what your business stands for, then acting in accordance with it.

Here are just a couple of examples.

• Do you want your business to be known as a reassuringly expensive, high quality brand or a no-frills provider? Choose. Then set your prices and quality accordingly.
• Do you want your business to be remarkable or do you want it to be similar to your competitors? Choose. Then either offer something amazing or do what’s expected.

The thing is, you need to choose

In the examples above, both options can be amazingly successful.

There are billion dollar luxury providers and billion dollar no-frills providers. These successful brands intentionally choose which end of the market they want to serve. Then, they market their brand accordingly.

There are remarkable and unremarkable businesses, who make billions.

• The remarkable brands put their time into developing something spectacular, which people will talk about, recommend and share.
• The unremarkable brands invest their time developing high-return advertisements, introducer networks and hustling.

Both approaches work extremely well, when done correctly.

What doesn’t work well, is either failing to choose what your business stands for, or choosing, but acting inconsistently with your choice.

Overcoming the main challenge here

Over the years, I’ve found there is a major reason why small business owners get this wrong. It’s that they almost always feel as though they MUST be a high price or remarkable provider. And that if they aren’t, they’re somehow setting their sights too low.

This thinking is totally, utterly incorrect! Your business can thrive whatever end of the market you choose to serve.

McDonald’s, globally, will generate more income and profits today, than the most expensive, high class restaurant in your city will manage, in the next year or 10 years.

So, get intentional. Choose what you want your business to stand for and market it accordingly. This 1 step alone, will give you a huge advantage over your competitors.

And that’s not all my friend.

It will also provide you with massively more clarity and allow you to make better decisions.

I shared an idea earlier with some entrepreneurs, which I think you may find useful. It’s a powerful, yet very simple difference in how they run their day. It’s about the need to plan your work work your plan.

I’ve also included a tip, which you can use to accelerate the growth of your business.

It starts with an observation I’ve made, time and time again, since starting my business in 1995. When I speak with business owners, who work hard for too little reward, they tend to spend a lot of time reacting. Specifically, reacting to the demands of their clients / customers and colleagues. As such, they spend too little time developing their own business.

This scenario is most commonly expressed in that often-repeated business advice; “You need to spend more time working on your business and less time working in your business.”

Of course, every business owner needs to respond to the needs of their business. What I’ve discovered is that the most successful business owners respond differently from their average counterparts.

Plan your work and work your plan

It looks like this.

The smartest business owners remain focussed on their plans. This means they do what’s required for their clients, colleagues etc., and then refocus like a laser on their own plans. They plan their work, then work their plan. As a result, each day brings progress. Some days more than others. The key thing is they move their business forward every single day.

The average business owner also has a plan or at least a to-do list. However, they find their plans are often derailed by the demands of others. So, whilst they start their day correctly, their plans often go out the window. They work hard, but make little if any progress on their plans. Before they know it, a day of too little progress becomes a week of too little progress, a week becomes a month, a month becomes a year… drip, drip, drip.

What’s the answer?

The short answer is that we need to plan our work and work our plan. It’s the second part that’s tricky. As I mentioned a moment ago, most business owners have a plan of some description.

The challenge is sticking with the plan, when the day-to-day needs of their business come along.

Here’s what worked for me

I used the following, simple approach, to ensure my focus returned to my plan for the day. I set a reminder on my phone, which went off every 3 hours during the work day. When the alarm went off, a message would appear on my phone, saying work the plan.

Did you notice how the previous paragraph is in the past tense?

That’s because after a couple of weeks, I didn’t need the alarm. I learned to automatically refocus on my plan for the day, as soon as I’d completed an off-plan activity. It’s hard to overstate what a huge, measurable improvement this has made to my business and the businesses of many I have shared the idea with.

Plan your work and work your plan. Harder then it sounds, sure. However, it’s extremely valuable my friend.