Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Your opinions, voice, uniqueness and AI

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human opinion, ai, chatbots, marketing

Opportunity is knocking. It’s knocking loud and it’s knocking clear.

The best part? To benefit from this spectacular opportunity you just need to be yourself.

Allow me to explain.

It starts with a statement of fact: Your opinions are exactly that. They’re yours. They’re as specific to you as your unique blend of life experiences and lessons.

Conversely, artificial intelligence doesn’t have an opinion. Everything about its knowledge base is artificial.

Instead, AI is fed with masses of data. And it’s trained by groups of AI experts. One of the primary tasks of AI trainers, is to keep their AI as neutral to everyone as possible. And in seeking not to offend anyone, AI lacks even an artificial opinion.

In stark contrast

No person who has ever lived is neutral. Unlike AI, we not only have an opinion, we have countless opinions. This includes the opinions and feelings we have regarding the way we do business. And it impacts everything, including:

  • The business tactics we rule in or rule out.
  • The atmosphere we create for our clients or customers.
  • The way we sell or negotiate.
  • The value we place on our products or services.
  • The baseline quality of service or products we provide.
  • The type of staff we hire and the way we look after them.
  • The suppliers we choose.
  • The profile of customers we want to attract (and those we want to avoid).
  • The type of promises and guarantees we provide, etc., etc.

Your business, opinions, voice and uniqueness

Your opinions matter. They always have. They’re what give you your unique voice in the marketplace.

I firmly believe that today, and for the forseeable future, that uniqueness is a powerrful way, maybe the most powerful way, for your business to gain your biggest ever slice of the marketplace.

How?

A growing number of your competitors are switching to AI for their voice. For example, AI tools are creating and guiding their business plans; what to do and what to avoid. Chatbot apps are handling their frontline customer service. Chatbots are also guiding or shaping (and in many cases providing) their; newsletter content, blog posts, video / podcast scripts, advertising copy and social media interactions, etc. In short, everything that prospective clients or customers use in order to judge these businesses, is bland and lifeless.

I’m suggesting that you adopt a very different aproach to AI.

The most savvy business owners I know are also using AI. But the way they use it, excludes every area of their business that carries their DNA. Their opinions and their voice remain 100% human. It’s what guides their messaging, their priorities, their values, their commitment, their customer service and their willingness to go the extra mile. Their businesses have a pulse and personality. They are extremely easy to connect with. They are easy to relate to. And on a very human level, they’re easy to trust. Because they are human. And so is their brand. Not dull and lifeless like the previous example.

Very soon, you’ll be able to stand out and get noticed, in a way that wasn’t possible before. The opportunity is knocking. But only for those who choose to take notice of it.

Opportunities now: How to find new ways to make more sales

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agile marketing, marketing opportunities, small business marketing

Even in the current economy, many small business owners are prospering like never before. I very much want you and your business to do the same. That’s why I’m going to share one of their secrets with you, along with some examples to help you get started.

So, what’s their secret?

They’re making tweaks or additions to their services, so that what they offer is a superb fit for their prospective clients and existing clients.

What does this look like, Jim?

Well, it depends.

For example, some have developed a new type of service, which has opened up a whole new segment of their marketplace. Others have created add-ons that compliment their current services, which are being purchased by their existing clients. Then there are those who have looked for, and discovered, brand new niches for their current services. I could list dozens and dozens more examples.

My point is that they’re not thriving simply by working harder or working longer hours.

They’re working ON their business, instead. They’re uncovering opportunities that radically increase how attractive and valuable their services are to their prospective clients.

You can do the same for your business.

Spotting and creating new opportunities

Here are some general ideas to get your creativity flowing.

  • Look for new problems or challenges that the economy is creating for your clients or prospects, which you can solve for them.
  • Do your clients or customers tell you that there’s a certain strength you have, which they really value? If there is, look for ways to greatly magnify it. Own it. Make it a unique and valuable feature of hiring you or buying from you.
  • Explore how services that you currently offer could be combined, to create a bigger and uniquely valuable new service.
  • Research the range of services being offered by your competitors. Look for a gap in the market; a service that isn’t being provided, which you can provide and your prospects will love.
  • Do some research on the pricing / payment options offered by your competitors. Then consider how you can provide a pricing strategy, which is attractive to you, attractive to your prospects, and unique to your business.
  • Consider great service providers outside your industry. Think about what you like most about their service, then see how that can be incorporated into your own service.
  • Look for opportunities to deploy new technologies, which will give you a competitive advantage in quality, speed, rigour, capacity, scope, reduced overhead, etc.

I hope you find something here, which inspires you to find or create some golden opportunities. And remember, there are opportunities everywhere. So don’t quit. You can do this, my friend!

How to build a better business network

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building business contacts, better contacts

I’d like to ask you a relatively easy question. How many business contacts do you have?

You can easily get an approximate figure by adding together your social network contacts, the contacts in your address book and email lists, etc. For most reading this, the number will be in the high hundreds. For many it will be in the tens of thousands. And hundreds of thousands for some.

Here’s a harder question. How many business relationships do you have?

Business relationships are harder to count. That’s because they are people you connect with on a deeper level. Not just numbers on the social networks you use. Not just names in your address book, who you have no real history with.

Contacts = vanity

Building more and more contacts can be intoxicating. It’s often referred to as a vanity metric, because most of these numbers are visible, such as our social network contacts / followers / friends. The bigger the number, the more it strokes our ego.

We can be like the popular kid at school. Look at us. We’re a big deal. Even though we know hardly any of these people. We have the BIG contacts number.

Go us!

Relationships = sanity

Building relationships doesn’t seem as intoxicating. That’s because there’s no publicly visible number attached to it.

Think about it: Who else knows how many people rely on you when they need help? Who else knows how many people trust you or how many influential people you know. And who else knows how many people go to you for advice when they’re faced with important decisions?

Sanity numbers are a lot less public than our vanity numbers, but a lot more meaningful and massively more valuable.

With this in mind, how much time do you dedicate each day, to building and nurturing relationships? I’m talking here about going deeper than contact building.

For example.

Everyone who reads my newsletter can chat with me by simply replying to the email. I see it and reply to you personally. I’ve built countless relationships with people, who went from being a reader (contact on my email list), to being in regular dialogue with me (person I have a business relationship with and whose business I know).

The bottom line is that business is ultimately all about people. That’s why it’s essential to focus on people and the strength of our relationships with them.

Increase your value. Then market it effectively

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Marketing and value

If you’re a service provider, your income is based on just 2 things.

1. The value you bring. This is what determines how much your clients pay you. Between the best paid and the lowest paid, there can be a factor of 10x and often much more. Much more? Absolutely. My friend hired a photographer for a product shoot in London recently. The person he hired charged £17,000 for the shoot. The lowest quote for the same shoot, was just over £900.

2. How effectively you market the value you bring. This is what attracts the attention of your prospective clients. It’s what communicates your value in a way that motivates people to hire you.

Each of those areas can be improved. And by focusing on both areas, they leverage one another. When this happens, it radically improves everything for you.

Leveraged for spectacular results

That’s right. You get the financial reward of charging 5x, 10x, 20x… or whatever. Plus you’re also attracting more clients. These combine and compound. The results are transformational.

The best part?

All of this is possible, by focusing your attention and activity on just 2 things.

Business owners who work on those areas correctly, don’t just improve their results. They dramatically improve their results. So, refuse to settle for less than you deserve. Increase your value and then market it effectively.

Married bachelors and 3-sided squares

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marketing, prospecting

You’ll never meet a married bachelor. You’ll never find a 3-sided square. And you’ll never build the right kind of business, with the wrong kind of people.

  • If the wrong kind of people work for you, they’ll ruin your business.
  • If the wrong kind of people hire you, they’ll ruin your business.

The solution seems simple. Decide exactly who the right kind of people are for your business. And then intentionally hire, and market to, the right people.

The tricky part? Saying no to the wrong kind of people!

That’s why the best time to hire someone is before you desperately need a position filled. And the best time to choose a new client, is before you desperately need a new client.

It’s that easy.

It’s also that difficult.

Either way, it’s absolutely essential.

Get connected and prosper

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Marketing, connect with people

As you start the second quarter of 2023, I have a suggestion you might find really useful. Why not connect with some people?

For example.

  • The people you know, who could help you to reach someone you’d like to meet with.
  • The people you know, who will give you their honest opinion on that idea you have.
  • The people you know, who always leave you feeling energized after you speak with them.
  • The people you know, who need your help or support right now.
  • The people you know, who have successfully duplicated their business model in a new location, and opened up a whole new marketplace.
  • The people you know, who you haven’t connected with in a while and you should catch-up with.
  • The people you know, who would make great Joint Venture partners.
  • The people you know, who are experienced at dealing with a challenge you have.

Your list

Your list of people will be different from the one above. And your list will change, as your situation changes.

For example, my wife is an author. Her list changes radically, when she gets the publication date of her next book. It changes again, when the publicity for that book starts. And again, when she starts research on a new book.

The key thing is to set time aside when required, to focus on the people who could help you, and those who you might be able to help.

Their list

As you know, there are people out there who rely on you for various things; both in business and life in general. You’re on their lists, even if they don’t have written lists. The myth of the self-made success is exactly that… a myth. None of us can do it all by ourselves.

So get connected. And prosper.

Attracting attention Vs. Buying attention

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attraction marketing, earn attention

Typically, business owners buy advertising in order to get the attention of prospects. Today, I’m proposing you consider an alternative. Instead of buying attention with ads, I’m going to suggest you consider organically attracting attention.

I’ll include some examples of how this works, and I’ll explain some of the huge advantages of organically attracting attention.

Let’s go.

Here’s what we know about small business owners who want to be seen.

  • Some of them pay for ads on Google, Linkedin and Facebook, etc.
  • Others pay to be listed in directories.
  • Then there are those who buy ad space in publications.
  • And some buy radio ads or pay to sponsor podcasts, etc.
  • Or they do a combination of the above.

In those examples, the business owner is connecting with strangers and paying a fee every time. That’s a flawed combination. Why? Well, strangers are strangers. By default, a stranger is far less likely to hire you or buy from you, than someone who knows of you / your business and trusts you.

Buying ads also leaves you exposed to the threat of a better funded competitor, who can outspend you. I often hear from small business owners who have been priced out of online advertising, including Google Ads, because a competitor is outbidding them for the most important words and phrases. And that half page ad you run in a publication, becomes vastly less effective when a competitor decides to invest in a double-page spread for the next 6 months.

If you’re tired of paying to interrupt strangers or you want to avoid being vulnerable to a better funded competitor, it’s time to consider a different approach

An attractive alternative

Some business owners attract attention organically, build their own community and nurture their own long-term relationships with prospects. This leads to sustainable growth for the business owner, with increasing, not diminishing, returns.

Can you give me some examples, Jim?

Yes. Here are a few that came to mind immediately.

  • I’m thinking about a coffee shop owner, who decides to start a book club, (a crafting group or creative writing evenings), for their customers.
  • And a dentist, who provides a monthly class for people who have an irrational fear of dentists. They get the added benefit of free referrals from health professionals.
  • Naturally, I’m also thinking of my fellow content creators, who, like me, freely publish useful ideas to the market they serve.

In those examples, the business owner is growing a community of prospective clients or customers. They’re building their very own marketing asset and it increases in value all the time. Their community organically spreads the word, telling their families, friends, colleagues and general contacts.

And the connection to that community doesn’t belong to an advertiser, it belongs to the business owner!

Yes, in each of the above examples you’d need to invest some of your time.

However, that modest investment is building you your very own, extremely valuable community. A community who will get to know you, trust you, recommend you, hire you and buy from you.

How do I know?

I know because I use this approach and haven’t paid for advertising since the 1990’s. I also help small business owners to enjoy the same benefits. So yes, I strongly recommend you seriously think about it.

What really matters

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Stalling tactics, marketing tip

It doesn’t matter what brand of laptop or phone you work with. Leonardo da Vinci used a quill and parchment. Einstein used a pen and paper, plus a chalkboard.

It doesn’t matter how motivated you feel. You don’t wait for inspiration to appear. You command it to appear.

It doesn’t matter what negative or peevish people tell you. Great ideas are not anointed!

It doesn’t matter if others can’t see your vision. Steve Ballmer famously laughed on camera, when interviewed about Apple’s first iPhone. He said no businessperson would use a phone that didn’t have a hardware keyboard.

What does matter

What matters, really matters, is that you get started.

This means taking the first step, despite being fearful, tired or nervous… rather than waiting for that mythical perfect time to arrive.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.

Unconsciously, we develop stalling tactics and end up standing in our own way. We need to identify the things that cause us to stall, and call them out for what they are (excuses). When we do, we’re free to get started.

Free to unleash our full potential.

Let them make you better, not bitter!

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marketing, usp, different

There’s an old saying that tells us, let your past make you better, not bitter.

Business owners should use a revised version of that saying, let your competitors make you better, not bitter.

I’ve worked with thousands of business owners over the years and noticed a strong tendency, for them to drastically underestimate their competitors. This then creates bitterness, especially toward the most successful of their competitors. It seems totally unfair.

I get to see both sides. And there’s always a reason why one business is ahead of the pack.

  • They market their services extremely effectively.
  • They offer an outstanding service.
  • They offer a unique variation of a service.
  • And some do all of the above, plus more.

The most useful place to look when our business is struggling against competitors, is the mirror. We’re either failing to market our business as effectively as they are, (or / and) we’re offering a less valuable service. This means we either need to improve our marketing, or we need to improve what we do. Preferably both.

It isn’t luck.

It isn’t magic.

It is fair.

And it produces predictable results. Every. Single. Time. But only if we care enough to do it correctly.

Have an unfair advantage over your competitors

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unfair advantage

Today, I’m going to give you an unfair advantage over your competitors.

I was just 29 years old when I started my first business. So I made darn sure to seek out as much advice and as many tips as possible, from those with lots more experience. That’s when I discovered what I’m about to share with you.

It’s so effective, I’ve used it with great success ever since!

It came from my first accountant, back in the 1990’s. He suggested I work 1-hour a day longer, than the average for my profession. This is what he himself did, and it gave him what he called “an unfair advantage” over his competitors.

I did as he suggested and the results were amazing.

Your unfair advantage

Here’s how it works, in just 3 steps.

  1. I’m an early bird, so I chose to start work an hour earlier than others in my profession. You can equally add your hour to the end of the day, or add 30-minutes to the start of your day and 30-minutes to the end.
  2. I would finish around the same time as them, so I just worked 1-hour more.
  3. The pay-off: Over the period of a working year, this gives you an additional 6 weeks (based on the typical 40-hour working week). That’s an amazing one and a half months worth, of extra, highly-productive time, to produce, create and deliver for your clients or customers.

The positive impact on my results came fast and were easy to measure.

But that’s not all.

You automatically get another unfair advantage

Yes, it genuinely helped me get a lot more done. But it helped in another way, too.

By knowing I was working while my counterparts were not, it provided me with an instant, mental advantage. It made me feel that I was more committed, more motivated and more driven than them. This may not have been true, but the inspiration it gave me, and still gives me today, is absolutely true.

If you’re in a tight spot right now or just want to give your business a sustainable, measurable lift, I strongly recommend you give yourself this unfair advantage!