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Why you need a story. From the original Mad Man

By Jim Connolly | March 16, 2023

marketing, business, brand, story, ogilvy

Someone recently asked me why her business needed a story. She thought it was, “a load of trendy nonsense”.

When I answered her question, she emailed me back to say it had changed her perception completely. She said it would improve her approach to marketing forever.

So today, I decided to share my answer with you. I hope you find it just as useful.

Why your brand needs a story

My answer begins with a quote from advertising legend, David Ogilvy. Ogilvy was the inspiration behind the hit TV show, Mad Men.

Here’s what he had to say.

“There isn’t any significant difference between the various brands of whiskey, or cigarettes or beer. They are all about the same”. “[…] The manufacturer who dedicates his advertising to building the most sharply defined personality for his brand will get the largest share of the market at the highest profit”.

That message isn’t new. It was written decades ago, as you can tell from the examples he uses. But it’s even more valid in 2023, than when Ogilvy shared it.

Think about it. Apple’s iPhone is the best selling mobile phone in the world, despite being one of the most expensive. It doesn’t have the best display, the best camera, the best signal reception or the best battery life.

But it does have the best story.

Emotions drive decisions

Your prospective clients or customers are motivated by emotions, far more than logic. The way they feel about you and your brand, is what will drive their decision to hire you, buy from you and recommend you. And it’s your story, which determines how they feel about you. (I explain why in this post, Does your business pass the coffee shop test?, which you might find useful).

Build a story, my friend. A story that people will embrace and share.

Is it easy? No. It takes a little creativity.

Is it possible? Yes. Very possible.

Is it worth the effort? Absolutely.

Suddenly it smashes you in the face!

By Jim Connolly | March 16, 2023

Jim Connolly marketing, fix your marketing

Marketing tactics and strategies seldom fail overnight.

Instead, they become a little less effective over time. The decrease in effectiveness is usually so gradual that for weeks, often longer, you hardly even notice it. Then you look at your sales leads, your upcoming sales meetings and your sales figures and the reality of the situation kicks in.

Your marketing is no longer effective and you’re about to feel some real pain, unless you resolve things.

One guy went 5 months without a sales lead, before he contacted me. He said, and I believe him, that he hoped it was just a long blip, and that things would pick up ‘next week’. It was only after his bank refused to increase his lending that he reached out for help.

That months-long period is how marketing problems usually manifest themselves. There’s a slow, very gradual decline in results. Then suddenly the numbers punch you in the face. It’s at this point, where most business owners will take action.

Other business owners do things differently.

Here’s what I see regularly, with new clients. They have been keeping an eye on their marketing and the results generated. They then paid extra attention as soon as they saw a negative pattern emerging. The moment they believed there was a bigger problem ahead, they contacted me.

So, why do most small business owners hesitate?

There are a number of reasons behind the decision of some business owners, to wait longer than others, before proactively taking control of their problem.

Here are the reasons I hear most commonly from new clients.

  • Some are sat on a fat bank account, which decreases their hunger to fix things. They’ll try to ride it out.
  • Some hate the idea of change, so leave it as late as possible.
  • Some have far less motivation or need to make money, as the vast majority of their family income is from their life-partner, wife, husband or parents.
  • Some have a well-paid job and their business is really just a hobby or pastime.

It boils down to different circumstances and different attitudes.

Whatever your current situation or mindset, marketing problems are easier and faster to resolve, the sooner you get started. Because the moment you start doing the right things correctly, you change the direction of your business.

How to get your prices right: High, medium or low?

By Jim Connolly | March 13, 2023

how to set prices, get your prices right

One of the best things about owning a business or directing the path of a company, is that you have the freedom to adapt and improve as things change. With this in mind, I’d like to share an idea, more of an opportunity really, with you. Something you may not have considered before.

It’s all about which segment of the market you should serve and how to get your prices or fees right.

High priced, medium priced or low priced?

Long before the current economic turmoil. Before the pandemic. In fact, for decades now, here’s what we have seen.

High priced, quality brands are doing really well.

Low priced, budget brands are doing really well, too.

The average priced, average brands are struggling.

Yes, those are general observations. But the core message is loud and clear. It’s a lot harder to sell an average priced, average positioned product or service. Average prices (or fees) are too expensive for those with limited budgets. Average prices are of no interest whatsoever to those who demand the best possible products or an exclusive, premium service.

Why then, is the middle ground where the great majority of businesses land?

Obviously, most new businesses set their prices where they feel they have the best chance of making sales or attracting clients. In my experience, they’ll start off a little higher or a little lower than whatever the average is. By default, this means most businesses begin life within the average price range. And that’s where most of them will remain, adjusting prices roughly in keeping with their similarly priced competitors.

Are your prices or fees pitched correctly?

If you’re currently serving that highly competitive middle ground, and you’re finding it hard to thrive, I’d like you to consider leaving it. (I wrote this helpful piece about how to leave the middle ground that you may find useful).

I’d like you to think about one of the following alternatives.

  • Embracing the opportunities that come from serving the high price, high end of your industry or profession.
  • Or embracing the opportunities that come from being a successful, budget provider.

By the way, there are huge opportunities at the budget end of things, if you get the balance right.

Poundland, a budget retailer in the UK, generated revenues of over $1.5Billion when its most recent figures were announced. Similarly, service providers who are able to put robust, highly optimized systems in place, can make a fortune whilst charging significantly lower fees for their services. I’ve seen this low-fee model work extremely effectively, many, many times.

So, should everyone reading this reposition away from the middle ground?

No. It totally depends on your answer to the following question.

Did you intentionally chose the middle ground?

Over the past 25 years, I’ve found that business owners tend to naturally gravitate toward the middle ground and average pricing. Very few of them intentionally set out to be there. It just happens. The reasons are many and varied.

My suggestion is that it’s a good idea to consider your options. All of them. Is the segment of the market you find yourself serving today, taking you where you want to be in the next 5 or 10 years?

  • If it is, then you’ve landed in the right place.
  • If not, then examine the opportunities open to you, serving one of the other segments.

In short, make sure you intentionally choose where you set your prices or fees. Determine what part of the market you are most likely to succeed in. Many business owners ‘happen upon’ the right segment, others happen to get it wrong. We need to be smarter than that and deliberately decide for ourselves.

Obligated to succeed

By Jim Connolly | March 10, 2023

marketing, professional , excellence

You’ve connected with a prospective client or customer.

You’ve taken time to fully understand their needs.

You are now absolutely certain that your service or product is exactly what they require. Experience of your industry assures you that they won’t find a better match than you, anywhere.

You now have a professional obligation to the prospect. Your obligation is to make sure they don’t make the mistake of hiring or buying from another provider.

Your professional obligation

The reason you have an obligation, is that as a professional, you always act in the interests of the market you serve. You have no way to know just how badly people will be served by one of your competitors. The only thing you can know for certain, is that you take great care to provide your clients with a superb, professional service. In short, your prospect needs you!

Okay. Please hold that thought for a moment.

Now consider your next conversation with a prospective client.

Before you begin, simply remind yourself of the facts above; that you can provide exactly what the prospect needs, that you’ll serve them better than any of your competitors and that the prospect needs you.

Here’s what often happens

Having shared this idea with countless business owners over the years, here’s what I have found again and again.

By approaching the conversation with your prospect, mindful of your genuine commitment to their best interests, it improves how they feel about you and how they feel about what you say.

Interestingly, you don’t need to deliberately change the words you use.

Why?

Because what you’re doing is 100% sincere.

It’s natural, not scripted.

It’s genuine, not a trick.

What changes by default, is how you communicate; your eagerness to listen fully to what they say, the cadence of your conversation, your facial expressions and your body language, etc. You’re now communicating with them as an ally who is looking out for them and their best interests. Because that’s exactly who you are, and it’s exactly what you’re doing.

It all stems from a simple reminder of how much you care for your clients, and how committed you are to delighting them.

The false assumptions that ruin your marketing results

By Jim Connolly | March 8, 2023

marketing, assume nothing

Unsure why you’re attracting too few sales or too few clients? It could be down to false assumptions. Allow me to explain.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, ‘if the words don’t add up, it’s usually because truth wasn’t part of the equation’. Here’s my marketing equivalent, ‘if the numbers don’t add up, it’s usually because truth wasn’t part of the equation’.

In other words, when your sales numbers don’t add up the way you expect, it’s usually because false information entered the equation. False information, rooted in a false assumption, to be precise.

Here’s a very common example of what I mean.

Failing to check the source

Small business owners are often poorly advised. If they wrongly assume the advice is correct when it’s false, and then follow the advice, they’ll lose money, waste time and miss opportunities.

The golden rule here is to always check the source of advice, before you act on it.

For example, if a sincere friend gives you marketing advice, make sure they have the marketing background required. As Jim Rohn used to tell us, sincerity is not a test of truth. It’s possible to be sincerely wrong!.

Equally, before you pay for advice from a marketing provider, check them out. As you may have already discovered, there are plenty of ineffective marketing providers out there.

The easiest way to check a marketing provider out is to look at how they market their own business. Effective marketing providers attract clients via referral and reputation; so people already know us and our work long before they hire us. Less effective marketing providers are unable to attract enough clients or get enough referrals. You find them at networking events hunting for clients or on Linkedin pestering people for leads. That’s a huge red flag.

Here’s another cause of false assumptions.

You need more sales, not more leads

Imagine the following scenario.

A small business owner urgently needs more sales or more clients. However, they make a false assumption. They wrongly assume they need more sales leads or client leads.

Their focus is now on lead acquisition tactics, when it should be on sales / client acquisition tactics. As a result, they get leads, maybe lots of leads, but few additional sales or new clients. In short, they got what they went for, leads, but they went for the wrong thing. They should have focused on bankable results.

For those who don’t know, in most cases you can attract clients or customers massively faster without spending time or money on lead acquisition or advertising. Only after direct, faster options have been deployed would I consider lead generation.

What next?

When it comes to marketing your business, make it a habit to never assume anything. Check your sources. Ask relevant questions. If you do, you will dramatically increase your chances of finally getting the results you deserve.

How to own a valuable chunk of your marketplace

By Jim Connolly | March 4, 2023

marketing differentiation, stand out, get noticed

All accountants are not the same. But to look at their marketing, you’d think they were. Of course, this is true of service providers in every industry and profession.

Including yours!

For a moment, put yourself in the shoes of a prospective client, eagerly looking for a service provider in your industry. Currently, they’ll find themselves faced with what looks like an ocean of very similar businesses.

Then, everything quickly changes

I want you to imagine that a serious competing provider turns up. A provider with great marketing, so they’re differentiating themselves in a valuable, meaningful way. They stand out. And they stand out for all the right reasons. Huge change is coming.

Here’s what it looks like every single time this happens.

  • This new provider starts attracting the attention of the marketplace.
  • People start talking about them and the word begins to spread.
  • With so many people saying good things about this new provider, they build a great reputation.
  • They become the default choice, for clients who want more than a cookie-cutter service provider.
  • They soon own the most profitable end of the marketplace: The clients who want something better and will happily pay for it.

Faced with this possibility, you have a couple of options.

  1. You can wait until a competitor like that turns up, targeting your clients and your prospective clients. You’ll be forced into action and you’ll be playing catch-up. This takes the timing out of your control and gives you a bigger, more serious problem to deal with.
  2. Alternatively, you can improve your marketing and become that provider yourself, growing your business with the best clients. You can do it now, so you control the timing and have all the advantages this brings.

Yes, I recommend option 2.

And I recommend you take it sooner rather than later. Opportunities like this come with a use-by date.

Make better decisions

By Jim Connolly | March 3, 2023

make better decisions

A key factor behind great decision making, is to make sure you are working with accurate information.

In a marketing context:

  • You can assume that your marketing copy is as good as it can be or you can split test it. By testing different versions and measuring the feedback, you can improve both your message and your sales results.
  • You can assume that your clients and former clients love the service you provide, or you can ask them.
  • You can assume that your products or service is still better value than your competitors, or you can do some research and see if they’ve upped their game.
  • You can assume that you already get a reasonable number of word of mouth recommendations, or you can compare them to the industry average. Note: I wrote this post about how to get more word of mouth referrals that you may find useful.

You get the idea.

In short, never make a decision without first knowing the facts. Make accurate information the foundation of all your decision making.

Little things. Massive impact. Fast

By Jim Connolly | February 28, 2023

business productivity

A very quick way to improve your results, is to seek out the little things that have the biggest impact. Then, put them to work.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

  • Turn notifications off when you’re working on anything important. By working with unbroken focus, you’ll get more done, in less time and your work will be higher quality.
  • Plan your days in advance. Then work your plan. Otherwise, you’ll be reacting all day and far less productive. It’s also impossible to know if things are going according to plan, if you don’t actually have a plan.
  • Put a little time aside each day to contact one of your clients. Not to sell them something. Just to ask how they’re doing. Business relationships become stronger, when your clients don’t assume you’re selling something, every time you contact them. Plus, you’ll be better able to build useful, new services for your clients, if you communicate with them regularly.
  • Your subject lines are what motivate people to open your marketing emails. Invest an extra 15 minutes crafting them. Even if you only manage a 10% increase, that 15 minutes might be your most lucrative all day.
  • Check your website and make sure your contact forms work. It only takes a few minutes. One day you’ll be glad you did. I learned this one the hard way!

Little things can have a massive impact. So why not take one of these little examples and see if you can apply it today? 

How to crack the success code

By Jim Connolly | February 27, 2023

how to crack success code, crack success code

Hard work gets a bad rap.

Sure, it’s important to work smart.

Obviously, it’s important to work with passion, professionalism and great care.

But without the commitment to do all the work required, we’re dramatically limiting our potential. All the work required, includes the hard work… the kind of work we tend to either put off or avoid completely.

I’ve met countless business owners over the years, who are great at what they do, but lack the work ethic needed for the success they desire. They either fail to work the hours required, or they do the hours, but fail to do the work required during those hours.

I’ve never met a successful person in any field, who lazy-assed their way to the top. Yes, there are some wealthy businesspeople who sometimes forget to tell us they were born rich or inherited a fortune. But those who start from square one and make it to the top, work hard.

We do well to follow their example.

Why?

They’ve cracked the success code!

By doing the hard work, as well as the smart work, soon enough they find they have the resources to hire people [or buy the technology], to do a lot of the heavy lifting. They can then adjust their workload so it suits them perfectly.

The best way I ever heard this approach explained, was by the late Zig Ziglar.

“If you will be hard on yourself, life will be easy on you. But if you insist upon being easy on yourself, life is going to be very hard on you.”

  • It isn’t about over-working.
  • It isn’t about working too many hours.
  • It isn’t about working too many days in a row.

It’s about doing the work required, during work hours. And then enjoying our leisure time. Nothing more than that, but nothing less than that, either.

A rare marketing opportunity for your business

By Jim Connolly | February 21, 2023

get noticed, make noise, make difference

We rarely find a business that answers their support phone line as fast as their sales phone line.

We rarely find a business that treats customers as individuals, with individual requirements.

We rarely find a business that is willing to demonstrate true leadership in its sector or industry.

We rarely find a business that has the courage to innovate.

We rarely find a business that shows genuine respect for the environment.

We rarely find a business that offers a uniquely valuable service.

We rarely find a business that sets self-imposed deadlines and consistently achieves them.

We rarely find a business that under-promises with its marketing messages.

The opportunity

What’s even rarer, is to find a business doing all [or even most] of the above. When we do, they attract our attention, they earn our custom and they gain our loyalty. Plus, we tell everyone about them. That’s a massively valuable combination.

It’s important to remember that everything your business does is marketing; an opportunity for you to create a powerful, commercial impact.

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Hi! I'm Jim Connolly and I help small business owners to increase sales, boost their profits and build amazing businesses. Read more here.

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