Jim Connolly Marketing

Why you need a story. From the original Mad Man

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marketing, business, brand, story, ogilvy

Someone 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 business 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 2024, 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.

brand story, feelings, emotions decisions

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.

A wonderful opportunity or a nasty problem?

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be prepared for success, wonderful business

Things can improve exceptionally fast when you own a small business. Often so fast that they catch the business owner unawares. And a wonderful opportunity is replaced with a nasty problem.

I don’t want that to happen to you.

So here are some common things you should consider preparing for.

  • Talk with your bank manager, in anticipation of a future, major project. Make sure you have access to the cash flow required, for what can be a sudden, huge spike in your outgoings.
  • Contact your suppliers. Find out how quickly they can scale up if you have a sudden, vastly higher demand than usual.
  • Keep your financial information up-to-date, clear and detailed. You’ll then be in the best position possible, if a serious party asks about acquiring your business. Keeping detailed information makes everything transparent. This encourages trust and can help you get the best price.
  • If you’re hoping to go ‘viral’, contact your web host to make sure it has the capability to handle huge volumes of traffic. I’ve seen what happens when a server can’t cope, and masses of valuable sales and enquiries are lost. [I use these and they’ve been extremely reliable for years].
  • And get some media training, before you need it. Learn how to speak on camera, how to talk with clarity and how to overcome any fears about there being a huge audience.

You get the idea. Be ready in advance.

All wonderful. No problem

The longer you’re in business, delighting your customers or clients and building your reputation, the more likely it is that something wonderful will happen.

So be ready. Get the maximum from the opportunity.

Because you’ve earned it!

Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com

How to access proven marketing ideas

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people walking inside building

Today, I’m going to show you how to access an endless supply of powerful marketing ideas. And that’s not all. You will have already, personally seen them working, before you even use them! It’s a process I call engaged observation and it can massively improve your sales results.

Here’s a very quick example of how engaged observation works. It can be applied to every type of marketing. However, here I’ll show how you could apply it to improve your social media marketing results.

Engaged observation example

The next time you’re scrolling through LinkedIn, Facebook, X, etc., and notice that you’ve stopped to read one of the posts, as an engaged observer you would look for what it was that motivated you to stop and take notice of that post.

  • Perhaps it was the kind of image used.
  • It might have been the audio.
  • Maybe it was the relationship you have with the person or brand posting it.
  • It could have been the headline.
  • Or the topic of the post.
  • And it may have been something totally different.

Whatever it was, you personally witnessed its effectiveness when you were motivated to stop and give it your attention. You know for absolute certain that it works.

Once you’ve identified what attracted you, for instance the kind of image used, you have a starting point. You now have an opportunity to improve your marketing, based on what you experienced. In this example, you can try using a similar kind of image. Then, test and measure the results.

Engaged observation can be used on anything, where you have been motivated to take action. For example, ask yourself:

  • What motivated you to fill in the enquiry form on a website?
  • What motivated you to spend more than you had budgeted on a new product?
  • What motivated you to try a new brand of shampoo?
  • What motivated you to add more items to an online shopping cart?
  • What motivated you to believe the product reviews on a certain website?
  • What motivated you to listen to a whole advertisement, rather then press skip?
  • What motivated you to hire your last adviser, coach, trainer or consultant?
  • What motivated you to try a different restaurant?
  • What motivated you to click on a call to action link/button?
  • What motivated you to tell your friends about a service provider or brand?
  • What motivated you to subscribe to a newsletter you receive?
  • What motivated you to call a particular service provider for a quote?
  • What motivated you to trust the last service provider you used?
  • What motivated you to buy the latest book, from an author you’ve never read before?
  • What motivated you to switch to your current phone network?

Behind each of those actions is a motivating factor. Something that inspired you to take action. Something that could inspire your prospects to take action. Something you can identify, adapt, test in your own marketing and measure the results.

Each time you use engaged observation, instead of starting from scratch with a new marketing tactic, you start with something you know is effective. This saves you time and helps you get it right, faster.

What I’ve done here, is show you a tiny number of examples, to open your mind to the huge number of marketing improvement opportunities open to you.

I hope you find it useful. Because if you use it correctly, it can profoundly improve your sales results.

Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com

Here’s a better way to grow your business

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immediate marketing results

Photo credit: Bruce Mars

There’s a better way to market your business. I’m going to share it with you today. Read this short message to the end, because it is not what you think it’s going to be.

Agreed?

Let’s go!

For your marketing to succeed, you need to focus like a laser on your major business growth goal or goals. For this exercise, your business goals should be expressed in numbers.

For example: To increase your sales in 2024 by 200%.

That goal becomes your focus. Because as you’re about to find out, that focus is what leads you to making the right marketing decisions. It guides you toward engaging in the correct marketing activities.

But first, there’s a problem you need to overcome.

When I speak with, and receive emails from small business owners, the vast majority are focused on improving a part, or parts, of their marketing. Things like.

  • Better email open rates.
  • Improved SEO.
  • Linkedin training.
  • More subscribers.
  • A better sales funnel.
  • More effective ads.
  • A bigger list.
  • More client enquiries.
  • A bigger social network.

In this example, the correct marketing activities are not on that list. That’s because small business owners have never heard of them or are unaware how they work. So, they focus on what they have heard of and work hard. By focusing on the wrong thing, they take the wrong action.

Here’s what they need to focus on.

  • A 200% increase in sales by the end of 2024.

Armed with that measurable goal and timescale, they are free to consider and select the best options. (I list a handful in a moment). As you’ll see, there are lots of massively better alternatives.

Here’s just one example I often use with clients, to achieve far better outcomes, and faster.

Endorsed relationships

You can smash an annual financial goal using what I call endorsed relationships. An endorsed relationship is where you form a relationship with a suitable business owner or company, and they endorse (or recommend) you, your products or services to their customers.

Because their customers trust them, their recommendation can lead to spectacularly high conversion rates. And it happens fast. Of course, in return, you do the same for them. Your ‘marketing’ task is simply to identify and connect with a handful of potential endorsed relationship partners.

Depending on the annual financial goal you have for your business, it’s possible to achieve it with just a few, good, endorsed relationships. Sure, you need to know the correct way to do this, but when you get it right, it’s exceptionally powerful. It also frees you up from being bogged down with marketing. I know, right!

Freedom to grow your business

If you focus on smashing your specific goals, you’re free to benefit from lots of other wonderful opportunities like endorsed relationships. Here’s a handful.

  • Compound marketing.
  • Joint ventures.
  • Prospect bridges.
  • Becoming a zero competition provider. (I absolutely love this one)
  • Introducer networks.
  • … and the other, similarly great ways to transform your business results.

So don’t simply look for ways to improve what isn’t working.

Focus instead on your outcome — your defined, numeric business goals for 2024. Because there are vastly more powerful tactics available to you, which have nothing to do with typical marketing. You’ll then be free to think, plan and grow the business you always wanted. With none of the marketing limitations that have held you back.

Let’s build that new service you need

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how to, create new service, new product, income stream, small business

I think you’re going to find this really useful. Today, I explain why you really should offer a new service or product to your existing customers. PLUS, I give you some proven advice on how to get started.

If you don’t already know, here’s why you should think seriously about developing a new service.

The quickest, most profitable way to generate additional income for your business, is to sell new services to your existing customers. It’s a lot faster and more profitable, than finding new customers for your existing services.

Faster and more profitable — why?

Because your customers already know you. They already trust you. They have an existing trading relationship with you. And marketing to existing customers costs a fraction as much, making it more profitable, too.

Whenever I share this idea with a new client, they immediately see the potential. After all, these cookies were already smart enough to hire me. They then follow it up with a great question.

“How do we get started creating this new service, Jim”?

Obviously, when I work with one of my clients on this, I work with them to develop exactly what they want and need. However, I thought I’d share some general pointers that you may find useful, if you’d like to have a do-it-yourself shot at it.

Go premium

A useful place to start, is to take a look at one of your existing products or services, and think of ways to add valuable, premium features to it. Something that significantly increases its value to your customers. In every economy, there is a very eager marketplace of people who actively seek out premium products and services. It’s why we have luxury restaurants, clothing brands, hotels, watches, cars, etc.

There’s an additional benefit from going premium. In my experience, those who purchase premium products and services are often far, far easier to work with than any other group.

Express yourself

Alternatively, you could look for opportunities to create an express version of one of your current services, for those who value speed and will happily pay for a new, faster service.

Express services always work best, when you offer a guaranteed deadline. It’s not enough to say you’ll do (whatever) faster. You need to tell them that it will be done/ready by 9am, or in 24-hours, etc.

An all new offering

If you want to introduce an all new product or service, a useful place to start is to look for things that will compliment what you already provide. For example, if customers already use (x) they’ll have a potential need for (y).

Accountants discovered this decades ago. They figured out that their clients would value new, complimentary services from them. So they started offering profit improvement planning, document storage and the development of HR policies for their client’s businesses, etc.

Do some research and if it stacks up, dive in and give it a shot.

Sustainable

You might also want to consider the huge market for environmentally friendly products. Sustainability has become a major factor in purchasing decisions. In some cases, sustainability is a requirement before companies can purchase from a provider.

Developing a product that’s kind to the environment, or finding a more sustainable way to provide your products, makes sense on multiple levels.

Give it a try

I hope those examples offer some food for thought.

Important: Creating a new product or service is especially useful, if you find yourself with a cashflow problem. As you know, it takes time to market your existing services to prospects who don’t know you, then go through the various processes/meetings/testimonials/follow-up, etc. However, the speed with which the type of ideas above can be put into place, offered to clients, sold and invoiced is rapid.

I hope you’re inspired to examine the huge potential here. Because as I see over and over again with clients, when you get it right, the results can be absolutely transformational.

Photo by Alex Padurariu

Jim, I’ve had enough!

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I've had enough

“I’ve had enough”. There’s real power in those 3 words.

Think about it.

It’s what we say when we’ve reached a tipping point. When we’re no longer prepared to allow a bad situation to persist. When more of the same is simply not an option anymore. When we know it’s time for action.

“I’ve had enough” is also the precursor of all meaningful, lasting improvement. It’s what every business owner who turned their fortunes around said, just before they changed gears and did what was required.

I was prompted to write this, when I noticed that three of my clients from last year used those words, somewhere in their initial email to me. One even used it in the subject line. “Jim, I’ve had enough”.

Interestingly, in each of those three examples, it was a different issue that motivated them to take action.

  • One said they’d had enough of the famine and feast cycle.
  • Another said they’d had enough of making a living and wanted to make a fortune.
  • And the person who used it in the subject line, said they’d had enough of waiting for things to improve.

Those are different motivations. At least on a surface level. From small business owners of different ages, in different locations and different industries. But they’re unified by a desire for something spectacularly better. United in the belief that more of the same is no longer an option for them.

Often when a business is underperforming, the business owner will focus on improving how they feel about the problem… rather than fix the actual problem.

  • Some use positive self-talk.
  • Others keep telling themselves that things will surely turn around next month.
  • And some try to ignore the seriousness of their situation, hoping it just goes away. Hope is essential. But it’s a lousy marketing strategy.

We need to be smarter than that. The clock is ticking.

If you’ve had enough, more of the same is not an option. Now is the time to take action. Now is the time to start putting things right, so you can look to the future with justified optimism and confidence. I assure you, a few months from now you’ll be very glad you did.

Photo by Suzi Kim