Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Don’t underestimate the power of being first

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Photo: Shutterstock.

It’s 2020, yet we still remember Sir Roger Bannister as the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes.

Apple became the world’s most valuable company, largely because of profits from the iPhone; the world’s first smart phone.

There are 2 useful lessons here:

  1. When you are the first to do something, it’s remembered for a very long time. We remember Bannister, even though Australia’s John Landy broke Bannister’s record just 6 weeks later. Landy was faster, yet remained relatively unknown because he wasn’t the first person to go sub 4 minutes.
  2. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The first iPhone was really buggy. It even lacked a basic copy and paste facility for over a year! However, it was extremely useful.

This begs the question

What useful adaptation to your service, could you be the first in your industry to create for your marketplace, in response to the current crisis?

We live in very uncertain times right now. Lots of business owners have almost mothballed their business. Whilst others are innovating and inspiring their marketplace, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Fortunately, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. For example, an idea that’s common in another industry may be unheard of in yours. It just needs to be new to your industry, profession or marketplace.

And it absolutely doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be useful, based on the new requirements of the market you serve.

Radical value: What it is and why you need it

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Marketing different

Photo: Shutterstock.

Are you tired of attracting too many price-sensitive enquiries? If so, you’re not alone. This easy to fix issue is one of the most common in marketing.

Easy to fix?

Yes. We know exactly why it happens and how to fix it.

Here’s what you need to know, along with 10 examples to get you started.

Here’s why it happens

When competing products or services seem similar, price becomes the obvious way to determine value. As such, there’s little, if any, motivation for someone to pay more. In this common scenario, the lowest price looks like the best deal.

Sure, they “may” go for the 2nd or 3rd lowest price, hoping to insulate themselves from scammers or super-low quality goods or services. The key thing is that at this point, they’re price shopping. And you’re now competing on price.

Here’s how to fix it

A proven way to totally overcome this problem, is through something I call radical value.

Radical value is when you take what the marketplace expects from someone in your industry, and then radically improve upon it.

By default, anything with radical value has to be radically different. This places you in a unique position. A position, where you’re no longer competing on price, because your offering has no comparative competition!

What might this look like?

A business owner using the radical value approach may offer their marketplace:

  1. A service that comes with a 125% money-back guarantee.
  2. A product that’s provably safer than anything in its category.
  3. A product that’s 50% lighter than the industry leader.
  4. A service that’s designed from the ground up, around the unique needs of each client.
  5. A product that’s the only one in its class, to be made from 100% renewable sources.
  6. A product that’s part of a numbered, limited edition.
  7. A service that’s 3 times faster than the industry leader.
  8. A product that’s far longer lasting than anything in its niche.
  9. A service that’s massively more extensive than anything else available to your marketplace.
  10. A product that’s clearly the most energy efficient in its class.

Those ideas are just food for thought. They’re simply examples, to demonstrate the kind of meaningful difference that represents radical value.

Important

Be sure to invest the time and effort required, to create something that’s truly radical and truly valuable. Marginal improvements have marginal impact. They won’t elevate your offering to the point where you have no comparative competition.

So let your creativity run wild. And aim for maximum impact.

How to be number one in a category of one

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marketing, cookie cutter

Photo: Shutterstock.

It’s tough being a service provider these days. There are so many of us in every industry. Not only that, a prospective client can find lower priced alternatives to us, on Google, in seconds.

With so many competitors, what can we do?

  • We could try and out-spend them on advertising. Of course, this eats into our profit margins.
  • We could try being the lowest priced. Of course, this almost eliminates our profits completely.
  • We could try joining a networking group. Of course, we’d be relying on fellow group members to provide us with leads… the very same people who need to attend the group because they can’t even get enough leads for their own businesses.

There are better alternatives though. And one that works extremely well, is to become number one in a category of one.

It’s the strategy I follow for my own business and one that could be just as effective for you and your business.

Allow me to explain how it works

Let’s imagine you’re an accountant. (You could equally be a mentor, financial advisor, lawyer, designer, trainer, marketing consultant or whatever). Anyhow, unlike your fellow accountants, you choose to work exclusively with creative professionals. This immediately places you as number one in a category of one.

  • The fact you understand their profession at a super-deep level, sets you apart from the rest.
  • The fact you understand their terminology and speak their language, sets you apart from the rest.
  • The fact you understand the threats and opportunities specific to their industry, sets you apart from the rest.
  • The fact you understand their unique requirements, sets you apart from the rest.
  • The fact you understand the creative mindset, sets you apart from the rest.
  • And because you’re set apart from your former competing providers, your prospective clients will see you as massively more relevant to them and their business!

It’s hard to think of a service provider in any industry, who couldn’t transition themselves into being number one in a category of one.

Yes. Including you, my friend.

Stop being so reasonable

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I’ve had an idea that could help your business in multiple ways. It’s an unreasonable idea. Yes, I know that sounds weird.

Allow me to explain.

marketing unreasonable

If a product or service is only reasonably good, it’s nothing special. It’s just okay. It’s certainly not good enough to motivate people to buy from you, hire you or tell all their friends about you.

This got me thinking

The opposite of reasonable is unreasonable.

So… what if someone decided to embrace an unreasonable mindset to their business and the services they provide?

I believe it could lead to massive improvements, across their whole business. Here are just a few examples of what an unreasonable approach might look like.

The business owner could choose to:

  • Be unreasonably committed to customer service and the happiness of their clients.
  • Show unreasonable persistence, when it comes to keeping their promises.
  • Have an unreasonable attitude to life-long-learning.
  • Set the bar unreasonably high, on the quality of work they’re willing to ship. [This will help you get it right]
  • Have an unreasonable passion for helping others to succeed.

Any business operating from that kind of unreasonable mindset, is going to get noticed. They’re going to retain their clients for longer, too. And yes, they’re going to give their clients and their marketplace something to tell their friends about.

If being reasonable isn’t working for you, you now have an unreasonable alternative to consider.

The misfit who owned his competitors

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marketing, creativity, misfit

I spoke about the importance of creative marketing yesterday. I also promised to give you some examples.

This one is an absolute gem!

It’s all about Edwin and how he owned his marketplace. Plus, the secret of his success. A secret which can be applied to your business.

Edwin was the busiest and best-known photographer in the town where I grew up. He had a very unique sense of fashion, often wearing an elaborate hat and super-bright jacket, with contrasting waistcoat and the weirdest shoes you can imagine. He drove to meet his prospective clients in a classic 1950’s Ford, or riding his equally old motorcycle (complete with goggles). He stood out a mile. He looked like an artist. And everyone hired him, despite his high fees.

Did you notice something missing from Edwin’s description?

At no point did I mention how good his photos were. Having seen his work, it certainly looked professional… just like the vast majority of experienced, professional photographers.

What set Edwin apart from the competition, was that he used creativity to stand out. He built a brand around his services. And in doing so, he developed a whole experience around hiring him. His customers would get bragging rights, just because THEY hired Edwin for their wedding, family photos or corporate work. He gave them a story worth sharing, and they told everyone.

If people wanted to hire another local photographer, capable of equally good work, there was a ton to choose from, and for far lower fees. However, when they wanted to hire Edwin, Edwin got hired and he was paid Edwin rates.

The takeaway from Edwin’s story

The most commercially successful; accountant, lawyer, architect, coach, consultant, designer, photographer, hair stylist, doctor, etc., is very seldom the best or the most qualified or the most experienced.

That’s because there’s a HUGE difference between being the best-selling, and being the best.

So, step away from the pack. Stop marketing your services like your competitors and apply real creativity.

Because every piece of marketing you do, which falls in line with your prospective customer’s expectations, is simply camouflaging you and hurting your business.

16 Examples of how the most successful business owners think differently

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When we examine any industry, including yours and mine, we see something extremely valuable. And today, I’d like to share it with you.

It’s a pattern.

  1. Only a small percentage of business owners build a valuable community around their work.
  2. Only a small percentage of business owners look for opportunities to inspire and encourage others.
  3. Only a small percentage of business owners create a story worth sharing.
  4. Only a small percentage of business owners proactively look for big problems to solve.
  5. Only a small percentage of business owners invest enough in their education.
  6. Only a small percentage of business owners are eager to lead.
  7. Only a small percentage of business owners listen to their marketplace and build experiences around what they hear.
  8. Only a small percentage of business owners are truly committed to go the extra mile.
  9. Only a small percentage of business owners selectively choose their clients and ignore the rest.
  10. Only a small percentage of business owners are willing to make tough decisions and back them up with action.
  11. Only a small percentage of business owners refuse to surrender their focus to the never-ending stream of interruptions.
  12. Only a small percentage of business owners strive to out-care their competitors.
  13. Only a small percentage of business owners intentionally take time, every day, to look after their mind and body.
  14. Only a small percentage of business owners care enough to create or share a useful blog post, newsletter, vlog or podcast.
  15. Only a small percentage of business owners are willing to visibly stand out from their competitors.
  16. Only a small percentage of business owners are committed to do work that matters, rather than work that pays the bills.

I could go on.

That pattern matters. It matters because it’s also only a small percentage of business owners who succeed in any meaningful way.

And that’s no coincidence my friend.