Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

A remarkable business idea from Steve Jobs and Malcolm Gladwell

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Today, I’d like to share with you, one of the key factors in building a remarkable, profitable business.

marketing leadership

Malcolm Gladwell was once asked in an interview, if he would reveal his “secret sauce” for writing a best-selling book. After all, he should know! His reply was extremely interesting. Here’s a snippet from what he said:

“The moment you write a book hoping it will be a best seller, your chances of it becoming a best seller go downhill. […] You write the book you would want to read.”

He then went on to make an excellent point about Steve Jobs. He explained that Jobs never commissioned the development of a product or service, based on what he thought would be a smash hit.

Instead, Jobs developed the type of products that he himself wanted to own.

Okay… let’s just think about that for a moment:

  • Malcolm Gladwell writes the kind of books, which he would want to read. And interestingly, his books are unlike any other books in his niche. (Until ditto-head authors decide to rip his ideas off). Gladwell’s books are also among the best selling non-fiction books of the last 2 decades. And those 2 factors are directly connected.
  • Steve Jobs created products he wanted to own. He famously shunned focus groups, deliberately striving to produce the kind of remarkable products he longed for. In doing so, Jobs’ success with Apple led to his company being the most highly valued in the world. Again, those 2 factors are directly connected.

Recommended reading: Steve Jobs, marketing and liars!

The way to create remarkable products, services (or books), is to deliver what we believe is right. Products or services, which we believe in. This means observing the marketplace we serve, then delivering our best possible answers to the challenges it’s facing. If we simply look at what our competitors do, then find a way to do it a little faster or a little cheaper, we become unremarkable and easy to forget.

When Sir Roger Banister broke the 4 minute mile barrier, he was remarkable. The next guy to do it, even though he was a little faster than Bannister, wasn’t remarkable and remained relatively unknown.

In short, deliver the level of service that you’d love to receive. Create compelling products that you would love to own. And make the experience of doing business with you so exceptional, that it would knock you off your feet if you were the customer or client.

How I helped a coffee shop owner boost sales and profits in just 7 days

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I had an interesting marketing chat with a business owner yesterday. I think you’ll find the core of our conversation really useful, as it’s all about maximizing average sale value and profits. And fast.

increase average sale value

So here it is.

I spoke with a coffee shop owner last Monday, who had recently reopened her shop after lockdown. She explained that due to restrictions on capacity, the business was now only able to serve 45% as many people, as before the pandemic. I asked what her strategy was, to increase the average sale value. She said she’d increased prices slightly, but was more focused on keeping her overhead down than anything else.

Increasing your average sale value

Maintaining a sensible overhead is always smart. But improving your average sale value and profitability is absolutely essential, when customer numbers have plummeted. It’s also an easy, highly profitable win. And increasing prices is just one (high-risk and pretty limited) way to do this. I shared some ideas with her, which could be implemented immediately with no cost.

I then popped in yesterday to see how she was getting on.

She’d already put two of my suggestions into place.

  • One was to move her impulse purchases to a more central location. Previously, these items were placed close to the counter, so customers saw them as they waited to pay. However, people now have to pay at their table. As a result, far fewer customers were focused for any length of time on her impulse items.
  • The other was my suggestion to change the language they used, when asking people if they wanted cake (or whatever snack) with their beverage. I said they should ask customers something along the lines of, “would you like to treat yourself to some delicious (whatever)?”. The key words there are “treat yourself“. Right now, with people feeling anxious or worried, treating yourself feels a lot like self care.

Those 2 suggestions increased her average sale value by around 18% – 20%. The shop owner explained it was tricky to be more accurate, as she had to reverse her price increase 3 days into the week. She’s introducing another of my suggestions next week, which should create an even bigger improvement for her. We’ll see how that goes.

Regardless of whether you sell products or services, online or offline, there’s a really good chance you’re missing out on windfall sales / profits, by failing to maximize your average sale value. Without generating any additional clients or customers, gains of between 15% and 50% are extremely common; with far bigger gains in many cases.

Make no mistake, this is an area you should really give some thought to.

Empathy: It’s a critically important part of your marketing. Here’s why

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marketing empathy

How interested are you, regarding the challenges facing your prospective clients or customers? That may seem like an odd question, but your answer surprisingly important.

Why?

Because the most effective marketing, and strongest business relationships, are all built on a foundation of empathy: The ability to understand (and share in) the feelings of another person.

Think about it for a moment.

  • The vendors you are most loyal to, are those you feel have a connection with you.
  • The vendors you tell your friends about, are those who go the extra mile for you.
  • The vendors you feel the closest connection to, are those who understand your needs.
  • And the vendors you appreciate the most, are those who genuinely appreciate you.

Conversely, the vendors you have no interest in are those who clearly don’t give a rat’s ass about you.

Despite this, most marketing lacks even the most basic empathy. It’s cold. Cold and focused on what the vendor wants. So we see a series of sales pitches, special offers and marketing gimmicks. It’s stripped of empathy, yet that human connection is the most valuable part.

Here’s the thing… business is all about people. And marketing is about how those people feel.

That’s because our feelings are what drive the decisions we make and the actions we take. Feelings are what cause people to hire you, buy from you, recommend you and remain a loyal customer. Without those feelings there’s no connection. And without that connection, you and your business lose.

Let them know

You know that you care about your customers and the community you serve. So, don’t keep it a secret. Instead, make empathy a visible part of your marketing. Identify what matters to them and make your marketing them-focused.

Because when you do, it will radically improve the way they feel about you. And those feelings are what drive their decisions and actions.

I have some news for you

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It’s the 12th anniversary of Jim’s Marketing Blog.

But this one is very different from the others.

Previously, I’ve had to think whether to commit my time and money for another year. It’s a big commitment. The time I spend each week creating free content for my readers, significantly reduces the hours I have available for fee-paying clients. And with thousands of pages of content online, the blog would still attract more client enquiries than I need.

However, this year, the decision to carry on was easy.

How easy?

I’d forgotten about the annual renewal decision until literally 20 minutes ago!

The impact of the coronavirus on small and medium-sized business owners, has motivated me more than ever to try and help. I’m working on ideas all the time. My goal is to be as useful as possible, to as many people as possible. The best way I know to do this, is through the free information I provide on the blog and email version of the blog.

So, I plan to be here for at least another year.

By the way, if you want to say hi or just see what I’m up to, you can catch me on Twitter @JimConnolly. Look for the verified tick to ensure it’s me.

21 Tips to massively improve your business results

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marketing busy, marketing noise

Photo: Shutterstock.

In no particular order.

  1. People buy what they want. Not what they need. It’s why people renew their phones every 12/24 months, even though their ‘old’ phone works fine. They want a new phone. They treat themselves to a new phone. But they don’t need it. Once you understand the difference, you can massively improve your marketing.
  2. Avoid using buzzwords. Those who don’t understand them will be confused. Those who do understand them, will cringe. And buzzwords get old, really quick.
  3. When you want to generate high quality cash flow fast, find new products for your existing customers. It’s far quicker and more profitable, than finding new customers for your existing products. I’ve helped hundreds of business owners enjoy windfall profits this way. Yes, windfall profits. It’s that easy.
  4. Stop waiting for the right opportunity to come along. Make it happen. Create it.
  5. Embrace brevity. Shorter messages are more powerful. Most marketing I see is 75% too long.
  6. Keeping your promises is a proven way to build a great reputation. (Read more).
  7. You don’t have any clients, customers or subscribers. They’re not yours. You simply borrow them. This means there’s no room for complacency. You need to earn and then re-earn their custom, attention and trust.
  8. Learn how to make your marketplace curious. Why do prospective clients call you or email you? It’s because they need to know something and their curiosity motivates them to get in touch. So, you get a sales lead or client enquiry. And a chance to convert them into a new client or customer. As I said a few days ago, don’t explain everything in your marketing, unless you want very few enquiries. (Read more).
  9. If you want your marketplace to talk enthusiastically about your business, do something worth talking about. If it’s remarkable enough, they’ll remark on it!
  10. A confused mind always says no. Keep your marketing as brief and clear as possible. Fewer options. Fewer words. Less fluff.
  11. The most successful business owners decide who their ideal clients are, then market exclusively to this super-valuable group. You should do the same. The average business owner relies on DIY marketing and takes whatever comes along.
  12. People buy for their reasons. Not yours.
  13. Include deadlines in your marketing messages. They’re an exceptionally powerful way to motivate people to take action. (Read more).
  14. Everything your business does, is marketing. The way you answer the phone, your payment terms, the way you reply to emails, your location, the way you write, the design of your website, your prices, your social network activity… it’s all marketing. This means it needs to be intentional and consistent.
  15. Don’t rely on Facebook, Linkedin or any third party for your communication channel. It’s like building a house on rented land. Instead, attract people via third party platforms. And then encourage them to subscribe to your email list.
  16. Building an email list is a massively better option than buying a list. The people on paid-for lists don’t want to hear from you. These so called opt-in lists are mainly just lists of people, who completed a form on a website once, without reading the small print.
  17. Businesses with a fixed marketing budget never achieve much. It shows they regard marketing as a cost, rather than an investment. This is then reflected in their results.
  18. The most powerful marketing is permission based. When people subscribe to your list, your message is treated very differently, than an unsolicited email from a needy stranger.
  19. The more your services or products resemble what your competitors offer, the less visible your business is.
  20. Tell the truth. It’s the easiest, least stressful way to build a great business and your marketplace will respect you.
  21. If your business isn’t attracting regular sales leads or client enquiries, your marketing is broken. This means the very thing that feeds your business isn’t working. It’s losing you a fortune. Needlessly. Why are you allowing this to happen? Think about that for a moment.

How to totally avoid fee sensitive clients. Yes, it works in your industry too

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Marketing pester, don't bother

Photo: Shutterstock.

You don’t need to sell your services or products based on price. You don’t need to waste your time on fee-sensitive clients or customers, either.

In today’s brief post, I explain why.

Sort by price

One of the most common features on shopping sites, is the “sort by price” filter. It lets us see products in the category we’ve searched for, listed in price order.

The reason sort by price exists, is that the marketplace demands it. When presented with 5 or 50 options for a commodity product, the lowest price wins. This is known as the race to the bottom. Bottled water is bottled water. It makes no sense to pay more for it than you need to.

Bullshit!

But what about Bob?

Bob is passionate about helping people worldwide have access to clean drinking water. He then finds a water brand, which donates money from every bottle sold, to build wells in areas where there’s no clean water.

So, Bob’s happy (very happy) to pay more for his bottled water from this well-building brand. Plus, because people like Bob know lots of other people like Bob, he tells his friends. They do the same. Water gets sold. Wells get built. And people get to make a meaningful difference to the lives of those who need it.

The lesson here?

If you want potential clients or customers to stop caring about your fees, give them something more important to care about. This means differentiating your products or services from the competition.

The good news? If it works for a commodity like water, it can definitely work for you. Regardless of your industry.