Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Exciting times ahead

by

marketing finish

Photo: Shutterstock.

Their targets are in place.

Their deadlines are set.

Their research is done.

And so they start doing the work.

Exciting times ahead!

Well, maybe

That’s because anyone can get started on a project. And pretty-much EVERYONE does! After all, it’s easy. However, despite so many business owners starting these inspiring projects, as we know, very few achieve meaningful success.

Of course, that’s because getting started is easy and success doesn’t come to those who start.

No.

Success comes to those who start… and then.

I regularly speak with business owners, who are excited about a great, new idea they have. I speak with them 6 months later and they’re still excited. Only this time it’s a different, new idea.

Their previous idea was dropped, as their initial excitement was replaced with the reality of the work required, to bring their idea to fruition. So now they’re excited about their new… new idea. And in 6 months time it will be their new, new, new idea that has their attention.

Here’s the thing: The clock is ticking. And because they never complete what they started, their butt is still on the start line. Years are passing by. With little meaningful progress.

What’s the lesson for us here?

Before you start a business project, I recommend you make a commitment. A commitment to do whatever is required to cross the finish line. A commitment to embrace the cold light of day, which comes after the initial hoopla has stopped.

Because ultimately my friend, our success is determined by the things we start, stick with and finish. Not the number of new things we start.

An extremely sad story, which every business owner needs to read

by

marketing, lessons learning

Photo: Shutterstock.

Today, I have an extremely sad story for you, which explains why we need to continuously seek to improve. It contains a powerful nugget of essential information, which all of us can benefit from.

I’d like to start with a question: What lessons have you learned from the past year, which you can invest in the year ahead?

This is a topic, which business owners really, REALLY struggle with. They start out in business keen to learn. They read the books. They take notes. They review their decision making, looking for ways to improve.

Then… after a few years they find they’ve become set in their ways. Sure, the occasional harsh lesson hits them just hard enough, to force them to re-evaluate. But they pretty-much go from year to year, getting a year older, but without gathering a year’s worth of experience.

They almost relive a version of the same old year, over and over again.

Here’s why this matters.

A powerful, extremely sad lesson

I recall speaking with 2 business owners last summer. One of them was in her early thirties and had been in business for 6 years. The other was in his sixties and had been in business for decades.

The business owner with the 6 year old business was thriving and hired me in order to help her reach her exciting growth plans. The other business owner was, in his own words, “too broke to retire” and needed help. After speaking with them, the young business owner clearly had 6 solid years of business experience. And the other had maybe 3 years of experience, with him admitting to making the same mistakes year after year, after year…

The guy who should have been extremely experienced, confessed to being “a creature of habit”. He had certain beliefs about business, which he refused to question. Many of which were fatally flawed. Here’s one of the examples I recall. If a prospective client didn’t immediately see the value of his service, he’d take it personally as a rejection, feel hurt and refuse to follow-up. As he approached retirement with just a year’s worth of living expenses to rely on, he was forced to “humble himself” and follow-up prospective clients, who’d failed to reply to his proposals.

He found around a third of them became clients. They just needed questions answered and concerns addressed. He estimates his previous attitude to following-up lost him millions of dollars. And he’s right.

Only after decades of wasted opportunity and an impending financial disaster, did this likeable guy start learning again. He’s making real progress now, but he’s struggling mightily with the knowledge of what he and his family have missed out on, needlessly.

When I speak with entrepreneurs about the importance of gaining experience and learning, I share the following with them.

Imagine a door, which has a combination lock. If you use the correct 10 number combination, the door will open for you. If I use the correct combination it will also open for me. That’s because the door doesn’t care. Press the correct numbers in the right order and you’re in!

Business success is the same. Because success doesn’t care.

You can read the full article here: Success Doesn’t Care.

In business, if you do the right combination of things correctly, you’ll succeed. Conversely, no matter how nice you are, how honest you are, how hard you toil, the wrong combination still can’t work.

Outsmarting your competitors isn’t enough. Here’s the missing ingredient

by

marketing missing

Photo: Shutterstock.

Every business owner knows that it’s essential to outsmart their competitors.

However, the most successful business owners add something extra to the mix. It’s a missing ingredient that makes all the difference. They outcare their competitors, too.

For example.

  • They care more about the success of their clients than their competitors do.
  • They care more about building great client relationships than their competitors do.
  • They care more about delivering on promises than their competitors do.
  • They care more about improving industry standards than their competitors do.
  • They care more about assisting their marketplace than their competitors do.
  • They care more about making great contacts than their competitors do.
  • They care more about quality than their competitors do.
  • They care more about service than their competitors do.
  • They care more about meeting deadlines than their competitors do.
  • They care more about ethics than their competitors do.
  • They care more about connecting with people than their competitors do.
  • They care more about professionalism than their competitors do.
  • They care more about their marketing than their competitors do.
  • They care more about leading in their industry than their competitors do.

It’s hard to think of a more mutually beneficial, effective and future proof way to succeed.

High Five: 5 Words that can lift your business above the competition in 2020

by

marketing, exceed expectations

Photo: Shutterstock.

Think about it.

When you’ve delivered a project for a client, you want them to say to themselves, “this is much better than I expected“.

When you tell someone about the service you offer, then quote your fee, you want them to say to themselves, “this quote is much better than I expected“.

When someone experiences your customer service, you want them to say to themselves, “this service is much better than I expected“.

Much better than I expected

There’s REAL power in those 5 words. They’re a sure sign that you’re exceeding expectations. And the most successful business owners strive to exceed expectations, with every interaction.

Here’s why:

They know that by truly exceeding expectations, they’ll retain more clients. They know they’ll also receive highly valuable client referrals. And they know they’ll build an exceptional reputation, too.

The reason the majority of small businesses fail to achieve this, is that it presents the business owner with 2, tricky challenges. When you overcome them, you can benefit from all the advantages of exceeding the expectations of your clients and your marketplace. And that’s what I’m going to share with you today.

Let’s start by looking at those 2 challenges and how you can turn things around.

1. Almost every business owner thinks they’re already exceeding expectations

They know how hard they work. They know how passionately they care about their clients. They then confuse their hard work and passion with delivering a remarkably good service.

Working hard doesn’t mean you’re exceeding expectations. After all, you can work darn hard just delivering exactly what your client expects from you! That kind of hard work is merely meeting expectations. Not exceeding them.

How do you find out for sure, if you’re exceeding expectations?

Simple. Just look at the number of referrals your clients give you. This may sound harsh, especially if you’re not receiving regular referrals. But in every industry, people proactively recommend the products and services that really impress them. They want their friends to know. That’s how word of mouth works.

Some clients will stay with a service provider for years, just because it’s easier than finding a better provider. The provider can wrongly assume this ‘loyalty’ is a reflection of truly remarkable service. It isn’t.

When a business isn’t getting a regular stream of client referrals, it’s a sure sign that the business isn’t exceeding what their clients expect from them. And it’s a wake up call. A wake up call to put things right, to up their game, to go from average to remarkable.

At least it should be.

2. It’s harder to exceed expectations than to meet them

Even if a business owner accepts they’re not exceeding expectations, it can be a challenge to figure out what they need to do, to turn things around. Every marketplace is saturated with average providers. And this can make it tricky to get out of that mindset: To see what’s truly possible and blow the lid off the service you provide.

Fear not! Here’s something I share with my clients, to help them overcome this challenge. The best way to elevate your own expectations of what’s possible, is to look outside of your industry and beyond your competitors for guidance and inspiration.

For example.

  • Compare your customer service to Disney.
  • Compare your product’s build quality to Rolex.
  • Compare your design quality to Apple.
  • Compare your distribution to Amazon.

Then, look for better ways to deliver your services, based on what you learn from these (and other) examples of excellence. It takes a little effort. That’s for sure. However, it’s a proven way to radically improve your services. And I’ve seen it work hundreds of times.

What next?

In my experience, it’s the first of those challenges that’s the toughest.

Even when some business owners know they get very few referrals, they’ll still fail to accept it’s down to them.

  • They’ll say their clients expect too much.
  • They’ll blame their clients for being ungrateful.
  • They’ll tell themselves their clients aren’t the kind who recommend others.

In short, they’ll refuse to acknowledge the problem.

The second challenge is a little less tricky.

It means embracing the edges. And that feels riskier than staying in their comfort zone. But as any entrepreneur (I mean real entrepreneur) will tell you, the riskiest thing you can do is cling to the overcrowded middle ground.

Make no mistake, consistently exceeding expectations takes real commitment. And that’s why so few of your competitors will do it.

It’s also why this wonderful opportunity is open to you. It’s an opportunity to attract the best clients, to attract endless referrals, to retain your clients for longer and build an outstanding business.

The best of both worlds: How to have less risk and massively more potential

by

marketing risk progress

Photo: Shutterstock.

It’s impossible to eliminate risk from your business. But you CAN have the best of both worlds, with low risk and maximum potential.

Allow me to explain. Let’s start by looking at risk and why you can’t (and shouldn’t) eliminate it from your business.

Think about it: Even if your results are fine right now, and you decide to just carry on with whatever you’re doing, you’re at enormous risk.

Really?

Yes, really!

You risk losing clients (or customers) to your agile competitors, who continuously seek to improve and target your client base with compelling offers. Sure, small and medium sized business are most vulnerable, but even massive brands can be wiped out by the just carry on attitude. Remember; Blockbuster Video, Toys R Us, My Space, Palm Inc?

So Jim… how do we get the best of both worlds; less risk and massively more potential?

I’m glad you asked.

Mastering the risk / potential balance

In seeking to eliminate risk, you also block yourself from every great opportunity. That’s because every genuine opportunity for your business comes with an element of risk.

So, no risk = no progress.

Therefore, rather than see risk as universally negative, consider the potential pluses as well as the potential minuses. Research the positives as well as the negatives. Take advice before proceeding.

And challenge your beliefs!

Challenging your beliefs is critically important, as one of the biggest barriers to your success are your inaccurate preconceptions about business and marketing. This is a perfect example. And I see equally damaging thinking with business owners all the time.

A well-balanced approach to risk and opportunity is behind every successful business. It reduces your exposure to risk, whilst simultaneously allowing you to fully benefit from the genuine opportunities your business demands, in order to thrive.

There is one caveat.

If your current approach to risk and opportunity is already balanced correctly. If you already have an agile thinking mindset. If you’re already committed to a radically better approach to business in 2020. Then just carry on. You’re going to enjoy another record breaking year.

1 Word that can destroy your marketing, plus 12 better alternatives

by

Marketing words, power words

Photo: Shutterstock.

When it comes to creating successful marketing, the word ‘new’ is overrated. Moreover, it can critically damage the effectiveness of your marketing, losing you sales or client enquiries in the process.

There are 2 main reasons this happens.

  1. A new product or service is always seen as a risky bet. Untested. Less robust. At best, it’s a bigger gamble than the existing solution. At worst, the customer feels like a paying guinea pig. Ouch!
  2. A new product or service is seldom, if ever, the best. It lacks the improvements that come from years of customer feedback.

Yes, when you have an announcement to make, (like moving to new premises), people expect to see ‘new’ and they understand the context.

The challenge comes, when a key part of your marketing message is that you offer a new way to do something. Even some big brands struggle to sell ‘new’ to people, despite multi-million dollar marketing campaigns.

Thankfully, you can totally avoid this problem.

Use better alternatives

Instead of relying on ‘new’, offer your marketplace something more compelling. More secure. More attractive. More motivating.

For example, rather than offering them a ‘new’ way, look at the core benefit of your product or service. Then, market that benefit to them instead.

So, instead of a ‘new’ way, you could offer them one or more of the following 12 alternatives.

  1. A faster way.
  2. A secure way.
  3. An enjoyable way.
  4. A greener way.
  5. A stylish way.
  6. A stress-free way.
  7. An original way.
  8. A premium quality way.
  9. A proven way.
  10. An ethical way.
  11. A guaranteed way.
  12. A cost effective way.

So, use words that paint better mental pictures. Pictures that build trust and inspire people to take action.

For almost 25 years, I’ve helped business owners worldwide to achieve their best results ever. Today, I’m offering you the same opportunity, on my Marketing Mentor Program. Read this. It’s the most popular and the most valuable service I’ve ever offered.