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One of the most important lessons in marketing, is to understand that none of us have any clients or customers.

In other words, the client relationship is not ours.

We have to earn the privilege of providing a service to our clients… and then keep looking for opportunities to re-earn it. This means consistently looking for ways to deliver more value than they expect. And determining that an outstanding service is our absolute base line, our bare minimum, and never offering anything less.

Pure marketing gold dust

Only by accepting that we have no clients, can we avoid complacency and operate at our very best. And by operating at our very best, we become not only invaluable to our clients; we also leave a trail of outstanding work that inspires client referrals.

Think about it.

• Massively higher client retention than others in our industry.
• Far, far more client referrals than others in our industry.

It’s pure, marketing gold dust. A robust, unstoppable way to grow a successful business.

As I have said many times before, everything in business is marketing. This includes the quality of the service you provide to your clients, and your absolute commitment to their success.

Photo: Shutterstock.

We’ve all seen the tragic, human cost of the pandemic unfolding and the heroic work of those working on the front line.

Commercially, as countries start to sketch out their plans to ease certain restrictions, we can get a better idea of the business disruption we’re likely to see between now and next year. With that in mind, and to help you plan ahead, here are some specific marketing challenges, which business owners will need to overcome.

I’ve split them into 2 groups (business to business and business to consumer), though you may find some overlap.

If you sell products or services to businesses.

• Those offering design, branding and so-called ‘soft skills’ training may find prospects holding back on investment, until things settle down.
• It’s likely that a number of the businesses you serve will cease trading. This will vary depending on the industries you sell into.
• If your customers have been scaling back or reducing staff numbers, this could reduce the frequency or size of their requirement / future orders from you.
• With almost every business taking a financial hit from the pandemic, you will encounter more price resistance than before.
• Leading on from the previous point, your low cost competitors are likely to be a greater threat to your business than they were.
• Some of your competitors will be a lot more active with their marketing. Most will rely on DIY marketing and have little effect on your business. However, some may get expert help and eat into your market share.

If you sell direct to consumers.

• Many consumers will be forced to scale back on non-essential products and services. This is less of an issue if you sell into the expensive end of your market, or the low cost end of the market. It’s a bigger concern if you sell into the middle of the market.
• If most of your customers are elderly, many will be required to stay in lockdown until a vaccine or cure for COVID-19 is developed. You’ll need to create a safe way to serve your customers. Then, you’ll need to market your new approach clearly.
• Those offering so-called ‘soft skills’ training may find customers and prospective customers less willing to invest, until their financial situation is more certain.
• Restaurants, coffee shops and cafés, etc., are likely to be required to provide social distancing for customers, until a vaccine or cure is developed. This means you’ll have a smaller capacity, fewer tables / fewer seats and probably fewer customers. You’ll need to work hard on increasing the average order amount.

Issues like these will impact millions of business owners, but you don’t need to be one of them. Everything here can be overcome successfully, if marketed correctly. Everything.

So get to work now on the areas that are likely to impact your business. And give yourself the advantage of adapting to the new needs of your customers, before your competitors do.

This is a short post. It’s also the most important I’ve written in a long time. I strongly recommend you take a couple of minutes to read it.

Photo: Shutterstock.

During the pandemic.

• You have the freedom to focus on surviving.
• You have the freedom to focus on thriving.

If your thinking is all about how to survive, it will have a hard limit. A limit that sees survival as the desired end point. If things go as well as they possibly can, you’ll still be in business by the end of the pandemic. If things fall (even a little) short of your desired end point, you’re out of business.

If your thinking is all about how to thrive, it has no limitation. No restriction on your end point. If things go well, your business (and you) will have absolutely thrived by the end of the pandemic. If things fall short of your desired end point, your business can still grow!

Focusing on thriving will open you up to outstanding possibilities. It will boost your energy levels. It will inspire the people around you. It will excite your marketplace. It will open your eyes to opportunities that the survive crowd aren’t even looking for.

Picture this for a moment. Imagine how much better your chances of success will be, if you choose today to focus exclusively on thriving. This means you too will be working on outstanding business possibilities, with boundless energy, surrounded by  inspired people, with an excited marketplace, and all this whilst simultaneously enjoying new opportunities, just like my ‘thrive’ clients.

I hope you found this useful, but more importantly, I hope it inspires you too, to thrive.

Photo: Shutterstock.

Many of you have emailed me, asking for advice on what you should be focusing on right now.

Obviously, different businesses have different needs. But as we all know, hunkering down and waiting for things to magically just get better, isn’t an option.

With that in mind, here are some general examples of things you should consider.

1. Research the new needs of your marketplace. It definitely will not be business as usual after the crisis passes.
2. Stop watching rolling news and feed your mind with useful ideas instead.
3. Build strategic alliances. Partner-up with providers, who offer a complimentary, but non-conflicting product or service.
4. Sketch out ideas (and then develop) new, highly profitable services.
5. Plan the way forward for your business.
6. Form endorsed relationships.
7. Before you market anything to anyone, remember that these are weird times for everyone.
8. Look outside your industry for new ideas, which could dramatically improve your business.
9. Get to know your clients better.
10. Hire expert marketing help. This is the worst time in history to rely on DIY marketing.
11. Start a blog, then distribute it via email. Like I do.
12. Ramp up your marketplace outreach.
13. Look for ways to connect your clients or customers with one another.
14. Ask your clients and former clients, “How can I help?”.
15. Send a ‘thank you’ to all those helping you during the crisis.

Most importantly, get active now. Don’t let your competitors gain a huge advantage over you, by building their businesses while you’re waiting to see how things pan out. That’s an unnecessary additional business problem, which you really don’t need. So get moving. And get moving now.