Jim Connolly Marketing

Marketing tip: Press pause!

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I want you to think about the following for a moment:

  • The last tweet you sent.
  • The last newsletter you published.
  • The last Linkedin post you shared.
  • The last Facebook update you posted.

Each of those actions could easily be a prospective customer’s first exposure to you (and your business). If so, it will help form their first impression of you.

Here’s the thing. First impressions count.

  • First impressions count, even if you are having a bad day.
  • First impressions count, even if they are inaccurate.
  • And first impressions count, because if you screw it up, you often won’t get a second chance!

So, what’s the solution?

Well, here’s something that can certainly help you.

Drum roll please…

Pause…

It pays to pause for a few moments before you publish ANYTHING. That’s because most of what you publish is easy to find via search engines or the social networks you use. And we know that the vast majority of people now check providers out, before deciding to hire them or buy from them.

Think about the wider, longer-term implications of what you are saying. Never underestimate the impact of an angry tweet, a needy Linkedin post or a spammy Facebook update, etc.

Once it’s published, it’s out there. It’s in play. It’s carrying your name. And it’s carving your reputation.

Tip: Read this ยป How To Build a World Class Reputation.

How to become THAT person

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marketing superman

We all have them: The people we turn to when we have a problem. I’m referring to that person, whose name pops into our mind when a certain type of challenge comes our way.

As business owners, one of our main priorities is to become that person, for our marketplace. So when they have the kind of problem, which we specialise in solving, our name pops into their mind.

Becoming that person

If we want to know how to become that person, a great place to start is to consider the people, who fill that role in our lives. How did they capture our attention and then earn our trust?

It often looks something like this:

  • It was by being visible (so we could find them when we needed them).
  • It was by being approachable (so we felt comfortable contacting them).
  • And it was by demonstrating their competence in advance (so we thought they might have the answer we needed).

All three of those can be achieved, when someone recommends us to one of their friends.

However…

They can also be achieved in a more targeted and repeatable way, via effective content marketing. Newsletters, blog posts, vlogging and podcasts all provide us with the opportunity to be findable, demonstrate how approachable we are and showcase our knowledge.

You’re already that person, my friend. Don’t keep it a secret.

How to know if you have a winning idea

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marketing decisions

If you’re in the process of making an important business decision, today’s post is just for you. At the very least, it will help you increase your chances of a successful outcome.

Okay. Let’s go!

I’d like to start by sharing something with you. It’s about certain questions, which people ask me all the time.

Here’s just a small sample.

  • If I provide (whatever) as a new service, will it be successful?
  • Will I be more successful, if I become a niche provider, rather than a generalist?
  • Is (whatever) a good name for my new business, product or service?

If you take a closer look at those questions, you’ll notice they have something in common. They’re all decisions. And by asking me the question, the questioner is asking me to decide.

Great ideas are not anointed

Here’s the problem with that approach: Great ideas are not anointed. There are many factors, which determine whether a business idea will fly or flop. Ironically, one of them is the ability of the business owner to make business decisions.

For example, when the first tablet computers were made (years before the iPad), they flopped. They flopped, not because tablet devices were a bad idea. Apple’s success proved that beyond all doubt. They flopped because of the poor decisions that were made about the design, development, marketing, pricing and quality of the first tablet devices.

Will that idea of yours succeed?

If the research stacks up.

If the numbers work.

If you’re committed to making timely decisions based on good data.

If it’s marketed professionally… you’ll possibly knock it out of the park.

But you’ll only know for certain, if you try. Yes, there’s a risk attached to trying. In fact, there’s a risk attached to every decision.

Think about it, even the decision to do nothing, is itself, a MAJOR decision. And it’s a major decision, that comes with a huge risk attached.

Really?

Yes! Every time we choose to do nothing, we close the door on a potential opportunity. That’s a risky strategy, unless we know for certain that our idea can’t succeed. And it’s hard to know for certain, if we refuse to, at the very least, give our idea a try.

10 Reasons to be massively optimistic about your business

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marketing optimism

  1. You’re never more than one idea away from a life-changing, breakthrough result.
  2. And you’re never more than one email or phone call away from your biggest order or best ever client enquiry. I was reminded of this last month, when a client informed me that he’d just landed his first ever million dollar contract. Just 10 months earlier, he was close to quitting!
  3. You can increase your fees (or prices) by 200%, as long as you increase your value to the marketplace by 200%, first. Of course, the same is true of a 300% fee increase, etc.
  4. Whatever problem you’re facing right now, has already been overcome by countless other business owners. This means the answer you need is already out there. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.
  5. Business doesn’t need to be boring. Remember, you’re in control. You can choose to do work that truly inspires you.
  6. And because you’re in control, you don’t have to work for low quality clients, either. As I said last week, you can’t build a great business with bad clients.
  7. Thanks to social networks, you can listen to your marketplace and find out exactly what they want. This means you can develop a product or service, knowing in advance that the demand will be high. No more guessing!
  8. You’re living in the golden age of business. This is the era, which past generations dreamed of. For example, YouTube gives you a free, global TV channel. WordPress gives you a free, global publishing platform and Gmail gives you free, global message distribution.
  9. Fact: When you improve your strategy, you improve your results. And you can choose to improve your strategy any time you want to.
  10. Finally, you don’t need to hunker down and “hope” things will improve. You can choose get moving on anything listed above, right now, and start enjoying the results.

Is toxic marketing losing you a fortune? Probably. Here’s why!

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Marketing blogs, thrive

Did you know, healthy marketing and healthy eating share something in common?

Well, they do. It’s this:

  • There’s more than one method for healthy eating. The challenge comes, when you combine ideas from a number of conflicting methods. This creates a toxic mix, which can make you sick.
  • There’s also more than one way to successfully market a business. And just like the previous example, you can create a devastatingly toxic mix, by combining ideas from conflicting marketing methods.

Here’s why this matters

Almost every small business owner is needlessly losing a fortune and missing great opportunities, thanks to a toxic marketing mix.

There are dozens of extremely common examples. Here are just a few to help illustrate what I mean.

  • The consultants who promise a high value service, yet work for average or below average fees. They seem unaware, how people are warned from childhood that quality doesn’t come cheap. That if something looks too good to be true, it is too good to be true. This kind of mixed marketing warns your marketplace not to believe you.
  • The business owner who wants to SEO their content for maximum search traffic, and also wants to maximise that same content, to inspire people to hire them or buy from them. It doesn’t work. Write for search engine algorithms or write to utterly compel people to make a purchasing decision. Choose: Machines or people? Do both and you’ll fail on both counts. 
  • The service providers who claim to be in high demand, yet who beg strangers to book a free consultation with them, via their website. Unaware how needy and desperate they look, they wonder why people won’t talk to them for free.

Sadly, not every toxic marketing mix is obvious to the untrained eye. That’s why they’re so common.

But as we enter such an uncertain time for the global economy, the savvy business owner must (at least try) and spot them.

15 Essential questions for EVERY business owner

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marketing creative questions
  1. Who are you allowing to influence your business decisions and have they earned that position?
  2. What’s the single biggest hurdle to your success right now (and what do you plan to do about it)?
  3. How can you make it feel less risky, for people to hire you or buy from you? This will help.
  4. Do you have a strategy in place, to find out why time-wasters respond to your marketing?
  5. What’s the biggest threat facing your prospective clients in 2019 and how are you helping them prepare for it?
  6. Do your clients recommend you regularly enough and if not, how do you plan to improve things? This will help.
  7. Can you name the most influential person in your industry and if so, have you introduced yourself to them?
  8. Is your marketing motivating and useful or does it read like a sales pitch? Tip: People hate being sold to! This will help.
  9. If 2019 is already starting to look like a repeat of 2018, how long will you wait before you make the improvements required?
  10. Have you considered offering a premium version of your services, for high value prospective clients who are eager to pay more, for the ‘extra’? This will help.
  11. If you ceased trading tomorrow, how tricky would your clients find it to replace your service?
  12. Does your branding create a powerful and professional image of your business, which your marketplace trusts?
  13. Does your marketing inspire enough urgency or are you leaving money on the table every day?
  14. How different are you from your competition? This will help.
  15. Is your business providing you with the lifestyle you want? If not, are you lowering your expectations or working on a plan to massively improve your financial situation?