Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

1 Word you absolutely must remove from all your marketing

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marketing content, copy

What is the main reason someone should buy from you or hire you?

That’s a question, which many small businesses struggle with. And it hurts their marketing. It means they are unable to provide their prospective clients with a clear, compelling reason to buy from them, rather than a competitor. And as I mentioned yesterday, clarity is essential.

The thing about solutions

This is why we see the word solutions used in amateur marketing all the time, to describe what a business does.

Note – If you’ve already, clearly stated the value you bring, it’s okay to use the word. I’m talking about when business owners use solutions instead of being specific.

For example:

  • HR solutions.
  • Email marketing solutions.
  • Cost effective solutions.
  • Training solutions.
  • Or “we offer a range of solutions”, etc.

They’re telling us nothing.

Their message is weak. There’s no reason for us to contact them. So their marketing is largely ignored. And it loses them a fortune.

I don’t want that to happen to your business, my friend. So here’s a far more effective approach.

The alternative is to get specific

Determine the core value you bring to a prospective client. Then, communicate it with impact and brevity.

For example, instead of saying you, “offer a range of email marketing solutions”, get specific. Tell them, “We can help you increase sales and boost your profits, with professional, proven email marketing.”

Back in the 1980’s, business owners were advised to develop an elevator pitch. The idea was to create a compelling 5 or 10 second business introduction. Commerce today, online and offline, is like a series of elevator pitch-type interactions. Your prospective clients are busy. Really busy. They’re being bombarded with emails, calls, social network updates, text messages… it’s relentless.

They don’t have time for long or vague marketing messages. They want answers. Fast! That’s why a specific, brief and well-crafted message has never been more important or more effective.

So get specific.

Look for the core reason why a prospective client should hire you, rather than a competitor. Look for the tangible value your service offers. Then, communicate it in a compelling way. It’s far more powerful than claiming to offer a non-specific “solution”.

Marketing 101: Step away from the noise

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marketing, noise

Thanks to social media, talk is cheaper than ever before.

The world has a megaphone. Everyone can now tell everybody about everything.

Here’s the thing: As the noise from this chatter has increased, we’ve become better and better at ignoring it. Yes, technology let’s us filter the notifications and reduce the noise somewhat. But we ourselves are paying less attention to the chatter. It tends to wash over us.

And that’s really, really important for business owners to know.

Why?

Because now that talk is cheaper than ever, our actions have spectacularly more impact.

  • People don’t notice the noise.
  • They notice the difference we make. And this is especially true, when we make a positive difference to them or something they care about; their business for example.

In short, to earn the attention and trust of our prospective clients, we need to look for ways to demonstrate the value we bring, which they’ll find useful. If it’s useful (to them) it isn’t noise. So, they pay attention.

For example

Rather than having a ton of social media accounts and filling them with noise (automated retweets, funny images and GIF’s, sharing famous quotes, etc), go for quality. Make a difference.

The message you’re reading right now is an example of what I mean. By taking a little time this morning, I’ve produced this information, which I believe some of you will find useful.

  • I do almost nothing on Facebook.
  • I don’t even have a Linkedin account.
  • I share ideas, like this one, and I use Twitter.

That’s it.

And every day, amazing prospective clients reach out to me.

Here’s the thing.

It’s increasingly hard to get noticed on social networks. Millions of business owners, marketing people and agencies are using the same, so-called tricks and tactics. And in doing so, they become camouflaged by the millions of others, who are doing the same thing.

We need to step away from the noise, my friend.

If you find you’re not getting the results you and your business need, focus on making a difference. Find something you can do, which will have a positive impact (be useful) to your prospective clients.

It’s less time consuming than adding to the noise, and massively more effective.

How to make your marketing totally, utterly unmissable

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marketing blog

What do the following have in common?

  • The trailer for a movie, which is part of a franchise you really enjoy.
  • A radio interview with a musician, whose music you’ve always loved, talking about their new album.
  • A Facebook post from an author, whose books you collect, announcing their new title.
  • A newsletter from a brand you like and trust, announcing an exciting new product.

The answer is that they are all examples of marketing you value. Marketing you wouldn’t want to miss. Marketing that doesn’t even feel like marketing.

How to create unmissable marketing

So, what was it that made those marketing examples unmissable?

  1. You gave permission for the marketing message to reach you. You tuned into the TV station or radio channel. You liked them on Facebook. You subscribed to their newsletter.
  2. The product being marketed (movie, album or book etc.), is something you’re interested in.

Without your permission, the marketer is being a pest. No one wants to be pestered with unsolicited emails, off-target advertising or unrequested social networking messages.

Without your interest, the “offer” is just another annoying, time-wasting, badly targeted sales pitch.

Making your marketing unmissable

Firstly, make sure you only market to people who want what you’re offering.

Secondly, earn their permission.

How?

Here’s a strategy that works:

  1. Think about the brands you have given permission to contact you.
  2. Write them down.
  3. Next, ask yourself why you did it. Why did you subscribe to their YouTube channel, their newsletter or their blog? Why did you like them on Facebook or connect with them on Linkedin? Why did you ask them to send you their catalogue or email you their updates?
  4. Finally, see what you can learn from their strategy, which you can adapt, to earn the permission of your prospective customers.

It takes more effort to create unmissable marketing. However, it can massively improve your results.

Marketing in a hurry?

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marketing, plan work, work plan

I shared the following idea with a group of very smart entrepreneurs. They found it extremely useful, so now I’m sharing it with you.

It’s simply this:

“Marketing isn’t something you do in a hurry, when business is sluggish. It’s an ongoing part of running a successful business”.

Successful business owners already understand this

As a result, there is a growing awareness of them in their marketplace. And because successful businesses use content marketing, their prospective clients (or customers) will regularly receive useful information from them. This useful information not only informs their prospective clients, it helps build trust.

Awareness and trust are essential. And ongoing, content marketing achieves both. Here’s how it works.

The rest market sporadically

Usually, when business is sluggish. So they take their need for sales to the marketplace, via special offers or out-of-the-blue advertising.

Because they fail to market on an ongoing basis, their prospective clients have no real awareness of them. And no awareness means no trust. So, even if the prospective client has a requirement, the marketing fails.

It has to fail. That’s because people buy from providers they trust. And a competing provider, whose marketing they regularly receive and whose brand they know, already has the prospective client’s awareness and trust.

In short, make content marketing an ongoing part of your business. Not something you do when times are tough. Get it right and you’ll find you never have to market from a position of need.

That’s worth considering, with a potential recession on the horizon.

Marketing has changed. Have you?

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marketing change

Before social media became mainstream, marketing was all about what you said.

Today, marketing is all about the way you operate. That’s because the service you provide, and the promises you keep, create a story. And in a connected world, the providers with the best stories win. They get the referrals, the word of mouth recommendations, the free publicity and the repeat clients.

If you’re attracting too few clients or making too few sales, don’t just improve your message.

Instead, look for meaningful ways to improve what you do. Because when you give your marketplace a story worth sharing, they’ll share it.

10 Proven ways to attract free publicity to your business

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marketing, word of mouth, referrals

Here are 10 motivators, which inspire people to spread the word about you. See which ones you can adapt and apply into your business.

  1. People will share your message, if it’s baked into your product or service. When you see someone using a computer in public, the logo is visible on the lid.
  2. People will share your message, if they care about you and they believe sharing your message will help you.
  3. People will share your message, if it makes them look clever. This is why social networks are packed with Einstein quotes.
  4. People will share your message, if they want you to notice them.
  5. People will share your message, if it makes them appear generous to their friends.
  6. People will share your message, if they think it will make them look informed, ahead of the curve or cutting-edge.
  7. People will share your message, if it’s remarkable. Extremely satisfied customers tell their friends when they receive an amazing service. This works fantastically well.
  8. People will share your message, if they are part of your community and want others to join them.
  9. People will share your message, if it says something they aren’t brave enough to say for themselves.
  10. People will share your message, if they believe it’s of great value and that their friends need to know.

I hope you find these ideas useful. More importantly, I hope you do something with them.