'...and you're all gonna just love it!'

I would like to share with you a secret of mine. It’s the main reason why my second book leapt to position number one on Amazon on the very day it was launched and why most recently The Ultimate Marketing Summit sold out with a wait list despite there still being 8 weeks to go until the event.

It’s because of  ‘pre-marketing’ and, as a marketer I am a huge advocate of it. The best thing about pre-marketing is that it is free marketing.

It does not cost you a bean as it simply entails alerting your clients, prospects, introducers and influencers to your next big thing, in advance of you actively marketing it. This is why pre-marketing tends to be word-of-mouth and why it works so well on social networks and in face-to-face networking. You are letting key people have a glimpse of your not-yet-launched new product or service; the workshop you’re launching in a few months time; the book you’re writing now; the seminar you’re formulating.

You have to inspire folk with your enthusiasm though. Successful pre-marketing is contingent on this.

Ah, I hear you say, what if I don’t go ahead with this idea, this service product etc. Won’t I look a bit foolish? Well, yes a few people may chide you but it’s hardly the end of the world is it?

Take the risk.

When I was writing my second book I started pre-marketing in earnest on twitter; sharing where I was at in my writing endeavours, revealing some of the goodies I was including in the book. I let journalists and editors know what I was doing too.

It’s a strategy that can pay off handsomely. By the time you’ve sat down to plan the marketing of your next venture, a group of people are already really interested in finding out more and as a result are easier to convert than a cold prospect.

Are you pre-marketing now? Please share!

'Cheap fish, no cheap skates!'

Every day I am taught a valuable marketing lesson, or come across a marketing principle that I hold dear, reassuring me that no, I am not losing my marketing marbles despite my advancing years!  And that’s why today’s blog is all about fresh fish.

You see, a fishmonger’s has opened up in Horsham, the town in which I live. Since opening, the shop has been packed to the rafters with customers and not just on a Saturday, but throughout the week too. Walk into the shop and you know immediately what you are getting as a huge display of the most amazing fresh fish is there to greet you. Some of it has already been filleted; some of it is the entire fish. In the time that I have been buying fish from the shop I have been willingly seduced into buying all manner of fish beyond my usual safe palette of haddock and cod.

This shop has got their positioning absolutely spot on. The young lad who runs the fishmongers tells me that his Granddad catches the fish every morning on his boat in Eastbourne. Without a middleman, the grandson then takes over to do the selling.  Not only is this a charming story, it means that the pricing strategy of the business is pretty keen too. Okay, the fish is not cheap but the prices are comparable to the supermarket and you also have the added advantage of an amazing price if the catch of the day is particularly abundant. All this shop sells is fish. Superb quality, fresh beyond belief, fish; 90% of it caught locally.

What has this got to do with marketing and more precisely with your business?

It can be easy to get caught up in diversifying your business; to add more services and products in a bid to attract more customers. And this is not necessarily a bad thing. For many businesses, diversification can be sensible and profitable. However, if you have been wandering off track and allowing yourself to be diverted by what turn out to be business red herrings, maybe it’s time to  stop, reflect, review and pull back. Time to focus on your core offering; to identify how this can be improved. Perhaps you need to strip it back to bthe asics so that your audience understands what you offer, can see the benefits at a glance and so can readily engage with you.

Tip number 1 - arouse interest in your mailing with an unusual gift.

Use my Power of 3 for direct mail results, shoestring style.

1. A Teaser message to let the recipient know that something exciting is going to be hitting their doormat in the next few days. Use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to make that initial connection. Remember a teaser message is just that. A couple of lines to stimulate interest as opposed to a soliloquy on the assets of your business!

2. Make sure that your direct mail shot has intrigue and impact power. A lumpy enclosure such as a nice pen, an attractive coaster, a product sample; something off the wall but entirely appropriate to your brand will ensure the envelope is opened. If you’re going to use a colourful envelope use your brand coulours.

3. Follow-up the prospects you really want to convert to paying customers either by telephone, email or return to social media.

According to Marketing Week, we have fallen in love with flyers again! Apparently big brands including Virgin Media have taken to using flyers – through business and consumer letter boxes.

Use my Power of 3 for flyer success:

1. Don’t do a ‘cheap as chips’ flimsy flyer unless you are a ‘cheap as chips’ flimsy brand. Nice thick paper, at least 180 GSM, the input of a professional designer and some compelling statistics and benefits about your business combined with genuine customer testimonial will ensure your flyer is sufficiently attractive to make a connection where a real need exists.

2. Consider a genuine offer to stimulate responses, and if you have an all singing all dancing website, promote this on your flyer.

3. Consider enclosing your flyer in an envelope with a hand written message if you are focusing on a small number of prospects. I can’t stress just how powerful this approach can be if you are targeting prospects in your local area. Writing “by hand” on the top right-hand corner of the envelope with a handwritten message in the middle of the envelope will guarantee the envelope is opened and your flyer read.

In the last five years alone I have managed to generate hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of business for clients using these very simple techniques. What’s stopping you?

'Strange, they were here a minute ago.'

In times of austerity you can’t trot out the prospect plan you were following last year in the hope that by repeating it this year you will  build your prospect pipeline. Be ruthless.  Review, edit and improve.

Get into the mindset of your prospects.

What are they looking for?

• Reduction of risk – they have to know that you’re a credible player that can be  trusted to deliver what they need. Your communications, from your website to your printed literature, your blog and even your tweets, must convey that you are that ‘go to’ person. You may need to invest more quality, uninterrupted time on your marketing communications, jettisoning the ‘cheap as chips’ flyers, spending longer crafting your blog and updating your website.

• Value. It’s not enough to deliver what a prospect is looking for. They want more! You have to demonstrate that you consistently deliver exceptional value. How?  You can peg your prices at their current levels or even increase them slightly, but if you want to build a reputation for delivering value you have to identify the extras that can be added to your offering at no extra charge. If you’re contemplating trimming benefits to save money you have to be certain that this will not have a negative impact on sales and retention.

• Empathy. The old saying about walking a mile in a man’s shoes before judging him is very apt. A prospect doesn’t want to be shoehorned into a rigid offering. They want bespoke; a clear and unambiguous demonstration that you understand their needs. One size may fit all, but if you can show that you are capable of making tweaks and changes to make the suit fit perfectly, you’re much more likely to get the sale.

Remember too that complacency is a curse. It does not matter how busy you are, never take that warm interest for granted.

Drayton Bird

Sometimes you read a blog, in this case from Drayton Bird one of the world’s most successful copywriters, and you know there is no way you can improve upon it. Yet the message is so topical and relevant. And so I asked Drayton if he didn’t mind me reproducing his words in their entirety for today’s Blick Blog. Before you are tempted to part with large or small sums of money from the many gurus floating around cyberspace, contemplate this message. Thank you Drayton.

Why are you struggling?

“As you may have noticed, I take perverse pleasure in reading the emails sent by the sundry charlatans who inhabit cyberspace.

A great many start with questions like the first at the top, and answer them with an easy solution and an appealing offer.

These solutions often have these things in common:

a) You won’t have to work hard to become whatever it is – an instant guru, an acclaimed author, a sought-after public speaker, a brilliant copywriter, or whatever your brain tells you is clearly impossible, but you would like to believe is not.

b) The money will be incredibly good and you won’t have to wait too long for it to arrive.

c) It is all achievable because this guy did it. Here is the touching tale of how he climbed from trailer park to mansion in months – and how you can too. Sometimes there is more than one guy, and maybe the guy is a lady.

d) You don’t believe me? Come and watch this free webinar/interview/whatever.

e) Wow! My webinar/interview/whatever was “awesome”. I was blown away. Far more people attended than I expected. Many enjoyed orgasms of pleasure. But I’m worried that you missed it, so here’s another chance. But it won’t be around for long, because I’m taking it down, so act now

If you don’t recognise all these signs of a scam, there’s another pretty good one.

It is when you get variations of the same message from lots of people, most of whom make money not by running a business but by selling off vacant lots in Promiseland to gullible mooncalves.”

Please share your thoughts too.

“To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted” George Keller

I bumped into a friend in the supermarket yesterday and what started out as a gentle conversation rapidly turned into a marketing session. My friend has bought a franchise and has been following the franchisor’s blueprint to the letter, investing huge amounts of time implementing the franchisor’s prospecting process. The problem is it’s not working. The franchisor’s marketing blueprint has remained unchanged in the last few years and herein lies the problem. What I’m increasingly finding as a marketer when I speak to small businesses and franchisors is that the marketing plans that served you so very well several years ago are insufficient now.

Why?

Well in the current climate especially ,although money is still available, businesses have to invest more targeted energy to find prospects; wooing them along the continuum of behaviour – awareness, interest, evaluation, desire and, ‘kerching!’, action. You cannot assume that the sales prospecting model that was good to go last year will be just as successful this year. For example, this particular franchisor’s tried and now rusted model is predicated on leafleting and cold calling; the logic being that the businesses of the first few franchisees were successfully built in the early years  on these two marketing tactics alone.

Chatting to my friend I could see that a more personal approach was needed with her marketing, underpinned by some training in how to make successful cold calls without appearing pushy. Cold calling most definitely does work but most people need training in how to make those calls, and in how to use social media to locate prospects and build a mutually beneficial two-way relationship before the telephone is picked up.

You may need to push well and truly out of your marketing comfort zone in 2012 and embrace tools and tactics that you’ve previously ignored. It’s not just about investing inordinate amounts of time on doing what you’ve always done. It’s about looking at your prospects with a fresh pair of eyes and being willing to make subtle or dramatic changes as required.

What do you plan on doing differently this year with your marketing?

• Did you grow your customer base last year and if so how?
• Did you increase your sales last year and if so by how much?
• Did you improve your products or services? What prompted this?
• Did your sales fall? Why was this? Did you take your foot off the pedal, were market conditions against you or did you do well to generate the sales that you did achieve?
• Did you put marketing at the heart of your business or did you stay in your marketing comfort zone?
• How much did you spend on marketing and how much of this spend actually delivered?
• If you had to summarise your business performance in a few sentences what would you say?

It’s a good idea to look back at what you’ve achieved with your business and how you achieved it before steaming ahead into the next year with your to-do list. This is your marketing audit, an opportunity for you to weed out those marketing activities and tactics that did not serve you well and to refocus on generating sales with the right customers. With your marketing audit under your belt, it’s then time to look forwards, to establish your marketing plan for 2012. But nothing is set in stone. Your marketing plans can change and change dramatically as new unanticipated opportunities unfold.

If you can address the following you’re off to a good start.

1. Assuming I want to retain my existing customers, how will I build on their loyalty this year so they want to stay with me?
2. If I am planning on growing my customer base this year, who am I going to communicate with and why? Where will I find them and what are the initial messages and the products and services that will captivate them sufficiently to build a dialogue?
3. If I am going to continue with my present offering, do I need to improve it? Would a little competitor research kick start my improvement programme? Should I be talking to existing customers and finding out what else I can deliver?
4. What marketing opportunities am I currently shrinking away from or unaware of? How can I become more marketing savvy?

I wish you much success and happiness in 2012.

PS: By the way if you want to grow your business dramatically this year through powerful sales letters, adverts, newsletters and web copy, there are just 2 places left on my copywriting boot camp. You can find out more by following this link: BootCamp

'Humph! I go the extra mile and then get moaned at!'

You can make any customer ripe for defection by delivering a lacklustre, insincere or unhelpful service. Unwittingly you are sowing the seeds of discontent in their subconscious mind.  When approached by a competitor, although not completely dissatisfied with you they will still be open to considering their offering.  Of course, the oppositecan also be true.  If you can consistently go the extra mile for customers, you are sowing the seeds of contentment and gaining advocates that will lead to a pipeline of referrals.  It doesn’t take much to delight your customers.  Use the simple but effective +1 model that I have shared in customer service training over many years.

Delight your customer:  delight  = expectation plus 1

+ 1 more contact

+ 1 moment of thoughtfulness

+ 1 extra minute of your time

+ 1 check to see all is ok

The +1 effect leads to the WOW factor

Wow – that’s great

Wow – that’s what I call service

Wow – that was thoughtful

Wow – I didn’t expect that!

The best +1 factors meet the following criteria

They’re instantly noticed and valued by customers and prospects

They’re quick and easy

They cost little or nothing

They are implemented on a consistent basis not just when you are in a good mood

They are genuine, delivered in good spirit

 Are you delighting your customers now, and if so how?

Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength. Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

“You have absolutely no interest in me and you’re not even bothered about concealing this fact.” I’m sure that you have attended many networking events and after giving it your all in the rapport building department with a fellow business networker you’ve walked away with that conclusion under your belt. But should you walk away or should you actually confront such rudeness? I found myself in this situation a few weeks ago and I would love to know how you would have handled the situation had you been in my position.

Here’s what happened…

I was introduced to a person at a networking event and as he seemed a little reluctant to engage in conversation, I began the process, asking him what he did, even discovering we had some common ground which I mentioned in a bid to stimulate a two-way conversation. What happened? After asking several questions and showing an interest in him only to be rewarded with monosyllabic responses and absolutely no interest whatsoever in me, I decided to let the silence hang in the air. What did he do? He saw it as an opportunity to whip out his mobile phone, check his messages and to add to this ignominy, to compose text messages.

To say that I was absolutely shocked and horrified by this behaviour is an understatement. But instead of saying something to him, I simply walked away, smarting and quite outraged.

You see, I don’t understand the point of attending networking events if you are not going to build relationships and generally be open to the hardly spectacular concept of being professional, friendly and sociable – maybe, maybe even meeting people that you can help instead of the other way round. Okay, not everyone that you meet is going to float your boat and there will be some events where you will walk away with nothing other than a nice feeling at meeting new people, or a feeling of frustration that this event was a waste of your time.  But if you’re going to make the effort to turn up to an event, surely it’s incumbent on you to make the effort to be present, professional and have a smattering of good manners  with the people you meet. If that seems a bridge too far, don’t bother.

What would you have done in my position?

I suspect I was a chicken for not confronting this person…

'I need to review my client list'

I can remember having a conversation a few years ago with the franchisor of a successful  franchise. He explained to me that his franchisee recruitment policy had changed dramatically over the years. When he started his franchise, with no franchisees on the books and a whole raft of costs to recoup, his franchisee selection process was roomy and expansive! If the potential franchisee had the funds and was keen to start, he was more than happy to sell them a franchise. Fast forward several years and the new franchisee recruitment process is much more stringent, including psychometric profiling and several tiers of interviews; the net result being that many potential franchisees are turned down.

 Why the change?

To be brutally frank, like many business owners, the franchisor did not have the luxury in the early days of being overly selective in his selection process. And whilst this worked to some degree, there were casualties along the way – franchisees that could not cut the mustard despite their keenness. With more franchisees joining the business and significant inroads being made into recovering his initial outlay, the franchisor could become more selective. This was also imperative if he was to recruit only those franchisees that he knew were likely to make it.

When you started your business were you happy to supply your products or services to anyone and everyone within earshot? But with your confidence and success growing are you now at a crossroads? Is it time to make a few judgement calls, to gently prune your client base of those clients that are costing you an inordinate amount of time and energy for very little remuneration?

Because the time spent servicing these clients  is time that you could invest in targeted marketing to attract your ideal clients.