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Jun
01

From Dirt to Dreams

By | Affluent buyers, calgary, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurial Spirits, Main Content, Success, Wacky marketing ideas

4 Comments

35 years ago, 3 couples entered into partnership on a 60 acre plot of land in Sundre, Alberta.
(my parents were one of the 3 couples…)

At the time, Sundre had about 1,000 people living there.

It is also 75 minutes from Calgary, which had a population of 400,000 or so at the time (now it is 1.2 million).

The land they purchased was a cow pasture, buried amidst many hundreds of 40 foot evergreens.

All 3 couples had young children, ranging from newborn to 8 year olds (I was the eldest).

They had a vision of what this land could be.

Tall Timber Leisure Park would be a beautiful, private, lush place for young families who wanted a getaway not that far from the big city, but far enough to feel like an escape.
Tall Timber RV Park

A safe place for kids to play free and enjoy being a kid.

It was far, far more work than I am sure any one of them ever thought necessary.

Nights, weekends, summers – every free chance they had outside of their regular jobs was spent on the land. (that and using slave labor of their children… aka. ME!)

Molding campsites into the lush forest. [picture Lush camping in Sundre, Alberta at Tall Timber]

Building proper roads for people to drive on.

Services for premium lots.

A central bathroom for campers to shower.

A large playground for the kids, make out of gargantuan tractor tires.

When they first opened for business, it was a disaster.

The weather was miserable, the roads mud pits, but the campers were understanding of mother nature’s ways.

Over time, the roads were improved, a store was added, an indoor swimming pool and hot tub added. Swimming pool in Sundre]

A snack shop.

Security gates.

You name it, they end up building it in.

Everything from swing sets, basketball courts, slides and jungle jims.

Then there are the bike trails. And the trees they can play in, or build forts.

Or going to the river to tube, wade, or build log bridges.

Or the swimming pool and hot tub.

Or the candy store.

Or the ice cream store.

DOES IT GET ANY BETTER FOR A KID?

No.

So promoting the campground based on the kids perspective was an easy way to makeover their marketing.

It also is a BIG reason that Tall Timber is such a great success story.

Looking at it from the parents perspective.

The ultimate escape from busy city life. Curl up with a great book for an afternoon of adventure, romance or mystery. Bike paths and walking trails for fitness. A swim or hot tub in the salt water pools. Playtime with the kids. Or having a cold beer next to the fire.

The parents (and non-parents alike) LOVE Tall Timber.

It is an hour and 15 minutes from Calgary (an easy jaunt). It is beautiful country. And it (my favorite part) has almost NO access to internet or cell phones!!

Well, you can get both internet and cell reception if you try – I recommend you don’t.

Looking at it from the competitors perspective.

Tall Timber is notorious for the strict rules and regulations around parties, quiet hours, proper behavior, no tenting (unless there is a trailer on site too), and covenants around what they can or cannot put on their lots.

Some people don’t like the rules – others love the quality of people that a park like this attracts.

So what does this have to do with your business?

Right now, get out a pad of paper and a pen.

Then pick 3 or 4 different perspectives that somehow relate to your business.

1) your direct competition

2) your ideal clients

3) other people your ideal clients will talk to about your product or service

Write out all the different ways they could see your product or service.

Write out all the good things they would say… and the bad.

Write out the great story telling pieces they get when they deal with you.

Note what is lacking. Note what is prevalent throughout. Note what could become your biggest asset. Note what could become your biggest hindrance (and think on how you can turn that into an advantage).


Tall Timber has been a significant part of my life.

Still is for me and for my own daughters (who absolutely LOVE the place!)

It was my parents dream. That is now reality for hundreds of adults and children alike.

It is also the prime example on how hard work and persistence (decades of it) can pay off.

Get this…

… their volunteer committee was able to personally raise over $250,000 to build two new playgrounds in the past year.

They used elbow grease.

Sweat equity.

Creativity.

And ingenuity.

Penny-by-penny, brick-by-brick, dollar-by-dollar.

They raised over a quarter million dollars to build children’s playgrounds.
New Playground at Tall Timber
They made this park come to life in a tough economic climate and how they did it is inspirational and educational for any serious entrepreneur.

What I want to leave with you today though is a desire to look at your business from the direct, and indirect, buyers perspectives.

In those you can learn more about marketing opportunities than most $1500 marketing packages being sold.

Invest a few hours in this exercise… I guarantee it will pay off in spades.

For now, have a great day… and invest some time this week on this drill!

Troy

PS: If you want some innovative ways to generate leads, attract higher quality clients, and improve your retention rates, the Cash Flow Calendars Program is JUST what the doctor ordered. Done-for-you marketing campaigns and ideas for 12 months out of the year!

May
27

When Harry met Tommy

By | advertising, Affluent buyers, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Entrepreneur, Main Content, Marketing on the web, Success, Wacky marketing ideas

3 Comments

I want to introduce you to two people today.

One of them is real, one is entirely fictional. Both of them are highly successful, and pull in hundreds-of-millions in revenue per year.

The best part? They use completely different approaches to grow their thriving empires.

The main reason I wanted to talk about these unique business models is that they are both thriving in the downturn.

They both sell higher priced clothing. And they both target a more affluent type of buyer.

First, meet Harry Rosen: http://www.harryrosen.com/

Harry Rosen is a Canadian Icon with 55 years in business. Harry has turned his initial $500 investment into a $250 Million dollar empire and continues to thrive in the current economy. Harry Rosen now proudly owns 35 percent share of the national market in high-end men’s wear.

One of the BIG reasons Harry has done so well?

“Most companies are faceless but I’m the face. Like me or dislike me, it’s what you get,” he says.

Direct from the master: You MUST have a face in front of your company.

Simple …
yet ignored by 99% of businesses out there.

Do YOU put your name and face in front of all your messaging?

Do you make sure people understand that you are there for them, and that you will make sure they get the attention they crave?

It is one of the most critical skills to master in a buying environment like this.

People are desperately seeking out companies that are different. Companies who have something unique about them. Companies that give them a good story they can share with their friends and associates.

Harry does this.

Guess how Harry Rosen got his start?

A little know fact about Harry is that he was an outstanding copywriter who hand wrote out long “quirky” little letters to the top CEOs in Canada. He would hand pick who he wanted as a buyer, get their address and hand write out these “odd letters,” as he called them in an interview.

Despite what many people think: Those executives not only received and opened his mail; they read it top to bottom and came in to order some finely tailored suits and clothing.

Hand-written … long copy … no photographs.

The TOP business leaders would respond with credit cards in hand. (I did ask him if he kept copies of them … unfortunately he said no).

They continue to sell to the affluent professional.

The up-and-coming executive who must make the right first impression. The new manager who needs to look good in the boardroom, as well as after hours at the company party.

While Harry no longer hand writes those letters, they still continue to use advertising campaigns that bring people in the door.

One way they do it is through their Ask Harry Column. It all started with an ad they ran that told this story…

“This is Harry. Harry has a store. Harry sells suits. Harry’s suits are all naturally tailored. Harry calls this lean, unpadded styling the Cambridge look. Harry specializes in the Cambridge look. If you like the Cambridge look, remember his name, Harry.”

“Right from the moment it ran, it was very successful,” Rosen says. “We had customers coming in from outside of Toronto, from around the country, in fact. That was the beginning, although I didn’t understand it at the time, of the branding of Harry Rosen.”

Anyone could ask Harry any question they wanted about clothing, dressing the part, or even how to act in social situations they are involved in.

You can ask Harry “Can you wear a French-cuffed shirt and cufflinks with a sports jacket, or only a suit?” and get an answer.

Some of the random things Harry helps men understand through his Ask Harry column:

• Changing trends in the men’s fashion world -http://www.harrymagazine.ca/en/notebook
• How to pick a wine with confidence
• How to tie a tie – also one of the top applications on Apple’s iStore
• How to pack a suitcase
• How to choose and wear your denim

Harry still spends every Saturday in his flagship store with a tape measure and piece of chalk in hand. He does the same thing at his other stores across the country at least a couple of times a year.

This is a man who has become a Canadian Icon in the business world, and a major success in the world-fashion scene.

His new breakthrough advertising campaign features prominent Canadian Business Men in their element.

Each ad is like a case study with the customer’s photo, their name and credentials, and their story of how they became a devoted Harry Rosen fan.

Some of the titles he gave his customers:
The Influencer
The Guru
The Entrepreneur
The Visionary

Harry Rosen the new entrepreneur

(The actual ads have more copy than on this picture though.)

How did Harry continue to thrive in an economic disaster?

They introduced a new campaign: “Welcome to The New Confidence”

“Our experience has been that the surest way to bolster the economy is to inspire confidence, the kind of confidence conveyed by dressing in a manner that underscores the fact that you are the right leader for the task at hand. Your personal brand is your biggest asset today.”

Harry Rosen is an exceptional business man and his use of his photo, his name, and his values in their marketing is one of the big reasons they have done so well.

Next, my friend Tommy BahamaTommy Bahama

I say friend because I feel like I know Tommy, even though he is a fictional character. I am actually wearing one of Tommy’s shirts right now … and I love Tommy’s clothes. They are right up my alley (an ex-suit who despises wearing a tie anymore … I was a Harry Rosen Shopper and have now moved to the Tommy side).

It is very interesting to me that both Harry and Tommy target similar demographics … upwardly mobile, more affluent types of buyers.

Yet their clothing styles are dramatically different. The sales approach they use is even more different. Harry sells you on looking good and knowing how to act in a professional situation.

Tommy sells you on the way of life that many of us strive for.

From their site:

ABOUT TOMMY

There is a warm westerly breeze rustling the palms, the lulling roar of crashing waves – it’s a celebration of island living, courtesy of Tony Margolis, Bob Emfield and Lucio Dalla Gasperina.

In 1992, our fictional Tommy Bahama character became the inspiration behind the experience of traveling to exotic locales where the food is good, the beaches are hot and the mood is relaxed.

Tommy Bahama and his tropical adventures command the finer things in life: casual, comfortable sportswear, golfwear, swimwear, footwear and accessories for men and women.

As the purveyor of island lifestyles, Tommy Bahama, has created a world where life moves at a more relaxed pace, where the enjoyment of the good life is the norm, rather than the exception.

Not sure about you, but I can hear the waves, and see myself there on that beach. It is what I strive for … and there are a lot of people out there who have a dream just like that.

And the Tommy character is just what the doctor ordered.

For the beach lovers out there … you can visit Paradise Nation and travel to exotic locations with
Tommy http://www.tommybahama.com/TBG/ParadiseNation.jsp

They have also expanded into the restaurant business now, and, although I haven’t had the privilege of frequenting one yet, I know people who have and they absolutely loved it.

Tommy Bahama also knows that those who aspire to an island lifestyle want more than just the nice comfortable clothes to go with it; they want to completely immerse themselves in everything to do with the beach bum life.

They now sell luggage, furniture, bathroom accessories, bedding and bathroom goods, rugs … even ceiling fans.

By the time you are done with Tommy’s store, you are completely decked out from head to toe and from doorway to bedroom.

You can even pick up a bottle of Tommy’s finest Tropical Rum for your afternoon cocktails out on the patio set you bought from Tommy.

You ARE living the Tommy lifestyle … exactly what you wanted.

So what does all this have to do with you and your business?

Pay close attention to these two businesses.

They both use a personality front and center. One of them is a real person, the other is fictional (but real in the customer’s mind).

The personality is used everywhere, and it becomes the main reason why people buy … they aspire to be just like that person they hear so much about. They want to live the same lifestyle … look the part … be that person.

This is a secret of success that is soooooo rarely used.

For example, a new client came on board last year.

He has a successful business in the horse training business. He lives on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. And people from all over the world seek him out to get lessons with their horses. They fly him all over the world to teach his classes.

And he wants to take his business to the next level.

How would he do it?

He would model what Harry and Tommy have done.

He would give his clients an insider’s view on what it is really like to be a cowboy.

To work with horses day-in and day-out.

To ride deep into the mountains on a three-week trip.

To be at one with nature and live off the land like real cowboys used to.

And we build his personality into everything that he does.

I will share with you what happens as we get this rolling.

Much like the lobster story I have shared here, the key to success in business today is giving people a unique story they can tell their friends and family.

The lobster brothers send out DVDs with every product shipment.

Pop the DVD in and watch your dedicated lobster-fisherman telling you about their family, about how they catch your lobster, and about what it is like working on a fishing boat for a living.

Those brothers built a million-dollar business in just a few months using their personalities as the main selling point.

In a business that was traditionally a price-based decision.

No longer.

So the question for you is …

… Do you want your customers to think of you like a Tommy?

… Or a Harry?

Both work.

One is more wild and free … living the ultimate lifestyle many of your customers aspire to. The other is a professional … works hard and plays hard.

Do your customers want to:

“Escape the troubles of the modern world in favor of a place that’s relaxed and worry-free … where life is one long weekend …

Or

“Live in their own New Confidence in a New Economy?”

Which person are you targeting?

How are you giving them what they want?

How can you?

What can you do to give them the lifestyle they want?

How can you tie your personality into it so they will NEVER forget you?

What one thing could you do in the next month that would get them talking about you to their friends, family and associates?

I would love to hear your ideas.

Thanks again.

To your success.

Troy

May
02

Wine Barrel Wealth Part 2

By | Affluent buyers, Direct Marketing, Success

2 Comments

Just wanted to follow up on last weeks Wine Barrel Wealth article, as I got a lot of emails about it.

First, I am going to try and get the person I wrote about to do an interview. It would probably be a private interview that I would transcribe and send to you.

I know him well enough and don’t think he is interested in doing a teleseminar (again – a lesson there for us all – he is VERY picky about where his time goes and the payoff would have to be immense (six figures minimum) to be worth it to him).

Something else I thought about though…

We did 5 wineries on the tour the one day and only 2 of the 5 had truly passionate wine makers talking about their craft of wine making.

It is easy to tell passion from paid promotion.

They told stories about how they got started in the business.

The told the truth about the cut throat nature of the business.

And their passion for their craft was highly evident. Especially the PHd who owned and ran the Luxton Winery!

The most important point: they were the ones we bought the most (wine) from – and they were soooooo much more interesting than the others!

Rediscover your passion for what you do.

It is easily the fastest way to grow your business…

…tap into your passion and start talking.

To a camera.
On a teleseminar.
To a customer in person.
To a prospect over the phone.


Get your passion out there… and watch your revenues rise.

When you are doing it just for the money, it will ultimately be the thing you hate doing the most…

sonoma winery - door to no where sign

Apr
28

Wine barrel wealth and hidden opportunities for the astute

By | Affluent buyers, Entrepreneur, Main Content, Success

2 Comments

I realize that times are still tough for many people out there. The last few years were definitely felt here as well. I won’t be one of those posers who pretend all is perfect in la-la land.

But there is a way out.

It involves busting your tail.

And in looking at new ideas for revenue growth.

I was in Sonoma this past weekend for a friends 40th.

One of the guys with us is very wealthy.
He is also young, younger than me.

Something happened in Sonoma that really made me appreciate him and learn from him.
sonoma-wine-cave2
We were on a wine tour and we were inside one of the wine caves.

They were talking about the wine making process, and the subject of the oak barrels came up.

A long discussion on the barrels, how the oak is chosen from the 3 places in the world you can get it, how much the barrels cost ($400-$1,400 per barrel), and the fact that the barrels only last for a few years.

Fascinating.
sonoma-wine-barrels
But the wealthy individual in our group saw something and went after it.

He started asking lots of questions about the barrels… even to the point he was annoying the tour guide.

…But there was a reason he was asking all these questions.

He slowly walked away from the group and got out his cell phone.

A 2 minute call and an email later he came back to join us.

Later on I was talking to him and found out that he already had a team of his people analyzing the oak barrel market in the part
of the world he lived in. They were looking at the numbers, the competition, and the opportunity.

It would take them a week or two to report back the final recommendations.

THIS is how a guy like that made sooooo many millions of dollars before he hit 40.

…He took rapid action.
…He looked at the numbers.
…He pursued the areas that he could add value and expertise. (leverage)

We will see if the business is lucrative enough for him to go into, but if it is, rest assured, he will be in business in a week or two.

He saw opportunity in something most just glanced right by.

RAPID action.

You need to take it.

I need to take it.

It is the one thing that differentiates those that will make it through the coming years on top and those who won’t.

Let me know how else I can help.
sonoma-us2
Troy

PS: As I wrote this story to a client of mine, I realize how much I need to share it. Again – 10 minutes typing
and I now have an asset for my marketing campaigns. Rapid action + leverage = profitability.

Here is the ultimate tool for leveraging your assets through massive action http://www.marketingdojang.com

Mar
11

Gene Simmons… Rock and Roll Great and Marketing Superstar

By | Affluent buyers, Direct Marketing, Entrepreneur, Success, Wacky marketing ideas

4 Comments

A few years ago, I was having dinner at the Grand ole Opry hotel in Nashville, getting ready to attend the Dan Kennedy Superconference.

Just up to my right I saw someone come out of a discretely placed side door, and start walking down the hall towards me.

“Hey. There’s Gene Simmons!”

Gene was booked to speak at the seminar the next morning, but here he was wandering down the hallway all by himself. No one had even really noticed who this living legend was that was casually strutting his stuff, all by his lonesome.

So me and my buddy Owen jumped up and went to say hi.

gene-simmons-troy-white

Before the crowds saw him...

He was incredibly friendly, offering us signatures or photos if we wanted. As we were snapping a couple pictures, people around us started to figure out who this was… and the crowd soon surrounded him.

What impressed me was watching him with the crowd.

There’s a guy that knows who pays his bills!

He was patient and friendly with everyone.

Photo? Sure.

Sign this? Sure.

He made sure every single person who wanted it, either got a picture with him or went home with something signed by Gene (the girls usually went away with some very strategically written ink on their bodies).

No rush – he was there to be with his fans.

One fascinating thing about his fans was the multiple generations that consider him the best in the world.

Grandmothers there with their grandkids – each of them as giddy at meeting Gene as the other.

The next morning he gave a fantastic talk about thinking big and success in business.
Gene Simmons KISS
Many people judge Gene by the image he portrays in his old KISS costume, with makeup, platform boots and tongue sticking out.

If that is all you know about Gene, you will be astounded to learn how successful he has become marketing himself, his brand, and his many companies.

Gene Simmons - Marketing SuperstarSeriously, Gene is a marketing genius and his Sex, Money, Kiss book gives you some incredible insights into the way he thinks, acts and grows his businesses (a warning though: if you are easily offended and unable to see past some of the points he makes, you will not enjoy this book. If you have thick skin, this is packed solid with marketing lessons).

If you watch his Family Jewels show, you catch a glimpse of how he runs some of the business and makes tens of millions of dollars a year, when most Rock-and-Roll-Oldtimers have fried up and blown away.

Did you know Gene has never used drugs or been drunk?

Most have no clue.
…Most don’t want to believe it.

But that’s how he stayed sober when all the rest of the band fell victim to drugs and booze.

Gene took control of the main assets and has continued to leverage his success for decades now.

He is one of the BEST at being a showman. He knows when to put on his game face, and does it incredibly well.

Some of the lessons I have picked up from Gene that are ideal for small business marketing:

1. Make it a cool and catchy name. Many of the major successes in business are centered around products and businesses whose names are memorable (or they paid huge bucks to make it memorable).

Also, Gene is big into the designs and packaging of the name you use. You cannot deny the success he has achieved with this strategy. Make the name into a catchy logo, and, the real key, make the logo attractive enough that you would wear it on a t-shirt, or baseball cap, or on a poster, etc.

Gene has created a multi-million dollar empire out of merchandisable clothing, posters, stickers, electronic gear, etc …. all with a very catchy logo and designs.

2. Think through each and every area that you can generate revenues from your business and offerings.

a. Your main product or service offering – price it at the high end (trying to win the low price game is not something I ever recommend). Prices at the high end may attract fewer buyers (sometimes it attracts more buyers), but the profits are higher, and the effort required to close a high end sale is typically as easy as selling the cheapest on the market.

b. Find ways to incorporate a membership program into your business. This is a BIG money maker if done properly (the KISS members club has a massive client base that will buy anything that is promoted). You can price your membership program monthly or yearly, definitely worthy of testing both options. With a membership, they should get some form of discount of future purchases, they should have special member-only days, they should be eligible for contests, points for purchases – redeemable for additional goods, or impressed clothing or hats.

[Side note: I have been watching closely all the different places that use memberships lately, and they are, typically, one of the leaders in their market, usually VERY busy with paying customers, and usually very unique, in that their competitors are too scared to implement membership programs.]

c. What is your conversation piece? When someone talks about you and your business, what one thing are they likely to bring up in the conversation? If you don’t have that, yet, start thinking it through.

It could be the bizarre things you do in your It could be the bizarre things you do in your ‘off-time’ (think Richard Branson) – it could be who you regularly write about in your newsletters (I used to write about my twin daughters extensively in my newsletters, as they taught me much about life and business).

Find something, anything that can position you as highly unique Find something, anything that can position you as highly unique.

d. Have annual customer appreciation events (more frequent is even better). People LOVE a good party – give them one. Make it free for all customers – you can combine the free event with an extra paid event, but do it at a separate time and make the paid event highly valuable.

e. Is there any way you can license your brand, your products, your services, even your marketing process or ads? Create something unique in your business and how it is perceived by others, then approach others in unrelated markets (even competitors in non-competitive areas). Sell rights to use your licensed goods in their business. For them, it gives them more to sell to their clients, for you it provides additional income streams to further grow your business and bank account.
Donald Trump recently discussed the fact that 15% of his revenues come from the licensing of the Trump name. People pay him significant fees to use his name, fees are payable in advance before they do anything with his name.

You and I may not have a name like Trump or Simmons to license, but we definitely have assets we can and should be licensing.

f. Cross promote everything that you sell, or want to sell. Each and every part of your business needs to be selling the other parts. You can do this through inserts in your product shipments, in your electronic newsletters, in your customer follow-up pieces, you can even create catchy cartoon or graphic logos that make for great stickers – include a bunch of stickers with each shipment (this has worked great for me and the Wild West Wealth Summit and the cowboy cartoons I have used).

g. Create systematic 1-2-3 launches for every new initiative you are undertaking this year. As you lay it out on your marketing calendar you will start seeing where the majority of your time will be allocated throughout the year- and where the overlaps are on your launches, which can be powerful in the eyes of you customers – or confusing, if not explained properly.

Make sure you cross promote your different businesses as well. Gene Simmons is very good at making sure each and every one of his businesses or clients is mentioned when he is in front of a crowd.

You just never know who is in the market for one of your other offerings!

h. Always be asking yourself how you can make more money from your existing products or services, and how you can repackage them for bigger boosts in sales. Try surveying your clients to find out what they like most, and least, about the products and services you offer now.

3. Brand yourself as the personality of your business. Many of the world’s great business success stories (and turnaround stories) are the result of the business leader becoming the front person and personality in all their marketing. Lee Iacocca WAS Chrysler when he turned them around. He was front and center on the television, the voice you heard on radio, and the person people connected with when they wanted to buy a new vehicle (versus all the other ‘faceless’ corporations they had to choose from).
troy-white-copywriting
Use cartoons, if appropriate. They have worked well for me … and are working well for others. There is a major resurgence of interest in cartoons right now among adults. I don’t recall where I saw the article, but the growth in comic book sales to adults is experiencing a major spike right now – tap into it!

How would you sell you and your company if you were a rock star? You may not want to wear makeup and stick your tongue out (or maybe you would?) – But there is something you would do to stand out from the thousands of other rock stars out there re: What is your personality you want to portray?

Use that personality in your blog posts, in your newsletters, in your marketing and on your website – that is one of your greatest assets if you leverage it right.

4. Work harder (and smarter) than anyone else in your industry. Despite the premise behind the 4 Hour Work Week, hard work will be the key to your success. Yes, outsourcing and systemization is critical, but if you are working half the hours as your biggest competitor – they will become the leader.

I highly encourage you to pick up Gene’s book. It gives you a powerful look into the life of one of today’s greatest showmen. Gene Simmons - sex money kiss book

Few people in any business can make ten, twenty, fifty million a year consistently… for decades. Those that do, leave some serious clues on how you can do the same.

Even if success and wealth is not one of your ambitions, learning how a guy like that has been able to turn a flame-breathing devil into a multi-generational icon is a fun ride in itself!

To your success,

Troy White

PS: Speaking of membership programs… thanks to your survey results last week, mine is now in serious development mode. 79.2% of those who filled out the survey wanted more access to me through a membership program, assuming the price is right… which it will be.

With my next Story Selling Coaching program starting up in a month, I have decided to gift you the first 3 months membership into the program when you join Story Selling.

Sign up for the coaching calls and I will start helping you get immediate results in your writing and marketing – even before the course begins.

Not only that – you also get access to ALL future story selling classes as a refresher, anytime you need new ideas! Can’t go wrong for the price.

Feb
28

Time To Create a Cult?

By | Affluent buyers, Direct Marketing, Entrepreneur, Leads Generation, Success, Wacky marketing ideas

9 Comments

Way back when Apple was still a baby fruit, I got firsthand experience working on the Apple II.

It was a breakthrough at the time – with a 9” monochrome screen and the dual floppy disc drives. I first learned about programming there and quickly discovered it was best left to others with more of a technical nature. I just loved it for all the potential it held.

That was 1977, and 33 years later Apple is now all grown up and the Iphone has more power than a city full of those old Apple IIs.

They made it through the days when no one thought they’d survive.

And now enjoy record breaking growth and a MASSIVE following.

Mac is one of the greatest Cults you can ever learn from

They leverage their Cult to sell boatloads of tiny little technology wonders like the iphone and ipad….

“Apple has been able to generate over $75 million in revenue in one day on a product that 99.9% of purchasers haven’t touched or for that matter, even seen in person,” said Victor Castroll, an analyst with Valcent Financial Group.

…now THAT is power.

You see it all over the news every time they bring out a new product. Their ‘converts’ clamor over each other trying to find the leaked photos of the new product. They line up for days outside stores in rain, snow or shine to be fitst in line to pay twice th going rate for a similar tool from a competitor.


But wait… is there really such a thing
as a competitor in the Apple world?

If you ask the media, they compare sales numbers and year over year market share growth. Basically pegging Nokia or RIM against the iPhone in the cell phone world.

But, if you talk to an actual iPhone owner and Cult Convert…

… RIM who?
Nokia… aren’t those 5 year old technologies?

In an Apple Cult… competition disappears.

Doubt me?

Then just go ask a Mac User, an iPhone junkie or a recent iPad buyer to switch over.

Then stand back for the verbal and physical lashing you might get.

I personally am not a Mac user… but I have had an iPhone for a couple years… an iPad for 6 months or so… and I get it.

Apple is different.

They do cool stuff that no one else in the tech business is doing.

Both in their products and in their marketing.

Apple is the best there is in the tech world for Cult Building and racking up the revenues.

From Wikipedia: Sociologists still maintain that unlike sects, which are products of religious schism and therefore maintain a continuity with traditional beliefs and practices, “cults” arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices.

Which I think defines the Apple experience.

Novel beliefs and practices about their business and products.

To Apple converts: the Apple products are just better… in every way, their packaging is a lesson in itself, their ease-of-use is unparalleled, their ability to lead the industry on technologies that users actually want is unmatched, and they are THE coolest company out there in the tech world… heck, in the ENTIRE world.

And to be a member in this Cult, their converts are MORE than willing to plunk down their paychecks and do anything they can to pay twice the going market rate for a (gasp) competitive product.

The other day I was in renting a movie for my daughters and saw a sign on the store that the iPhone 4 was sold out (way up here in Canada we were a few months behind the big launch in the US). I asked the young guy behind the counter about the iPhone sales.

Even he was amazed at what people were willing to pay for this new phone (up to $700 or so). People who obviously sacrifice food, showers, clothing and deodorant… just so they can own the newest iPhone. Executives who skip out of work and are willing to pitch a tent in the parking lot just so they can be the first in the office with one. There is no rational thought happening when Apple launches a new product… they just gotta have it.

With ever increasing frequency I am seeing a LOT of people switching from PC to Mac.

From their Blackberry to an iPhone.

They are drinking the koolaid… by the barrel-full.

So, the question is…

how do you and I create Cults in our customer base?

No better place to find ideas for this than by learning from the best-in-the-biz.

[note: I am only a junior Cult convert... only the iPhone and the iPad. No Mac yet. Hey if you want to send me one, I’m in for going deeper down the rabbit hole.]

Some observations on the Apple Cult.

1) They have transcended rationality and rational thought. They have created these rock-solid beliefs with their Converts that there is nothing else out there that can come even close to competing. Not easy to do. In the day and age of shiny phones and tech tools everywhere, Apple converts keep their blinders on and happily pay a bundle for the tools, the apps, and the music.

What ONE thing that you do could be built up into an irrational belief amongst your customers? Do you do something in your service or delivery that no one else does? Could you? I wrote some time ago about Kinjos Sushi in Calgary. I am now doing some work with them to see how we can build their cult following even more. I have seen their numbers… WOW.

In a deep economic mess… their sales growth is off the charts for the past 3 years.

Why? Because they have 2 things going for them that no other Sushi place in town has: the Pocky chocolates and Peter Kinjo himself. To Kinjo Converts, that is enough to bring them back day in and day out. Imagine a 65 seat restaurant that cranks out hundreds upon hundreds of customers every single day of the week.

THAT is a Cult.

Find that one thing you can do to position yourself as the one-and-only in your market.

2) They have evangelists everywhere. Apple is a master at building their brand up to feverish levels with their converts. Just tell an Apple convert that Apple sucks… and watch yourself for the flurry that undoubtedly will come your way.

Reward the evangelists in one way or another. Give them special clubs they can join. Link to those clubs. Give them users groups and special interest clubs. Give them swag. Give them a feeling of being part of the inner circle. Reward them at your yearly customer get-togethers. Give them a darned good reason to praise you in public forums.

Their Apple users groups are driven by volunteers – they help recruit more volunteers (spending up to 30 or 40 hours a week of their ‘off-time’ doing so!)

3) Get them used to overpriced, yet highly unique and valuable products and services. Low price has never been mentioned in conjunction with Apple. Everyone KNOWS they are premium priced and their quality matches the price.

There are people walking around with $800 iPads that probably barely make that a month. Ask that person if it was worth it and tears will come to their eyes as they describe how the iPad has changed their life.

Then there are others who are leading their field and raking in millions per year… that are just as much of a convert as the unemployed guy with an iphone on his belt and an ipad in his arms.

They have positioned themselves to be a creative gateway. Own an Apple product and unleash your creativity. Everyone wants to be more creative… and a percentage of them are willing to pay a premium to do so. Apple is the logical (to them) step to unlocking their creative potential.

So raise your prices, but make sure the quality and deliverables they get in return are so far above the norm that price never becomes even a factor. Just look at how Apple packages their products! No brown cardboard boxes here. These are works of art and obviously cost a pretty penny to package that way. Apple converts KEEP their boxes on display. How many Blackberry users do that?

What can you do to position your products and services at the top of the industry, in price and in quality?

4) Always be on the hunt for new blood. Apple is great at this. They are the cool kid on the block… and everyone wants to know the cool kid. Be in their circle. Hang out with them. Be seen with them. Apple converts help Convert others just by being out there with their iphones, ipads, and Macbooks. Tease them with the idea of this Club they can join. The price is high… but boy oh boy will you be one of the cool kids then.

Have entry level products (still premium priced) that attract a younger, more vibrant crowd into your fold. Have higher end products that only the elite will buy. But those elite will help you convert other elites. And the juniors will help you become popular in the junior crowd.

Stick with the premium prices… but have multiple products in the premium price range to get both the juniors and the elites. All it takes is one magic bite and they are sold.

As they say in the Apple world… once you go Mac you never go back. Which is true. I don’t know many people switching from Mac to PC these days, but I know a significant amount of people converting the other way… quickly.

5) Show you are human (How many companies would take down their home page – even for a few minutes – to pay tribute to a fallen comrade? Jerry York was on their board of directors and recently passed away – Apply took down their homepage to page homage to this man.

Very honourable… and real.

6) Make it your mission to find that “passion over logic” sale. That emotional sale is far superior to any logical one. The prices double and the evangelism reaches freaky levels.

Find something, anything, that you can position as the emotional reason to buy. Keep testing different emotional hot buttons until you start seeing the ones that work. Then use those to your fullest degree.

Make them part of an elite group (like Apple converts, even like the lobster brothers who I have written about here – charging $3,000 for a membership to a Lobster Club, rather than selling a $10 lobster off the docks. This is something that only testing will find. When you get it right… you know.

7) Master the Marketing of Your Cult. Apple is a genius marketing company and they know it. If it wasn’t for their marketing and pr side, they would not be what they are today. Not by any means.

There was a time when they were almost a has-been… but look at them now. They realized that they had some of the most passionate converts in the world… and all they had to do was find ways to get 100, 1,000 times as many of those converts.

Blogs like the Total Package give you hundreds upon hundreds of free articles to help you get good fast at your marketing. So do it. You are no longer a furniture store… or an author… you are now a marketer.

Get good at it and use that skill to build your business quickly.

One key to Apple’s success is that it shows off its products in stores set up in the affluent shopping areas of major cities around the world – a well-regarded Apple blogger filmed the insanity that accompanied Apple’s most recent store opening in Philadelphia. Apple had 200 stores at the beginning of the recession in late 2007. It now has 261, and the number is only growing. –24/7 Wall St.

“The Apple store is carefully calibrated as an architectural
and retail room that will change how you feel
when you enter it.”
–Seth Godin

8) Don’t shy away from trash talking your competitors. To a point. Look at the “I’m a Mac” commercials. Hugely successful and rightfully so. They positioned the Mac as the cool, creative guy. The pc – a nerd. Big time success with talking about your competition. But do it in a nice way or your Converts will sense your evil ways and start to wonder why you have to bash an inferior solution so much… maybe you are hiding something… maybe the competitors do have something worth looking at. Have fun with it. But be bold and sassy when you do it.

9) Ignore the fads and create your own. Apple could care less about bringing out the $200 Macbook. Instead of bringing out yet another $200 netbook, they quadruple the price, repackage it, rename it, and voila… you get the iPad with WAY more cool features than any Netbook could hope to have.

Following the fads is best left to your competitors. Fads die away. But creating your own following in a radically different direction is always a better way to position your products and your prices.

” We want to make all our users happy.
If you don’t know that, you don’t know Apple.”

“We love our users.
We try very hard to surprise and delight them.”

“So we do all this because we love our users.
And when we fall short — which we do sometimes — we try harder.
We pick ourselves up, we figure out what’s wrong, and we try harder.
And when we succeed, they reward us by staying our users,
and that makes it all worth it.”

The Apple Cult is an amazing one to learn from.

The 9 tips above are just a start.

Right now, you need to find a few ways you can create your own.

My thoughts?

Take the list above… find a quiet place away from the home or office. Get pen and paper out. Start writing down ideas.

An hour a week doing this and you will find ways to create your own cult.

A fantastic way to raise your prices and build your loyalty.

Drink the koolaid!

Get busy starting your cult.

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