You are here: Home / Archives for money
May
06

Affluent Marketing

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

2 Comments

Depending on who you talk to, the economy is either well on track to a recovery, or is on the verge of the next BIG downturn.  Some people say this downturn will be bigger than the last one we just went through.

To me, one of the tell-tale signs of the REAL economy is the spending going on.

Go to a shopping mall on the weekend – if there are lots of people there with bags in their hands, money is being spent.  Mall empty?  Or just full of browsers and not buyers?  Not good.

There is some GOOD new among the highly affluent though – they are spending.

Some recent research came out from Pamela Danzinger of Unity Marketing.  If you don’t know of Pamela, you should.  Her company specializes in the spending habits of the affluent.

Her recent research findings:

“Affluent consumer confidence is splitting according to income.  Those with incomes of $250,000 or more and called ultra-affluents (which represent the top 2 percent of U.S. households or about 2.5 million households) increased their spending on luxury by 22.6 percent, while the lower income ‘aspirational’ affluents with incomes between $100,000-$249,999 increased their spending by only 1.9 percent from fourth quarter 2009 to first quarter 2010.”

“The aspirational affluents which make up some 21 million households are going back to acting like middle-class rather than luxury class consumers. This shift will have significant impact on luxury marketers and retailers revenues over the next six to nine months,” Danziger warns.

“The latest luxury tracking survey shows that the ultra-affluents are spending at pre-recession levels, while the aspirational consumers are holding back.  But even with their exuberant amounts of spending, the ultra-affluents can’t sustain recovery in the luxury market alone.  In order to generate real growth in the luxury market, marketers and retailers are going to have to entice the aspirationals back to spending.  So far aspirationals are holding back.”

What does it mean for you?

2 things it could mean:

* If you have a product or service that COULD be sold to the highly affluent – now is the time to act.  Is there any possible way you can create the ultimate high end bundle that could be sold for 10X the price (and 100X the value) of what you sell now?  Think hard here.  I am willing to bet that if you put pen to paper, and get yourself locked away for a few hours without distraction, you can find some ideas floating around.  All it takes is a slant on an old idea, made to fit a new industry. much like the Million Dollar Lobster Report I wrote.  They took a commodity type business, repositioned and repackaged it, and sold memberships to the affluent.  Read that report if you haven’t yet… soooo many ideas in there. After you read it – immediately put your ideas down on paper.

* The second thing you can do with this information is to take the comment here to heart: “ entice the aspirationals back to spending.” They are the majority of the affluent. Their numbers are staggering.  And right now they aren’t spending.  They are looking for a company they can connect with. A company with personality that actually DOES care about them.  How do you do this?  You have to learn how to create rock-solid bonds with your clients.  I call it Marketing Velcro and you will hear from about this system soon.  Think about ways you can make that customer relationship sticky like velcro.  Things you can do to get them talking about you. Things you can do to

Both are fantastic opportunities for the astute marketer.

Question is… will you take the research and do something with it?

Or let a MAJOR opportunity pass you by?

Feb
01

7 ways to improve your copy

By | advertising, Copywriting, Leads Generation, Main Content, Success, Wacky marketing ideas

Leave a Comment

[Read more...]

Oct
28

Money making wealth trees

By | Entrepreneur, Success

In your promotions you need to build  a solid foundation that continues to grow year after year with a little effort.

Many entrepreneurs feel lost on where to start promoting their business. This is one way to guaranteed growth in your business.

Step #1 – Planting the seeds

Make a list of all the groups you belong to.  Church groups, volunteer groups, kids sports groups, lunch hour groups, special interest, networking groups, Chamber of Commerce, exercise gyms – anywhere you frequent on a regular basis – write it down

Write out all the publications your IDEAL clients read – both online and offline.  This will take some work, some research, and some surveys.  Find newspapers, trade magazines, general magazines, ezines, paid newsletters, newsgroups, chat rooms, forums, blogs – find everything that is humanly possible.

Write out all the places your customers and ideal prospects frequent.  Special clubs, private golf clubs, interest groups, charities, websites they visit, newsgroups they receive etc.

Step #2 – Spreading the roots

First you must have a free report prepared that outlines the Top 7 Mistakes People Make When Choosing a ______ (insert your area of expertise here). Or the 10 best ways to avoid ______ (the biggest problem your clients have). Make it worthwhile for people to read through good content and information. Make sure you have your contact information at the front and back of your report.

Make copies of these reports – if more than a couple pages – print out on 11 x 17 papers and fold them in half

Hand them out to EVERYONE you know – whether they are a prospect or not (everyone has an average circle of friends and contacts of 200 people – you never know who they know).

Distribute them to the groups you are part of. Put the organizations name on the front of the report (specially prepared for ________ by ___________). Costs no extra but the impact is substantial.

Distribute them to the groups your clients frequent – customize for them as well.

Offer to give presentations on the content in the report.

Contact all the online and offline publications you found that your prospects read, as well as the ones you read or frequent.  Contact the editors and find out what their requirements are for article submissions.  Make yours fit (especially if it is publications that yoru clients read – find a way to make it fit).

Submit your reports EVERYWHERE you can (once again – you never know who will end up reading it – or passing it on to someone they know will appreciate it).

Publish these reports on your web site – get people to sign up to your newsletter and in turn they get your “published” report (mention all the places it has been published to build up the value on your free report).

Offer these reports to other online publishers as a special incentive to their readers (and your potential customers)


Step #3 Growing the Tree

You need a few things in place to grow this at maximum speed.  First, you MUST have tracking software on your web site – most of the time it is free from your ISP.  Make sure it tells you where your traffic is coming from.

If possible, all offline publications that promote your report – find a way to track the results – have people email you at a special email address, or go to a special link, or phone and ask for a certain department or report.  Find a way to track all your incoming leads and sales.

Keep spreadsheets on where all your reports are being distributed – and what response each medium or group is getting. This tracking sheet is GOLD!

Go through that spreadsheet once a month and find out who is sending you the most leads, and the most business.

Reward those groups through more information – profit sharing – incentives to run more.

Offer special presentations to those groups who bring you the most business. Develop custom reports only for them of your best information and tips. Do everything you can in your power to get them to keep promoting you. And deliver good quality information in return.

The formula to a healthy, long lasting wealth tree! Firm roots, lots of water, and time to grow.  Analyzing how the tree does month after month will show you if the care you are giving it is paying off – and where it is paying off.