Nov
30

4 Ways To Position Your Business and Improve Your Profits

Fellow Business Builder,

Here’s something for you to dig deep into this week.

Whenever I start working with a new client, we put a significant amount of our time into the positioning of them in the market place.  We want to make sure they know where they stand in the buyers eyes, and what makes them the one and only choice in a competitive situation.

It isn’t simple.

Most entrepreneurs want to be everything to everyone… but we all know that strategy is doomed to fail.

So what does work?

How do you reposition yourself in the market?

How do you find the ‘thing’ that puts you heads and tails above the others?

Here are 4 strategies that may help you get clear:

1. Pick on the competition… blatantly! This is the exact strategy that Avis took when they wanted to go head to head against Hertz.  The whole “we’re #2. We try harder.” Approach worked like wildfire for Avis.

They turned their competitors main advantage (being #1) into a David vs. Goliath approach.  And people ate it up.

This approach works just as well today, maybe even better, than it did then.

People mistrust big corporations more.  They want specialized attention. They like dealing direct with the owner(s).  They like the tlc they can get from the smaller guys… so give it to them.

Don’t try and hide from the competition… make the competitions so-called ‘advantages’ into a disadvantage. 

 

2. Big benefit.  Is there one thing you can do or provide that makes the entire investment in your product or service seem miniscule?

If you look at the big picture… is there one thing about your product or services that justifies the price every single time?  Compared to your competition?  Or are they saying the same thing?

There is almost always something there for you; it just takes some digging on your part.

One of my clients in the adventure business mentioned quietly one of his ‘hobbies’ that he loves.  He then went on to tell me that: no where else in the world can you do this, it really is possible (most people think it is only done in the movies), people have paid him BIG dollars to tag along side him for this, and that it only happens once a year.

Can we say ca-ching?

Major opportunity there that we can use as his big benefit.  Being a part of his other program can guarantee you a spot in this… and there is no other way possible to get the chance to do it… other than join.

There is a major benefit to joining him, if you are the right type of person who is wealthy and passionate about getting a serious adrenaline rush.  And there are lots of those out there that would LOVE to do this with him.

 

3. Your buyers.  Who are they and what makes them, specifically, different than other buyers?  Going back to standard customer research… you must know your buyers better than anyone else does.

You need to know: what they think about, what they worry about, what foods they eat (and hate), what their drink of choice is, what books they read (and how often), what movies they watch, what hobbies they have, what their biggest dreams are, and what their grandest desires are. 

Not an easy task.

But imagine what power you hold when you do!

Going back to the 80/20 rule… how does it apply to your buyers?  Your top 20% of buyers… what do you know about them?

How can you find more of just that 20%?  What about the 20% of those 20%?

What makes them different?  You can redesign an entire business around the strategy of selling to a VERY specific business.  And you should!

This is an easy way to grow your profits rapidly, while making your marketing much more targeted and focus on a very specific person (which makes it much easier to find the marketing media to reach them)

 

4. Picking on the problem. I have another client who is a traditional MD, but she has changed her focus to the more natural ways to help the body inside and out.

Her biggest pet peeve right now?

Flu vaccinations.  We are right in the middle of the immunization drive to get everyone and their dog into the doctors for a flu shot.  People are panicking about the N1H1 hype.

And she is PO’d.

Did you know that flu shots use formaldehyde?  The exact same ingredient that is used to preserve DEAD BODIES?

Yup, little Johnny there is getting a flu shot and injected with embalming fluid at the same time.

Not quite what you thought would be in the flu vaccine?

Well it is.

And when my client makes a stand against the traditional medical establishment and the ridiculous things they do, claiming it is for your ‘health’, people pay attention.

People are mortified when they realize how little they know about these shots the medical authorities are putting in your body. They have assumed, until now, that the medical community was acting in their best interest.

Once their eyes are open to the real problem, the real underlying issue that no one else is talking about… my doctor client has their attention.

She is seeing record sales this year (in a private clinic… much rarer in Canada than the US).

There is good reason why: she picked on the real problem (lack of real education about the traditional medical ‘cures’), and is guiding her clients and prospects to a much more educated and intelligent way of deciding who is injecting what into your baby girls blood.

These are 4 simple strategies that might get you thinking.

 Pick one – and find some ways to make it fit your business.

The economy is sluggish in most parts… but the signs are picking up and people are spending more.

Are you preparing yourself to tap into it?

Or are you hoping and praying that when people start buying again, they are waiting with credit cards in hand to buy from your same old pitch you have always used?

Maybe it’s time to invest some brain power on a new strategy for the remaining months in 09 and to kick start 2010?

Don’t wait… get busy!

I would love to hear your ideas.

Thanks again.

To your success,

Troy White

 

PS: I have a VERY unique and powerful done-for-you marketing system that is ready.

If you have ever struggled getting enough consistent marketing materials in front of your clients and prospects, this is definitely for you.

If you have ever thought "these marketing ideas are great...but I just don't have enough time to get it all done"... this is exactly what you need.

If you want to make a BIG impact this Christmas and heading into the New Years, and think the idea of a done-for-you marketing campaign sounds ideal to you.... this is for you.

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Don't let the price fool you though...

...this has never been done before this way.

I write the copy.

You send it to your leads and prospects.

Full details we can discuss if you are serious.

Reply back to this or go to
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and fill out the form.

If you have been reading my newsletters for any length of time
(almost at my 10 year anniversary)... you know I don't hype things up.  

This is the real deal and can attract you much better clients and
repeat sales.  But you need to be serious about working with me.  

Let me know.

 

 

Aug
22

Marketing stickiness

marketing-clutter

Does your marketing look like it's buried in the clutter?

11  important rules you need to stick to if you want to succeed in your marketing:

1)      The purpose of your marketing is NOT to showcase your brand, your logo, (it does not need

to be for them to buy something, as it can be for them to take some kind of action like visiting a web page to get something for free)

2)      You MUST learn how to create compelling offers that get them to take those actions.

3)      Each of the marketing campaigns you launch will consist of a minimum of 3 steps.  In other words, when communicating with your clients and prospects, you must send at least 3 different pieces to them in order to call it a properly designed campaign (and one that will actually work and help you achieve goal #1 from above)

4)      No more cutesy sayings and vague one-liners that say and do nothing that take you closer to goal #1. Again, a cute radio ad is useless if it doesn’t generate you leads or make you money.

5)      You will learn how to become a more natural writer, and use those skills to further build on goal #1

6)      Your personality in your marketing is your greatest asset. Don’t hide the fact that you are a real live person, like most business owners do. They try and mask the size of their company… pretending to be a big company.  Putting your face and personality front and center in all your marketing will do more for your sales than anything else you do.

7) Effective advertising rarely looks like advertising.

8)      Effective advertising stops your ideal customer in their tracks and literally forces them to start reading your ad.

9)      Effective advertising always has some form of tracking mechanism in place so you know exactly if it is working, or not.

My first few years into copywriting, I had logged 2,000 hours of writing and studying from the masters (I tracked my hours).

Since discovering this thing called copywriting, I have a whole new world in front of me.  I see why most businesses struggle.  I see why people think marketing doesn’t work. I see why most people think advertising is a waste of money. And I see why some companies go on and accomplish amazing things in record time.

I have had the privilege to work with some incredible people, from all over the world. Movie stars. Bestselling authors. Public speakers. Inventors.  Real estate investors and developers.  Information publishers.  All said and done, there are probably 35+ industries I have helped now.  And have made them millions and millions of dollars in short periods of time.

 

Why do I share this with you? Because just 7 years ago I had no idea what marketing was or how it worked.  Today, I am an internationally-known entrepreneur who has helped thousands of people turn their businesses around.  Every week, my articles go out to thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners spanning the globe.  And I absolutely love seeing the look in a client’s eye when they hit their first grand slam in marketing. The pay doesn’t hurt either.

If I can do it, so can you.  I failed English in high school and university.  But I quickly discovered that real marketing doesn’t care about proper grammar.  As you will see in this article, real marketing breaks many of the rules of proper English.

Yet it works… and the results speak for themselves.

 

 

I LOVE your comments… good and bad.  Let me know what I can do to help you grow your business faster and more profitably.

Troy

 

Jan
10

Marketing is all about one simple thing

All it takes is one thing a day…

* Write an email to your clients

* Send 1 card to 1 prospect

* Write one press release and submit online

* Ask one person for a referral

* Write one blog entry

* Ask one person to endorse me to their list

* Write one article for your newsletter

* Compliment one person who has helped you

* Add one page of content to your website

* Send one monthly promotion to your clients

* Test one new upsell offer today

* Bundle 3 products into one and create a new name

* Ask one customer for their feedback

* Ask one customer what else they would like to buy

* Create a customer survey to find out what they want

* Offer one free bonus “just as my way of saying thanks”

* Find out what your clients fear the most

* Offer your clients a teleseminar – ask them for content

* Offer your clients a live seminar – bring in guest speakers

* Visualize your perfect business and life for 5 minutes

* Ask 5 clients if you can take them for a brainstorming lunch

Simple… right?

That is exactly what you need to do to make the most of 2011.

One.
Simple.
Thing.
A Day.

And here is the grand daddy system for making this easy…

2011 Marketing Calendar, Marketing and promotional plan for small businesses.

Wacky marketing ideas galore! Over 1,200 marketing prompts, templates and blueprints



The Ultimate Marketing Plan and Calendar for Entrepreneurs and Small Business owners who want to make more money in their business.

Simple…

…open the calendar up for the day and you get 3, 4, maybe 6 different ideas you could use for the day.

Pick one.

Follow the templates in the back.

Promote your business.

And profit.

I love simple… so should you!

Troy

Apr
27

Marketing to the affluent… in a recession

One of the biggest opportunities today is the high end affluent market.

By far, this segment of the population is growing faster than the low or mid-range market. And, most important to marketing minded entrepreneurs, this segment IS still buying.

They may not be spending as much as before the drop, but they are still spending, and they are the ideal buyer to be targetting some of your efforts at.

You can always find a way to modify your offerings to this demographic… all you need is a little focus.

So where to start?

First, you start by targeting the right clients, engaging in effective and measurable business strategies and maximizing referrals.

One BIG key to success is zeroing in on Baby Boomers, the generation that owns the largest disposable income in history.

Combine this with the fact that Boomers have fewer and fewer obligations as their children grow up and leave home.

Add to that the fact where younger generations can easily postpone decisions on new purchases – while 55-year-old empty nesters don’t want to waste time or delay – they want it now and will go for it if treated and educated right.

More difficult buyers are always price shoppers. They want control of selecting products, from where and how low the price will be.

On the other hand, busy upscale consumers are more comfortable with having an all-in-one package delivered to their doorstep – the price is secondary in their decision. Make it easy for them – do it all for them – pamper them – treat them like kings and queens –and their decision just got easier.

To me, in this day and age, customer service has never been so disgusting.

Almost everywhere you go you see bad attitudes, badly dressed customer service staff (usually with 2 or 3 needles sticking out of their face – great impression), and bad perception on who it is that actually pays their paycheck (it’s the customer styupid – not your boss – he just signs the darned piece of paper).

So it doesn’t take much to stand out due to your exceptional customer service. Treat them like gold and they WILL tell their friends – who also are empty-nesters with money burning a hole in their pocket if they are treated right.

A few simple ideas to stand out:

  • Price higher than everyone in your market
  • Deliver the goods – train your staff better than anyone else in your industry, and incent them on customer service.
  • Participate in the community
  • Take sales training seriously
  • Stay in touch! You much learn to be proactive in your marketing efforts. Your existing clients should be seeing a print newsletter from you once a month.
  • Plus, they should also be seeing promotions, preferred client specials, client appreciation events, etc. Make them feel special, educate them on everything you offer, ask them to tell their friends, and sell them on buying more of what you offer.
  • Review your current client database, find out where your best sales came from, and figure out how to get to more of those people.

Take a close look at the clients who you believe do the most in-home entertaining, as these can be great referral candidates.

When they have their friends over for a dinner party – they will love to talk you up and praise your service. And those who love to entertain usually have big parties fairly regularly (hint: send appreciation gifts that are show worthy (likely to be displayed somewhere in their home) and they will proudly showcase how great you really are).

I realize this is just scratching the surface, but you must start thinking about this seriously. A whole seminar needs to be dedicated to this.

Remember, when you’re not selling your preferred client, someone else is.