I was browsing a couple online marketing forums the other day, and a number of threads jumped out at me.
They were all asking similar questions, like…
“Why aren’t people signing up for my email list? I’m giving away free stuff (a free report, free ebook, free sample, etc.) Doesn’t everybody want free stuff?”
Well, most experienced marketers already know the answer to this question.
But, for anyone (and everyone) who’s asking this type of question, let me answer it for you right now…
“Running a business without advertising and marketing is like winking in the dark; you know what you’re doing, but nobody else can see you.”
If you’ve been in business for any length of time, then you already know; there’s only 3 main ways you’re going to “stay in business”…
1) Increase your number of customers.
2) Increase the size (or dollar amount) of each sale.
3) Increase the frequency of repeat customers.
It’s not rocket science… it’s simple math!
– When you do 1 of these, your sales will go up.
– When you do 2 of these, your sales will multiply even more.
– When you do all 3, your sales, and profits, will expand geometrically.
Of course, there’s other ways to increase your bottom line, like cutting waste and streamlining efficiency.
But without customers, you don’t have a business; and nothing else is going to make a difference.
Unfortunately, here’s where most business owners go wrong…
There was a thread the other day, on one of the marketing forums I belong to, that touched upon a point of morality and ethics in marketing.
One of the members was called out for blatantly lying to, and deceiving his market, in order to promote himself as being a master marketer.
That member shot back, and basically told his detractors “The best marketers adjust the facts, so get off your high horses and start living in the real world!”
He then went on to justify his claim, demanding that he could “honestly” say he produced tens of millions of dollars for past clients, because he once worked for a company that did so.
And even though he wasn’t personally responsible for those transactions, he wasn’t lying. He was simple “adapting the truth” to fit his own needs.
Now, I don’t know how you feel about his justification; But to me, with that type of logic, a cashier at Walmart could say they’re a front line financial expert, managing an entire sector, at a multi billion dollar company.
To me, it sounds deceptive… what do you think?
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The most important marketing lesson for every business…
Meet the new boss; Same as the old boss
The Who – Won’t get fooled again
Wow, I was just listening to the old song “Won’t get fooled again” by the Who. And let me tell you, it really brought back some memories from my youth (I guess that shows you how old I am).
At the end of the song, Roger Daultry sings “Meet the new boss – Same as the old boss” and it instantly got me thinking about marketing.
OK, I can already hear you saying… “What? How the hell can an old rock-n-roll song make you think about marketing? You friggin egghead!”
Well, maybe I deserved that… and maybe not. But at least let me explain where I’m coming from, before you feed me to the alligators…
Hey, fellow business marketers –
It’s time for another solid marketing strategy.
This one often gets disregarded by small business owners because they think it’s too “old fashioned” or “hokey.”
But it can work extremely well, and it can be relatively inexpensive.
Simply put… Sponsor an event for publicity.
When you sponsor an event or competition, it’s a good way to get your name in front of a lot of people.
If you want to generate an even bigger impact, then you can create your own event.
Of course, creating your own event will cost a bit more than if you just sponsor an event (more time, effort, money) but it can multiply your results geometrically, because you control the full impact of your brand.
Don’t believe it can work?
Well, let me tell you a true story (the short version) about a small company that got amazing results from creating events, instead using traditional adverting…
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