| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Lessons From a Six Year Old
My 6 year old daughter Emily knows exactly what she wants to be when she grows up. Two weeks ago she knew that she wanted to be a teacher. Last week she knew that she wanted to be an Olympic swimmer. This week she knows that she wants to be a professional singer. Emily's not indecisive. In fact, she's a natural born marketer. Here's why: ? Emily Has A Laser Focus. Regardless of which career is the career of the week, Emily is behind it 100%. She's all teacher, then all swimmer, then all singer. She doesn't muddy the waters by trying to embrace too many things at once, and as a result, the listener both understands what she wants, and remembers it. Many businesses - small ones in particular - take an opposite approach. Working from the belief that, "the more services we offer, the more business opportunities there will be," these companies attempt to cast as wide a net as possible: "We're executive coaches. We do everything from presentation training to life skills workshops to one-on- one CEO mentoring." "We're painters. We specialize in residential and commercial buildings and projects of all types. No job too big or too small." "We're executive recruiters. Sales, Marketing, HR, IT, and Finance are just a few of the areas we focus on." The unfortunate result of this scattered approach however, is that potential clients and others associate these businesses with nothing in particular. The single most effective thing I ever did to grow my business (other than naming it after a flightless aquatic bird) was to stop offering "web marketing services" in general, and to instead focus 100% of my efforts on the very narrow niche of electronic newsletters. Not only does this allow me to become more expert on this topic than my competitors who only dabble in it, it also gives me a clear hook to hang my hat on. Clients, prospects, colleagues, friends - even my mailman - think of me as, "the E-Newsletter guy." As a result, they are more likely to come to me when they need this particular service; more likely to trust from the beginning that I know what I'm talking about; and more likely to recommend my services to their colleagues (can you say, "viral marketing?"). Rather than reducing your opportunities, narrowing your focus has the effect of attracting business to you. Michael J. Katz is Founder and Chief Penguin of Blue Penguin Development, Inc., (http://www.BluePenguinDevelopment.com) a Boston consulting firm that helps clients increase sales by showing them how to nurture their existing relationships, and that specializes in the development of electronic newsletters. He is author of the book, E-Newsletters That Work.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Creating a Marketing Timeline That Works: 17 Simple Ideas for Marketing Your Small Business "Goals are dreams with deadlines." -Diana Scharf HuntWhen clients come to me for marketing help, the first thing I ask is, "What's your plan?" If I'm greeted with a blank stare, then I know we have work to do!In order to set up a great marketing strategy, you need to write it out in black and white. Fern Reisss PublishingGame.com: Achieve Media Attention for Your Business Do you want to be quoted by the national press on a daily basis? (How much would that be worth to your business?) In the past six months, I've been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, Entrepreneur, The Associated Press, PBS, Voice of America, Family Circle, Glamour, Redbook, Self, Health, Prevention, Parents, Parenting, Women's World, First for Women, Newsday, Newsweek, Salon, In Touch Weekly--and even The National Enquirer. In fact, I've been quoted in over 100 prestigious U. The Words That Sell What You Say, Who You Say It To, How you Say It: If you have or can get a list of people who are already interested or genuinely likely to be interested in your product or service then you are well on your way to being successful with your postcard marketing. Before that, you have to answer the key question, "Who should I send my postcard offers to?"After that is answered, your next problems are what to say to them and what to ask them to do. Alarming Marketing Trend One key discipline of successful direct marketing has been to test marketing communications tactics to continually improve results. There is now an alarming trend according to a recent survey that we conducted among business-to-business marketers who are readers of Sales Lead Report. Top 5 Ways to Generate Qualified Leads for Your Small Business Do you ever wonder if you could be doing a better job marketing your small business or professional service firm? Successfully marketing a small business is hard work. There are several key skills required to consistently develop new business that you, as a small business owner, must master in order to succeed. Find the Goldmine Within Your Business Doing a current customer breakdown can help you find the goldmine within your business by determining who you should be targeting in your marketing efforts in the future. There is a goldmine right there and you may or may not see it?it's your customer base! But is it all of them? No - definitely not. To Be Successful Sell to Wants not Needs My mother used to tell me, tongue in cheek, that I never wanted anything in my life- everything I asked for was something I needed!! Think about it. We say, "I need a new car. 12 Lessons I Picked Up from Attending Seminars So you just dropped a tidy sum to attend a seminar or some other three-day event. Now it's over and you're exhausted. Did You Know Your Mind-Set IS Your Problem? How To Save Yourself From The Pits of Marketing Cyber Hell!"Your Mind-Set IS Your Problem!"Did you know that the one major thing that stands between You and Success is Your Mind Set? Yes it is true. Sometimes our "Own Stinkin' Thinkin'" gets in the way of our Success, or our ability to achieve success. Boost Profits: Market to the Gay Community Research shows that the gay and lesbian market is worth cultivating, no matter what your product or service. Despite the cultural changes during the past fifty years the gay and lesbian market is still relatively untapped. Are You Ready To Research Your Market? Picture this. You develop some product or service, spend countless hours making sure everything is just right, set up a beautiful web site, make sure the ecommerce end is secure, and then release what you know will be of utmost benefit to others. 25 Ways To Get More Business Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that you include Pauls name and resource box, and keep all hyperlinks as live links. Complete Article with Resource Box at end: Need more business? Who doesnt? Thankfully, new business is pretty easy to get, but you do have to do something to get it. Do You Make These 5 Common Marketing Mistakes? The famous P.T Barnum once said, "Without promotion, something terrible happens, NOTHING!" And marketing (or promotion) is all about combating that dreaded 'nothingness'. 10 Proven Ways To Accelerate Your Profits 1. Make copies of your web site in many different languages. Are You Guilty Of Interruption Marketing? You muted the commercials on the TV last night because you were fed up with interruption marketing. Ditto if you went through your mail to find most of it is junk. How To Use The Og In All Of Us To Make More Money 5000 B.C. How to Set Up & Organize Your Customer Mailing List For Optimum Results Your list of customers who have previously bought from you isyour most important asset. These are the customers who willprovide you with return business, which is more profitable thanthe first sale. The Surprise Inside! Think about all those Cracker Jacks you ate as a kid. What's your lasting memory? I'm guessing it's not the taste, but the surprise inside - that tiny package that contained a simple puzzle, brain teaser or temporary tattoo. Customer Retention with a Personal Touch Personal contact with customers is a crucial element in the success of any new business - and it's one of the most common casualties of growth. As a company grows, the president tends to fade away into his or her office. Using Business Cards as Invitations Business card size works well for invitations to special events.What do you visualize when you think about invitations? More than likely you are thinking about a wedding or a party.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
