Take a Fresh Look at your Internet marketing to increase sales, leads, and profits 25 to 100%+ — using landing page testing, conversion rate optimization, and persuasion process design. Call now for a customized solution: 541-543-1438
This is a business blog, and I usually talk about business. But not today. (Of course, it all loops back around to marketing.)
There are many ways to measure success and happiness in life.
Many ways other than how much money you earn or how much stuff you have. All these areas — good health, being socially engaged, growing spiritually, and also living in comfort and security — are important to do well in.
Take an integral approach — work on all areas, going for regular, incremental improvement. This all-around, “cross training” type of approach will get you further in each area than if you attacked each area one by one. And you’ll be happier.
In this vein, I’ll let you know…
I hit the gym somewhere between two and four times a week.
Right now I’m doing mostly body weight exercises grouped into super sets, followed by interval training. (Go to http://www.turbulencetraining.com to learn more about this approach.)
And this morning, I added something on top of that.
I found a really cool website that if you’re interested in feeling a little more fit and getting a great sense of accomplishment, you’ll want to check out. And best of all, it’s free.
It’s a program to take you… from where you’re at… to being able to do 100 push ups — in 6 weeks.
It won’t be easy (real change never is). But it’s a system that has worked before, and will work again — if you can follow the instructions. And stick to it.
But you do really care about being healthier, more fit, and more successful. Right?
And one way to do that is to set yourself to a task, and see it through. All the better if it involves some physical exertion, and pushing yourself beyond your boundaries.
You can prove to yourself that you’re capable of great things. Even if it’s something you haven’t done before.
Then your new found ability to do great things can transfer into other areas of your life. Like your business.
You don’t have to do “one hundred push ups.”
Not today. Not ever. But I do challenge you to think about where you’re at right now. And where you want to be.
And seriously consider whether doing something like “one hundred push ups” can take you from where you are now, to where you want to be.
And now a quick 180 degrees… to talk about marketing for a second.
This one looks like it’s mostly to make money off ad revenue (I don’t know for sure, I can just guess — I don’t know nor am I affiliated with the owner of the site).
Other micro sites can draw targeted traffic, prime it for the sale, and then drive it to your e-commerce website.
Or they can be purely informational — maybe with a “sponsored by” banner that builds good will toward your company.
No matter what you do for a micro site, be sure it’s incredibly focused on one specific topic.
And that first it’s helpful — long before it asks for any information or action on the part of your visitor. Giving away content like this can do wonders for long term profitability.
So even if you’re not going to go for the “one hundred push ups” mark, check out the website http://www.hundredpushups.com to learn what a micro site is and what it can do.
To your success (in all areas of your life!),
Roy
P.S. — I’m already pretty fit so I’m on the most advanced track of the “one hundred push ups” program. I’ll let you know how my “training” goes as I work through it.
The cool thing about that though is it doesn’t require you to be fit to start — you just have to start! It can take you from barely being able to eke out a couple push ups to being a push up superstar
As a business owner or internet marketer, when you think of Google you may have 5 or 10 of their different services run through your mind (Google Apps, AdWords, Analytics, Website Optimizer, Google Products/Google Base, etc.). But if you approach the general public, ask 100 people what Google is, and every answer will revolve around “Search.”
Since Google incorporated on September 7, 1998, they’ve been working to perfect search. (Even before that, too.)
They’ve put the best and brightest minds in computing on solving the search issue, to get more relevant results, faster. And even to this day, they’re changing how sites show up in the search results, to continue optimizing this process (remember “optimization” above?!).
They don’t rest on their laurels, even now that they’re completely dominating the search engine market (in terms of percent of searches conducted on their engine vs. competitors). They’re always working to make their search better.
By being the best at that, they can then introduce new, surrounding products into the marketplace. Products that provide a different type of value to the same users that come to their search engine every day.
They have instant credibility with these new products, because they’ve become known as such a behemoth in the search engine market. (And they know as long as they continue to apply their continuous optimization philosophy in these other fields — WITHOUT losing sight of their core mission of search — they’ll dominate there, too.)
So ask yourself — “What is the one thing my company (or I) does really, really well?”
And then — “What are we doing to become known in the marketplace for that one thing?”
And finally — “What can we do to increase the focus on that one thing in our communications, advertising, and media coverage, even if it means spending less time focusing on our additional products or services?”
It sounds counter-intuitive. But you can take Google as proof that it works.
1. Focus on the user (customer) and all else will follow
It’s easy to get caught up on the dollar (whether for yourself or your company’s stakeholders).
When this happens, it is often at the expense of customer or user experience. Which takes away from long-term business growth opportunity.
A better approach is to constantly be seeking out how to make the customer experience of doing business with you a better, quicker, easier, more enjoyable experience. Then, customers will become very loyal and return, even without advertising expense on your part. (Coming from an advertising guy, of all folks!)
Here’s how Google does it:
The interface is clear and simple.
Pages load instantly.
Placement in search results is never sold to anyone.
Advertising on the site must offer relevant content and not be a distraction.
Most of these probably don’t apply directly to your business. But the idea behind them does. So find a way to make the idea work, because a happy customer will tell friends.
Most businesses could learn a lot from Google (mine too).
Starting with the entire vision they have for business — what it means to be in business, how they define success in business (hint, it doesn’t start with profits), and how to make their business better every day.
Google’s put a lot of thought into it all — which may be obvious from their success. But what might not be as obvious is, these are things you can apply in your business.
When you do, it’s very likely you’ll double your business. You’ll be happier with what you do every day. Your customers will love you. Your team will have a renewed spirit. Work will be exciting. And both your bottom line and top line will grow steadily.
So where does it start?
“Never settle for the best”
You’ve heard of optimization, right? It’s part of search engine optimization and conversion rate optimization (among other things…).
A simple definition of optimization is working to make something better.
W. Edwards Deming was one of the first in business to really push for the philosophy of continuous optimization. Google takes it to the nth degree. Whatever you’re doing well today, you can do it better tomorrow. All you have to do is be continuously coming up with new ideas of what might make your business better — and test them.
Google does it all the time. In fact, they make it easy for you to do it all the time in your online business, too. Tools like Google Website Optimizer, the Ad Testing tool in AdWords, and even Analytics to track performance make this all possible.
Learn to use these to track how customers interact with your website and your business communications. Then experiment with ways to make each communication — each customer touch — a better experience.
Beyond that — into manufacturing, product development, and down the entire list — keep trying every day to make what you do better.
Everything else in Google’s philosophy is founded on “never settle for the best.” You should also implant that deep in your business mind. Always be looking for ways to make what you do better. And with what you’ll learn over the next 10 parts of this 11 part series, you’ll have ten powerful starting points for optimizing your business.
I’m in an interesting mood this morning — kind of crabby because of the little stuff in life that gets you down, but also completely uplifted because of an email I got.
It’s what Joni does… what she represents… the example she sets… that’s truly amazing.
Joni’s got kind of a bum rap in life — a number of health issues have kept her from getting out and living the same life most of us un-gratefully enjoy (I’m guilty too). But now she’s turning that into something magnificent. She’s helping others who’re stuck at home due to physical limitations to succeed as entrepreneurs.
She’s teaching others about the enormous amount of work-at-home opportunities available — particularly those what work well for people whose physical abilities have been limited for whatever reason.
As a thank you, I wrote her an email about how she made my day better (and in response to a complaint about the level of hype out there, I included a little how-to on destroying the perception of hype in your marketing):
Wow Joni — you’ve really brightened my day!
Your story, your challenges, and how you’ve worked within those to create great things in your life — it’s amazing.
This morning I was feeling like crud, for those little things in life that are trivial but that can put you in a down mood if you let them. You let me know that I needed to pick my head up, look at the good things around me, and be thankful for that. And to find ways to work within what I’ve been given to make my life better.
And you did that all in just a couple quick minutes — without even intending to!
There are a lot of people who given your same set of circumstances would let the world beat them down (I know many of them). But you didn’t — and now you’re passing on that grace and grit to others through your work.
The whole world needs a little bit of Joni!
As for the hype — the world is overloaded with it! I agree! Many writers — for a lack of decent sales skills — just try to yell and scream to get their point across. They can’t recognize the difference between excitement and yelling at people.
If you have an exciting story to tell — don’t be afraid to tell it in an exciting way.
Also — the ultimate hype killer (and this is a big time marketing secret) is proof. If you’re able to unequivocally prove any claims you make, then you’ll never be seen as a purveyor of hype. You can do this by giving away free info, demonstrating your claims, and through a whole host of other methods — your creativity here will pay off in spades.
Well, I won’t let this run on too long. I look forward to hearing about your successes into the future — and I hope I can be a small part of them.
Roy
I hope, if nothing else, you’re inspired by Joni. And that you’re a little more thankful for the good things in life.
Mainstream media is scaring the piss out of everybody — and if we’re not headed for a recession already, they’re ready to go on a kamikaze mission to fly us straight into one!
FedEx Kinkos released it’s “Signs of the Times” small-business survey, and here’s what they found:
89% of small business owners are moderately to very concerned about the economy’s impact on their business (their life, their livelihood)
66% said they foresee flat or declining profits this year
Here’s the interesting thing — 92% will spend as much or more on marketing this year than they did last year!
That survey doesn’t say where their marketing money is going — but I’ve seen data coming out of other surveys earlier this year.
And…
What I find most interesting is where they’re putting their marketing moolah to hedge their bets:
DIRECT MARKETING — The only accountable form of advertising there is!
When times get tight, business owners get smart. They start spending dollars where they know their dollars will go out, and bring friends back.
That’s fine by me, because that’s the only type of marketing I do. (I’m a bit dogmatic about it, in fact.)
I can’t wait — because 2008 is going to be my best year ever, even if the stock market tumbles another 10-20%.
- Roy
P.S. — If the mainstream media wants to really focus on something important — how about genocide (which goes on every day) or government sponsored torture (which also goes on every day) or mass hunger or disease? Something to improve the human condition… They’re in a position of incredible power — for good or evil — yet they abuse it daily with meaningless stories and misdirection (and flat out assault on your pocketbook)! That’s my 2 cents.
Get the product right. A better mousetrap alone WILL NOT cause the world to beat a path to your door. But selling a bad product will cause an angry mob to pave a superhighway to your door. So get it right in the first place. What a fantastic product will do is sustain momentum, lead to repeat business, and create killer word of mouth. And that sure helps your marketing and sales efforts!
On customer needs and profits:
Finding new and unique ways to identify and better serve customer needs is priority #1. Businesses and business owners do have bosses — they’re just called clients and customers. Satisfy them, you get a raise. Don’t satisfy them, your pay goes down. You agree that this short term focus on customer needs over profits will lead to better long-term growth and profits.
On marketing:
Marketing is salesmanship multiplied. You recognize that direct response marketing is usually a better investment than branding. You’re willing to spend money to test new marketing, and increase spending as results warrant. Classic direct response marketing and advertising books like “Scientific Advertising” by Claude Hopkins and “Ogilvy on Advertising” by David Ogilvy hold a place of esteem on your book shelf.
On sales:
Salesmanship requires identifying customer needs, and identifying how your product or service meets these needs. You and your team use systematic methods to open the sales conversation, qualify prospects, build desire, and finally close the sale. But you’re not running a boiler room operation — you care for your customers and work with them as individuals with individual needs, and it shows in every interaction.
On business optimization:
Test, test, test. You realize that secretaries can sometimes have better ideas than CEOs, and you’re willing to test an idea in the marketplace because that’s the only place you’ll get votes that count. You value your team — you listen to them, weigh their input, and work with them to get buy-in on your big ideas. And you’re always working to improve all aspects of your business.
On employees:
A big part of the success of any business is in its employees. Employees are encouraged to do more, and to stretch their abilities in new an unique ways to benefit the business. Contribution to the company is valued above all measures — your employment packages give superstar employees near unlimited earning potential based on the results they bring.
Coming up with the content of this short article originally cost $500,000. And it was worth every penny…
So don’t take it lightly!
If you apply this simple knowledge, it could easily be worth twice the original $500,000 to your bottom line (or 1,000X if you’re ambitious enough).
First, a demonstration.
Think of a cough medicine. First one that comes to mind.
NyQuil?
What about an American car company?
Ford?
A soft drink company?
Coca-Cola?
Pizza delivery?
Dominoes?
I’ll bet your answer was the same that I gave on 3 out of 4.
That’s the power of top-of-mind awareness.
These companies dominate their markets, because when their customers and potential customers need a solution that they provide, their name comes up first. Sure, not everyone chooses them. But many — if not most — do. So their sales soar.
Not too long ago, there was a company that was determined to find out what was consistent between companies that had top-of-mind awareness. As you can imagine, if you know what systems these companies use to gain that level of awareness, you can duplicate those systems in your company and your sales increases will be practically guaranteed.
So they did their research — about $500,000 worth of it — and here’s what they came up with.
These are the “6 Musts of Marketing for Top-of-Mind Awareness.”
Personal Contact with customers
Company Literature describing products and services
An ongoing Public Relations program
Consistent and ongoing Customer Education
Consistent and ongoing Advertising
Regular use of Direct Marketing
How many of these have you implemented in your company? Which are part of your goals for the next 6 months? Which can you make part of your goals?
If you want top-of-mind awareness so your customers think of you before your competitors, these are things you’ll seriously want to consider.
But… Just doing each one independently only has so much power. A notable difference about the way top-of-mind companies do these things is that they do them with consistency.
Their consistency comes in three areas: Design, Message, and Timing.
Design. This one is easy. Make sure everything from your website to your customer literature to your business cards to your direct mail pieces have a similar look and feel. Do not do these things completely independently from each other. Make sure you use the same graphics and templates to ensure that your image is consistent in customers‘ and prospects‘ minds.
Message. This one is a little more difficult. You want to make sure everything you do reflects your core message, your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). For a very thorough and complete set of instructions on how to develop and implement your company’s USP, go to this page I wrote: Resource: Create a Unique Selling Proposition to Differentiate your Business and Increase Profits. That gives you everything you need to know — and is an invaluable resource.
Timing. This one just requires some organization and dedication. You need to set up systems within your business to make sure you’re touching on each of the “6 Musts of Marketing for Top-of-Mind Awareness” on a regular basis — weekly, monthly, bi-monthly. Whatever is appropriate to your business. But do it, and do it regularly. Because repetition will make it more successful than trying each thing once or just doing it when you “remember.”
So here’s what to do today — set up a goal. Do it. If you have 3 of the 6, start by implementing a 4th. If you have 2, do a 3rd. If you have 5, do the 6th. But always be moving forward. And keep in your sights the goal that you’ll be doing all 6 within a set length of time.
Then you can experience the real benefit of top-of-mind awareness in your industry.
Back once again and it’s to talk for a moment about success.
There’s story after story of entrepreneurs who challenged everyone who suggested they couldn’t do it — and won!
I love these stories.
Stories of people who don’t let things like lack of formal education, age, ethnicity, or any other factor get in their way.
I’m not going to say that factors like that aren’t a disadvantage — because the reality is that our society is full of people who doubt the ability of people who are anything other than caucasian middle-to-upper-class males. But disadvantages are not barriers — and there’s story after story of people proving it.
Check out this video — it’s quite an inspirational 10 minutes:
Enjoy it? Comment below.
By the way — the guy’s name is Jermaine Griggs, and his company is Hear & Play Music, Online! at HearAndPlay.com. I’ve registered because 1) I want to watch how he markets to me, and 2) my wife and I bought a piano about a year ago and still all I can pluck out is “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
Blog RSS Feed