Four
Super-Deadly Marketing Sins
- And How To Fix Them
by Adam Urbanski
It seems nowadays every
marketing guru and their brother-in-law has a “deadly sins and how to fix them”
book, ebook or at least an article! But apparently nobody is reading this stuff!
How do I know? Because nine out of every ten businesses continue making the same
marketing goof-ups.
The most amazing part is
– they are convinced their marketing is great and their phone will be ringing
off the hook any moment now!
Time for a reality check!
Are you guilty of these four marketing sins? Find out how to fix it!
Deadly Marketing Sin #1
Not Standing Out From Your
Competitors
You want to be one in a
million not one of the million. In the marketing jargon it’s called a Unique
Selling Proposition (USP). I call it a HUB – Hot Undeniable Benefit of
doing business with you. Your HUB sets you apart from the crowd. It tells your
customers why you are special. And it answers the question your customers are
asking themselves, which is: "Why should I do business with you versus anyone
else?"
So how do you go about discovering your HUB? Do you know what makes you
different from others offering similar product or service? The more competitive
your industry the more important it is to emphasize even the smallest
differences. Do you cater to a specific group of people? Are you better than
others in addressing a specific issue? Do you guarantee your work?
How about the one thing no one
can duplicate - what makes you – you?
If you can’t find anything
unique right now, look for unresolved problems in your industry and become
an expert in providing a solution to them. Here is good example. You’ve heard of
a small parcel delivery company called FEDEX, right? Do you know their USP?
It’s: "When you absolutely, positively need it overnight. Guaranteed." Funny
thing is they are no longer the only company doing it – but they offered it
first.
Discover your HUB, articulate it in all your marketing messages and watch your
results soar.
Deadly Marketing Sin #2
Assuming Your Customers Know As
Much About Your Business As You Do
Small business owners are a
very special breed – we walk, talk, breathe, eat and sleep thinking about
our business. Listen, just because you think about your business all the time
doesn’t mean your customers do the same!
Fact is, I can count on one hand
the businesses I became exposed to in the last twelve months that didn’t fail to
educate their customers on how they solve their problems and meet their needs
and wants.
Your customers don't really buy products and services. They buy SOLUTIONS
to their problems. Use articles, presentations and case studies to educate them
about WHAT you do, HOW it works and WHY it’s the only
logical solution to their problems.
And don’t just do it once.
Frankly, if you don’t have a way to consistently and automatically keep in
touch with prospects, customers, centers of influence and strategic partners
– you are missing the boat!
Deadly Marketing Sin #3
Wasting Time and Money On Marketing
Strategies That Don’t Work!
Do you know which of your
marketing efforts result in new business? Do you ever calculate the time,
money and effort it takes to get a new customer from each promotional strategy
you use? Why? Because if it is working – you want to do use it more often! And
if it isn’t - you need to stop wasting your money!
Case in point; most
professionals believe that networking is the best way to get new business.
And it can be - but not always and not for everyone. Find out for yourself. Add
up the amount of time you spent networking last month. Put a dollar value on it
based on your fees. Add the actual price you paid to attend those events. Then
divide this total amount by the number of new customers your networking
produced. Are you happy with your results? Or is it a shock to see what it
actually costs to get new clients by networking?
It doesn’t matter if it’s
networking, advertising, referral or joint venture strategies – if you don’t
know your ROME (Return On Marketing Efforts) I guarantee you are wasting
money doing things that don’t work! Every marketing strategy can be tracked and
measured. So figure out what works best for you!
Deadly Marketing Sin #4
Missing Out On Repeat Business
You’ve heard about the
back-end-sales, haven’t you? Are you doing it? It’s astonishing how many
small business owners do not develop strong relationships with their customers
and have no plan for generating repeat business.
You see, one of your biggest
costs of doing business is marketing and getting new customers into your funnel.
And once you’ve done a great job for them, and then you nurture the relationship
you’ve developed, it’s so easy to ask for more business. But you have to develop
different levels of products and services to offer to them.
Listen to your clients and
develop new offerings to respond to their needs. Create assessments to
uncover hidden opportunities for additional projects. If you can’t or don’t want
to offer those new solutions – partner up with someone who does. McDonald’s made
a fortune on “supersizing” their fries – time for you to start thinking about
supersizing your business with each client.
Bottom line is this: when
I hear businesses talk about bad economy, clients not having money and overall
complaining about how tough it is to make a sale I can always pinpoint their
poor performance to at least one of those marketing sins. Frankly, there is no
such a thing as a shortage of business – there is a shortage of knowledge how to
get that business.
(c) 2004 Adam M. Urbanski
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Urbanski, the Marketing Mentor, helps Independent Service
Professionals and Small Business Owners attract more clients. For more
promotional tips and a FREE 32-page marketing guide go to
http://www.themarketingmentors.com
NOTE:
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welcome to reprint this article as long as it's kept intact and unaltered
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