Tag Archive for: marketing

101 Ways to Captivate a Business Audience

There's nothing worse than sitting in the audience while an inept speaker stumbles through an ill-conceived business presentation-- unless, of course, you're the one floundering in the spotlight. In 101 Ways to Captivate a Business Audience, Sue Gaulke, founder of the Speaker's Training Camp, strips the mysteries from the process by showing how to prepare and present an effective address that will successfully involve your audience and deliver your message.

The guide presents 101 audience-tested anecdotes, experiences, quotes and insights designed to help readers become captivating, creative and stress-free presenters. It teaches "how-to" skills and learnable behaviours that can be put to immediate use. Information on controlling nerves is also included.

It is extremely quick and easy to read. The ideas are stimulating and there are very relevant topics such as its steak and sizzle technique to keep the listeners on their feet.

 

Buy the Book ... from Fishpond.com.au  or Amazon

 

 

3 Keys to Writing Copy That Attracts and Invites (and Doesn’t Feel Sales-Y and Slime-Y)

If you're like so many conscious/heart-centered entrepreneurs, a lot of traditional copywriting probably makes you pretty uncomfortable. (Copywriting is writing promotional materials, nothing to do with protecting your intellectual property.)

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A simple, effective and modern approach to marketing your business

... a simple process that any company can use to break through the noise. It doesn't matter whether you're the owner of a retail shop, financial advisor, swimming pool manufacturer or an inventor with an ingenious product - this powerful strategy will work for you.

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‘Don’t hide your light under a bushel …’

Marketing isn’t just about getting your product or service into the client’s hands, and there's one more vital thing.

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What Makes Your Brand Stand Out?

What attracts consumers to your brand and turns them into loyal customers are the unique qualities your products and services have to offer. You provide something that no one else does or in a way that no one else does. Otherwise, why would you be in business?

Pivotal - what makes your brand stand out?

Your Brand Is Not a Cliché

Your products or services are unique, so make your marketing as unique. Don't package your marketing messages in clichés or overused phrasing that has lost its real meaning. It's not enough to say that your brand is "the best widget maker around." You have to dig deeper than that and get to the core of why your brand makes the best widgets. That why is what consumers are interested in and what will keep them coming back to your brand time and again.

Find Your Brand's Standout Power

Because you spend every day with your brand, it may not be obvious to you exactly what makes your brand so great. You just know it is!

Here are some questions to help you brainstorm what gives your brand its standout power:

  • How are you making life easier for your customers?
  • What follow-up or customer service do you provide?
  • Why do you stand above your competitors? Why would customers choose you?
  • What proof do you have that your brand is standout? Customer ratings or testimonials?
  • What stories can you tell about how your brand has worked for others?

Don't just ask yourself and your staff. Ask your customers! They can be the best resources for true insight into your brand. Send out surveys to your current base and see what they have to say. A lot of times companies are taken aback by the critiques and praises they get. You can use this data to mold not only your website language and images, but also your ads and the way you sell to you people. Remember to look for common themes within the surveys to address the biggest pros or cons of your business. Don't try to fix it all at once.

Remember: in creating your brand's promise for marketing messaging, don't just describe what your brand does. Describe what your customers get every time they choose your brand. Highlight the value you will bring to them with every interaction with your business. Remind them of this every time you get off the phone with them, obviously in a non cliché way, and your call backs or order times will improve.

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Want to Build More TRUST – Build a Better JOURNEY

trust

 

Being well entrenched in the Digital/Internet Revolution we are in today, one thing has become more important and paramount than ever before in history... TRUST. The other name for this period of time we are in is "The Customer Revolution"... and for the same reasons. If your customers don't trust you, you are at high risk of extinction in the not too distant future.

TRUST has become the ultimate prize for businesses today. If your customers trust you, they are choosing to work with you over anyone else in your industry... even if they have to pay a higher price. And one of the biggest reasons Trust is so critical to people is because of TIME. As I have talked about in several earlier posts, Time is the most valuable asset for people today (according to Forrester Research and others). People don't feel they have enough of it and they can't afford to waste it. Those that can help them keep more of their time are more trusted and become the winners in the new Revolution.

If your customers Trust you, they don't have to spend the time searching around and checking out other options... they can simply buy from you. And they are proving this by their willingness to pay more for the same products/services. This is a HUGE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE for businesses today.

But how do you create more trust with your customers?

The underlying core of this answer is very simple... yet many businesses seem to ignore this simple message. The underlying foundation of Trust is PROMISES MADE = PROMISES KEPT. While this is an easy concept to grasp and understand, it appears to be an incredibly difficult formula to execute on a consistent basis throughout one's business. I refer to this often as playing the "Whack-a-Mole" game... where you have a bunch of holes in front of you and a different mole pops up randomly out of each hole... when you hit one, another one pops up. This is the same situation many companies face on a daily basis... having several things under control but another one pops up for you to deal with.

This isn't any more evident than in the area of CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. One of the biggest challenges businesses face today is delivering a CONSISTENT AND REPEATABLE customer experience. Look at your own business and you can see exactly what I am talking about. There are areas that seem to be doing OK and areas that area a disaster when it comes to delivering an awesome, incredible, amazing experience. I can almost guarantee you that there isn't consistency in your customer experience throughout your company... and if there is, you are in a very small minority today.

The CUSTOMER JOURNEY is the collection of customer experiences throughout your company... all working together to deliver an "overall experience" to your customers. The Journey is the "sum of all experiences" you offer to your customers. This includes the experience from your call center, sales, accounting, shipping, marketing, distribution, and every other area of your business. The customer touches each of these areas to some degree at one point or another throughout their overall experience with you when purchasing and/or using your products/services.

So here's the big problem for the majority of companies and why TRUST becomes an issue.

There are usually areas in your business that do better than others when delivering a customer experience. Some might knock it out of the park where others cause great pain for your customers. A good example of this is the Sales group vs. the Accounting group. The Sales department is usually the most "customer centric" in how they treat their customers... it is usually required as part of their role. Accounting, on the other hand, probably doesn't even have it as part of their job description/processes. Their role is to get the bills out, pay the invoices, and make sure all the money is accounted for within the company. Providing an awesome and incredible experience to the customer when they call isn't probably high on their list even though it should be. Regardless of how they treat the customer, they are part of the CUSTOMER JOURNEY inside your company.

When you deliver an awesome and incredible and remarkable CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE... demonstrating how much you care about helping your customers... you build TRUST. When you don't deliver this level of an experience you erode the trust you have with your customer or don't establish any if it is the first interaction.

And when you make PROMISES to your customers through your marketing and advertising, in addition to what your employees tell your customers... and you don't keep them... you lose/erode TRUST. When this happens over and over, your customers lose TRUST IN EVERYTHING YOU DO... not just the few areas that are causing the issue. To the customer, it is a JOURNEY OF TRUST.

Customers don't segregate out the departments in your business... they view their entire experience as a Journey. When different departments don't deliver this incredible experience and don't keep their promises the customer simply says, "They promise things they can't or won't deliver... I don't trust them or anything they say or do." This is even the case when you have one or two departments delivering a experience. The ones that aren't delivering this experience are the ones that bring the company down to the lowest common denominator... a low level of trust for the entire Customer Journey.

If you want to INCREASE THE TRUST OF YOUR COMPANY, YOU HAVE TO DELIVER ON YOUR PROMISES AND DELIVER AN AWESOME CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGHOUT THE COMPANY. This is the core behind building trust with your customers.

Change the JOURNEY to one where every area of the company is honoring and delivering the promises they make and give your customers a WOW Customer Experience and you will change the level of TRUST. The concept is simple... the execution isn't. If it was, everyone would be doing it. The research wouldn't be telling us that customers don't feel they get an awesome experience. The customer is telling us loud and clear what the answer is to EARNING THEIR TRUST... the question is whether or not we will listen and change our CUSTOMER JOURNEY to one that creates TRUST rather than erodes it.

I would encourage every leader to take inventory of their company's customer experience and how consistently they are delivering on the Promises the employees are making every day. If the experience isn't awesome and you see promises being made that can't be delivered, you have your answer as to how much your customers really trust your organization. This is one of the most valuable "audits" of an organization a leadership team can do to truly understand the level of trust they have with their customers. Give me a call if you have any questions and I would be happy to steer you in the right direction.

Author:  Blaine Millet

If you found this helpful, please share it with your friends so they can also learn from the material. It not only means a lot to me but it helps other people see the story. And if this resonated with you, please visit my http://www.WOM10.com site and read more posts like this one.
We used to get excited about moving our companies from being GOOD to being GREAT... but today, being GREAT isn't good enough... it's a commodity. Today, if you aren't on a path to move your company from being GREAT to being REMARKABLE and MEMORABLE, you don't get talked about.
My PASSION and MISSION is to help INSPIRE, GUIDE, and HELP you move your company from being GREAT to being REMARKABLE... and create Word-of-Mouth on STEROIDS so you get talked about... a lot.
I have a model that helps get you to REMARKABLE. In the core of the model is creating unbelievably incredible amazing and awesome Customer Experiences... you can learn about it in my book, "Creating and Delivering Totally Awesome Customer Experiences." With this as a foundation, you are well on your way to being REMARKABLE.
I get to SPEAK about it, WRITE/BLOG about it, and HELP leaders understand it, aspire to it, and achieve it. There are four key components to help get you to being REMARKABLE... getting talked about in the market... and ultimately letting your CUSTOMERS DO YOUR MARKETING FOR YOU.
Are you ready to become REMARKABLE? Shoot me a message... we'll have an awesome conversation!

 

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Secrets for Generating Maximum Attention-Getting Power in Your Ads

1. Size matters.

The purpose of a headline or subhead is to seize the reader's attention. Larger and bolder heads generally seize attention better than smaller, lighter ones.

2. Dazzle 'em with color.

The judicious use of color can add big impact to your headlines and other attention-getting copy. Entire libraries of books have been written on color psychology. In a nutshell, most say that cold colors - blues and pastels, for example - tend to relax us. Hotter colors - highly saturated oranges, reds, and earth tones - warm us up.

3. Look him in the eye.

Since we were kids, we've been taught to look at people who are talking to us. And we've been taught that people who do not look us in the eye are not to be trusted. Including a photo of a person talking to your reader - and putting the headline in that person's voice - is a powerful way to seize a prospect's attention.

4. Less is more.

Too many graphic devices will only serve to confuse the eye. When everything is emphasized, nothing stands out. Create a focal point - the main headline - and drive the reader's eye to it.

- Clayton Makepeace

[ Clayton Makepeace offers help in reaping maximum profits through the Internet, direct mail, and print advertising every week in his e-zine The Total Package. Learn his surprising secrets that have doubled and quadrupled his clients' profits in his Quick-start copywriting system.]

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Marketing without hype

When most self-employed professionals think of marketing, they think of "hype." And they believe that it's impossible to market themselves without some kind of hype. They think they must stretch the truth or exaggerate the results they produce for their clients. And this is simply distasteful, if not unethical.

No wonder most self-employed professionals avoid marketing! 

But here's the good news: You CAN attract clients without hype. You can market yourself with both dignity and integrity. And the even better news is that this kind of marketing is more effective in attracting the kind of clients you want to work with. It results in less resistance, better client relationships, and more enthusiastic word-of-mouth.

Robert Middleton will show you how you can attract more of your ideal clients in this webinar.

You will learn:

How to turn marketing into a step-by-step game that you can win by learning the rules and implementing commonsense actions.

How to develop the right marketing mindset that will help you attract the ideal clients who pay you well and who are great to work with. 

How to develp marketing messages and materials that get the immediate attention and response from your ideal clients.
How to package your services with extra value so that your prospects will instantly see how your services will benefit them.
How to implement the most effective marketing strategy to attract your ideal clients. No other strategy works more effectively.

In 90 minutes he will outline these essential parts of his Action Plan Marketing system for attracting more of your ideal clients that will give you a solid foundation for learning, and ultimately mastering, your marketing.

 

Learn more about this free teleclass here =>   http://bit.ly/Ym2zxb

Want to reach people? Start talking

Do you really believe that 'old saying' that public speaking is the no. 1 fear in life? Is that what is holding you back in your business - the fear of speaking in front of people?

Well, you need to get over that - and quickly! Public speaking is the BEST way to get out there, tell your story and help to make a difference in the world.

Not sure where or how to begin? Here are a few tips for you.

1. Decide what you are going to talk about. Sounds like a good idea, right? But, for many of you, this is THE biggest barrier/stumbling block. "What do I have to say?" Here's my tip: ideally, you are in business because you have a passion about what you do - so, think about a simple coffee date with me - if we were to sit down for just 15 minutes and you had the chance to share 3-5 tips with me about the work you do (the transformation you provide) - what would you tell me? What would be your best piece of advice? You want to help me, right? Find out what my 'pain' (need) is - and then share your solution! It's really that simple. All you need to do is focus on 3-5 tips.

2. Then, you want to expand on those 3-5 tips. Just write out a few more details about each tip - keep it simple - keep it focused - and keep it end-result oriented.

3. Create a one-page profile - it's called a 'speaker one-sheet'. On that sheet, write an overview of what it is you have to offer - include some professional photos (and please, DO make the investment and get some professional photos done!) - and list a few titles of the topics you can speak about.

4. Now you need to identify the 'stages' you want to speak on. - Who is your audience? Who needs to hear your message? Where are they? If public speaking is a whole new experience for you, start local. Look at a 10-mile radius around where you live - the opportunities are right there! So, make a list and start making contact.

5. Ok - take a deep breath now - because the next step is TO GET ON THE PHONE! People who are looking for speakers aren't just going to show up at your door. Seriously. You need to get on the phone and start marketing yourself - take another deep breath. There are organizations that are looking for speakers all the time!

6. Set a goal! Plan to be speaking in front of a group at least 2-3 times a month. That is how you will build your confidence, create more awareness about you and the work you do and get to a level where you can grow your business very quickly.

7. Be prepared when you get to your speaking engagement. You want to have lots of business cards, have a method for follow-up (sign-up sheets so people will get to your website so you can capture names/e-mail addresses and grow your list), have a free give-away, get photos of you speaking, ask for testimonials, and so much more.

SPEAKING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS

I've only covered the tip of the ice burg here when it comes to public speaking as a way to grow your business. It is an essential skill to becoming a wealthy woman leader - and to making a huge difference in the world.

Just like any other business skill, public speaking can be mastered. There is lots of information available to learn more about this and I highly encourage you to begin today. Get a coach (me!), take a class, read a book, observe other highly experienced speakers,...and just get out there and do it!

It is said that public speaking is the #1 fear in life - I say it is the #1 business skill you need to master in order to grow your business, attract more clients, make more money and make a difference in the world.

This is a month of celebration for me. It is a milestone in my life as I turn 60 - and celebrate the successful and inspiring woman that I have become. I intend to continue for many years yet - I have a lot of work to do - there are many wealthy women leaders waiting to evolve and I know I am just one woman who can help to make that happen!

SO? What are you waiting for - want to reach people? Get out there and start talking!

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Pat Mussieux is fast becoming regarded as a highly valued Canadian mentor for women entrepreneurs taking her own business from zero to a multiple 6-figure home-based business in less than 4 years. Much of her success can be attributed to her expertise in marketing, mindset and money!
Pat Mussieux is a business coach, author, speaker and radio host. You can reach her at http://www.wealthywomenleaders.com

Keep Your Marketing Simple and More Effective With This 6-Step Model

Whether you are a professional in a solo-practice or own a small business, chances are you feel overwhelmed when it comes to marketing. While you may be an expert in your field, consistently attracting new clients probably isn’t one of your strengths.
Here is just a short list of "marketing culprits" that are likely keeping your business from reaching its full potential: => http://bit.ly/bZDdDa