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The Bottom Line Series - Part 2: The Secrets that Keep Them Coming Back for More

How many businesses do you know that have failed because they just couldn’t keep their customers coming back?  What do you think they did wrong?  Did they not pay enough attention to their customers needs? Did they neglect their target niche? Well if you’d like to avoid making these same mistakes, feel free to follow the steps below.

The most important thing in any business is its ability to keep returning customers.  This is not to say that a business cannot succeed without recurring customers, but it makes it a whole lot easier.

Imagine you were the CEO of an NHL arena.  Your job is to fill 15,000 seats at every home game… how are you going to do that?  If you had no returning customers, your arena would probably be empty 10 games into the season.

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So what can you offer as a company to keep the customers coming back?

In the NHL arena example the main niche the arena targets is entertainment.  They offer an action packed hockey game featuring some of the best players in the world competing in front of a roaring crowd.  Not to mention why half the fans go… the alcohol.

All in all it makes for a good night and people seem to enjoy the environment enough to come back for multiple games or even purchase season tickets.

When operating your own business you need to think in the same mindset.  What niche am I going to target to keep customers coming back?

How do I know what niche to target?

Market research is the best tool for finding that target niche.  Survey your customers, research the trends in your industry and decide what the main concerns of your customers are.

If your product was a running shoe, you may want to target the performance niche.  Not just the niche, but also the competitive athlete driven customers you have.  You could talk about how much faster you can run with the shoe, how much higher you can jump and specifically how you will outperform the competition.

Likewise, if you were running a health spa, you may want to target the organic product and healthy living niche along with the regular comfort and relaxation niche most spas target. 
You could show pictures of the organic products, snapshots of your smiling clients and show testimonials from other satisfied customers stating how pleased they were with the service.

Give your customers a reason to keep coming back

Why do most people go to the same groceries stores their whole lives?  I personally go based on the variety of goods and the supply of the goods.

The grocery stores know their target niche and they stick to it.  They make sure to have a wide variety of goods and always try to maintain a large supply of those goods.  They service to their niche completely just like any business should.

This is exactly what you need to do with your own company.  Find your niche, stick to it, and make it your goal to serve the customers in your niche better each day than the day before.

Using the grocery store example; to better themselves they could introduce a new line of products that would make their customers even happier.

Self improvement should always be in the mind any business owner and it should be used to specialize in your niche even more.

What can I take from all of this?

“Instead of walking door to door, give them a reason to come to you”

or in other words

“Why talk to 100 people door to door when you could draw 1000 to you in the same amount of time”

Thanks for reading the second installment of The Bottom Line series!
Hope you enjoyed the article and will read the third part of the series “The Need to Know Reasons Why Brand Imaging Rules”.
Check back soon!

-Jarod Henderson

Part 1: Sell Your Clients, Not Just Your Products

One of the best tools for any salesperson is their ability to sell themselves to a client or prospect.  Not only that, but the ability to sell their potential clients on the experience they gain from using the product rather than the products raw benefits.

So how do I sell my clients?

If you were to take a look at the top performing companies in the world, you would notice some similar characteristics.  They all have something to offer their customer that’s unique or innovative.  This could be a large source of knowledge, great customer service, superior benefits or even friendly employees.

Understanding your customer is the foundation for any good business; but finding that one aspect that differentiates you from your competitors is what will make your business truly succeed.

Another parallel you will see is in the advertising department.  If you were to look at the most compelling retail commercials on the market right now, the majority of them don’t show the product in the commercial itself.  This is a marketing tactic.

How can you sell something without advertising it?

Your job isn’t necessarily to sell the product itself, but the values, the beliefs and in some cases the lifestyle that is associated with your product.

I have two great examples I would like to share with you.
(Links to the campaign commercials are provided on the pictures. I suggest to watch them)

1.  Dove - Real Beauty Campaign

This campaign was released in late 2006 and was later shown at the 2007 Super Bowl.  The cost of $2.5 million to air the commercial was nothing in comparison to the 500 million viewers that tuned in - Not to mention the 12 million more viewers who watched the video over the next year.  This commercial accounted for 1/3 of the new sales for their Real Beauty campaign.

How can a campaign be so successful without even showing their product?

Dove connected on an emotional level to their customers.  They were proving that all the faces you see on the covers of magazines are nowhere near the reality.  The message was every woman is beautiful and they shouldn’t hide it.  Dove was relating their products to comfort, self-confidence and beauty- Exactly what every women wants.

That’s why this campaign was so successful.  Not once did the ad mention how well their product worked or who was endorsing it -Those factors didn’t stop people from buying it - Dove found a great target market and campaigned accordingly to their needs, creating value in their product.

2. Nike - Take it to the Next Level Campaign

This was a brilliant ad campaign launched in the first half of 2008.
The ad was truly the first of its kind and really connected to the public.
The beginning of the ad starts with a young man in a regular competitive soccer league, scoring the big goal and going pro.  It also shows the lifestyle along with the fans, the girls, the fame and the glory of being a professional athlete.

What makes this ad so compelling and easy to relate with?

A large majority of the worlds population has played some sort of sport or follows professional sports.  Every kid has the dream of going pro and being a superstar.
This ad relates to that completely.

Like mentioned above, later in the ad you see the girls, the fans and the other superstars you are playing with such as Ronaldo.  But the ad makes sure not just to show that but also the hard work that goes along with it.  It shows the training, the fighting and the perseverance.

By showing all of these attributes it really gives a picture of what it is like to be a professional athlete and what youngsters strive for.  When someone sees something like this, it inspires them to be better, it calls them to try harder and give it 110%.

I don’t know if it was just me, but I had goose bumps by the end of the ad.

It creates a life style.   A customer sees fame, they see other celebrities, they see power and they will relate that to the Nike brand.  They will think to themselves, “If I buy Nike, I’m that much closer to becoming a superstar”.

Not once does it really show the product it is advertising but the Nike symbol is flashed a few times.  Subconsciously consumers will associate Nike with greatness, with fame, with hard work and next time they walk into that sports store, they’ll remember that.

So what can we take from these 2 examples?

Create an image for your company

“Don’t be known for what your product offers but what lifestyle you offer your customers “

I hope you enjoyed part 1 of the series “The Bottom Line”.
Part 2 of my series will be “The Secrets that Keep Them Coming Back for More”.
It will be released sometime early next week.
Check back soon!

-Jarod Henderson

Like my stuff? Follow me on twitter! Jarod Henderson

Internet Marketing is constantly changing.  Now, the internet is used by everyone – not just the tech and computer savvy.  Every day barriers are broken and our succinct communication has truly rendered the globe as more of a “virtual community.”

After the introduction of Web 2.0, an army of social networking mediums took the net by storm and while some were swept under the rug for eternity, most of us can generally recall a number of the popular ones that held.  Did you ever have a MySpace? How about a Facebook profile? For those of you who have been networking on the net for a while – you’ve likely heard of Twitter.

Twitter is the next generation of social networking tools.  The unique system limits users to a 140 character update field – to share their trials and tribulations.  Over the past year, Twitter “tweets” (the short updates) have captured the attention of internet marketers and any company with an online presence.

I Just Don’t Get It. One-Hundred and Forty Characters Can’t Mean Many Words… So How Could it be a Sensational Marketing Tool?

A short and sweet tweet that’s right to the point.  That’s as good as it gets for some business communication.  It never hurts to perfect your elevator pitching skills, or in this case “Microwriting Skills” as Miguel Alvarez defines it in his latest post on copywriting for twitter.  At many times in life you won’t get more than a few words or minutes to pitch even your most brilliant ideas to busy prospects.

To dig a little deeper into theory: if you we’re short on time, if you had lot’s to do, or if you simply don’t like reading all the mindless jabber – then why wouldn’t you manage your online network through twitter?  Get all info, news, thoughts and opinions in 140 characters or less.

That’s why Twitter is growing, and why it will continue to grow.

The Top 10 Ways to Make Your Next Tweets Pack a Punch with Your Prospects

For anyone who is unfamiliar with copywriting, I recommend you learn at least the basics here: Copywriting Basics.  One thing I learned from copywriting is how to meet prospects on different levels and connect with more than their eyes – but also their hearts and minds.

You can apply this to Twitter in several ways, and understanding the art (or arguably science) of copywriting will benefit the Twitter user with ever tweet.  When copywriting on Twitter, or Microwriting, you need to think of a couple things:

First, Why are you here? Is it because you want to market or promote something, meet knowledgeable people, or maybe you want to make new friends?

Second, If you are trying to market something, including yourself – keep in mind the reasons above.  Why? It’s because you had a reason to join, and so did they.

Now that you’ve put some thought it, let me share my list of methods for connecting with these different prospects.  I’ve broken the methods into three categories reflecting the type of Twitter user you’re targeting.

Comparing – Targeting the curious and concerned.
1. Cliffhangers – Leave something unfinished, and an invitation for your prospects to finish it.
2. Theories and Philosophies – Open up a new idea or perspective to promote feedback.
3. News and Current Events – Spur discussion on popular news, and share in the buzz.
4. Topical Commenting – Have an educated opinion? Why not share it and start a discussion?

Sharing – Targeting the powerful emotion of greed and a need for self-actualization.
5. Free Information and Tools – Offer something of value that helps prospects better something in their own lives or careers.
6. Relevant Articles – Are you a marketer? A florist? A carpenter or tradesperson?  Share relevant articles in your niche that provide insight and knowledge to your prospects.
7. Value by Association – We all remember high school.  If someone was sitting at the popular table (regardless of discussion) they were generally deemed of popular status, right?  Now apply this concept to Twitter, if you happen to be networked with valuable contacts, then you suddenly become “popular” and create some value in networking with you.

Caring – Targeting the social needs and a need to reciprocate.
8. Tweet Personalization – Everyone loves seeing their own name, so connect with them by personalizing your tweets to include comments referring to your followers or prospects.
9. Direct Questions – Ask questions directly to your followers or prospects, ones that aren’t easily answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and that promote thought as opposed to automatic response.
10. Network Building – Do you know two people who you think would like to meet, or have something interesting in common to talk about?  Introduce them and you’ll promote overall readership.

Every tweet is like a very short blog post, with a significant difference in the amount of space you have to capture the interest of your prospects.  So make use of it, don’t waste a single tweet and if you want to ever effectively use Twitter – then put some more effort the quality of your tweets, and less into the quantity.

Finally, I Know How to Tweet! But Wait a Minute, Isn’t This Useless If You Have No Followers on Twitter?

Self-improvement is never useless, but in regards to twitter – your tweets do have a good chance of going unnoticed unless you have some friends and followers.  The common goal of most twitter users is to build their network of followers and with the use of Microwriting, and the Twitter strategies above – you’re network will grow quickly.  However, you do need to give it a helping hand to get off the ground.

The Secret Strategy to Sky-Rocket Your Twitter Following:
Start by following a small group of prominent and related Twitter users

For those of you thinking about starting your Twitter network, that’s your useful tip of the day.  Find prominent Twitter users that you might know; perhaps your favourite blog authors, or maybe someone specializing in your niche.  When you follow these users, reply and comment on their tweets and their entire network can see your comment. In addition, you get a direct link to your profile.

So whether you’re a blogger or a builder you shouldn’t pass up the chance to expand your horizons online with Twitter.  Remember, every success isn’t a step – but a journey.

Regards,

Kris Scheben-Edey

Don’t forget to add me on Twitter! Click Here for my profile.

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Niche Marketing: And Why You Need To Know How To Use It To Your Benefit

Why is it that some of the worst ideas in history are the central focus of the public eye while some of the best ideas go unnoticed?

The saying “A lie is halfway around the world before the truth even gets his boots on” relates to ideas as well.  Just because you have a great idea doesn’t mean it’s going to succeed regardless of your efforts.  You need to find a way to make your idea stand out from the crowd and in a sense make it “sticky” so that people will remember it.  Well, in a recent book I read, “Made to Stick” written by brothers Chip and Dan Heath - they do just that.

The New York Times bestseller “Made to Stick” has made a dominant impact on the business world. It was ranked #1 on the Top 10 Business books by Globe and Mail and has been renowned by critics everywhere.

Chip and Dan Heath have done rigorous amounts of research on the marketing community and on business ideas and concepts.  Within every successful idea, the Heath brothers found many similarities and characteristics that were profound in all cases.  Using this information, they compiled a set of principles that they believe everyone should follow while developing an idea.  These principles were transferred into the acronym “SUCCES” which the Heath brothers stand by religiously.  The categories are as follows:

SUCCES

1. Simplicity

Find the core of the idea.  If you’re a lawyer and you argue 10 points in a case, when they get back to the jury room chances are, they won’t remember any of them.  You must learn to exclude things that aren’t the most important.

To make something simple doesn’t mean you need to dumb it down.  The best example for simplicity is “For something to be simple doesn’t mean there is nothing left to add, but that there is nothing left to take away”.

2. Unexpectedness

How do we get readers attention and maintain it? - By violating their expectations.  Something unexpected will throw a readers mindset off and keep them thinking about it in shock.  But after you get their attention you need to be able to keep it.

You can do this by creating interest and curiosity. The best way to do that is by opening gaps in the subjects’ knowledge and filling those gaps.
Example: After you have finished explaining a topic, lead into another topic with a question.  This will cause the subject to keep interest and have them wondering of the answer to the question.

3. Concreteness

How do you make your ideas clear?  This is where many businesses have problems.  When a business may release its Mission Statement, company vision or strategies there is usually so much “noisy” information that the meaning is almost pointless or impossible to understand.

To support a sticky idea, one must use concrete words and images such as “a bright red balloon” or “a steaming cup of coffee”.  Avoid the use of sayings such as “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.  All of the audience might not understand the saying and it may be unclear.

Stick to concrete words and images that everyone understands.

4. Credibility

What is the key to making people believe your ideas? Having credible information is a big part of an idea.  If you were to state “ This song is great” or to say “This song was rated #1 on the America Top 100 charts for 2 weeks in a row” people would be more apt to listen to the second song because it is credible with a third party testimony.  People trust information that has credentials and they can test for themselves, kind of like a “test before you buy” concept.

Most people think using numbers and statistics is the best way to gain audience approval when in reality, name dropping and simple statements usually work the best.

An example of this was in 1980 when Ronald Reagan was running for president.  He could have used a pile of statistics to show the poor economic state of the economy, instead he said “Before you vote, ask yourself if you are better off today than you were four years ago”.  That had credibility.

5. Emotions

How do you get people to care about your ideas?  Tying a persons’ emotions into an idea is a great way to keep their attention.

An example used in the book was with health enthusiasts trying to stress to the public how unhealthy movie popcorn is for you.  Saying “Movie popcorn has 37 grams of fat in it” doesn’t mean much to people.  But if you show a picture of medium game of movie popcorn and show one bag has as much artery clogging fat as a bacon and eggs breakfast, a big mac and fries lunch and a steak dinner with all the trimmings it really gives an image to the idea.

People then can relate their emotions to all of that bad food rather than a statistic of 37 grams.  The same case is for the world aid ads.  The commercials don’t show a nation in need but instead show individual who have a name and a face.  A person is more inclined to give a donation to a single person instead of a country.

As you can see, tying peoples’ emotions into an idea can drastically improve its chances for success.

6. Stories

How do you get people to act on your ideas? You tell stories.  Another example used in “Made to Stick” is the stories of firefighters.  After a fire, firefighters naturally swap stories.  By doing this, firefighters build a database of different situations that they may encounter as a firefighter.  They can then use their database of situations to be better equipped for their next fire.  Research has shown that mentally rehearsing a situation helps us perform better when encountered with the situation in real life.

So, tired of having your great ideas fail once again?  Well look no further.  After reading the entire book, these 6 principles (also known as “SUCCES”) have “stuck” in my mind. I found them to be extremely helpful when developing ideas and I use them constantly in day to day work.  For anyone who wants to learn more about making their ideas sticky- Check out the book.

-Jarod Henderson

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Imagine having a single tool in your marketing arsenal – more powerful than the rest. You can use this skill to capture new clients in minutes, build awareness wherever you go – and ultimately gain confidence in your own campaigns.

You can probably guess from the title that I’m talking about elevator pitches – but what the heck is a elevator pitch, and why do I keep hearing that it can be the most effective marketing tool?

Wikipedia defines an elevator pitch as:
“An overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds and 100-150 words).”

Let me redefine it for you.

You’ve pitched something before, whether you know it or not. If you have a business, generate ideas or if you’ve marketed anything in your life – then you have a brief idea how to pitch something.

Now the key step: refinement.

Master your pitch and learn how to hit the hot topics with your audience in about the same time it takes to go from the 1st floor – to the CEO’s office on the 15th. That’s the key; it’s about knowing it so well that you can lay out the most persuasive and drawing benefits of your concept – that means you know what needs to be said and what doesn’t.

Are you convinced yet? It’s easy to read this and say – “that’s a great point,” but half of you are probably thinking it’s a bit too much to get into. Well don’t worry, because I’m not going to let you leave here asking yourself how to make your own elevator pitch.

So let’s take a look now, what makes an elevator pitch that will have your prospects jumping with anticipation?

Pretend you’re walking up to your new prospect and you’ve got that pitch ready and memorized. It’s going to be about 90 seconds of high-adrenaline, benefit packed pitching and you’re more than ready. You take a quick glance over your pitch points, and can’t help but smile because you know your pitch meets the important criteria. You remember back to that one blog post you read, recalling the key points that make your pitch so effective:

First, Your Pitch Is Complete and To-The-Point
The most important benefits and points of the concept are explained. Leave the prospect with more answers than questions.

Second, Your Pitch is Really Easy to Understand
Cut the tech talk and industry related jargon – save it for the boardroom. Your pitch is meant for more than a discussion about your ideas, it’s meant to persuade and inspire action. So keep it simple enough to pitch both your great nephew and your grandmother, you only have 90 seconds and there’s no time to lose focus on your goal.

Third, Your Pitch Connects With the Audiences Emotions
In most cases you’ll be appealing to your prospects greed. Who doesn’t want more money, more assets or a better lifestyle for themselves, hit those hot-buttons. You can also appeal to emotions like social responsibility, or happiness.

Fourth, Your Pitch is Absolutely Irrefutable – Everyone Wants’ a Piece
When you walk away from your prospect you’re going to know you did everything because you made your pitch as irrefutable as possible. Make the prospect feel as if they are giving something incredible up if they don’t pursue it.

Your pitch should be fresh, let it change with your business and your views – but keep it powerful and refined. Practice is more than important here because if you decide to make the elevator pitch your secret weapon – then you’ll need to practice it at every chance. Pitch to your friends, your family, your co-workers and anyone who will tolerate it – but don’t just walk away unsatisfied, gauge the reactions and learn how to present to the audience in front of you.

Give it a shot, write down a quick couple points right now, and pitch them to yourself (the potential client) in the mirror. Try and pitch those points to one new person every day until you’re comfortable and then I’ll be waiting to hear it myself.