How Does Your Marketing Stack Up On The ‘Fun-Meter’?

Ah, Halloween one of my favorite times of the year. There’s just something about Halloween that seems to bring out the child in me. It takes me back to simpler times and flat out just makes me want to have fun. Costumes, scary movies, parties, candy, all certainly for some reason or another, seem to add up to a good time. I guess that little child in me still exists and as far as I’m concerned, thank goodness for that!

So why is it that so many of us as we grow older tend to lose that sense of fun and excitement? Life becomes common and almost sterile. And as for business, why does it have to be so serious? Wouldn’t it great if everyday of your business life was fun and remarkable? If it already is, then my hat’s off to you, because you are definitely doing something right.

Now, a simple interpretation of the Law of Attraction is that ‘like attracts like’. So it should be safe to say that if you want to attract more fun in your business, you might want to be more playful yourself. And since most businesses use their marketing to attract what they hope will be their ideal prospect to them, why not be more playful in your marketing? Don’t be afraid to have some fun with your prospects. I have to say that most of the marketing that I see on a daily basis is simply sterile – it’s institutionalized marketing. And I have one word to say about that, and that’s ‘BORING’.

So if that’s the case, then ‘WOW’, that’s certainly a great opportunity for those of us who dare to be different!

Now I have to ask you, have you looked at your marketing lately? How does your marketing come across? Is it different, fun, and remarkable, or is it, how did I say that before, ‘BORING’?

So, if you have a fun side to you like I do, then don’t be afraid to be authentic – let your playfulness shine though in your marketing, dare to be different, and reap the rewards.

Have a happy and safe Halloween and here’s to your success!


© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include this complete blurb with it (including links).

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships.  To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

What Should Your Marketing Really Be Promoting, the Drill or the Hole?

My quick answer, if you can help it, neither, let me explain.

Let’s take your typical running shoe for example. There are probably hundreds of different models being marketed and sold out there. So what really sells one particular shoe over another? Is it the features such as the price, the colors, or the style? For some… sure, maybe. Or, how about the benefits such as the brand, or the shoe’s availability? Again, for some… sure, maybe. But what if your target market was the serious adult runner who regularly participates in competitive races? Would they be interested in the features and benefits? Yes, sure they might. However, what if you had a shoe that had proven to make several well-known athletes run faster and ultimately win high-prized competitions? Don’t you think the serious runner would be more interested in running faster than in the brand or color of the shoe?

Point being that while the features and benefits are important to some and should play some role in the marketing process, their importance is simply dwarfed by the anticipated results that your product or service may deliver.

Now I’m not saying to make false claims here. I’m simply saying that results sell! That’s why marketing tactics such as testimonials and case studies are so effective. They typically speak to the results that someone in your target market has realized because of you, you product and/or your service.

So how do you uncover the potential results that your product and/or service may deliver? Well obviously as just alluded to, there’s no better way than though client experiences; More specifically, ones that can be documented in testimonials and case studies. Don’t have the luxury of testimonials and case studies yet? Try drilling down to uncover the real reasons that your target market would buy your product and/or service – what’s the result or results that they’re really after when using a product and/or service like yours? One way to find out is to simply ask your target market, survey them, and find out their ‘why’. For example if your product was a drill and your target market was the middle class, do-it-yourself homeowner:

You might ask your prospect: "Why are you looking to buy a drill?"
Your prospect might respond: "I need to drill a hole."
You might then ask: "Why drill a hole?"
In which your prospect might respond: "So I can hang a picture of my family on the wall."

Now at this point you at least know that your target market may be using your drill in the picture hanging process and can continue querying to find out the results that they are after – such as being able to hang a picture perfectly centered and straight in less than 5 minutes without damaging the wall, thus freeing up their time to spend on more important things to them such as their family.

So if your drill has features and benefits that would support the desired result, such as a built in level or bit storage right on the drill, those would be worth promoting at this time; other features and benefits can and probably should be temporarily stored away until needed. In other words, don’t bombard your target market with every possible feature and benefit – this tends to cause overload and confusion and confused minds tend to not take action. And as marketers, this is not the result we want to cause.

I do understand that the previous sample dialogue may seem really rudimentary however I use it to illustrate the importance of, along with a simple methodology, for learning your target market’s real motivations for buying. And that will certainly help you create a stronger, more effective marketing message.


So in closing, I like you to do me a favor, I’d like you to try on this results approach to your marketing for a while and see how it fits. Think of your marketing for a moment as if you were casting a movie. The ‘results’ that your product and/or service brings would be the leading actor. While the ‘features’ and ‘benefits’ would be the supporting cast.


© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include this complete blurb with it (including links).

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships.  To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

Are You and Your Business a Victim of ‘Marketing Clutter’?

Recently I’ve been on a mission to clear the clutter from all areas of my business and my life. I’m simply just amazed at how much clutter I had allowed in – clutter on my desk, clutter on the floor, clutter on the walls, clutter on my bookshelves, clutter in my closets, clutter in my computers, and even clutter in my marketing too? – Clutter was literally everywhere – and I consider myself a fairly organized guy. Stuff just seemed to continually sneak its way in and never thought to leave once its truly useful period had passed. And if you subscribe to the practice of Feng Shui, the clutter had been draining and stifling my energy and ultimately my effectiveness in terms of accomplishing my goals.

Now I do believe that one person’s clutter could be another person’s gold. So in other words, this clutter I speak of simply was stuff that I’ve accumulated that wasn’t serving me any longer. That doesn’t mean that things I deem as clutter couldn’t serve someone else. So I graciously acknowledged the clutter for its contribution to me and gave it new life by donating it to others who could and would put it to use.

So why do I share this with you? Simply put, all of your clutter affects your ability to effectively market yourself and your business. And let me go ahead and define what I will refer to as ‘marketing clutter’ as any marketing that doesn’t currently serve you. While it may have served you once, it’s no longer effectively contributing to your bottom line – your income.

So let me ask you, when was the last time you reviewed your marketing plan for clutter? Or, wait a minute, let’s take a step back. Do you have a marketing plan for your business? If you do great – allow me to suggest though that unless you’re reviewing it on a fairly regular basis (e.g. monthly or worst case quarterly), now is probably a good time to dust it off and take a close look at what working as well as what’s not working in your marketing.

If you don’t have a marketing plan, allow me to suggest the possibility that that alone may put you on a path to marketing clutter. Not having and following a marketing plan tends to promote what I call the 3 biggest marketing recipes for failure and they are ‘Casual Marketing’, ‘Spray & Pray Marketing’, and ‘Flavor-of-the-day Marketing’ – all of which lead to ‘marketing clutter’. If you are unfamiliar with my marketing recipes for failure concepts, you may want to visit my blog at www.MotivationalMarketer.com where you will find a 4-part article series on it.

As for ‘what’s working’, I highly suggest you maximize those marketing efforts until the law of diminishing returns sets in and it no longer makes sense.

As for ‘what’s not working’, allowing those marketing efforts to continually drain your resources for a less than needed return on investment is what I’m referring to as ‘marketing clutter’ and should be eliminated, redirecting your resources to more promising marketing efforts.

Let me give you an example, I’m an avid networker and use networking as a key marketing strategy for my business. Recently, when reviewing my marketing plan with the aid of my business partner along with my business coach, one marketing effort in particular that I’ve seemingly overlooked, glaringly showed up for them. One of the networking groups that I had belonged to had simply become ‘marketing clutter’ and they strongly suggested that I eliminate it and redirect my efforts to more fruitful marketing endeavors. Little did I realize that although this networking group had become ‘marketing clutter’, I turned a blind eye to it because I was simply emotionally attached to this group. Additionally, it became routine – I got comfortable. In marketing, that’s a dangerous place to be. So long story short, I was coached and reminded to be the CEO of my life and to lead my team and so I eliminated that networking group from my marketing. So what did that accomplish, ultimately by removing the ’marketing clutter’, I made room for other more suitable and potentially lucrative networking activities – one such new networking group that I’m excited about had shown up about a day later. Now would that new group have shown up in my life if I had continued with the old group? Hmmm… I'll let you ponder that one a bit.

So in closing let me leave you with this thought. We are the captain’s of our own ships embarked on the journey we call life. We do not need anything unnecessarily complicating or cluttering up that journey. In our own way, we all want that journey to be successful – whatever success looks like to each of us. Clearing the ‘marketing clutter’ as well as any other clutter in our minds and environment will simply clear the path and light the way to that success we search for.


© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include this complete blurb with it (including links).

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships.  To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

2 Key Marketing Ingredients for Your Recipe for Success

As any decent chef will tell you, that pinch of this or dash of that key ingredient along with some TLC (tender love and care) can make or break a dish.

Now as far as key ingredients go, I’m not talking about the main ones of the dish such as the meat or the vegetable, I’m talking about the minor but key ingredients such as a certain spices like salt, pepper, coriander, or cumin.

Let’s take salt and pepper for example; without those key ingredients, your food may taste bland to some. Well it’s the same with your marketing, without applying certain key ingredients such as inspiration and intuition to the mix, your marketing may come across as bland and not generate the response you desired.

Let’s dig in and explore each of these 2 key marketing ingredients a bit further.

1. A Pinch of Inspiration
   As a speaker, author, and all-around ambassador for great marketing, I am always on the lookout to be both inspired and inspiring in my marketing. And that’s how I feel about all marketing as well; it should be both inspired and inspiring.
   
   The Law of Attraction simply says that you attract into your life whatever you think about. For me, I consciously seek out inspiration so I always seem to find it – and sometimes it’s in the oddest most unexpected places. I’ve simply become very adept at drawing the connection between each inspiring moment and my marketing. As for this article, I was inspired by a great book that I just read aptly titled “Inspiration” by Dr. Wayne Dyer. Great book by the way, I highly recommend it. Anyway, I’ve learned to gain inspiration from not only my experiences, but also from the experiences of all those around me. And I always try to work that inspiration along with the vibe it carries into my marketing.
   
   So what inspires you? And how can you work that inspiration into your marketing so that it inspires others with the same effectiveness or better?
   
   For starters, take a look at what others are doing to market their products and services. Does any of their marketing inspire you to take action? Now chances are yes, there is marketing out there that is targeted at you that does its job by inspiring and moving you into action. Note that feeling of inspiration. Jot it down on a piece of paper along with why it inspires you. And try to capture that effectiveness in your marketing.
   
   Additionally, get to know what inspires your target market and moves them into action. Not sure what that is exactly? Then get to know them better and ask them; it’s as simple as that.



2. A Dash of Intuition
   Your marketing must feel good to you, period! Not to get all mystic on you but I do believe that your marketing materials and message carry your energy, your vibe, your aura, or whatever you want to call it, with them. So for example, if you feel good about an ad that you have put together, there’s a good chance that those coming into contact with your ad will intuitively feel good about it as well – and vice versa.
   
   Learn to trust your gut! If something in your marketing doesn’t feel right to you, it probably isn’t. Additionally, beware of integrity conflicts here. Make sure that all of your marketing is consistent with your values as well as the values of your organization. Any inconsistencies will eventually show up on the intuition radar of your target market; and if this happens, your target market may not know why they don’t trust you or feel good enough about your offer to buy, they’ll just sense something isn’t right with you and tend to distance themselves from you.

So in closing, people love to buy and far be it from us to hinder their desire to do so from us by skimping on key marketing ingredients for our recipe for success. By simply adding these 2 key ingredients, inspiration and intuition to your marketing recipe, you are providing the necessary spices that can make you target market’s buying decision and easy one that they can feel good about.

© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include this complete blurb with it (including links).

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships.  To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

Is Your Web Site Working Overtime For You? 5 Ways to Squeeze More Value Out of Your Web Site

There is one thing you can be sure of, and that is that the Internet never sleeps. Now with that in mind, let me ask you a point blank question, is your web site poised to take advantage of that? If it’s not, you could be leaving some big money on the table. Face it; you’ve paid the same amount of money to create and maintain your web site whether it works part-time, full-time or overtime for you. So why not make it serve you 24/7 365 days a year? How? Well here are 5 ways to squeeze more value out of your web site:

1. Use It as a Lead Generation Tool
   To not only survive but, succeed in business we all need to constantly generate and maintain a list of prospects or otherwise known as a 'sales pipeline' to sell to. The easiest way to do this using your web site is by offering your visitors something for free such as an ezine (electronic newsletter) or an ecourse which is typically a how-to tutorial delivered via email in exchange for their contact information.



2. Use It to Personalize Your Visitors Experience
   The Internet over the years has received a bad rap as being impersonal; while this may have been true once, back in the stone knives and bear skins days of the Internet, today’s powerful technology has done its part and given us the tools we need to really take our businesses and the Internet to new levels. There is simply no reason for our web sites to be impersonal any longer. The ball is in our court now – it’s up to us, the developers and users of the content that makes up the Internet to make it personal and effective.
   
   So how can you make your web site more personal? Well here are a few examples for you. How about getting rid of those stock clip-art images and replacing them with real pictures of you, your clients and your business? How about adding audio and/or video to your web site so your visitors can hear you and see you speak? How about including case studies and testimonials of success stories?
   
   Remember people like to do business with people they feel comfortable with so the more personal your web site, the more possible your desired results.



3. Use It to Communicate With Your Visitors More Often and In Real-Time
   There is simply no substitute for staying in constant contact with your target market. And today, there are plenty of Internet-based tools available that are either inexpensive or even free that can be implemented immediately on your web site to enable you to do this. Some examples could be setting up an email marketing system that works in conjunction with your web site, periodically sending out an ezine, implementing a real-time forum for your subscribed members to converse on, or hosting a blog where you can post content and allow your visitors to respond or comment on your postings.



4. Use It to Sell Products
   In today’s world of instant gratification, why not capitalize on it by allowing your web site visitors to buy and pay for some or all of your products and services through your web site? Also, why not add more value to your visitor by making available someone else’s non-competitive, but complementary product through your web site as well? And while we’re at it, why not take advantage of impulse spending by up-selling your visitor with other low-cost, almost no-brainer impulse items during your web site’s shopping cart check-out process?



5. Use It to Empower Your Visitors to Make Proper Decisions
   There is no greater way to become a trusted advisor for your target market then to consistently provide them with the information they need when they need it to make a proper decision. How do you do this using your web site you ask? Well how about providing relevant, informative articles, some ecourses or tutorials, case studies, recommended tools or books, or maybe adding a frequently asked questions section to your web site just to name a few. The bottom line here is to be a generous giver, not a taker and although there are no guarantees here, your visitors will eventually respond to you the way that you want them to.

Now most of the ideas here are not so new in the ‘brick and mortar’ offline world, however, they are not yet the norm in the online world. So implementing one, some, or all of these ideas will definitely differentiate you from your competition and position you for success.

© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include this complete blurb with it (including links).

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships.  To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.