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Scott Ginsberg: Outmarket Your Competitors

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11 ways to ensure your voice is heard.


This article originally appeared in the May 2015 edition of INSTORE.

1. Do you know which of your marketing efforts have been effective in the past? Find out where the rock created the ripple, then go back and throw more rocks. Repeat past successes.

2. Do your beautiful, award-winning marketing materials actually influence customer decisions? No, they don’t. Nobody cares. Nobody cares about you, nobody cares about your company and nobody cares about your crappy brochure. They care about themselves and what you can do to make their lives better. Get over yourself.

3. Does your marketing move people’s eyebrows? If not, you’re in trouble. Because this involuntary indicator of interest, intrigue and curiosity is the best instant barometer of your marketing. Ever. Huh? Before Aha!

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4. How are you getting permission from people to market to them? You are collecting email addresses, right? You are sending out a regular, value-driven newsletter, right? You are getting subscribers to your blog through RSS, right? Get permission early.

5. How are you enabling your customers to do your marketing for you? Build community. Cultivate fans, not customers. Build inherent “remarkability” into your products and services from the get-go. You’ll never have to waste your money on another worthless Yellow Pages ad again. Fans equal money.

6. How are you marketing yourself daily? The more answers you can come up with to this question, the more money you will make. Period. Market yourself daily.

7. How much money do you spend on marketing? On one hand, you could say “nada,” if your customers are doing your marketing for you. On the other hand, you could say “mucho dinero,” if everything you do is a form of marketing. Imagination, not millions.

8. How much time do you spend on marketing each day? On one hand, you could say “nunca,” if your customers are doing your marketing for you. On the other hand, you could say “todo,” if everything you do is a form of marketing. Imagination, not millions.

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9. How much stopping power does your marketing have? Nobody notices normal. Nobody buys boring. The effectiveness of a message isn’t necessarily dependent on its longevity, but rather its ability to evoke emotion in the moment. Make people stop.

10. Is your marketing making music or noise? It’s the difference between the homeless guy who sits on a street corner with a sign versus the homeless guy who stands in a subway station with a guitar. One gets money; the other gets ignored. Sing; don’t yell.

11. Is your marketing so good that it doesn’t even look like marketing? Not because it’s slick, but because it’s authentic. It’s you. A logical extension of your passion and love and fire. Movements, not campaigns.


Scott Ginsberg is the author of 13 books, a professional speaker and an award-winning blogger. Contact him at scott@hellomynameisscott.com.

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SPONSORED VIDEO

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”

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Columns

Scott Ginsberg: Outmarket Your Competitors

mm

Published

on

11 ways to ensure your voice is heard.


This article originally appeared in the May 2015 edition of INSTORE.

1. Do you know which of your marketing efforts have been effective in the past? Find out where the rock created the ripple, then go back and throw more rocks. Repeat past successes.

2. Do your beautiful, award-winning marketing materials actually influence customer decisions? No, they don’t. Nobody cares. Nobody cares about you, nobody cares about your company and nobody cares about your crappy brochure. They care about themselves and what you can do to make their lives better. Get over yourself.

Advertisement

3. Does your marketing move people’s eyebrows? If not, you’re in trouble. Because this involuntary indicator of interest, intrigue and curiosity is the best instant barometer of your marketing. Ever. Huh? Before Aha!

4. How are you getting permission from people to market to them? You are collecting email addresses, right? You are sending out a regular, value-driven newsletter, right? You are getting subscribers to your blog through RSS, right? Get permission early.

5. How are you enabling your customers to do your marketing for you? Build community. Cultivate fans, not customers. Build inherent “remarkability” into your products and services from the get-go. You’ll never have to waste your money on another worthless Yellow Pages ad again. Fans equal money.

6. How are you marketing yourself daily? The more answers you can come up with to this question, the more money you will make. Period. Market yourself daily.

7. How much money do you spend on marketing? On one hand, you could say “nada,” if your customers are doing your marketing for you. On the other hand, you could say “mucho dinero,” if everything you do is a form of marketing. Imagination, not millions.

Advertisement

8. How much time do you spend on marketing each day? On one hand, you could say “nunca,” if your customers are doing your marketing for you. On the other hand, you could say “todo,” if everything you do is a form of marketing. Imagination, not millions.

9. How much stopping power does your marketing have? Nobody notices normal. Nobody buys boring. The effectiveness of a message isn’t necessarily dependent on its longevity, but rather its ability to evoke emotion in the moment. Make people stop.

10. Is your marketing making music or noise? It’s the difference between the homeless guy who sits on a street corner with a sign versus the homeless guy who stands in a subway station with a guitar. One gets money; the other gets ignored. Sing; don’t yell.

11. Is your marketing so good that it doesn’t even look like marketing? Not because it’s slick, but because it’s authentic. It’s you. A logical extension of your passion and love and fire. Movements, not campaigns.


Scott Ginsberg is the author of 13 books, a professional speaker and an award-winning blogger. Contact him at scott@hellomynameisscott.com.

Advertisement

Advertisement

SPONSORED VIDEO

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”

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