The Hunter Valley, Eric Clapton and Marketing
It’s been an eventful few weeks with my birthday (21 again), seminars and a visit to the Hunter Valley. The highlight was easily the latter with a combination of wine, food and music all playing a part. Another great thing about the trip was the peace and quiet. Life can get soooo noisy and I found myself often just sitting and enjoying the peace.
Although, Saturday night was far from peaceful, as we enjoyed second row seats for the Eric Clapton concert at Hope Estate. We were so close we could see the strings on the guitar! As a lifelong fan of Clapton’s, Steve was in his element, as the picture shows. It was a majestic setting with great weather and 11,000 people in an outdoor amphitheatre, sipping wine, eating cheese and having a great time.
Visiting the wineries, restaurants, food outlets and accommodation in the area is a great lesson in marketing. The Hunter Valley is only a small region extending 150km but it is littered with successful businesses of all different sizes. The key to their success is in how they connect with their customers, that is, their marketing. How they do this is different for each business – product, brand, distribution are all things they use to make themselves ‘unique’.
We all know how critical marketing can be in our business, and some people even go so far as to say it is the most important skill that every business owner must have. This weeks Champion Tip comes from Darren Stevens who talks below about ‘deadly marketing sins’ that should be avoided in your business.
Until next time…cheers
Samantha & Steve
P.S. If you any other tips you would like to share, email us at info@smallbusinesschampionsclub.com
For more than 20 years, Darren has taught internationally, speaking to and motivating thousands of people in over 14 countries on how to create business, personal and financial success. He owns now seven companies in various industries.
What is your list of 'deadly marketing sins' that should be avoided in order for a business to be almost divinely profitable?
Failing to test - if you don't test prices, headlines, advertising copy, radio/television spots and verbal messages, you will not know what the market wants or will pay. In other words, you are just guessing and that can be disastrous. Tomorrow, I urge you to have your salespeople try different pitches and differently priced offers. Afterwards, review each approach against the other. If you find a new approach that performs better have all your representatives use that approach until you can test and compare more, and potentially better, possibilities.
Running institutional advertisements - these advertisements are a sheer waste of money because they don't direct the audience to take action or make a buying decision. Direct-response advertising, on the other hand, makes a complete case for the company, product or service. It overcomes sales objections, answers all major questions and promises results with a risk-free warranty or money-back guarantee.
Not stressing uniqueness - most successful businesses and professional practices are built around a single unique selling proposition (USP). It might be reliable post-purchase service, super-fast delivery or convenient hours. Think about what it is that sets you apart from your competitors, and then make that USP the engine that drives all of your marketing and advertising efforts.
Not having back-end sales - the back end is vital to any business. If you can induce new customers to buy a similar product or service from you within 45 days, then you will double the value of that customer.
Failing to address customer needs - by communicating with your customers (and making sure that your employees do the same thing) you can identify their needs and wants and ensure you satisfy them. If you don't give them what they need or want, your customers will abandon you.
Failing to educate - your customers and prospects won't understand or appreciate a bargain, service or benefit unless you point it out to them. For example, if you are overstocked on widgets, advertise that fact (admit your mistake) and then explain why the widgets are valuable, how they can be used and how you are willing to let them go at a major discount to your best customers, first-time customers or people who are willing to make an additional purchase.
Failing to explain why - whenever you make an offer, ask for a sale or run an advertisement, always explain why. For example, why can your salespeople handle sales better than someone else? Why can you beat your competitors on price? The more believable and plausible your reasons the more compelled customers will be to favour you with their patronage.
Giving up too soon on what works - I find that businesspeople get tired of their advertising and marketing campaigns long before the marketplace tires of them. People who commit this sin often call off an advertising campaign that has been working and replace it with something that hasn't proven itself and might be a flop. Test different concepts and approaches, but never abandon your 'control' (i.e. your best performer) until you find something that pulls better results.
Forgetting who your customers are - always send your sales message to the people who are your primary prospects. For example, if you want to reach people who are over 45 years old, then your advertisement headline should say: 'If you are 45 or over…' Diligently avoid headlines and advertisements that are non-specific or abstract.
This website contains even more great tips from Darren Stephens.
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