5 Top Marketing Tips of 2004

I just got off a conference call and there’s always some nugget I can take back and put in my mental RAM. So I started thinking of what are the major marketing nuggets I’ve learned this year?
1. Seeing a search engine box as a virtual storeshelf. People go to Google looking for something just like they go out shopping – will they find your product? (from Intelliseek call)
2. Politically bent but extremely applicable to marketing (replace ‘vote’ with ‘buy’): People do not necessarily vote in their self-interest. They vote their identity. They vote their values. (from Lakoff’s Don’t Think of an Elephant).
3. The marketing is the product. (Seth in Purple Cow)
4. What makes you unique will make you successful. (William from Reach)
5. And a great arresting question: What is the boldest, most outrageous, most provocative
statement or position you can take in your niche market?
(via our girl Andrea)
Your turn: what are the top five marketing tips, tricks, tools and techniques you’ve learned in the past year?


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5 responses to “5 Top Marketing Tips of 2004”

  1. Joe Taylor Jr. Avatar

    Here’s one… Weblogs are tie-breakers. Folks would rather work with someone they “know” from a weblog than someone they can’t get a read on.

  2. Nancy Morris Avatar

    Good prompt Andy 🙂
    Here’s my 5…………
    1. You MUST be a business owner first, coach second (or third….). No ifs, ands or buts about it. Otherwise, you are far too close to be able to make strategic sustainable decisions. Your business, including the marketing, is a like a ball you hold out in your hand. It is not something you stand in the middle of.
    2. Everything about business (including you) is a system. It is not self-directed, not other-directed, but system-directed. Understanding this doubled my profit in 6 months, literally. And made running my business 100% more FUN!!
    3. The most important question I learned to ask this year was – what system is missing from my business (insert “marketing”) that is allowing this to happen? (from E-myth organization) Puts you in the drivers seat, lets you analyze and make decisions, means you can never be “wrong” and you have tons of FUN !!! (note the theme here 🙂
    4. Learn what marketing techniques work and which ones don’t from other industries (I learned heaps from how my chiropractor markets her business and from others too outside of coaching)
    5. With the current *issues* surrounding coaching internationally, NOT having a form of product is a form of self-destruction.
    Keep Kickin’ Butt !
    Nancy

  3. Jim Donovan (via email) Avatar
    Jim Donovan (via email)

    (from the COACHV-L list where I cross-posted this)
    With the current *issues* surrounding coaching internationally, NOT having a form of product is a form of self-destruction.
    Huge point. This is why so many coaches have produced books. Having a book makes you an instant expert (scary:-)
    Several years ago I produced books for a number of coaches, many of whom used the book to leverage their visibility as well as gave the books out as business building tools.
    I’ve gotten several clients who first read one of my books, liked where I was coming from and hired me to coach them.
    Something else that’s very useful is to have an audio. I have clips from my talks on my web site and burn CD’s when I want them. Again, it gives people a “taste” of where you’re coming from. May have little to do with coaching but it does give the person insight into you as a person. Of course, if you write thrillers or slashers, you may want to rethink it:-)

  4. Milana Leshinsky (via email) Avatar
    Milana Leshinsky (via email)

    1. Leverage absolutely everything you’re doing – writing, speaking, training, coaching, brainstorming – everything can be turned into a product, or a line of products, a coaching program, an e-course, etc. I am not talking about recycling information. I am talking about expanding a small idea into something bigger. I have written so much this year, looking back I can see a new e-book/book, an audio program, a manual, etc. It’s a great feeling knowing that all that writing wasn’t just for that one-time use.
    2. Keep your mind, eyes and ears open to the new ideas everywhere you go, in everything you read or hear. Especially, when you’re around your target audience – they will “tell” you what they need, what they don’t need, and how you can approach it all better. This is how I personally come up with new product ideas, and my annual income consists of 75% of product sales, and 25% everything else (coaching, consulting and web design).
    3. Do get a virtual assistant – mine has been a god-sent! I feel like a huge brick fell of my shoulders, because she takes care of a lot of things I don’t like doing myself. What a blessing! I now have more fr’ee time to write, create, research, strategize, and that’s what helps my business grow so much faster.

  5. Thomas Murrell Avatar

    TOP 5 Marketing Tips of 2004
    1. Send a postcard to soft bouncebacks from eZine. I have 5,000 on my ‘Media Motivators’ list and get 50 – 60 soft bouncebacks of people away from their office. Usually they leave a name of a contact who is looking after their job. I ihave got work in SIngapore from this and combines email with trdaitional direct mail.
    2. Have a Book. My new book (co-author) ‘Understanding Influence for Leaders at All Levels’ (Mc Graw-Hill) is released Jan 10th, 2005 and already by forwarding promoting this has lifted my profile and credibility.
    3. Weblog – setting up a blog and posting to it from all over the world as I speak – brilliant. have had great success with mine at http://www.8mmedia.com/
    4. Public workshops – these get me in front of high value consulting prospects.
    5. Anchor client – pay attention to your anchor client and add value with additional services

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