Urgency works really well in marketing. Everybody gets bombarded with marketing messages every day. As we all live busy lives, it’s hard for marketing to get people to act - even if they like the message. It’s far easier to tell ourselves we’ll get round to it at a later date. But we never do. So [...]
Got an important pitch coming up? Want to improve your chances of winning the business? Send the potential client a pre-meeting pack several days before the meeting. The great thing is that nearly no one does this. So you immediately stand out while demonstrating how professional you are. Include case studies, testimonials and information about your [...]
I’m often asked how long content marketing takes to work. Unfortunately, there’s no precise answer. Instead, think of content marketing as a lot like going to the gym. If you want to get fit, you have to keep working out day after day. Success takes time. Content marketing is the same. There are no get-rich-quick-schemes here. [...]
People don't buy the drill – they buy the hole. In other words, when customers come into your small business they’re not looking for the products or services you provide. Rather they want the solutions those products or services deliver. That’s what’s valuable. Marketing works better when there's less talk about drill specs and more talk [...]
Psychology is full of interesting and useful facts. Here’s one: Humans are more likely to take action to avoid pain than they are to pursue pleasure. So if you want your marketing to be more effective, then you need to explain how your small business can help customers avoid something bad rather than achieve something good. [...]
Henry Ford, one of the greatest business people of all time, has a great quote. "Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time." He knew what he was talking about. If you’re a business and you’ve got the world’s greatest products or services but no one knows about them, you’re not [...]
Marketing is not an expense – it's an investment in your future profits. If your small business is doing marketing properly it’s not costing you money. It’s making you money. So rather than being an expense, it’s an investment in your future profits. But If you're not doing marketing properly, then it will cost you money. [...]
How do you grab the attention of your customers when you do marketing? It’s simple. Talk about them. A lot of small businesses make the mistake of talking about themselves, their products, history and their plans for the future. While all those things might be wonderful, customers are a lot more interested in themselves than they [...]
If you want your marketing to be more effective, then the best language to use is simple language. Small businesses often make the mistake of thinking that big words and long sentences make them sound clever and important. In fact, the opposite is true. Simple words and short sentences make you sound smart. You come across [...]
Face-to-face marketing is the most successful marketing there is. It’s the fastest way to build trust and credibility. It’s better than text messages, emails, letterbox drops and even phone calls. And the best thing is that you don’t even have to be in the same room to do face-to-face marketing. Video is just as effective. This [...]
