Here’s an interesting psychology tip for small businesses. If you want people to think you're an expert - then start acting like one. Perception is reality. Some small businesses are great at what they do, but are shy and never talk about it. Other businesses may be less talented but are great at self-promotion. They publish [...]
Here's a sneaky little trick that restaurants do with their marketing. You've probably seen how menus sometimes highlight certain dishes, in large text or special breakout boxes. So those must be the best or most popular dishes, right? No, those are the dishes with the highest profit margins. The lesson here for small businesses is that [...]
“Make the customer the hero of your story.” That quote from Ann Handley gets to the heart of what separates good marketing from the bad. A lot of small business understand the importance of telling stories in their marketing. But then they often fall into the trap of positioning their business, product or service as the [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
Small businesses like to use a lot of facts in their marketing. They think facts are the best way to influence their customers, make them see reason and spend their money. But the problem is, it’s not. Humans tend to be emotional creatures rather than rational ones. We usually respond better to stories that trigger our [...]
