Excerpt from Marketing Your Small Business For Big Profits

Do you know what matters to YOU?

A Look Ahead
This book is not your "short cut" to an MBA in Business and Marketing. It's not a magic pill that you can swallow so you're suddenly transformed into a marketing superhero. (And if it were…do you really have what it takes to run around in a latex suit with a cape?)

You're not going to find a lot of theory, or history, or anything for that matter that can't be put to work for you. And should you find yourself at a cocktail party filled with marketing professionals from the Harvard Business School, you probably won't be able to hold your own conversationally.

But who cares? While they're talking about the theory of what makes businesses succeed, you'll be living your success…and living LARGE, I might add…thanks to this book.

In a book about marketing for small business I think it is important to define marketing. There are many definitions of marketing, but for the sake of this book let’s define marketing as “Anything you do to make people more aware of the products and/or services you offer.”

This is a good point to also say that it is imperative for you to develop a marketing plan, a map or layout of your planned marketing efforts for a specific period of time. I will go into this more in the section on Networking and Coaching.

I've worked hard to compile what I think are some of the most important tips and techniques for you to apply immediately to your business. There are specific step-by-step directions, how-to instructions, templates, fill-ins, and questionnaires throughout the book.

I have purposefully kept this book short and to the point, to make it a quick read. The idea is to read it through several times to absorb all the nuances and crystallize in your mind how to put this information to work for you. Then just go do it. All too often we read books, watch a video, attend a seminar or listen to an audio that is so full of great information that in the end we do not know where to start. Since a confused mind always says no, we end up not taking action on the information we just paid so dearly to acquire. If you apply the principles in this book, you will see results, I guarantee it.

You'll also find some terrific tools in the Bonus Section, where I've included a kit of additional "reports" for your use.

So grab a hot coffee, find a comfortable spot, make sure you've got good lighting to read by and get ready to take your business to the next level.

Performance Development Insight:

Success is based on persistency and consistency, not magic. You have what it takes…just unleash your power.

Your Unique Selling Proposition

Your Marketing Journey, Online or Offline, Begins in the Same Place

USP - Marketing's Best "Delivery Service"

UPS is an excellent delivery service, and so is USPS or the CPS, but when it comes to delivering a marketing message, nothing competes with a USP - Unique Selling Proposition.

Question: What’s a Unique Selling Proposition?

Dave's "Dictionary of Business" Says: A USP tells consumers why they should do business with you. It states the key feature that distinguishes you from your competition. It highlights the unique benefit that you offer that no one else does.

Now for the $64,000 question: What's YOUR Unique Selling Proposition?

Is your answer "Quality, Service and Price"? Sounds good, but it isn't…not by a long shot. Customers expect QSP. So if all you offer are the "goods" -- good quality, good service, and good price -- you're just another grain of sand on the beach of competitors who are no different than you.

Performance Development Insight:

Most businesses don't talk about anything unique or distinct. Their message is: "Buy from me," but without any reason or motivation -- logical or emotional.

The natural tendency in describing a company's USP is to say something like "We're the best at what we do" and leave it at that. The problem with the "best" approach is that anyone can say they're the best…and everyone does. Consumers hear this from businesses constantly; it is said so often that prospects don’t even hear it any more.

Performance Development Insight:

Even if the "Eat at your Own Risk" Diner is shut down by the Board of Health every few months, the owner can still proudly display a neon "Best Burgers in Town" sign. Who's going to take him to court? His competitors? The taste police? This is precisely why consumers want details…not just vague promises.

Your USP needs to be very specific. Give your clients meaningful specifics, not vague generalities. If you provide better service than "the other guy," explain precisely what makes it the best?

When you create your USP, ask yourself what are the needs your competition isn't meeting for customers? Have they left a niche open for you with regards to selection, discounts, advice, education, quality, service, convenience, or a guarantee?

This is your opportunity. Get to work and use your USP to fill the void…and fill your business with customers.

This Is No Time To Think Small
No one wants to do business with a company that's "plain vanilla." We all want the "something extra" that makes us feel smart for getting a good deal. Unless you're filling up your near-empty gas tank at the only station you find on a deserted highway -- in which case money is no object -- chances are you want the best value for your money.

Your USP should offer your BIG BENEFIT, MOST APPEALING PROMISE, and/or SOLUTION TO THE MOST PRESSING PROBLEM that your potential customer might have.

Are you ready for another question? Good. Ask yourself this: "Why do people do business with me?"

There's an important subtlety here. I didn't have you ask "Why SHOULD people do business with me," I had you ask "Why DO people do business with me."

What's the difference? A lot. The reason YOU think people are your customers is much less important than what THEY think…and what they're thinking about is "What's In It For Me?"

Performance Development Insight:

There are benefits of doing business with you that you take for granted, but that would simply astonish your clients and your prospects if they only knew about them. Look for the hidden, not so obvious assets in your business and be sure to reveal them in your marketing efforts.

(this has been an excerpt of the book Marketing Your Small Business For Big Profits)