I just returned from four days with Loral Langemeier in Phoenix, Arizona. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I have been involved in her Live Out Loud program for about two years now. The best thing about being in Loral’s programs is the community of people who are playing a BIG game in their businesses. (If you are interested in Live Out Loud, there is a free webinar in November - you can sign up on the bottom left of the home page.)

I have lots of great strategies and ideas for moving forward. And I am beginning to put them into action. And of course, I will share with you what I learn as I move forward. In the meantime, while I was in Phoenix at the conference I wrote down books when speakers or other people mentioned them.

Below is the list that I gathered (some I have read and others I will be reading soon). Please add the books that have helped to accelerate your business/real estate/investing/leadership in the comments section.

• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
• Bringing Out the Best in Others by Thomas Connellan
• The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
• The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
• Good to Great by Jim Collins
• Instant Income by Janet Switzer
• Personality Plus by Florence Littauer
• Power vs. Force by David R. Hawkins
• The Radical Edge by Steve Farber
• The Radical Leap by Steve Farber
• Success Principles by Jack Canfield
• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
• The Treasure Tree (children’s book) by John Trent

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

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I don’t care if you are a mortgage broker or a sanitation company or a morgue. You are in the business of solving problems and answering needs. By emphasizing these qualities, you cultivate customer loyalty and differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Imagine for a minute the difference between a Volvo and a Porsche. Consumers rely on one company for its cars’ safety and one for its cars’ speed. These qualities are the answers to their customers’ needs. How differentiated would these car companies be if they focused on “cars that have four wheels and seat belts”? True enough. But unremarkable.

Unfortunately, I see many of my clients who have this “Four wheel, seat belt” approach to their marketing. They talk about the same ‘ol things as their competition. Their company isn’t differentiated and they don’t know the needs of their target audience. As a result, their marketing is boring. {Yawn!}

To market your business effectively, you have to KNOW your target audience and what problems they face. People don’t buy things. They buy solutions to problems; they want to fulfill a desire or meet a need. It should be specific and real…AND you should care about their problem. Examples of powerful motivators include making money, saving money, having more time, reducing effort, decreasing stress, increasing comfort, good health, being fit, losing weight, romance, and praise.

So, what are your customers trying to figure out, overcome, fix, heal, or prevent? What is their biggest concern on a daily basis? How are they feeling about their problem? And what unique solution do you provide to their problem? Don’t get sidetracked by describing your service or product - stay focused on solving their problem.

How do you want your target audience to feel when you provide your services/products? Trust? Motivation? Inspiration? More knowledgeable? Begin to think about the emotions you want to evoke in your target audience and the lasting impression you want make.

Let’s take an example. Say you are a financial planner who focuses on working with new parents to invest money for their infant’s future college payment. You might say that their problem is not having enough money right now to pay for their child’s education. They feel worried and scared that they won’t have enough, confused about how to make the right investment choice, and committed to sending their child to a good school. You are going to help them to create a secure future for their child. With your planning services, they will feel more in control, confident, and secure.

By focusing on this part of your marketing planning, it will make all of your marketing messages easier because you understand exactly what motivates your target audience and the result they get from working with you.

You can talk to your customers, either current or past. Take them out for coffee and ask for their assistance. Most people are flattered to be asked for their opinion. Ask them some of these questions: Why did you need my services? What were you struggling with before you sought my help? What was the biggest improvement in your business since we worked together? And so on.

Interview several people about their particular challenges, needs, and problems. Try to get enough data to help see the trends among your target audience. By tailoring your marketing to solving your customers’ problems, you will position your company to be magnetic to your customers.

Hugs and success, Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

Ready to boost the marketing for your business? Then order a copy of the Maven Marketing Home Study System! It’s everything you need to know to attract the best customers for your business. You’ll learn how to describe what makes your business remarkable, how to get new customers calling YOU, and lots of other valuable strategies to help you fill your sales pipeline quickly. (Why struggle with your marketing anymore?)

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An article recently released by DM News gives some promising news for retailers. This coming Halloween is expected to generate $5.07 billion in sales.

The study found that consumers are planning to spend more this year on the spooky holiday. The average consumer is planning to spend $64.82 on the holiday compared to the $59.06 spent last year.

“Traditionally, Halloween is a time for consumers to invest in fun for themselves, as it is not traditionally a gift-giving holiday,” said Kathy Grannis, manager of media relations at the National Retail Federation, Washington. “Consumers hit the stores for candy, costumes and decorations that let them show off their personality.”

For those of you who aren’t directly marketing to people buying candy or costumes, don’t write off Halloween just yet.

This is a great opportunity for you to thank your customers. Put out candy in your office. You can also put together a little goodie bag for your customers and drop it off or mail it. Adults love chocolate too!

Another thing you can do is e-mail a funny card to your clients with a Halloween promotion or discount.

Happy Halloween marketing!

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
Your spooky marketing maven

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Create photo recognition. Have a professional photograph taken. This is a great investment because you’ll have pictures of yourself that you like and the photos will help build credibility. Include your photo on your business cards, brochures, speakers’ sheet, website, flyers, and so on. People who are not good at remembering your name will remember your face. When they see it again, they will be more inclined to look more closely at what you are offering.

Hugs and success, Wendy Maynard

Your friendly marketing maven

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For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I love to give The Marketing Maven Award of the Week. I don’t do it every week so it’s a bit of a misnomer. But, I award it to a product, company, or service that has captured a unique niche market. To see more, just enter “Marketing Maven Award of the Week” in the search box on the side bar.

Ok…with that explanation out of the way, I introduce to you this week’s awardee - The Catsifier! {the crowd goes wild!!!}

The Catsifier was developed for cats who like to suck on things. Apparently, some kittens have been taken away from their mothers too soon. As a result, they never lose their urge to suck. And even as full-grown cats, they suck on blankets, clothes, and even earlobes (this is what the website says folks!).

From the website:

The Catsifier is basically an animal pacifier. It consists of a high quality pillow and a zippered, removable pillow cover with a faux fur cat sewn on one side. There are four nipples securely attached to the furry can, which allows the kitten or other young animal to comfortably and safely satisfy the need to suck without damaging home furnishings and decor.”

Congratulations to The Catsifier, truly a niche product. May you continue to succeed in your marketing endeavors to all of the poor folks out there who need relief from their cats sucking on their earlobes!

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

P.S. If you’ve used this product, please post a comment about how your cat is enjoying it…

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I love this idea.

A design firm in Philadelphia called Gyro Worldwide decided to do a little promotion about logos. But instead of featuring how great their company designs logos and wins awards and all the same “blah, blah, blah” that every other design firm in the world does, they got creative.

They rounded up a bunch of bad logos in Philly and asked everyone to vote. And they filmed the logos. Keeping in alignment with the rest of the irreverent writing style on their website, here is what Gyro says about the contest:

“We really believe in giving back to our community here at GYRO Worldwide, which is exactly why we decided to hold a contest to see who has the worst logo in all of Philadelphia. After we laugh long and hard at all your sorry, sorry logos, we’re going to pick the absolute ugliest and laugh even harder. Then, out of the kindness of our little creative hearts, we are going to design you a brand new logo and give it to you for free. Wow! We rock!”

The “winning” ugly logo was then redesigned by Gyro’s crack team of interns and the results are actually pretty good. Gyro then filmed the bad and the ugly. And, they got people on the street comments. And then they filmed the redesign and people’s comments about that.

For a low-budget marketing idea, this one really goes the extra mile in its cleverness. You can check out the entire campaign at Philly’s Worst Logo.

Before:

After:

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

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