Customers for Life

By: Brian Tracy

Never Worry About Money Again
What is the purpose of a business? Every time I ask this question during a business seminar, the immediate answer that I get back is, "To make a profit."

The Real Purpose of A Business
But this answer is wrong. The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. If a business successfully creates and keeps customers in a cost-effective way, it will make a profit while continuing to survive and thrive. If, for any reason, a business fails to attract or sustain a sufficient number of customers, it will experience losses. Too many losses will lead to the demise of the enterprise.

Why Businesses Fail
According to Dun and Bradstreet, the single, most important reason for the failure of businesses in America is lack of sales. And, of course, this refers to resales as well as initial sales.

So your company's job is to create and keep a customer, and your job is exactly the same. Remember, no matter what your official title is, you are a salesperson for yourself and your company. And the best way to increase your value as a salesperson is to build your customer base.

"Change your Marketing... Change your Life!" When you're selling a product or a service, your ability to market effectively is the single most important skill you can learn. Marketing strategy is what sets high-profit business apart from ones that are barely scraping by. With this program you'll get the EDGE you need to leave your competition behind! Learn more here >>

Why Businesses Succeed
The two most important words to keep in mind in developing a successful customer base are Positioning and Differentiation.

Positioning refers to the way your customers think and talk about you and your company when you are not there. The position that you hold in the customer's mind determines all of his reactions and interactions with you. Your position determines whether or not your customer buys, whether he buys again and whether he refers others to you. Everything that you do with regard to your customer affects the way your customer thinks about you.

The Key to Competitive Advantage
Differentiation refers to your ability to separate yourself and your product or service from that of your competitors. And it is the key to building and maintaining a competitive advantage. This is the advantage that you and your company have over your competitors in the same marketplace - the unique and special benefits that no one else can give your customer.

Select Your Customers Carefully
When you begin to think about acquiring and keeping customers for life, you need to think about the particular types of customers for whom your competitive advantage is so important that they would be poorly served by using anyone else's product. You need to then emphasize again and again that the special features and benefits you offer are so important that they should not even think of going somewhere else. If, for any reason, you fail to do this, you may lose the customer and all the work you've done in building that relationship in the first place.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, determine exactly what your current positioning is today with your customers. How do they think about you and what do they say? How could you improve your positioning?

Second, determine your exact competitive advantage, your area of superiority in what you do. How can you increase in your area of excellence and then convey it better to your customers?

"Influencing Customer Behavior—Guarantee your Customers Buy More, Faster and at Any Price!" Whether it's a product, service or even ourselves--influencing others is a skill we cannot afford to live without. In this program, you will learn the most powerful influencing strategies and techniques ever discovered in professional selling. Click for more...

Selling Online

THE 10 POWERFUL MUSTS IN MARKETING

Whenever I meet a Business Owner or an Entrepreneur the first question I ask is "how does your Marketing measure up"? Their usual response is that their Marketing Sucks! How about yours? If you are like most, Marketing is the last thing that you work on in your business. 

You are either doing the technical part of your business or you are putting out fires. You usually don't have a clear plan or strategy on how to set up a successful Marketing initiative in your organization. Most of the time, we are being reactive instead of proactive. We wait until business slows down and then we put a bunch of money into different media sources in hopes that business gets better. 

Typically, this doesn't work. But if it does, we don't measure it, to see what part of our message inspired our clients to come in the door or call us on the phone. If you would like to develop a Marketing Strategy that will give you awesome results, consistent traffic and more profits, I encourage you to read on. These are the 10 Powerful Musts that your Marketing Plan should have.

 You must have 10 Marketing Strategies active at all time

Most companies have three or less strategies working for them and because of that their message doesn't reach their customers in enough time for it to stick. Researches show that a potential client must hear, see or experience your message 9 times or more before deciding to do business with you. Your website, your TV ad and your print advertising alone, isn't enough to drive the traffic that you need to make your business successful. I teach my clients how to determine the 10 affordable mediums that they can use to get their message out, so that they can attract more clients to them.

 

Your Marketing Message must address your target market and their interests directly

Your message must be focused.....like a laser beam on your target market. It must speak to their needs directly and clearly. For instance, an auto repair facility may communicate that they are the local experts for European automobiles. By doing this, they have separated themselves from every other repair facility in their area. Anyone who owns a European automobile now has a local expert that they can take their vehicle to.

Your Marketing Message must be consistent across all mediums you use

Many Business Owners are their own worst enemy. This is because they are communicating one message in one ad and another, somewhere else. We mentioned earlier that it takes nine or more impressions before someone makes a decision to purchase from you. If you are sending multiple messages, it will dilute your voice and cost you opportunities.

You must track all leads and know what Marketing Medium brought your prospect to contact you

There is an old saying, "What you measure you will manage". You must know what is working and what is not. If you are advertising somewhere that is delivering results, you want to stay there. If you are advertising somewhere that isn't giving results, drop it and put your money somewhere else. Most business owners have a general idea of what medium is bringing clients in but are not sure. You must track this area. It is as simple as asking a couple of questions or adding a box on your website that asks the client how they heard about you.

Your Marketing Message must be dramatically different from your competitors'

In my Companies, I am constantly watching, reading and listening to my competitors' marketing messages. Most of them look, sound and feel identical because they are put together by the advertising sales reps. They are not marketing experts. Their goal is to sell you space and get a commission......not to help you develop a marketing strategy. If you look at the newspaper ads for Car Dealerships, you will see exactly what I am talking about. Remember, "Same is Lame".

You must constantly be looking for ways to provide additional Products and Services to your target Market.

I call this recycling your customer. You must look for ways to get your customer to continue to spend money with you. Look at Wal-Mart. They started selling just household products and now they sell groceries, electronics, jewelry, etc. You can even get your oil changed, do your banking, get an eye exam or have your taxes prepared while you are there! What products and services compliment what you are currently selling? How can you add that to your existing operation? By doing this, you will add value to your current business model as well as become a one stop shop for your clients. This makes their life easier and it will increase your bottom line.

You must maintain a current database of your current and potential customers

It blows me away when I sit down with a client and they don't have an organized database of their clients. How can you stay in touch with them to share about the new promotions that you have going on? How can you follow up with them to see how the product that you sold them is working out for them? Without a database, you cannot. You must develop one so that you can remind them that you are still here and more importantly that you still care.

You must use strategies such as Guarantees and Testimonials to enhance your Marketing Message in all communications

People love testimonials and guarantees. This gives your potential client the warm and fuzzy feeling that they need to feel comfortable about doing business with you. If they read or see how your product or service has helped hundreds of people improve their lives, save money, time or increase their income, they are more likely to do business with you over your competitor. Your guarantees show the potential client how much confidence that you have in your product or service. Offering powerful guarantees such as warranties and full refunds, if not satisfied, proves to the consumer that there is no risk involved with doing business with you. If your competitor doesn't say these things, it may show that they are not willing to back up what they are selling.

Your Marketing Message must tell your prospect what to do next in making contact with you

After hearing your message, your prospect must be directed on how they should contact you. Should they email, call, write or come in? You cannot assume that they know, you must tell them. They will appreciate you for this.

You must communicate with past customers on a regular basis to ensure that they come back again and again.

The easiest sale is to those who have already done business with you. How are they going to remember you if you don 't communicate with them? I encourage my clients to stay in touch with their clients a minimum of 4 times per year. I advise them to stay away from big holidays such as Christmas and Easter because everyone sends cards during these times. Consider sending something on their birthday, the Fourth of July, New Years Day and Labor Day. You will probably be the only person they receive a card from on any of these given days.

If you develop your Marketing plan using the 10 Powerful Musts, you will increase your business with both new clients as well as returning clients. You will also see an increase in referrals to your business. The best businesses understand that marketing is the most important part of their business because without customers you have no business.

So what are you going to do next?

Well, you can go down to your local college and sign up for a Marketing course if you have the time to do so. Most business owners don 't. You can read a bunch of books and extract the principles outlined, but that takes time and disciple. Or you can hire a Marketing Coach who will help you develop the strategies that we have outlined. By doing so you enjoy the privilege of having your customer pipeline filled at all times.

I am currently enrolling students in my Marketing mastermind group. If you'd like more information please email me at Kevin@southeastbusinessdoctor.com. I will send you a fre-e Marketing Evaluation.

 

About the Author

Kevin Thomas is a serial entrepreneur, licensed business coach, and a motivational and inspirational speaker. Kevin is currently working with Business Owners who are in the top five percent of their field or have aspirations to be there. Kevin is a master in business strategies which have helped him build several businesses that run successfully without him. If you would like to receive his success secrets newsletter, go to http://www.southeastbusinessdoctor.com .

 MUSTS IN MARKETING

 

THE 10 POWERFUL MUSTS IN MARKETING

 By Kevin Thomas

 

Whenever I meet a Business Owner or an Entrepreneur the first question I ask is "how does your Marketing measure up"? Their usual response is that their Marketing Sucks! How about yours? If you are like most, Marketing is the last thing that you work on in your business. 

You are either doing the technical part of your business or you are putting out fires. You usually don't have a clear plan or strategy on how to set up a successful Marketing initiative in your organization. 

Most of the time, we are being reactive instead of proactive. We wait until business slows down and then we put a bunch of money into different media sources in hopes that business gets better. 

Typically, this doesn't work. But if it does, we don't measure it, to see what part of our message inspired our clients to come in the door or call us on the phone. If you would like to develop a Marketing Strategy that will give you awesome results, consistent traffic and more profits, I encourage you to read on. These are the 10 Powerful Musts that your Marketing Plan should have. 

You must have 10 Marketing Strategies active at all time 

Most companies have three or less strategies working for them and because of that their message doesn't reach their customers in enough time for it to stick. Researches show that a potential client must hear, see or experience your message 9 times or more before deciding to do business with you. 

Your website, your TV ad and your print advertising alone, isn't enough to drive the traffic that you need to make your business successful. I teach my clients how to determine the 10 affordable mediums that they can use to get their message out, so that they can attract more clients to them.

 

Your Marketing Message must address your target market and their interests directly

Your message must be focused.....like a laser beam on your target market. It must speak to their needs directly and clearly. For instance, an auto repair facility may communicate that they are the local experts for European automobiles. By doing this, they have separated themselves from every other repair facility in their area. Anyone who owns a European automobile now has a local expert that they can take their vehicle to.

 

Your Marketing Message must be consistent across all mediums you use

Many Business Owners are their own worst enemy. This is because they are communicating one message in one ad and another, somewhere else. We mentioned earlier that it takes nine or more impressions before someone makes a decision to purchase from you. If you are sending multiple messages, it will dilute your voice and cost you opportunities.

 

You must track all leads and know what Marketing Medium brought your prospect to contact you

There is an old saying, "What you measure you will manage". You must know what is working and what is not. If you are advertising somewhere that is delivering results, you want to stay there. If you are advertising somewhere that isn't giving results, drop it and put your money somewhere else. Most business owners have a general idea of what medium is bringing clients in but are not sure. You must track this area. It is as simple as asking a couple of questions or adding a box on your website that asks the client how they heard about you.

 

Your Marketing Message must be dramatically different from your competitors'

In my Companies, I am constantly watching, reading and listening to my competitors' marketing messages. Most of them look, sound and feel identical because they are put together by the advertising sales reps. They are not marketing experts. Their goal is to sell you space and get a commission......not to help you develop a marketing strategy. If you look at the newspaper ads for Car Dealerships, you will see exactly what I am talking about. Remember, "Same is Lame".

 

You must constantly be looking for ways to provide additional Products and Services to your target Market.

I call this recycling your customer. You must look for ways to get your customer to continue to spend money with you. Look at Wal-Mart. They started selling just household products and now they sell groceries, electronics, jewelry, etc. You can even get your oil changed, do your banking, get an eye exam or have your taxes prepared while you are there! What products and services compliment what you are currently selling? How can you add that to your existing operation? By doing this, you will add value to your current business model as well as become a one stop shop for your clients. This makes their life easier and it will increase your bottom line.

 

You must maintain a current database of your current and potential customers

It blows me away when I sit down with a client and they don't have an organized database of their clients. How can you stay in touch with them to share about the new promotions that you have going on? How can you follow up with them to see how the product that you sold them is working out for them? Without a database, you cannot. You must develop one so that you can remind them that you are still here and more importantly that you still care.

 

You must use strategies such as Guarantees and Testimonials to enhance your Marketing Message in all communications

People love testimonials and guarantees. This gives your potential client the warm and fuzzy feeling that they need to feel comfortable about doing business with you. If they read or see how your product or service has helped hundreds of people improve their lives, save money, time or increase their income, they are more likely to do business with you over your competitor. 

Your guarantees show the potential client how much confidence that you have in your product or service. Offering powerful guarantees such as warranties and full refunds, if not satisfied, proves to the consumer that there is no risk involved with doing business with you. If your competitor doesn't say these things, it may show that they are not willing to back up what they are selling.

 

Your Marketing Message must tell your prospect what to do next in making contact with you

After hearing your message, your prospect must be directed on how they should contact you. Should they email, call, write or come in? You cannot assume that they know, you must tell them. They will appreciate you for this.

 

You must communicate with past customers on a regular basis to ensure that they come back again and again.

The easiest sale is to those who have already done business with you. How are they going to remember you if you don 't communicate with them? I encourage my clients to stay in touch with their clients a minimum of 4 times per year. I advise them to stay away from big holidays such as Christmas and Easter because everyone sends cards during these times. Consider sending something on their birthday, the Fourth of July, New Years Day and Labor Day. You will probably be the only person they receive a card from on any of these given days.

 

If you develop your Marketing plan using the 10 Powerful Musts, you will increase your business with both new clients as well as returning clients. You will also see an increase in referrals to your business. The best businesses understand that marketing is the most important part of their business because without customers you have no business.

 

So what are you going to do next?

Well, you can go down to your local college and sign up for a Marketing course if you have the time to do so. Most business owners don 't. You can read a bunch of books and extract the principles outlined, but that takes time and disciple. Or you can hire a Marketing Coach who will help you develop the strategies that we have outlined. By doing so you enjoy the privilege of having your customer pipeline filled at all times.

 

I am currently enrolling students in my Marketing mastermind group. If you'd like more information please email me at Kevin@southeastbusinessdoctor.com. I will send you a fre-e Marketing Evaluation.

 

About the Author

Kevin Thomas is a serial entrepreneur, licensed business coach, and a motivational and inspirational speaker. Kevin is currently working with Business Owners who are in the top five percent of their field or have aspirations to be there. Kevin is a master in business strategies which have helped him build several businesses that run successfully without him. If you would like to receive his success secrets newsletter, go to http://www.southeastbusinessdoctor.com .


Marketing Strategies

3 Attributes All Winning Classified Ads Have in Common

All winning classified ads have something in common. All of them have attributes that separates them from losers and that makes them run time and time again. So what are these attributes that I am talking about and how can you use them too for your classified ads? Well in this article, I will show you a few of them.

Inside this article, you will learn the 3 things that all winning classified ads have in common and how you can emulate these ads and start incorporating them into your ads today. Here's attribute number one:

1) Winning classified ads don't sell products

Never try to sell a product within the small space of a classified ad. You can't tell your prospect enough information for them to make a buying decision, so just give them a free offer of some sort so that you can get their name and address and follow-up on them continuously.

If you're currently selling your product with a price tag through your classified ad then I suggest that you stop. You're hindering your results and this is a very ineffective way of marketing your products and services. Here's another attribute that winning classified ads have:

2) Winning ads have a strong headline

Your headline is the most important part of your classified ad. It's the first thing that they see when reading your ad and it lets them know whether or not they should continue reading. When creating your headline, lead with your strongest benefit. You want the biggest benefit that your reader will receive incorporated into your ad so that it can entice them into reading more.

Your headline should give them a very compelling reason to read your ad, and the more logical the reason - the better.

A headline such as, "How To Build A Birdhouse That Attracts The Birds You Want" will immediately attract the attention of bird lovers who are looking to build a birdhouse. It offers the solution to their biggest problem - how to design and build a birdhouse that actually attracts birds to it.

3) Winning ads have good body copy

The body copy of your classified ad should do the job making them want to learn more. This is the linkage between your headline and your call to action, so this part is pivotal. You want to keep your body copy brief. Include power words such as "easy", "quick", "simple", or "free" to get your reader excited about your offer.

You can end your body copy by telling your reader how to reply to your classified. You can say something like, "Call 1-800-111-1111 for your FREE report TODAY!"

All 3 of these of these ingredients of a winning ad for crucial parts in your ad succeeding. When designing your classified ad, you want to make sure that it follows all of these essential points so that it can have the most success as possible. When writing your ad, keep your prospect in mind. Always think about how they would think when reading your ad. If you can do this, then the chances of your ad succeeding will increase big time.

Good luck!

FOR MORE INFO: Learn classified advertising secrets you can use to make your small ads pay off big. To learn more, visit the following website for more details: http://www.instant-downloadz.com/classifiedmagic.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adrian_Hargray

Classified Ads 

Craigslist controversies and illegal activities by users

Craigslist, a network of online communities featuring free classified advertisements, has experienced controversies and illegal activities by its users during its operations.

Incidents

• On February 3, 2006, Craigslist was sued by the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law for allegedly allowing users to post discriminatory housing ads in Chicago that violate the Fair Housing Act. The case, Chicago Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law v. Craigslist, was subsequently dismissed because of immunity granted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

• On September 8, 2006, several sites reported that Craigslist's "Casual Encounters" forums in several cities had been compromised by individuals posting fraudulent ads in order to obtain personal information about people. This information, including email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, photos, etc., was publicly posted online.

• On September 12, 2007, a woman from Minneapolis, Minnesota pleaded guilty in federal court to running an underage prostitution ring through Craigslist.

• On October 26, 2007, Katherine Olson, a Minneapolis woman, was found murdered in the trunk of her car after she responded through Craigslist to what she thought was a job as a nanny; the ad had actually been placed by "Craigslist Killer" Michael John Anderson. Anderson was convicted of his "Craigslist Killing" in 2009.

 

• On February 8, 2008, a Michigan woman was charged with using Craigslist to hire a contract killer to murder a romantic rival in Oroville, California.

• On March 22, 2008, Bernard George Lamp, 51 of Troutman, North Carolina was arrested for the murder of Bonnie Lou Irvine, 52, of Cornelius, North Carolina; she had agreed to meet him after she responded to his ad on Craigslist.

• In April 2008, a Minneapolis couple were indicted for using Craigslist to advertise for sexual services, and then picking the pockets of those who responded. Eric Christopher Thorsen, 25, and Amy Ruth Bergquist, 30, then used stolen identification, checks and credit cards to purchase merchandise from online retailers as well as prescription drugs. In addition the couple were responsible for tens of thousands of dollars of bank fraud throughout the Twin Cities area. Thorsen and Bergquist ultimately pleaded guilty to trafficking in stolen documents and aggravated identity theft; Thorsen was sentenced to five years in Federal Prison, Bergquist to three and a half.

• In April 2008, a couple was charged with placing an ad on Craigslist inviting the public to take anything from a man's home in Oregon, leading to the loss of his possessions. The couple had placed this ad to cover up their own burglary of his house.

• On May 27, 2008, in Vancouver, British Columbia, police reported that a Vancouver couple had attempted to sell their week-old baby on the site, but the couple claimed that it was merely a joke. The investigation is ongoing.

• On November 7, 2008, after reaching an accord with over forty of the United States' top prosecutors, Craigslist announced that it would crack down on ads for prostitution by requiring people who post "erotic services" ads to provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card.

• On December 7, 2008, Matthew Hicks, 32, was fatally shot after robbing, assaulting and attempting to murder Willie Donaldson, 35, in Arlington, Virginia, whom he had met through his girlfriend, who had met Donaldson via Craigslist; in January, 2009, Donaldson was indicted for the murder, but was subsequently acquitted on Jan 23.

• On March 5, 2009, Cook County, Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart's Department filed a lawsuit against Craigslist, accusing the site of "knowingly promoting and facilitating prostitution" in its "erotic services" advertisement section. The company argued that it could hardly be expected to sift successfully through the vast volume of listings it received every day; nor was it required to by federal law; in fact, federal law protected it from criminal proceedings for failure to do so.

• On March 20, 2009, the ABC radio news reporter George Weber was allegedly murdered by John Katehis in Brooklyn. The two had met via Craigslist; Weber was found bound and stabbed fifty times.

• On April 20, 2009, Richard (last name not mentioned) and his mother were attacked in Tacoma, WA with a hammer after seeing a bogus car ad on Craigslist. This was reported in the national news.

• On April 20, 2009, Boston police arrested twenty-three-year-old Boston University medical student Philip Markoff of Quincy, Massachusetts, on suspicion of the armed robbery and murder of Julissa Brisman, whose massage services were advertised on Craigslist in Boston and Rhode Island, and whose corpse was found on April 14 in a Boston hotel. Markoff is accused of first bludgeoning and then shooting her with a gun. He then was accused of another armed robbery of an escort in another Boston hotel several days earlier and an attempted armed robbery at a Warwick, Rhode Island hotel two days later. He was arrested the following week while driving to a casino with his fiancée. He pleaded not guilty. On August 15, 2010, he committed suicide in his jail cell while awaiting trial.

 

• Subsequent to the Brisman murder, a widely publicized crime, state attorneys general countrywide plied increased pressure on the site "to shutter what they call the nation's busiest virtual street corner, where prostitution runs rampant." Although Craigslist claims to have reduced inappropriate erotic listings by 95 per cent since its accord with prosecutors in November 2008, the attorneys hold that there are still hundreds of such listings emerging every day, and that the company really ought to do more. South Carolina Atty Gen. Henry McMaster threatened the company with criminal proceedings, but it swiftly employed the same defense that it used against Dart.

• In June 2009, Korena Roberts of Oregon was arrested for allegedly killing 21-year-old Heather Snively—who was eight-months pregnant—and her unborn baby, by cutting open her abdomen. They were reported to have met through an advertisement by Roberts on Craigslist for the sale of baby clothes.

• In June 2009, Joseph Brooks, a 71 year old Oscar Award winning film director and songwriter was arrested on 11 counts of rape, including 9 counts of raping women aged 18 to 30 whom he met through advertisements offering film roles on Craigslist. Brooks won his Academy Award for writing the Debbie Boone song You Light Up My Life in 1977 and also directed the film of the same name.

• In August 2009, members of Pranknet, a virtual community established around harassing people via Skype, were outed on The Smoking Gun for activities that also included posting fraudulent ads on Craigslist and then shouting racist, sexually graphic and obscene tirades at people who called to inquire about their ads. Pranknet members also responded to ads placed by young women selling household goods, feigned interest in making a purchase, and when they learned the woman's address, proclaimed they were on their way over to rape them and murder their children.

• In April 2010, a family of four was terrorized by four people who responded to a Craigslist ad for the sale of a diamond ring. The father, 43-year old Jimmy Sanders, was murdered defending his eldest son after letting a couple into their home to look at the ring who proceeded to take out a gun and let two more accomplices enter the Edgewood, Washington home. Four suspects were taken into police custody.

Source:  Wiki

 Craigslist