Be Unique

On of the most important activities you can do for your small business is to create a unique marketing strategy and plan. I don’t mean coming up with something stupid or crazy, I mean something unique and yeah… maybe just a little outrageous.

Think about it… now days advertisers are trying to “out do” each other. The super bowl came on the other day and each commercial was basically “conceived” to “out do” the other commercials. And in my opinion all of the advertisers must have read the same exact book on marketing. And I’m sorry to say, sometimes that book doesn't work! I mean you may remember the commercial and maybe even the product but did it make you want to go out and purchase it?

That’s the 3 million and sometimes much more (the average cost for a 30 second ad to run in the super bowl) question!

I can tell you what does work…. Having a little kreativity, a little personality and putting forth a lot of effort to make yourself so different from your competition that it will help you make sure that there is no real competition!
Just think about it for a minute…

1. What crazy stunts could you do to get free PR? What type of challenge could you post to the public i.e. give me 30 days and we will change your life, your business, your appearance, etc, etc. Things like this will attract customers and draw attention to yourself and your business and guess what… the media will love you!

2. What's your stadium pitch? Imagine this... you have been given the chance to do a 60 second presentation to 50,000 people in a stadium. Just as you walk out to start the presentation... they announce that people don't have to stay if they don't want. What would you say in that 15 seconds that would make them want to stay?

What could you say in 60 seconds to convince them that your company is the only alternative and they'd be crazy not to build a relationship with you? Think about it and find a smaller crowd that you can pull this on. You never know when you’ll have your chance to “shine”.

3. Think about the lifetime value of your clients. When they are first introduced to you, they are buying into a relationship with you... they were NOT buying your service or product. So it’s important that you continue to nurture that relationship.

My question is are you? If you treat them right and make them feel like family... your clients will come back... buy more... and buy more often. In today's cold impersonal business world, be the one that treats them like family. So believe it or not, this would actually be considered “unique and outrageous” because most business owners don’t do it.

4. Find some new ways to build a recurring payment plan around your business. If you have a one-time purchase of your product... what could you offer to your clients to have them come back more often? Perhaps you could offer them a tune-up, or a re-design once several times a year?

In other words, rather than waiting for them to come in offer them a reminder service and a monthly enticement to come back to you. Perhaps you have a service or product that you can offer that will allow you to bill them monthly, quarterly vs. just yearly. Up to 50% (sometimes more) of your clients will take this option and in the end what would it add to your bottom line?

5. Create joint ventures with other related businesses... anyone that deals with the same target market that you do. Explain to them that you will send them extra business if they give your clients an incentive to buy (coupons, discounts, bonuses etc.).

You can create a booklet that you will give out to your clients with all these discounts. For every discount coupon they use - that supplier is to pay you x dollars for the new client you brought them. This is a great strategy for small business owners to connect with other client markets.

6. Send out a monthly email newsletter with some tips, some humor, and some specials of for the month. On the days when it is going to rain - send out an urgent bulletin - rainy day special! Offer them a deal to come down, brave the rain and get a deal on lunch.

7. Make doing business with you more exclusive. Make it on a referral-only basis. Some professionals I know will not do business with you unless one of their present clients has recommended you... and even then you need to pass the approval process. Depending on the type of business you have, this can produce a stream of consistent clientele and you’ll probably be a much happier business owner.

8. Take away the risk of working with you…. make it so that your clients come out so far ahead by dealing with you, they would be foolish not to. In the end, even if they decide that your service or product is not for them, they still come out of the deal with the a refund and many bonuses that they never had before dealing with you. The less risk they must take and the longer the guarantee... the fewer number of returns and complaints - it's a fact!

Be sure to test all of your kreative ideas, no matter how crazy they may sound. It’s important that you at least try them out. Find out which one's work. Then optimize how effective they are. Test all variations of that idea and find out which variation works best.

In trying to come up with a strategy and plan for marketing your business, be sure to think kreatively, be kreative, and make sure people notice you are different and there’s no doubt you’ll be very profitable.

To Your Health, Wealth & Happiness!

Pam Lawhorne

Pam Lawhorne is a serial entrepreneur, small business expert and creative marketing consultant, who provides advice, guidance, and encouragement to aspiring CEO's around the nation in her popular seminars and publications. She is the Chief Empowerment Officer of Empower U, Incorporated, a training and consulting firm that specializes in interactive workshops, seminars and coaching programs.

Ms. Lawhorne is the author of “From Minimum Wage To Getting Paid! - How To Become A Successful Entrepreneur With No Money, Education Or Experience!" and she is also a syndicated columnist who writes articles on empowerment, entrepreneurship, personal development, creative marketing and real estate investing. Her articles appear nationally in newspapers, magazines, and on numerous business websites and on-line publications. For additional information please visit her website: www.PamLawhorne.com.

The above article is copyright 2003-2008 by Pam Lawhorne. Permission to repost is freely granted so long as the text is not altered in any way, and the copyright and links are included.