Author: Dan Auito

Here are some of the biggest mistakes in marketing today and how you can fix them.

Small business owners are overwhelmed with too many advertising choices and quite often aren’t fully aware of the mistakes that they are currently making which may seriously be undermining their market penetration efforts , every marketing effort consumes time, energy and resources.

Start by stepping back and defining your market, what info, products or services do people want and what can or do you provide for starters, who is your target? Once you know WHO your market is, then start developing marketing plans that you are able to maintain committed focus on.

Focus narrowly and continuously hammer away at key ideas to begin making your brand stand for something, define what your marketing objectives are and work on making every dollar you spend generate more than the amount spent on advertising.

Commitment to a plan is the key: Backing it, implementing it, measuring it, adjusting it, Sticking with it and being patient are the keys to success. Business is often a marathon rather than a sprint, stick to plans you can consistently execute.

Here are some of the best marketing tactics that you can use today.

Simplify your marketing plans if and when you can to make them truly achievable; complicated plans often fail for lack of follow through. Focusing on being new, different or first is smarter than being better or cheaper than your competitors.

Once you define what category you are in, IE… Energy drinks, Personal care, Luxury home sales etc…Only then can you begin to build your brand within that category. You must understand where you deliver the best value and your staff must be able to relay that value proposition as well.

There must be a process that can be followed to effectively achieve your plans, the 3 P’s of productivity are said to be, Policies, Plans and Procedures or Sop’s Standard Operating Procedures, Mc Donald’s was built on this. Process liberates by creating understandable centralized strategy that can be disseminated to outlying decentralized locations for seamless execution.

The above doesn’t always involve large amounts of money, content is often king regarding online interaction today, e-mail communication and feedback is critical in addition to websites, Blogs and video’s for gaining and distributing insight, this in-turn helps in creating significant relationships with your market.

Once you have solid plans to execute do some research on sites like Jigsaw, Sales Genie and Hoovers online to target key high level decision makers who may benefit from what you have to offer.

Using pre-emptive marketing to begin marketing more effectively.

Today’s buying public knows when it’s being pitched or sold too, you must set yourself apart by building some meaningful trust, consumers want a conversation with the vendor through all the touch points you can provide: Websites, E-Mail, Blogs, Phone, Face to Face etc… All work towards creating an experience with you.

Research has proven that customers are 12 times more likely to buy and continue to do so if you make an emotional connection first. 90% of businesses provide facts, figures, features and status quotes which pale in comparison to focused efforts on emotions, beliefs, needs and a history that tells a story.

Instead of telling them all about YOU, try ASKING what do you need now, a year ago, how can I help you get to where you want to go now. Skillfully listen then you can define and deliver.

Start locally IE… town, city, county, state, country then globally, you can’t say everything to everybody so choose a specific audience and speak to some exact somebody’s within your specific niche first.

Seek to set yourself apart from your competition by being first, use storytelling, video, twitter, facebook, websites, blogs, e mail to reach, communicate and deliver relevant content to your audience while looking for feedback, your job is to out work, out hustle, out compete and out smart your competition using technology and new insights to be first in the minds of your potential customers and clients.

Go here to read the rest of this dialog: http://www.magicbullets.com/docs/Extraordinary_Minds_Transcript_3.pdf

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/using-preemptive-marketing–1543445.html

About the Author:
Dan Auito is a small business owner and consultant in addition to a published author, aviator and online marketer, he can be reached at: http://www.magicbullets.com/docs/Extraordinary_Minds_Transcript_3.pdf

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Author: Dan Auito

Here are the most important points and benefits to using brain-based marketing.

Effective selling is based upon emotions and establishing the right first impression; again, emotion sells, logic justifies.

Take heart: The ability to move people is not inborn, its science and it can be learned. It’s proven that there is a universal biological basis to selling that when stimulated in the brain, triggers a buying signal and there is scientific proof to back this up.

Studies found that successful salespeople spent more time initially with prospects establishing a connection before making their requests; this is like giving people psychological air. It says you care and it’s based on emotion and your ability to pick up on their hopes, fears, wants, needs, expectations and current situations.

These studies noted that once an emotional connection was reached people were more eager to listen and became more receptive to the message that the salesperson wanted to deliver. Instead of persuasion think of it as Pre-suasion!

Start by being open first to knocking down natural barriers beforehand, by being authentic and working to establish emotional trust first; reciting facts, features, benefits and advantages does not excite emotional buying triggers. Even the greatest seeds won’t grow on rocks!

Realize that people are blinded by first impressions. In today’s economy, value is paramount, so establish yourself and your products and services upon the value proposition because cheap works against you.

In times of trouble, people trust brands, so always work to brand yourself and constantly work to build you brands recognition. Great brands are built on authenticity that delivers real value and solutions that truly pay off.

Always be working at simplifying your message while delivering the maximum impact. Meme’s are full messages delivered by a picture or a slogan; it is a self explanatory symbol that represents a complete idea that anyone can grasp instantly, i.e. picture the Nike swatch or jazzed up check mark which instantly conveys top line tennis shoes and cool style, etc. The Slogan: “Have you driven a —- lately” reminds you of Ford, Coke = The Real Thing.

The idea is to simplify your message and brand it to cut through the clutter and insecurities of your market. Look at what other companies are using and doing to get people to buy things, then alter those successful methods for your own benefit.

Don’t assume you know everything. Be willing to experiment. Big companies have a harder time doing this. Focus on your major benefits as small irrelevant things become distractions. Drive home your major points and push the emotionally triggered hot buttons for optimum results! Selling hope is one of the best emotional triggers.

Here are the factors responsible for the lack of success in many marketing messages?

Many conventional business owners are often found to be driven by numbers, reports and data which are left- brain activities that lead to emphasizing features, benefits, advantages and key points. These do not create feelings or trigger emotional responses.

We assume people are rational but quite often we find they make irrational decisions. Try not to discount feelings. Many CEO’s fail to make customers part of the process. They create things and then try to sell them. Better to get feedback early to create pleasurable experiences while creating things that people want to buy!

Make customers part of the process, give them a voice, keep them informed, get feedback that will help them to see your proposition as fair. Use surveys, ask questions and do the research to become the expert that people naturally agree with and default to in times of need.

Another point made based upon research is that written text based advertising doesn’t excite the brain and it also consumes 25% of our energy. Strong visuals work better, save brain energy and are more enjoyable to look at. Use more pictures, graphics (Meme’s) and video for optimum results.

Again: Decision making isn’t necessarily a linear process; research is proving that it is more likely a chemical response that is triggered emotionally not rationally , so focus on creating an emotionally anchored game plan that creates a pleasurable response or at the very least, one that alleviates fear!

Read the entire dialog here: http://www.magicbullets.com/docs/Extraordinary_Minds_Transcript_2.pdf

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/using-brainbased-marketing-to-engineer-hardtorefuse-offers-1543465.html

About the Author:
Dan Auito is a small business owner and consultant in addition to a published author, aviator and online marketer, he can be reached at: http://www.magicbullets.com/docs/Extraordinary_Minds_Transcript_2.pdf

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