Doug McIsaac

Marketing has changed - Have you changed your marketing?

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There are very few people I know who are as knowledgeable about strategic business planning as Doug McIsaac. He's a very talented, "under the radar" expert who has a natural knack for finding simple strategies to dramatically increase your profits. Doug is my go to guy for innovative Internet Marketing ideas and I think he's crazy for sharing all of his secrets.

Ron Douglas
TrafficSage.com
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Great Stick Marketing Example

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What is stick marketing?

When you do or send something after the sale to make your business stand out from all of your competitors. It’s marketing you use to “stick” yourself in the top of your customers mind and get them to tell others about you.

Most of the time these are simple: a chocolate or a thank you note in your box when you purchase an item or the salesperson who drops off muffins at your office. Those are good, simple examples.

The example I want to share today is great for a number of reasons. The most important reasons are it was a complete surprise and they really know their target audience.

This example is from Serverdensity.com, they are a cloud based company that provides server monitoring. That’s a brutally competitive market and it’s tough for a small company to stand out.

Here’s what we received and the VHS case made us go…

”VHS???”

Or is it a game??

Server Wars

 

Let’s open it and find out….

Introduction letter

A handwritten note introducing us to our rep Rufus…

Made us ask…

”How much are we paying for this?”

Then we noticed the wax seal and had to show it to the other guys in the office

Wax Seal

After discussing how cool the wax seal was for a couple of minutes we all stood around to see what else was in the case:

Lots of cool stuff

  • A cool case
  • A handwritten note introducing us to our rep…
  • A wax seal – very classy
  • Some Earl Gray Tea
  • A little notebook
  • A sticker
  • A Patch

Why was this awesome….

It was a total surprise – mailed from the UK to the USA.

It showed they really know there target market which is network guys who run servers.

Really remarkable marketing makes you want to tell other people about it.

That’s why I had to share, great job Server Density!

What Makes Your Business Unique?

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It’s a fair question.

Every business either stands out from the crowd or gets lost in the multitude of other businesses that are in the same industry or niche.

They are doing the exact same thing.

They’re selling the same product.  They’re offering the same service.

They have the same type of business card with the smiling face of a representative and contact information.

The problem is that most people, representatives and business owners do not put enough time and energy into actually figuring what it is about their service or product that makes them unique.  Even if they do know or discover what it is that makes them stand out from the crowd they usually put very little effort into actually highlighting those differences and using it to their advantage.

The Secret to Business Success

Once you discover and begin to expound upon on what makes your business unique then you have already taken care of a lot of brand identity and marketing issues.

Why is that?

It’s simple, really.  Brand identity and marketing is all about getting the attention of potential customers and then offering them a quality product or service in hopes of keeping their business in the future and then having them recommend you to other people.

Easier said than done.

What Makes Your Business So Special?

Unique Position of Passion and Drive

What makes your business great? Where's the drive come from? Where does the passion and that drive for excellence come from? Not HOW but WHY did it all start? This is your business. Look inwardly at your passions and strengths before drafting any technically written mission statement.

People will be drawn to passion and reputation NOT an “About Us” page. Maybe it's a personal story from a need that you identified that was the catalyst for the product and service.  It’s possible that you’re just the best at what it is that you do and you see it as an obligation to offer it to the world.

Whatever it is, somewhere there’s reason. Everyone has their own story. Tell yours!

Product & Services

Are you offering a product or service that is so different from the competition that it could change the way people look at it? Or, at least make them go “hmm”? Does your product or service extend or build upon an already existing one to the point where it becomes more necessary to have?

If so…tell it!  Announce it.  Offer it.  Give it a way for a bit.  Make.  People.  Understand.

Guarantee

Can you, with a doubt offer, your product or service and know that it will provide the answers or solve the problem that your customer base is looking for?  Are you confident enough to guarantee that?

Ask Your Customers

Your customers know what drew them to you in the first place.  Take a look at which common elements your current clients possess in order to determine what message they and ideals brought them to do business with you.

In the end, the one thing that is going to make or break your business is the quality and usefulness of the product or service you are providing.   Just make sure that you’re doing everything you can to ensure enough people are sampling that great service by keying in and spreading the word about what makes your business unique.