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The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning:
Magical Marketing Strategies for Creating an Endless Stream of New, Repeat and Referral Business is now available online. In it, Mike shares magnetic strategies, like:
---------------------------------------------------------------- THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF POWER POSITIONING ---------------------------------------------------------------- THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF POWER POSITIONING Magical Marketing Strategies for Creating an Endless Stream of New, Repeat, and Referral Business By Michel Fortin Copyright (c) 1997-2006 Michel Fortin ---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- "The key to marketing success is simple. Find the right message, use the right media, and deliver it to the right market." --Dan Kennedy, No B.S. Marketing Guru
Welcome to "The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning!" The following book is packed full of powerful marketing secrets that will help you and your business enhance its image and increase its business... Effortlessly! I invite you to come in and enjoy the many strategies it contains. While this report is copyrighted, I give you the permission to reprint these pages for your own reading convenience as well as use it as a lead-generating tool in your business or Web site.
As long as the book is not modified, reprinted in its entirety, and refers to the author as well as includes his contact information, you may distribute it freely. If the book is reprinted electronically (either by email or on your Web site), please include a link to the Success Doctor(TM). You may copy the banner at the top of http://SuccessDoctor.com/links.htm and place it on your site.
Nevertheless, I'm positive that these techniques will profoundly impact your results, and I'm not saying this lightly. After 15 years of experience in sales and marketing, and the last 6 years of my career dedicated exclusively to the service and professional industries, these techniques (although applicable to every industry, every product or service, and every profession) can become of an enormous benefit to sales professionals of all types, small to medium-sized businesses, consultants, specialists, and even skilled workers and independent contractors.
Enjoy and thank you for your interest in the Success Doctor! Any suggestions or comments, especially those I can use in future works? Please email me today! Good luck and best wishes! Dr. Michel Fortin
P.S.: This book contains many examples in order to illustrate how the 10 commandments can be applied in various situations. Many names have been changed in order to protect the innocent (innocently successful, that is), and others are purely fictional. Similarities were neither implied nor intended. As in all cases, individual results may vary from those depicted. In addition, wherever the neuter is not used in this book, the male gender was used for simplicity's sake.
P.P.S.: Oh, and one final note. I am a businessperson just like you and not a lawyer by any means. The advice contained in this manual is strictly for educational purposes. Therefore, if you wish to apply ideas contained in this manual, you are taking full responsibility for your actions. I strongly encourage you to first check with the appropriate professional if applicable. Now, read on!
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---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- This small booklet contains ten core principles based on the Success Doctor(TM)'s "Power Positioning" concept -- a set of powerfully effective strategies that have made tons of profitable business for many entrepreneurs and professionals like you. These ideas are distilled from my full-day "Magnetic Medicine(TM)" intensive training seminars that have cost some people up to $2495 to learn. They are offered to you here for a much more moderate investment that, if applied properly, will surely return your investment a thousand times over!
You may have purchased this book in order to find enough business or work until you've reached a comfortable plateau, or you may be like the many people who want clients to come crashing down their doors. But whether you want a little or a lot of business, these techniques are so simple that they can be easily applied by both of these types of entrepreneurs. In the simplest terms that I can use, these techniques work (and work, and work, and work)!
You're reading from someone who's learned that the hard way. I am continually on the frontlines, day after day, doing what most of you are trying to do -- and that's getting more business. I have oftentimes failed miserably, but I have also reached many phenomenal successes. And these strategies are but the result of years of wisdom-building, hard-knocking, trial-and-error, fall-flat-on-your-face-and-dust-yourself-off experience. Believe me, they are far from being mere puffery!
While these techniques are tried and proven, they do, however, require some work on your part. In other words, many of these systems are generic in nature and will require some time and creative effort for their specific application (of course, you could hire experts like me to do the work for you). But it is not so much that these strategies are too vague or that they require a lot of investment. They simply are tools to help you build your own unique style and thus create endless streams of new, repeat, and referral business for yourself. They do so because they all come back to one basic, fundamental marketing principle, which is that of power positioning!
Long gone are the days of knocking on -- and sometimes down -- doors to get business, let alone just to get people's attention. Long gone are the days of using the phone to such an extent that your ear starts to shape itself into a phone's headset. And long gone are the days of bruised knees that came as a result of constantly begging your customers to give you mere table scraps of their business. In short, prospecting is out. Positioning is in.
So, let's start and get right down to the nitty-gritty. However, before we begin, a warning here is needed. It's been my experience to know that some of you reading this booklet wish to project a certain image about yourselves or about your businesses into the marketplace. More concerned with looking good than making money, your ego may often end up in the way of following these practical steps and, consequently, making the money you truly deserve. As an old mentor of mine used to say, "Do you want to be right or do you want to be rich?"
Others among you are probably used to traditional, MBA-style, statistical-analytical types of knock-until-you-drop marketing approaches. For you, my "street-smart" techniques may outright rub you the wrong way. I am not implying that they are illegal, aggressive, or denigrating. Far from it. They are, however, practical and terribly effective techniques that are essential to not only survive but also thrive in today's increasingly hypercompetitive marketplace.
If you want more business, then read on! These techniques will help you do just that in a powerful way. Follow the 10 commandments if you will, but ignore them at your own risk!
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---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Before we begin, you must understand the concept that underlies the concepts that will follow. In today's society, we have experienced 2 major shifts that have revolutionized the entire business landscape. The first and most important one is competition. The mere fact that business is becoming increasingly hypercompetitive is an understatement. Businesses, particularly home-based businesses and self-employed professionals, are growing at an explosive rate.
This is not a mere trend, since it was the way things used to be up until the 20th century. Whether you were a farmer, a blacksmith, or a storekeeper, everybody was an entrepreneur in those days. But when the industrial age took over the agrarian age, more and more people started to rely on full-time, permanent, secure, pension-oriented jobs. Today, those things have become mere antiques! For instance, in the 40's people held on average 2 jobs during their entire lifetimes. But today, that number has risen to 14 and still growing.
The entrepreneurial boom is far from being just a boom. And the reason for this stems from the second shift that has taken place, which is information. Along with the eruption in multi-channel broadcasting, digital technology, and cellular telecommunications, the Internet is skyrocketing in population with every single hour! The ability to retrieve information in nanosecond speed has caused entire layers of middle managers from huge corporations to fall the way of the dinosaurs. Snail mail and high-traffic shopping malls are also on the brink of becoming extinct. The information age notwithstanding, with more and more employers facing disgruntled employees in today's highly litigious atmosphere, jobs are soon becoming things of the past.
So, what does all this mean? It means that, for a person or business to be able to be and remain in business, marketing strategies must be such that it places that person or business at the top of prospects' minds at all times. It is not so much to look for more business but to be the business of choice. For every category of business that exists out there, there are thousands of competitors fighting for the same market. And since the information revolution in today's knowledge-based economy has helped to educate people on what's available, there's really no longer a need to prospect for and persuade people in order to have them "buy into" an idea.
The goal, nowadays, is to be the one from whom they choose to buy or with whom they choose to do business -- among all other possibilities. Marketing must therefore be such that, if and when a prospect needs a particular product, one's business comes to their minds in an instant. In other words, positioning is a process by which a psychological "anchor" has been placed into the minds of prospects so that they come to choose one specific person or company over another.
"Top-of-mind awareness" is a term originally coined by Ellis Verdi, the once president of the National Retail Advertisers Council (NRAC) and owner of a prestigious marketing and advertising agency in New York. He said that what most people wrongfully seek to accomplish in their promotional efforts is to get cashflow and not results. And they usually accomplish this by offering sales, promotions, discounts, and price reductions. As he said at a recent conference, "Discounting is like a drug. It brings in some business, and for some it may even bring in a lot of business. But the effect usually wears off and the company will soon find itself with the need to discount further in order to create more business let alone to stay in it."
Top-of-mind awareness, however, is such that with it there is no need to use price-based promotional methods. What it does is 2 things: 1) It psychologically impacts people so that the mere mention and knowledge of one's company, product, or service inherently creates a need for them, and 2) it places one at the top of a specific market's consciousness so that one is instantly chosen when people want what that person or firm has to offer. "Power Positioning" is a term I've coined that stands for a perfect blend of the art of positioning and the science of direct response -- the result of creating top-of-mind awareness in order to turn you, your business, or your products into powerful magnets. The following commandments all reflect this powerful concept -- one so simple and yet remarkably more effective, more affordable, and of course more effortless than any other marketing strategy devised.
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---------------------------------------------------------------- COMMANDMENT #1 - THOU SHALL NOT COPY ---------------------------------------------------------------- If there's one problem in all advertising, marketing, and promotional efforts, it is the sheer fact that there is too much competition out there. Everything just seems the same. If one copies another company let alone another company's promotional efforts, it only serves as a reminder of one's competition. Therefore, you don't want to remind your prospects about your competition, do you? So, don't copy them (or as Earl Nightingale once said), "Don't copy, create!" Be unique. Be original. Be special. Be so different that, if possible (and it is), your name or the name of your firm as well as the services you deliver become generic in the minds of prospects.
Have you ever heard a doctor say: "Take two acetylsalicylic acid tablets and call me in the morning"? What about "facial tissue," "cotton swab," or "adhesive bandage"? Of course not. It's Aspirin, Kleenex, Q-Tip, and Band-Aid. And that's not all. Xerox, FedEx, Velcro, Kwik Kopy, and Quick Lube also stick like glue in the mind. How is this possible? While there are many reasons for this, the first one is the fact that many of these firms created not only a new product or service but also a whole new category to place them in (see the next commandment).
For now, let's stick to the idea of "uniqueness." This concept might seem far-fetched for the type of product or service you offer, but in reality it really isn't. As expressed earlier as well as stringently taught in my seminars and consulting practice, top-of-mind awareness is the greatest key to marketing success in all facets and types of business. Top-of-mind awareness is a process by which an "anchor" in the subconscious of prospects has been created and through which you position your firm or product above all other choices in the mind.
For instance, when deciding to find out about the type of product or service you provide let alone when deciding to buy what you offer, your name, the name of your firm, and/or the name of your product must come to your prospects' minds instantaneously. How is this done? Well, there are several ways to accomplish this, but let me share at least two of them with you.
The first and most important is names (or in other words packaging). Does your company or service name intrinsically reflect the type of service you offer and does so instantaneously? If not, you might want to reconsider renaming your company or service. For example, if I told you "Kwik Kopy," you will automatically think of a company offering quick copies! You might say, "Yeah, but that's only for big chains with big budgets!" Seminar participants have told me this many times over. My answer usually is, "But how do you think they became large chains anyway?"
Today, it astounds me to see companies with names that mean absolutely nothing, such as acronyms (like "DFG Enterprises") or names that do not reflect the competitive advantage if not at least the nature of the business. If you are a computer network consultant, are you called "Mike Fortin Consulting" or are you called "Practical Technologies"? What's better: "John's Dry- cleaners" or "Spotless Cleaners"? You see, the name of your firm should intrinsically reflect what you do, what you offer, and how you are different from your competition -- in just a few words.
This generally requires a great deal of creative skill. In my copywriting and consulting work when I am refining a firm's corporate identity, some names will pop instantly into my mind while others take more time and effort. So, here's a helpful hint. Try writing down as many names as possible -- at least 20 -- and pass it around among friends, family, and acquaintances. Ask them what pulls them the most. Look for the "Aha's!" or the "Wow's!" These are the ones you want.
If not, either you will have one or two that stick out, or words from a combination of two or three of your names that can be used wonderfully together. Listen to what your peanut gallery has to say, but also read between their lines. In other words, many people will tell you what they think looks best, but remember that your goal is not to look better but to get busier. Watch their facial expressions when they read your names. Ask them a few hours later what stuck in their minds and not just the ones they remembered as being the ones they liked best.
However, I must point out that there are exceptions to this rule. For example, you are probably self-employed, unincorporated, or home-based, and therefore you do not use a fictitious name at all. You may also be limited financially, since repositioning a firm is sometimes not an inexpensive process -- particularly if your name is already established in the marketplace. In these cases, a second technique can help. It is to add a tagline to your name. A tagline is a small sentence, preferably 5 words or less, that complements your name and says it all in one single swoop. I'm sure you've heard of "Enjoy the Ride (Nissan)," "Fights Cavities (Crest)," "Kills Bugs Dead (Raid)," or "The Midas Touch (Midas)." You can do this with any name.
For instance, a self-employed computer technician added some flair to his name by using a tagline in all his marketing pieces (ads, letterhead, business cards, media and promo kits, etc), which read: "John Smith, Solutions Made Simple." An interior designer, Gloria Tessman, now markets herself as "Gloria Tessman's Glorious Interiors." A business etiquette consultant calls himself "Brian Whelan, Where Protocol Meets Profits." Whether you have a unique name or not, add a tagline to your name in both cases, one that truly communicates all that you are.
Make sure to use your tagline in all your communications, promotional pieces, as well as standard stationery. Additionally, every single nook-and-cranny of your operations -- even breathing! -- should in itself become a fundamental marketing process. Remember to look at every aspect of your business, whether it's answering your phone, writing your invoices, mailing your brochures, and even handing out your business cards. It should all become part of a marketing approach in which it emphasizes your uniqueness through your special name or tagline.
For example, do you have an answering machine message that says: "Sorry, but I'm not here to take your call right now"? Ugh! Don't do that. Make your machine work for you. Change it to something like: "You've reached Terry Crawford, the 'Teacher's Teacher'. I am currently teaching another successful 'How to Make Mega- Profits Teaching Corporations Part-Time', designed for high school and college teachers. If you wish to leave a message or would like to receive my free report '8 Ways to Make Classes Cook for Cash', please give me your name, address, and telephone number after the tone. Thank you for your interest in the 'Teacher's Teacher'! (Beep)"
In the above example, several other commandments are followed. We will deal with these aspects in greater detail further in the book, but for now just realize that everything you do must become a part of creating top-of-mind awareness. You don't need a huge advertising budget to make this work. Once you've got this down, use it in all your communications. You have to live, sleep, eat, and breathe your new name or tagline. Later on I will discuss this a little further, especially with what I call an "Elevator Calling Card." For now, don't copy. Make yourself unique!
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---------------------------------------------------------------- COMMANDMENT #2 - THOU SHALL APPOINT THYSELF ---------------------------------------------------------------- A recently understood segment of marketing is the immense power behind categories. Often, many businesses build their entire marketing strategy around a particular brand and its "better" qualities, only to have it all go down the drain in the end. Remember the "New Coke"? In the 80's, Pepsi conducted taste tests they called "The Pepsi Challenge." Coke heard from their research that a newer, better tasting brand would take the market by storm. Three years later, not only were they forced to reintroduce the older version under the banner "Classic Coke," but they also had to eventually wipe the new Coke out. "Better" is not always better.
The originators of the "category" concept are Jack Trout and Al Ries, the fathers of positioning. In their excellent book "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing," they made what I believe to be the most powerful notion ever conceived in the world of business, in that marketing is not a battle of products but a battle of perceptions. My mentor also used to tell me that "Perceived truth is more powerful than truth itself," and I certainly agree. For instance, a large airline company conducted a survey among passengers. And to the question, "If your food trays were dirty, would you assume that the airline also does poor maintenance on its engines," the answer was (as illogical as it sounds) "yes" for an overwhelming majority! Marketing is all about perception.
The greater portion of my business development career has been in cosmetic surgery and medical practices. I often ask doctors this question: "Look at the leaders in your field. Are they famous because they're busy, or are they busy because they're famous?" For example, a particular hair transplant doctor is one of the first surgeons in Canada to perform this type of surgery and has been instrumental in the popularization of hair transplantation.
In addition to the fact that he maintains a portfolio of celebrity patients, this doctor is still widely recognized among the public to be the best surgeon -- and that, whether he is indeed the best or not. However, cosmetic surgery is a matter of artistic ability and not of seniority let alone fame. But you see, when people perceive that you are the best, it is much more powerful than actually being the best in the first place. Perceived truth is definitely more powerful than truth itself.
If you have a product that is the best or that you perceive as being the best, it may not be a shared perception among your target market. However, whether your product is better than your competition or not, if it's perceived as the leader in its field or category, people will automatically assume that it is the best. People will often say, "They must be the best because they're the leaders!" Why? People have the natural tendency to gravitate towards the leader of a given category. They automatically conclude that the leader is indeed the best. For example, Coke outsells Pepsi, even though in taste tests Pepsi seems to be the better tasting brand.
Now, all of this is fine and dandy, but you're probably wondering at this point how in the heck you can accomplish this. Before I show you how to do that, let me give you an example -- one used by Ries and Trout. If I asked you, who was the third person to fly over the Atlantic in a solo flight, many of you are not history buffs and would more than likely be stumped with that one. However, most of you know that Lindbergh was the first person to fly over the Atlantic. Being the first, he comes to mind immediately. So, rather than ask you who was the third person to fly over the Atlantic, if I asked you the same question but rephrased in another way, as in "Who was the first woman to fly over the Atlantic in a solo flight?" Of course, it's Amelia Earhart.
This is the power of self-appointment. One of my favourite marketing gurus is Dan Kennedy, author of the bestsellers "No B.S. Business Success" and "No B.S. Sales Success." He stresses, "You don't need someone else's permission to become successful." When it comes to marketing, he is absolutely right. Many people try to compete and may even get the first commandment down pat, but where they often fail is in creating top-of-mind awareness by drowning their image in a currently known category -- or ladder, if you will.
Everybody knows who is the first in some category or another, but rarely do people remember who's second let alone third. And one of the biggest faults businesspeople have is in attempting to market themselves as a better firm, with a better product or service, at better rates. Let me share with you a secret that might shock you -- if I haven't done it already: Nobody cares. Nobody cares if you're the best or #1... Nobody! Even when people say they have chosen a firm over another because they have a better product, they only think they do and were initially attracted to that particular company for other reasons -- probably at a subconscious level. If they do make a choice based on a firm's superior qualities, they will not stay with that firm for long, for they will quickly jump at the next "best" thing that comes along.
People want the newest, the latest, the fastest, the freshest, the brightest, etc. They want the leading product or service in any given field. They want the best! And when I say that they want the "best," I don't necessarily mean the "best" but what people perceive as being the "best." So, what do you do in order to produce this effect? If there's no category you can be first in, create one. As Dan Kennedy said, you don't need other people's permission to do that. Creating your very own category is powerful because it is impossible for your competition to copy you.
You can be the first to cater to a specific market, the first to offer an alternative to an existing product or service, or the first to cater to a market in a unique way -- such as by offering an ordinary product or service but with a unique twist. You can also customize a general product or service for a specific market. For instance, look at your background or your clients -- is there a common thread? Are there any special awards you or your products have won? Are there any unique references or endorsements you can obtain from local celebrities? Do you or your company possess any unique accreditation, certifications, or memberships in specific groups?
You might be a travel consultant selling business trips that cater exclusively to financial institutions and brokers -- you're biggest clientele. You might market yourself as "the first to serve the financially inclined," "the leader in business trips for bankers," "we take the risk out of traveling for those who deal with it everyday," "the financier's travel agent," or "the first traveling agent for the smart investor." Don't be the best in some category. Be the first in one!
Before we go to the next commandment, I must share with you a small tip that is relevant to both the two first commandments. Do you have what is called an elevator calling card or speech? And if so, does it create instant, top-of-mind awareness? An elevator calling card is what you say when you introduce yourself and it usually includes a sentence or two (30 words or less) that states concisely and effectively who you are and what you do. How do you do that? Think benefits. Why should your clients hire you? Why should they buy from you? Why should they even listen to you? And better still, why should they remember you at all?
When you introduce yourself to people, do give your name and tell people what you do? If you do, please take this advice: You must stop it right now! I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "What? He wants me to stop telling people what I do? But how will they know who I am let alone remember me?" Before we go further, let me explain what I mean.
In my seminars, I teach something I call the "Ketchup Principle." Let's say you've just met a salesperson and, after introducing himself, he gives you a sales presentation. Everything is perfect. He is dressed absolutely impeccably, gave a stunning spiel, and conducted a first-class meeting with you. But all throughout the encounter, you couldn't stop but notice that he had a little spot on his tie, a little ketchup stain if you will. Two weeks later, however, if I would ask you, "What do you remember most about your meeting with this man?" More than likely, the first thing that would pop into your mind would be -- yes, you guessed it -- the ketchup stain!
Now, as the old saying goes, "You never get a second chance to make a good first impression!" That statement is not only true but it also applies even to the simplest of things, such as names. How often have you met people only to forget their names only moments later? So, the bottom-line is for you or your firm to stick in the minds of the people you've just met. Again, your introduction is not meant to persuade this potential client (or potential referral of clients) to do business with you. The trick is to have you in your prospects' consciousness at all times.
Therefore, when you introduce yourself to others, use your unique name, your tagline, your unique category, and the benefits you provide -- and not just your name, the name of your firm, and what you do. For instance, don't say, "Hello, my name is Mike Fortin; I do consulting work" or "I am a marketing consultant." Rather, say, "My name is Mike Fortin, the 'Success Doctor'. I help turn businesses into powerful magnets." (By the way, that's my elevator speech!)
Not only will it arouse interest but it will also make your name stick in their minds, which is what you really want. That person will either remember you when needing what you have to offer, refer you to others when the opportunity presents itself, or talk about you openly especially when others bring up the subject. That's the power of what I call "Crazy Glue for the Mind!"
Here are other examples. If you're a computer consultant specializing in network solutions, don't say, "My name is Elaine Wilson and I am a computer consultant" or "I specialize in local and wide area networks." Instead, say, "My name is Elaine Wilson of 'Network Magic'. I help corporations relieve their computer network headaches." Don't say, "My name is Jack Vidoli; I am a management consultant specializing in accounting processes." Rather, say, "My name is Jack Vidoli of 'A Knack with Knumbers'. I help cut a firm's expenses of time, effort, and money in half by simplifying their accounting systems." Now, do you see the difference?
This in itself puts you in a whole different category, but I must stress the importance of being the leader in a category and using it in all your communications, especially when giving your elevator speech. If you're not the first in some category or another, be the first in one you've created.
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---------------------------------------------------------------- COMMANDMENT #3 - THOU SHALL MAKE THE ORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY ---------------------------------------------------------------- So, if you're following the commandments, you should now have a unique name, possibly a tagline, and established yourself as the first or leader in your unique category. What about the service or product you offer? Do you offer an extraordinary product or service, or do you offer an ordinary one? You see, even if the service you provide is customary, most likely traditional, and probably offered by your competition, you should make it appear unique just as well.
Remember that perception is more powerful than truth. You don't need to emphasize that your product or service is unique, better than the competition, or even the best for that matter. Trying to do so or declaring that it is can sometimes be worse than not saying anything at all, and the reason for that is that it makes you appear as if you are bluffing or exaggerating at best.
For instance, if you told people that you're product or service is number one in the marketplace, your clients will probably either laugh at you or in the very least question your statement. But if you put a name on your product or service (and trademark it if possible), you will indirectly cast an aura of exclusivity and superiority and do so without utterly flaunting it.
By the way, please note that unique trademarks don't need to be registered, unless you are looking for financial compensation if someone ever copies you. In that case, you must go through a trademark lawyer to register your name or names. I am not a lawyer and please do not consider this as legal advice. I strongly recommend that you see a trademark or corporate lawyer for assistance in this area, especially if you're seeking to completely prevent any form of piracy.
However, once you've conducted a thorough search and found that your trademark is indeed original, and after formally registering your trademark, you will be able to use the "(R)" symbol (registered trademark) rather than the "TM" in all your communications -- and keep copycats at bay or even sue them should they ever use your names or taglines.
Nevertheless, always keep in mind that perception is powerful. When it comes to the perception of a product or service, it will generally fall into either one of 3 categories. (This is especially true with services since they are intangible.) The first one is the "customary," the second is the "assumed," and the third is the "unique." Let's take a look at each element in more detail.
-- The Customary --
You might be a bookkeeper offering an income tax service as part of your portfolio, a service that is also widely offered by most bookkeepers these days. However, don't just leave it like that. Say, "Ask us about our special 'Total Tax Tranquility' service." If you're a dry-cleaner offering a tie cleaning service (as most dry-cleaners do), don't just call it a "tie cleaning service," call it a special name, as in "Bring your ties out of retirement with our 'Re-TIE-rement Reversal' process."
Before we go any further, I know what you may be thinking right now. You're probably thinking that you are a professional businessperson representing a high class, high quality product or service, and that this type of strategy is too "hokey" or that it doesn't apply to you. When I started out in business, I was a business development consultant specializing in medical practices. Dealing with a very professional clientele, I heard this type of objection all the time. However, I still say that it is possible for you to use this technique, even in these circumstances -- and probably more so since doctors and professionals are prohibited from claiming superiority.
For example, I often go through the yellow pages (in the physician, surgeon, and dentist sections) to find potential clients. One day, I was immediately struck by an ad from a particular dentist who specializes in pain and anxiety management. He has an anesthetist on staff, and uses intravenous and general sedation for his patients in order to make the process of dental work a more comfortable experience. Most dentists offer this "ordinary" service. But what did his ad say? The headline was made up of two simple words: "Dream Dentistry." Now that's good!
In essence, even if your service is customary or your competition offers the same thing you do, by putting a name on an often-nameless product, you cast an aura of uniqueness and superiority instantaneously without having to state it outright. As one of my mentors used to say to me, "Implication is more powerful than specification!" The resulting effect is the fact that not only will the name keep you in the back of the minds of your prospects but it will also create curiosity, arouse interest, and enhance desire. By and large, if people had to choose between a general product or service and one that, through its name, implies a better or more unique kind of product or service (some kind of added value), more than likely they will go for the second option.
For instance, if you owned an imported car that needed a brake job, which would you choose: A general mechanic? Or one who specializes in imported cars by marketing its service as "Are your brakes screaming in a different language? Come and see us for your 'Quicker-than-Customs' foreign car brake inspection"? You get the picture. (Whoops! I'm getting ahead of myself again, since this example also reflects Commandment #4, which is the power of specialization. But I guess you're getting used to me by now, right? 'Nuff said.)
-- The Assumed --
Speaking of mechanics, are you a mechanic and, as normal practice, offer free estimates? If you are a mechanic, you most likely do. Those that don't are rare. Everybody expects free estimates from mechanics or garages these days. However, as simple as it may sound, if you specify what is usually taken for granted, you make your name stick! For example, you might call your free estimate "The Hassle Freedom Formula" or the "No Greater than Guesstimate Estimate." Your tagline could even be "Where Smiles and Estimates are Free!"
You see, it might sound silly but the attractiveness of this process is so simple. People may or may not know that garages offer free estimates and, more often than not, they only assume that they do. But with a service name in which people are told that their estimates are free, they are now assured that that particular garage offers free estimates. In other words, you're turning an assumed service into an assured service in the minds of people. And in this day and age where people no longer have the time to shop around, when they'll need the services of a mechanic your name will pop into their minds instantaneously. This technique is indeed remarkably effective.
As shown in the previous example, making the ordinary extraordinary is like turning the assumed into the assured. In fact, there is an immense power behind guarantees, and I love marketing on this remarkable concept. Some people think that guarantees are outdated, overused, and ineffective. Others think that they are not necessary. I know for a fact that that's not true.
People not only love guarantees, but as I said earlier, in today's hypercompetitive marketplace you need to stand out like a sore thumb. And a good way to do this is by offering a guarantee in one form or another so that, when placed side-by-side with a competitor, you will be the one who's chosen. Guarantees sometimes frighten businesspeople because it involves taking a great risk on the part of the entrepreneur. The possible loss of revenue is indeed a frightening idea for many people. But if you have a good product, have had good experience with it, and believe in it wholeheartedly, guarantees can become powerful weapons in building your business.
In fact, guarantees help to reduce returns. Why? They are often perceived as an expression of confidence in the product or service. With scams and snake oils now rampant in the marketplace, people have a tendency to forgive far more easily businesses that have shown to believe in their products. Therefore, guarantees not only increase sales but also communicate confidence, credibility, and of course superiority -- as in superior customer service.
However, if you still feel that you cannot offer guarantees or if your type of work stops you from doing so (as, for instance, in the case of cosmetic surgeons who are legally prohibited from guaranteeing their work), there are three key areas here you may want to consider. First, does your product or service provide a result that is quantifiable and measurable? Second, can your product or service be easily replaced or exchanged? And third, do you offer additional products or services outside your core portfolio that you can provide in order to satisfy your client?
If you're not prepared to give a full-money back guarantee, you might want to consider adding or subtracting something instead. Here are some examples. You're a sales training consultant offering seminars on sales productivity. You might want to offer a guarantee that promises an increase in your client's sales results by, say, 25% following your seminar. If your client's sales force doesn't meet this goal within a specific period of time, you could offer an additional seminar (or one-on-one consulting, perhaps telephone consulting) free of charge.
You may be a marketing consultant compensated on a percentage of the client's sales. As a name for your guarantee, you may want to call it the "Risk Reverser" guarantee. Additionally, you might give a bonus product or service free of charge as a way to thank your client for their business. In this case, don't just offer it as a standard part of your package. Market it in the form of a guarantee. If, for instance, you are a project management consultant in the computer field, you could add a bonus-training seminar to be conducted after your consulting contract is completed in order to guarantee that people implement and maintain your work effectively. You can call it the "After- Project Assurance" guarantee or the "Perfect Project Pledge."
In essence, the idea is to guarantee in the minds of prospects that which is a generally assumed part of your business. If the prospect perceives that doing business with you has some added value, even if that which you offer is identical to your competition or included in a total package, you will be able to destroy your competition easily! Very often, however, the problem not only lies with what prospects perceive but also with what businesspeople perceive. They too wrongfully assume that parts of their products or services are not important, that marketing them is unnecessary, or as one doctor-client of mine once said, that "it all comes with the territory." I'm sure you've heard the old joke about what happens when you assume...
You get the picture.
By the way, that client of mine removes stitches from and follows up with his patients after surgery and doesn't bill them for these seemingly "ordinary" services. In fact, these additional small steps are common practice throughout the entire medical community. I asked him to put a name on it. He now calls it his postoperative "Patient Progress Program." Remember, if you turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, you will turn ordinary marketing into extraordinary results.
-- The Unique --
Above all, you may still be offering some very special or unique service that your competition doesn't offer at all. That's great! However, the same rule applies here. Don't just leave it to a vague title or description. Put a name on it and christen your unique service, even if it's not entirely new. For instance, if you're a management consultant offering seminars on how to get the most out of a particular software program you've customized and the software programmer or company endorses your efforts, call it the "Software Savvy in a Cinch Seminar."
In fact, while having a unique product or service beats the previous two categories in creating top-of-mind awareness, it doesn't have to be an entirely new thing. It can be copied and customized in such a way that it appears unique or new. According to Brian Tracy in his program "The Psychology of Selling," many people have made fortunes by simply improving a current product or service by merely 10% yet packaged it in an entirely different way. Remember the "pet rock"?
This goes back to the issue of the power of perception. I once watched an Oprah Winfrey Show in which Oprah did an interesting piece on marketing. She conducted an apple juice taste test in malls across the United States. While I believe the program was related to how people could be mislead through marketing, she was focusing particularly on how companies can easily use false or misleading advertising. The test revealed some interesting facts nonetheless.
She had two bottles of apple juice. One was a plain, white plastic container with a label donning a picture of an apple. Very plain. Nothing fancy. The second bottle, however, was an intricately shaped glass bottle carrying a red label with the picture of a woman preparing apple juice in her kitchen. When people were asked which apple juice tasted better, the majority said that the juice from the glass bottle with the red label tasted better. The surprise came when she announced to her audience that the juices from both bottles were exactly the same!
Not bad, isn't it? But it didn't stop there. When she asked her participants why they chose the juice from the red-labelled bottle, their answers were astonishing. They said, "It tastes really good," "it's much better than the other one," "it is sweeter tasting," or "it has more flavour." When asked why, one said: "The picture of the lady preparing the juice in her kitchen indicates to me that more care and attention was given into making it, so it has to be better."
It all boils down to perceived truth, which is indeed more powerful than truth itself. So, when it comes to your unique product or service, pay close attention to how you package it or, in other words, to the name and description you put on it. This is how brand names have become generic in the minds of people. However, it is difficult for me to give you specific examples here since the uniqueness (and the category) of your product or service will determine your entire approach.
The key is to market your "original" product or service in such a way so that, if it is ever copied, your product or service's name remains firmly fixed in the marketplace and that your competitor's attempt to copy you will only but remind your prospects of you. If you can, add a guarantee or a tagline to your product or service, such as "Flat-Rate Fashion Facials. Flat Out Fantastic!" Ultimately, make your product or service outstanding by making it stand out!
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---------------------------------------------------------------- COMMANDMENT #4 - THOU SHALL FIND MORE WITH LESS ---------------------------------------------------------------- The most common mistake newcomers to any field of business make is to think that by expanding their portfolio they will secure more business. Conversely, they think that | |||
