Customer Creation Concept #4 - The Trust/Risk Scale

There is a trust-risk scale in the mind of your prospect.  Trust must exist in greater quantity than risk if you are going to create a customer.

Trust is a belief your prospect or customer has about you or your company.  That belief has to be greater than the belief they have about losing in the relationship with you.

Trust cannot be built.  It can only be earned.  It is granted to you by your customers based on the value you offer.

Offer value, earn trust, offer more value, earn more trust.  Put prospects on a risk diet.  The scale will tip in favor of customer creation.

The Long or Short of It

Hang around marketing circles for very long and you’ll eventually run into the debate about long copy versus short copy in advertising.  Old school direct marketers will say that long copy works best every time. 

Every time?  Seems a little too definite in a multiple variable world if you ask me.

I believe it all boils down to communicating for results.  If your message is too short to complete the communication, the results will not be realized.  If your message is so long that it confuses the communication, the results will not be realized.

Enough said?  That is my point.

Customer Creation Concept #3 - Customers Want To Feel Good

Every one, at all times, wants to feel good.  They want to feel good NOW.  Not in a day, not in a week, not in a month.  The NOW is what matters.

Customer creation is a series of actions you take that make your customers feel good over and over again through many points of NOW in their lives.

Remember that and you will attract and create all the customers you dream of having.  Won’t that feel good?

Customer Creation Action

Think about what makes your customer feel good.  Whatever that is, build it into everything you do in your business.

You - A Poem by Edgar Guest

I love Edgar Guest poetry.  This poem recently reappeared to me after having read it many years ago.  It is one of his best.

Marketers take note.  Understand this and the rest is easy.

You
Edgar Guest

You are the fellow that has to decide
Whether you’ll do it or toss it aside.
You are the fellow who makes up your mind
Whether you’ll lead or will linger behind
Whether you’ll try for the goal that’s afar
Or just be contented to stay where you are.
Take it or leave it. Here’s something to do!
Just think it over --- It’s all up to you!

What do you wish? To be known as a shirk,
Known as a good man who’s willing to work,
Scorned for a loafer or praised by your chief,
Rich man or poor man or beggar or thief?
Eager or earnest or dull through the day,
Honest or crooked? It’s you who must say!
You must decide in the face of the test
Whether you’ll shirk it or give it your best.

Nobody here will compel you to rise;
No one will force you to open your eyes;
No one will answer for you yes or no,
Whether to stay there or whether to go.
Life is a game, but it’s you who must say,
Whether as cheat or as sportsman you’ll play.
Fate may betray you, but you settle first
Whether to live to your best or your worst.

So, whatever it is you are wanting to be,
Remember, to fashion the choice you are free.
Kindly or selfish, or gentle or strong,
Keeping the right way or taking the wrong,
Careless of honor or guarding your pride,
All these are questions which you must decide.
Yours the selection, whichever you do;
The thing men call character’s all up to you!

My Rose Colored Capitalist Glasses?

Bob Bly poses an interesting question on his blog. 

is the e-zine publisher obligated to disclose to the reader that he is an affiliate for the product and will receive a cut of the sale?

My answer is, no.

First and foremost, we live in a system of capitalism.  I expect people to get compensated for their work.  An e-zine publisher is no different.  If value is offered to the market, the e-zine publisher should be compensated.

With that being said, I assume that the e-zine publisher is making a responsible recommendation.  If that responsibility is taken lightly by the publisher, the power of future recommendations will diminish quickly.

Some may say that is a pollyannish view of the way the world really works. 

But, to paraphrase Emerson, “value added to the market will be value received by the e-zine publisher.”

It’s the Law of Compensation and it buys my rose colored glasses.

Customer Creation Concepts

Over the next few months I will be listing various concepts that have created a lot of customers for me over the years.  Some of you may call them clients in your business but these concepts apply just the same.

While each concept will be numbered, the number in no way represents the importance.  When appropriate the concept will give you examples of how to use them in your business to create customers NOW!

Check back often for updates.  You can also do a search for “Customer Creation” at the lower right to get them all on one page.

And, always remember, “The purpose of business is to create customers.” Thank you, Mr. Peter Drucker.

Alert Engine Marketing

The marketing hacks of the world better be on their toes.  The evolution of marketing is marching straight over the top of their “no value to the world”, “throw it against the wall and see if it sticks” attitudes.

The prospect is taking over the control of the way information is going to be delivered in the future.  If you can’t offer valuable information, you’re going to be out of the game real quick.

RSS innovator, Royal P. Farros, CEO of MessageCast, describes Alert Engine Marketing, defines RSS and tells how it will trigger the future of advertising—think no spam—in a thought-provoking, short article titled, “The RSS Tidal Wave in Advertising."

Click over and take a read.  I think you’ll see what I mean.

How To Get Your Messages Delivered!

If a marketer presents an offer in a forrest and there isn’t a prospect there to receive it, is there really an offer?

In NLP (Neuro Liguistic Programming) there is a presuppostion that states, “the meaning of communication is the response it elicits.” That is also a good presupposition for marketing.

If getting your message delivered is important to you, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a delivery channel you should get to know.  It will deliver your message directly to the desktop of your prospect without the constant hassle of mixing it with spam or being blocked by a spam filter.

Rok Hrastnik, one of the leading RSS experts on the web, has just written a special report titled, “The Business Case for RSS.”

This 28-page report includes topics such as:

• Getting your content delivered to your subscribers, prospects, customers and business partners ... and with absolutely no chance of it being stopped by any spam filters on its way.
• Discovering new business and marketing opportunities; from podcasting (audio) to constant content updates that your subscribers actually want to receive.
• Getting your newsletter or e-zine actually read, and not deleted or overseen.
• Improving your search engine rankings.
• Generating new traffic from dozens and dozens of new traffic sources.
• Getting your content published on other sites.
• And much much more ...

28 pages of straight-to-the-point information on exactly how RSS can help you improve your business results.

You won’t only find out about all the key aspects of how RSS can help you in business, but also get concrete advice, examples, tips and ideas on how you can get the most from RSS in the shortest possible time.

You can download the report for free by clicking here.

If you like it, pass it around to your colleagues.  They’ll thank you for it.

Tim Sanders is a Likeable Guy

Tim Sanders has just released his follow up to his excellent bestseller, Love is the Killer App.

The Likeability Factor offers four traits that can contribute to a person’s likeability. 

The great thing about the four traits; friendliness, relevance (do you connect on interests or needs?), empathy and “realness” (genuineness or authenticity), is that they all reside somewhere within us.  Even if they aren’t quite evident at all times I believe they are the building blocks of who we are and how we were made to relate to each other.  Each trait can be nurtured within all of us to raise what Tim calls the ‘L-Factor’.

If you read it with a marketing eye, I think they also apply to the likeability of your product or service. 

How is the tone of your marketing communications?  Is it friendly? Or is it technical and cold?

How does your product or service relate to the people you are attempting to sell to?  Does it meet their interests or needs?  Or, are you just shotgunning and hoping to hit a few here and there?

How does your product or service meet with who your prospects are at their core?  Are you tuned into them with a feeling of empathy for what they desire?

Click on over to Amazon and pick up a copy of this book.  You’ll really like it.

The Romance of Marketing

When you break down the marketing process you’ll find there is a real romance to it.

Think about it…

First you have to grab the attention of your prospect.  If you say something meaningful she will listen to what you have to say about yourself.

Next, if you have given her something to respond favorably to, she will begin to ask questions in order to understand your true intentions.  If you listen, she will tell you exactly what she is looking for in a relationship.  Prove that you have what she is looking for and you will be able to get closer and closer.  Over time, you will earn her trust.  When she starts trusting you she will listen to your ideas and you can move to a deeper commitment.

Eventually, when you have captured her heart and mind, you will have reached the ultimate marketing goal.  A meaningful, lasting relationship with your prospect.