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There Are Only A Few Certainties In Life - Two Spring To Mind - We Are Born And We Die, And The Third - We'll All Be A Customer Of Someone's Business.

Here's A Snapshot Of What We Buy In Our Lifetime:
  • Shoes - 100 pairs
  • Cars - 5+
  • Houses - 2 to20
  • Holidays - 50
  • Furniture - 1000's of items
  • Dining out - 1000's
  • Clothes - 1000's
  • Trips to the hairdresser - 100's

    The list is endless not to mention all the raw ingredients and by-products used to produce consumable items. So why do some businesses thrive while others struggle, and many more fail? There are literally countless reasons, which the greatest business `gurus' have for decades been devising, advising and hypothesizing a million solutions to business ailments - any of which we can fall victim to when dabbling in the world of business. But at the end of the day the ultimate reason for a business to fail is that there's not enough money to put in your pocket.

    If you're in business, you need to be excited and enthusiastic about your product/service, if you don't then get out of business. You then must know your market - the people who will buy from you, and know how you can reach them. These facts are the essential fundamentals for any hope of starting or lasting in business. Once these are taken care of there is no reason why you won't succeed. You see... every single business started from someone's idea. Anything is possible, you just need to know how to effectively reach the people who will buy from you. Remember, every one of us is a consumer.

    Put simply - If you don't have customers buying your product or service you have NO business... so your business needs to `get known'. It's not feasible to just expect people to knock at your door asking you to `please satisfy my needs' - it doesn't work that way. Your business has to be seen as the answer to their problems and you have to be out their telling them, helping them make the decision to buy from you. The secrets to a successful business need not be complicated if you adopt the approach of `spreading the word' and of course, come up with the goods as promised.

    You will find that all the traditional marketing and promotional techniques are a slow hard slog, and that is because everyone is doing the same thing. You need to `stand out in the crowd'. If you can achieve this, consumers will see you as the only business to buy from, not your competitors, even though there will generally always be someone else who is cheaper, faster, better, etc. etc. Your competitiveness is in being better at communicating how your business you can satisfy your customers' needs and that's the answer to finding marketing edge.

    So…what's next? - Get Known by... `Getting Published' - I'm not suggesting that you go into the publishing business, I'm talking about adopting another marketing strategy seldom used by businesses, and that is by communicating the benefits of your products/service in a way that your customers can get emotionally attached to. When we read a magazine, newspaper or article, we are particularly drawn to `stories' - the reason is because we can emotionally relate to them - they take on a real life meaning as people are involved and situations are occurring, not just inanimate objects. If the story can be paralleled to what people are experiencing in life, or helps to offer solutions in their life, an affiliation is developed. A product/service can be brought to `life' and be seen, as the solution to their needs.

    The traditional ads features a businesses: logo; clinical description of the product/service; and/or a picture; all of which are thrown together - everybody does it but that doesn't mean to say it's right. Acknowledge this trend and try to be different - tell a story about your product or service that people can relate to. Your stories should contain examples of people or situations that have benefited from what you have to offer. Bring your business `to life' and involve the reader - people will only see your business as the answer to satisfying their `needs, dreams & wants'.

    Having agreed to give your business a personality, now what?... In all your media advertising aim to `tell a story'. Your editorial can even serve as reinforcing traditional ads. When approaching a newspaper or magazine, which many businesses use as a medium for marketing, ask them for editorial space along with your paid ad. If your story is interesting they `WILL' print it. Publications must contain `stories' of some description or they won't sell - people want to read stories first, then the ads.

    Another great way to `spread the message' of your business, is to make a list of all the publications which are read by your target audience - these could be newsletters from Associations/Clubs, magazines in the newsagencies, and local or national newspapers. With this list, make yourself known to the editors of these publications and start sending them interesting stories. Offer them your articles `FREE' to print as long as they agree to have a caption at the bottom, which mentions your business name, and contact details. You will be surprised at how successful this strategy can be. Get ready for some knock-backs, but in the world of business we get them all the time - it's a numbers game. An interesting, well-written story which is targeted at the readers of that publication (your target audience), is a welcome relief for any journalist. `Getting published' won't happen overnight, but it will happen. From my experience, for every 10 faxes or email invasions I send out each month to publishers, I get 2 printed. Firstly, you need to develop a rapport or get to know the editors and be persistent without being intrusive. They're people too doing a job, and if you can make it easy for them to do their business they will welcome your articles. Let's face it…. the worst that can happen is they don't print your story.

    One of the greatest benefits in `getting published' is that you are able to reach 1000's of people who are your potential customers - in the 90's terms `leveraging' your marketing efforts (minimum effort for maximum return).

    To get a list of all the magazines that are read by your target audience, I offer you the following tips -
  • Equip yourself with pen and paper, but preferably a small tape recorder
  • Go to a large newsagency and find the section which has the magazines that your potential customers read (eg. for my business consultancy service I research all business magazines like this one)
  • In each of the magazines go to the inside cover which lists the editors and their contact details especially email address/fax - write them down or record them. Believe me, investing in a tape recorder is much easier to use than fumbling with a pen and paper and juggling 10 or so magazines. Remember to speak slowly because you will have to transcribe later.

    You Now Have Your List And Yes….It's That Simple.

    One last tip - make contact with the editors and ask them for any suggestions on how you can better write your articles (related to your business) that they would be interested in printing. Each magazine has its own style which you will soon get the feel for, so with each `story' you write you may need to alter it accordingly - it may only be by changing the headline, the introduction or the conclusion. On a final note, few people are aware of the power of `story writing' for promoting their business, even though we all claim to `enjoy a good story'... so get creative, start writing and `get known'.

    P.S The journey to success in your business may be a long road or a short one - dare to be different and study the short cuts - you're bound to come out in front. So let everyone know you're coming. You See... You Know I'm Here - You Have Just Read My `Story'.


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