Author Archive for Nick Rice

Strategy Sanity Check

Published on August 28, 2009 in business, marketing and strategy. 0 Comments

Sun Tzu famously said, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

We often get caught up in the day-to-day noise of program activation and overlook the strategy behind each tactic. When you’re chasing one fire drill after another, it’s easy to overlook the strategy.

When developing marketing campaigns, we often jump right into the tactical details and skip the following three foundational questions faced by prospects:

1. Why do anything?

2. Why you?

3. Why now?

Sir Isaac Newton taught us that a body in motion stays in motion until affected by an external force. By answering the above questions we can get a prospect to stop what they’re doing, hear your message and take action. In short, ensure that your marketing messages quickly and clearly address these three simple, yet powerful, questions before you dig into details like booth space requirements, creative details and vanity URL’s.

Why do anything?
Prospects have their own glide path. They’re busy living life. With 30,000+ marketing messages thrust at us each day, we completely ignore most advertising. By answering “Why do anything,” you have a better chance of breaking through the clutter. You can get their attention by speaking to the ultimate beneficial outcome they will receive by using your services or buying your product.

Why you?
Your target audience has a lot of options on the horizon. Don’t assume that your prospects understand your value proposition. Don’t assume they know anything about your offerings. You have to convince them why you are the first choice; the preferred choice. We live in a world of abundance with too many options to pick from. Help your audience understand why they should pick you.

Why now?
Moments of opportunity are fleeting and we need our prospects to take immediate action or they’ll move on to the next shiny object in the room. The questions above address the benefits of changing course and why your company is the right choice. Interested prospects now need to be told what to do next. Your call-to-action and incentive answer “Why now.” Your campaign materials should clearly show the prospect what to do next—and what they will get in return. Providing an incentive is a powerful way to get a prospect to take the next logical step in your marketing & sales process.

Sanity Check your next campaign by filtering it through these three questions. If the answers are clear and convincing, your campaign has a solid chance at generating leads. A little bit of thought and planning can generate massive improvements in marketing ROI.

When Great Isn’t Enough

Published on July 2, 2009 in business, entrepreneur, management, marketing and strategy. 0 Comments Tags: age of conversation 2.

Most entrepreneurs and owners of professional service firms risk so much for their business; yet never realize how much they risk by not mastering marketing. They spend years learning about and perfecting their chosen field (engineering, consulting, legal, creative services, medical, architecture, financial services, etc…); and more often than not they are accidentally successful in their business ventures.

If you ask these owners how they get new clients on a consistent basis, they typically shrug their shoulders and say, “We’re a word of mouth business” or “I’ve built this firm entirely on referrals.” But then re-ask the question with a focus on getting new clients on a consistent basis and that’s when they realize that word of mouth and referrals are strategies based on hope.

Now, let me be clear, both referrals and word of mouth are critical to your success, but you cannot control new business generation from either. It’s going to happen (or not) based on the quality of your work and the service you provide. If you run a successful business based solely on referrals, chances are you have been accidentally successful. And I say accidentally because you don’t know what to do to generate new clients other than working hard and doing a good job. It’s not a repeatable system.

Marketing doesn’t have to mystery. In fact, marketing is not rocket science; it’s just that most business owners have never been trained to be effective marketers. The top three proven marketing strategies for growing a professional firm are:

Speaking
Writing
Networking

And here’s the best part; the future of the web is built to allow anyone to take advantage of these marketing strategies. Web technology like webinars and online video sites allow you to easily share your knowledge and expertise via speaking. Today, the barriers to publishing are virtually non-existent with blog platforms like Wordpress, Moveable Type and Typepad—not to mention online article distribution services like ezinearticles.com and isnare.com or self publishers like lulu.com if you want to pen a book. And it’s easy to expand your sphere of influence through social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s not enough to be great at what you do. To take your firm to the next level you must be recognized as an expert in your field. And to be recognized as an expert, you cannot be an accidental marketer.

NOTE: originally published as a chapter in Age of Conversation 2 – Why Don’t They Get It?

Growth strategies for a tough economy

Published on January 27, 2009 in marketing and strategy. 0 Comments

Tough economies force businesses to reevaluate how they are spending their marketing dollars and efforts. When you can’t afford to waste time and money on random marketing tactics and inconsistent results, what do you do?

Recent research from Bain & Co. shows that a 5 percent increase in customer retention can increase profits by as 85-125 percent. That’s a pretty good return on investment (ROI) and should be your biggest area of focus. What are you doing to ensure that clients and customers keep coming back? It’s no longer a matter of simply doing a good job and working hard for the client. As consumers, we have too many options and very little time to make decisions. Therefore, we base decisions on trust – and trust is based on consistently positive experiences over time.

To a large degree, companies that sell products have it easier than businesses that sell services. Every time you walk past that little trinket you picked up at Artique or put on that little black dress you bought at Bella Rose, you are reminded of the store. When you’re on the golf course and crush a drive straight down the fairway with your new TaylorMade Burner driver, you know you made the right choice. A product can elicit wonderfully positive feelings that come when you use it.

Service firms are challenged to make the invisible tangible and valuable. For instance, what are you really buying from a financial planner? How do you know if the ad agency produced the absolute “best” advertisement? Would you have gotten a bigger settlement with another attorney? How much better is one consultant over the next? And is she really worth the fee?

The typical client can only evaluate whether the service was performed or not. It’s very difficult to judge the quality of a professional service; and who knows if another provider would have delivered the service any better? It’s hard to trust in things that you cannot see.

Ultimately, it’s the relationship that counts. I challenge you to think about how you will build deeper, stronger connections with your existing customers and clients. Most retail businesses have some form of loyalty program; unfortunately they rarely take into account the individual customer. Sure, Kroger gives me a discount when I use their ubiquitous Kroger Card, but saving a few bucks on groceries isn’t enough to build a relationship with me. Why aren’t they proactively recommending products that I might enjoy based on my buying habits? Why aren’t they letting me know when my daughter’s favorite snack is on sale?

One of the shining stars in customer loyalty is Amazon.com. They build customer relationships better than almost anyone does. And it works; they are the #1 American retailer on the web. They attract twice as many visitors as Walmart.com. On most Amazon product pages, there are 15 different elements that help to guide your buying decisions.

Here are just a few of the features through which Amazon.com acquires and leverages customer behavior:

Five star ranking
Customer reviews
Add to your wishlist
People who viewed this ended up buying…
Customers who purchased this item also bought…
Customer discussion forums

Amazon truly understands how to keep you on their site and how to keep you coming back for more. It costs you 5-7 times more to find a new customer than to retain an existing customer. This means that every dollar spent on marketing to your current client base will return 500 percent more profit than marketing to strangers.

Your customer list (and the knowledge contained within) is pure gold. One of the things that separate a loyalty-focused company from the pack is their ability to know and leverage customer information. I recently met with Executive Jet Management (EJM), a private jet charter company based in Cincinnati. For their VIP clients, EJM customizes each charter flight to the client’s preferences. They know if you prefer Diet Coke to Pepsi. They know if you like cashews over pretzels. If you’re an executive and your time is money, they know you’ll need Internet access while in air. While most private charters are experiencing slowing demand and higher operating expenses, EJM is doing pretty well.

We all love to feel appreciated, yet few companies do a good job of it. Trust and loyalty come from consistently positive experiences over time. It’s easy to fall into a rut when you see the same people come into your business every month. We’ve all been on the receiving end of poor customer service, long waits and unfulfilled promises from companies. We rarely complain, but we have lowered our expectations. Don’t be happy with “satisfied” customers. These are the ones that will happily go somewhere else when a better competitor comes along.

The best way to grow your business in a tough economy is by focusing on customer retention strategies. Start by taking better care of the people you’re already doing business with. Start by turning them into raving fans and they’ll take care of you.

Get More Clients In 90 Days

Published on January 14, 2009 in management, marketing and strategy. 0 Comments Tags: marketing bootcamp.

I wanted to make sure that you didn’t miss my Marketing Bootcamp announcement late last week. Today is the last day to get my 5 Day Early Bird price. The fee will go up at MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.

The Marketing Bootcamp is an 90 day (six session) client attraction program for independent professionals and business owners who want to radically improve their ability to attract new business—without wasting a lot of time, energy or money in the process.

Think about the following:

What’s the average yearly and lifetime value of ONE new client?
How much does it currently cost you to find and service each client?
How long does it take you to “close” a new client?
Why are some in your industry consistently more successful than you—when you know you are just as good, if not better?
Are you overly reliant on referrals for business?

If you’re ready to attract more clients and be more successful, yet don’t know where to start, the Marketing Bootcamp is purposefully built to set you on the path to success. I will help you implement the “greatest hits” marketing techniques that my clients have used to build their businesses.

So if you want more business, what will you do to make it happen?

P.S. I will not let price be an issue or excuse for you not enrolling in this workshop. UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, I’m offering the Marketing Bootcamp at a price my mentors have said was crazy! But I’m doing it to help as many people as possible kick 2009 off with a bang. Check out the special price and enrollment options at www.nick-rice.com/bootcamp. Act now before the fee goes up!

P.P.S. Don’t forget that the Marketing Bootcamp is covered by my 100% Money Back Guarantee. If you don’t get at least one new client as a result of this program, I’ll give you your money back. With no risk, what do you have to lose?

If this program isn’t for you, please forward this email to your friends and colleagues that need to win more business in 2009. It’s a tough economy out there, and they’ll thank you for it.

Do this and your business will thrive…

Published on January 8, 2009 in Client Magnet Archives, marketing and strategy. 0 Comments Tags: clients, marketing bootcamp, profits, sales, seminar, workshop.

Einstein said that the definition of insanity was doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. So here’s my question for you…

What are you going to do differently in 2009?

I know that you are tired of guessing at how marketing works. I know it can be frustrating. I know that money is tight. I know that 98% of you need more business this year than you had in 2008–and I know you need it NOW.

And that’s exactly why I developed the Marketing Bootcamp.

The Marketing Bootcamp is an 90 day client attraction program for independent professionals and business owners that want to radically improve their ability to attract new business—without wasting a lot of time, energy or money in the process.

Take a minute to think about the following:

What’s the average yearly and lifetime value of ONE new client?
How much does it currently cost you to find and service each client?
How long does it take you to “close” a new client?
Why are some in your industry consistently more successful than you—when you know you are just as good, if not better?
Are you overly reliant on referrals for business?
How much time, energy and money have you invested in your own success?

Here are the direct benefits you’ll see as a result of participating in Marketing Bootcamp:

No More Guessing. This program will walk you though the proven steps you need to do to get more clients in your business.
Learn From The Guru. This Bootcamp is based on my 14+ years of experience advising companies like Adobe, The Salvation Army, Lexmark, Macromedia—not to mention all of the small businesses that I’ve helped. This is about the activities that I have used to build my business—and I had to learn them the hard way through trial and error.
Radical Improvement In 90 Days. There are no random tactics here. And this isn’t a soft & fuzzy coaching program. This is direct instruction on what works and how to do it.
“Feet To The Fire” Accountability. It can be lonely at the top of your organization or alone as an Independent Professional. I will personally hold your feet to the fire so that you will own the results for taking your business to new heights.

AND HERE’S THE BEST PART: The Marketing Bootcamp is backed by my 100% Money Back Guarantee. If you do not get at least one new client as a result of this program within 90 days of completion, I’ll give ALL of your money back—no questions asked. I simply ask that you participate fully and prove that you’ve implemented the steps.

Clients are out there. And they need your services. The Marketing Bootcamp is affordable, packed with valuable insider tips & tricks and will to show you the step-by-step quickest path to a full book of clients.

So, back to my question; what are you going to do to make 2009 your best year yet?

P.S. I will not let price be an issue or excuse for you not enrolling in this workshop. For the next FIVE BUSINESS DAYS, I’m offering the Marketing Bootcamp at a price my mentors have said was crazy! But I’m doing it to help as many people as possible kick 2009 off with a bang. Check out the special price and enrollment options at www.nick-rice.com/bootcamp. Act now because I’m raising the fee at midnight on January 14, 2009!

When I grow up, I want to be Tom Fishburne

Published on January 7, 2009 in advertising, design and strategy. 1 Comment Tags: brand camp, tom fishburne.

Once again, Tom pegs what I’m thinking and where I’m at.

Blending into the herd has never really been my style. And this is my year to spread the message far and wide.

Here’s his way to kick off the New Year…

Thanks Tom.

The Diet/Marketing Paradox

Published on January 6, 2009 in Client Magnet Archives and marketing. 0 Comments

We’ve all heard–and probably offered up our own–resolutions for the New Year.

Hearing a few friends talk about the desire to drop 15-20 lbs. got me thinking about how and why people struggle with weight loss and the similar struggles related to marketing a business.

At first blush, both dieting and marketing seem pretty simple to accomplish. With dieting you burn more calories than you consume while actively trying to build more muscle than fat. And to be successful with marketing is about communicating your value to prospective clients and helping them see why you are the best choice.

Ah, but it isn’t that simple is it? No, there’s an element to human nature that seemingly prevents us from doing what is obvious, but not easy. It’s clear to most people that losing a bit of weight would be beneficial; and it’s clear to business owners that they need to market their services. But why do most people fall short of their goal?

I see three core components to the dieting/marketing paradox:

Courage to take action now. It’s very easy to read and study the various ways to grow a business. It’s also easy to slip into a dreamy world of marketing theory where you can discuss everything until the cows come home. Unfortunately, business doesn’t work on theory alone. You must put the books and magazines down and start interacting with prospective clients. You MUST take action. The time for excuses and perfection are long gone. It’s much better to do something now than to wait for some non-existent perfect moment to arrive to officially launch everything. Take action NOW. Tweak and take action again.
Marketing is a game best played with a scalpel, not a shotgun. To take control of your business growth, you must have focus and a long term outlook. Random tactics executed at random times is a surefire way to waste a lot of precious time, energy and money. Most business owners and independent professionals will admit that marketing is a critical component of their business; yet most are also blindly cruising along and bouncing along without a plan of action. Pick two or three marketing strategies that you will enjoy implementing; build a solid plan of action around each plan; and work your plans. Do so with focus, clarity, consistency and purpose. Good marketing is about establishing and constantly reinforcing ONE key message. Any more than that and you’ll just confuse the audience.
Stop chasing fads. There are hundreds of thousands of advertising, PR, events, web, and sponsorship (and more) opportunities waiting to happily take your budget dollars. Some work; most leave a lot to be desired. If you are not an early adopter of marketing technology, stick with what works for you. Marketing via the internet is here to stay, but if you cannot get excited about incorporating a tool like Twitter into your daily regimen, don’t worry about it–as long as you’re working a couple of other strategies successfully. You owe it to yourself to keep up with trends; but you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck by becoming better and more efficient at proven strategies like networking and publishing.

When you compare the “feast and famine” approach to business and the “yo-yo” approach to dieting, you’ll see that there are a lot similarities. Ultimately, you’ll probably continue on that vicious cycle until you have a burning desire for improvement.

You can lose 20lbs AND you can grow your business; but you must zero in on why it’s important to you, what success looks like to you, and build/work the plan to get you there.

Here’s to a great New Year!

The Progress Formula

Published on December 2, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives. 3 Comments Tags: feelings, napoleon hill, planning, to do list, vision.

Success guru Napoleon Hill may be best known for the following statement, “What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”

If we can imagine it, feel it and see it, then the actions required to make it real become apparent. It still takes some work, but what you think about, you create. Therefore, the question isn’t: “What are you going to do next year?” The question is: “What do you really want in your business next year?”

When the New Year rolls around we typically think of resolutions. But the way we structure resolutions make them almost useless. They are either about things we want to stop doing (smoking, eating) or start doing (exercising, marketing). How many resolutions have you kept over the years?

When the focus is on not doing or doing, there isn’t enough emotional buy-in to propel us forward. There’s no vision in a To-Do list.

If you say, “This year I want to do more marketing; I’d like to get my web site up, start an eZine, network more, and do some teleclasses,” you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Either it’s not going to happen, or it’s going to be quite a struggle. Deep down inside you know it’s true, but heck it’s the New Year. Might as well be positive, right?

For 2009, I encourage you to create a vision to create progress.

Instead of focusing on what you’ll do, focus on how you want to “feel”. How do you want to feel about marketing this coming year? And wouldn’t it be smart to focus on some positive, uplifting feelings (instead of those feelings of dread that come up when you list the things to do)?

You might state it like this: “Next year I want to be excited when I do my marketing. I want to have fun and feel that I’m making a difference. I want my marketing activities to be inspiring, challenging and energizing!”

How does that feel? Say it out loud or write it down. Seriously, write yours down now…

Next, you want to focus on what you want to “have” in your marketing. What do you want things to actually look like? For example:

“I want to have an attractive, persuasive web site that excites people and gets them to take action when they visit it.”
“I want to have an email newsletter with subscribers from all over the country. I want it to showcase my expertise, build credibility and get people to call me about working together.”
“I want to develop a seminar that people walk away from energized with practical tips to improve their situation and afterwards they engage me to help them solve their challenges.”

Your turn; write a list of the main things you’d like to have in your marketing next year. And make sure every single thing on that list is what you really want, not something you think you have to do.

Do you see how different (and powerful) this is from creating a “Strategic To-Do list”? It makes all the difference in the world. Start with feelings, then focus on what you want to have. And only then do you give attention to the things you need to do to get there.

By doing this, you’ve set the groundwork for actually creating what you want in your business next year.

So many people struggle with marketing and attracting new clients because they look at marketing as a “necessary evil” that has to be done (but never enjoyed). When you create a compelling marketing vision, marketing becomes exciting, fun and effective.

This very simple approach to creating what you want might be called “living from your vision.” A whole lot more inspiring than “living from your to-do list,” don’t you think?

The Truth Is Constant

Published on November 11, 2008 in advertising, branding, management and marketing. 0 Comments

While I thoroughly love Tom Fishburne’s cartoon essays on the state of big brand marketing, I think he’s slightly off base on this one. Just to be clear, he’s not wrong; I think he’s missing an element of truth that has always been there, but hard for traditional consumer goods companies to see.

The internet has literally changed almost every aspect of our lives in one form or another. Consumer Advocates have ALWAYS been the true driving force behind product sales. Ask anyone with a limited marketing vocabulary and they’ll tell you that word of mouth is the best form of advertising–and they’re right.

Technology drives marketing strategy to a large degree. From the days of the “traveling doctor” in the Wild West, to Coney Island hawkers, to Saturday morning network television cartoons; advertisers used technology to their advantage because they could afford to do so. The modern internet, call it web 2.0 or social media or whatever, has allowed ALL of us to express our advocacy to the masses. Tools like Blogging, Twitter, Email, YouTube, etc… have given us the power to say what we like and dislike–especially what we dislike.

Big companies are worried about using social media as a marketing vehicle because it allows the unwashed masses to say something negative about their products or brand or name. Well guess what? People have always controlled the message; not corporations. Neighbors have always talked. Hairdressers have always gossiped. Today we live in a world where experiences are no longer contained to friends and family. Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, said it best, “the ants have megaphones.”

If you’re a marketing manager for a big company, you better get used to it because more and more power will continue to go to the customer. Pull your head out of the sand and participate in the conversation. Honesty, authenticity and real dialogue never go out of style.