Isn’t marketing just loaded with paradox?  …or maybe it’s what consumers really want.

You see, I’ve learned the hard way that people definitely want solutions to their problems, but they only want them in a way that fits their circumstances –or else you can just forget it.

Let me explain…

My mentor said a crazy remark. I thought it was kinda funny at the time, but as I’ve pondered it over the years, it became so clear to me that it was the crux of how to grab my customer’s attention and get them the results they wanted.  He said:

“For people wanting to lose weight, they don’t want you to tell them what to eat …they want you to tell them what to eat while they’re at Krispy Kreme.  They want to know what to eat while they’re in the drive-thru at McDonald’s.”

Here’s a real-life situation that happened to me. I’ll call my client “Joe.”

Note: As I tell this story, it will be plainly obvious to you, but “Joe” never got the picture, even to this day …and I admit it was my fault.

“Joe” had an amazing web site that got enviable traffic, but couldn’t monetize the site despite tens of thousands of visitors a day.  “Joe” had spent over $130,000 but was only earning about $1,000 a month from the site by the time I was approached for help.

The moment I saw the site I instantly saw all sorts of major problems and I knew the perfect solutions.  It was a textbook case.

Like it was yesterday, I remember “Joe” saying to me several times: “Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.  Whatever you say, Mike.”

Hindsight: Whenever you hear those words, expect the real actions to be the opposite.

Anyway, long story short, “Joe” had a particular writing style and was adamant in writing a certain way.  To make money using the written word (as is the case online), your writing style must be emotional and compelling.  “Joe’s” style was anything but.  It was boring and proper.  It was educational and indifferent, not engaging. (…kind of like this article, except I’m not selling you anything.)

In addition to my own written work, I also “borrowed” headlines and copy from top masters who earn over 8-figures online to place on the site.  “Joe” rejected every one of them, critiquing everything I provided as if I was the protégé.

In the end, “Joe” felt bitter and I was frustrated because I failed to get the results I knew I was clearly capable of delivering.

To parallel my mentor’s remark, here’s why I failed:

1. At the time, I didn’t understand that “Joe” was in the proverbial ‘Krispy Kreme’ line, didn’t want (or understand enough) to step out of it, and I was not able to provide any solutions that were ‘on the menu.’
2. I didn’t help “Joe” come to the conclusion (I didn’t even try to convince him, either) that the only route to success is to first embrace another style that does not include ‘Krispy Kreme’ in the routine.

You see, “Joe” had an invisible, subconscious, emotional attachment to a certain writing style (ie: to ‘Krispy Kreme’) …and it’s almost always the thing we’re most emotionally attached to that gets us into trouble because it’s our blind spot (we ALL do it –none of us are immune to this devil).

All I heard was: “I’ll do whatever you say” …thinking this would be a slam dunk.

The solution wasn’t what I believed.

Sure, implementing my concepts would have absolutely made the difference.  But the REAL, ultimate solution was to frame the situation so “Joe” could recognize the real source of the problem.

Here’s another example that will hit home with MANY …the dating world.

As a divorced man, I’ve studied a lot of the “Double Your Dating” by David DeAngelo.  Initially, David gets men hooked by showing them tricks on how to get a phone number, a first date and even a first kiss.

But every woman knows tricks are short-lived and it’s really all about a man’s style, his body language and his ‘inner personality’ that generates attraction …things most men have zero clue about.

But, if David came right out and said, “Hey, I know why you don’t have a girlfriend!  You gotta change your body language and develop your inner game” …they would be like, “What are you talking about?  I’m just fine who I am. I just need a clever pick-up line to get their phone number and get them to get to know me, that’s all.”  They don’t see the bigger picture and David wouldn’t be able to help them.

By starting from the frame of, “Okay, you’re at Krispy Kreme.  Well, ‘that’ donut over there has less calories than this one.  It doesn’t taste as good, but it will start you in the right direction.”

And, then, they’ll come back and say, “Hey, I lost 2 pounds.  Hoo-rah!  What else can I do?” …and he’ll say, “Well, so let’s cut out Krispy Kreme once a week and see what happens.”

He just can’t come out and say, “Well, lay off the Krispy Kreme, fatso!” …just like he can’t say to the masses of ignorant men, “Well, stop being a needy, wussy, momma’s-boy and start being a man and display some attractive qualities.”  They have to come to the realization themselves, on their own (your job is to help them find the door).

So, how does this relate to helping you market your business and make more money?

As a business and marketing expert, I also have to continually market my product …me!

If I just come out and say, “Hey, Mr. Prospect, I know exactly how to get you more sales,” sadly, nobody is going to listen –even if I’m dead-on right.

Sure, it’s what they want to hear, but they won’t like the solution.

Why?

Because we get too emotionally attach to our own ideas and ways of doing things.

It’s frustrating when you genuinely want to help and you absolutely know the solution, but you’ve got to hold back.  Less is more here.  We have to slowly ween people off their emotional attachments.

I’ve had web site owners show me awful (but very ‘pretty’) sites that they slaved over for months and were clearly enamored with but got zero results and tell me they just need me to “optimize” it for SEO and the keywords X, Y, and Z so they can show up on Google (know anyone who’s done this?).  They won’t listen when they hear their whole approach is all wrong.

Sadly, they end up finding someone less-experienced who will appease them and then go looking for someone else while griping about how they got ripped off by this web guy.

You’ve got to get your prospect’s attention by offering them something they want that falls within their paradigm (with integrity, of course).

Then, help THEM see for themselves a way to get better and better results.

I’ll leave you with this quote on Amazon.com about Seth Godin’s book: “All Marketers Are Liars”…

“Marketers succeed when they tell us a story that fits our worldview, a story that we intuitively embrace and then share with our friends.”

Do you have a story to share about marketing your business?

Think I’m off base?

Are all marketers liars?  Please share below!

Mike Lewitz is an innovative marketer who truly 'gets' the mental and emotional buying process of consumers. He's shown thousands of global business owners proven, cutting-edge marketing methods that bring abundant results.  Mike is a Google Certified Advertising Professional, holds two Bachelor's degrees (business & marketing) and M.B.A. in Management.

You may freely distribute, copy & share this article with acknowledgment.

Most people know that an important step to begin a new business is to write out a business plan.

The biggest problem with a business plan is that it is typically a compilation of subjective material designed to support an entirely emotionally-based decision-making process (no matter how logical and objective we think it is).

Believe me …I’ve seen LOTS of plans and even written a few for myself.

And, let’s face it: We come up with a ‘brilliant’ idea, then look for all sorts of data sources that support and prove our assumptions about the market demand for our idea, the brilliant people on our team, 5-year forecast and revenue model, and so forth.

Steve Blank wrote and excellent post that describes the difference between a business plan and a business model.

As Steve succinctly illustrates, while a business PLAN is static and “forces you to think through all the parts of your business” and make it profitable, a business MODEL is dynamic and “describes how your company creates, delivers and captures value.”

The business model shows how all the different parts of your business actually sync together as the gears are turning.

The MODEL creation step also incorporates developing a real-world testing model, such as landing pages, keywords and customer acquisition costs to gather hard-core, preliminary data.

Both are necessary, yet few start-ups ever develop initial real-world scenarios to see if their idea or projection costs are actually viable.

Are your “worst case” scenarios REALLY worst case?

As a marketer who has consulted with countless businesses about their online strategy, I can’t begin to tell you how many genuinely sharp-minded business people simply budget for “online” with zero modeling or testing …blindly assuming that the idea they implement will simply work the first time through.

Then, they’re surprised when their sites are sandboxed by Google (or worse) for 6 to 12 months -a potentially fatal oversight to their business.

I fully agree with Steve that, while it’s necessary to completely think things through in your head and compile them into a formal profitability plan for your new business, you must also go out and gather external, measurable, tangible real-world data from a scaled-down model before you begin day one.

Without crucial, objective testing, you are heavily pitted in favor of complete failure.

“Unless you have tested the assumptions in your business model first, outside the building, your business plan is just creative writing.” ~ Steve Blank

Please share your comments.

Mike Lewitz is an innovative marketer who truly 'gets' the mental and emotional buying process of consumers. He's shown thousands of global business owners proven, cutting-edge marketing methods that bring abundant results.  Mike is a Google Certified Advertising Professional, holds two Bachelor's degrees (business & marketing) and M.B.A. in Management.

You may freely distribute, copy & share this article with acknowledgment.

Branding is a word that gets tossed around in business like yesterday’s junk mail.  Truly, only a select few have a genuinely firm grasp of what branding is and how to accomplish it.  Endless resources on branding await discovery on the Internet from people who have never accomplished such a feat, and most likely will never.

In short, branding is expensive …too expensive, and slow.  We’re talking 8-figures on the low end, annually.  Branding in and of itself is a waste of resources that can easily be leveraged elsewhere.

The good news is: branding is completely unnecessary.

Why?  Because of a model in marketing called positioning (a term coined by Al Ries and Jack Trout about 40 years ago).  Most people believe the terms ‘branding’ and ‘positioning’ are synonymous.  They are not.

Positioning is to branding what an engine is to an automobile.  Yes, it’s a component of the whole, but what good would a car with custom leather, power everything and a kickin’ stereo be …without a motor?  On the flip side of the analogy, even an ugly junker car with a decent motor will reach its destination.

Marinate long and hard on that concept for your business.  It’s vitally important you understand and apply it.

Those who promote branding talk about creating a unique identity …something that’s memorable and evokes emotion, something people will remember.  They refer to companies like Apple and Nike as illustrative examples.  Aside from failing to mention these companies blow hundreds of millions of dollars a year just to achieve such memorable stature (Apple spends over $40K per DAY on Internet marketing alone, according to SpyFu.com), approaching business from this idea is truly backwards.

Consider:  How can a consumer have a memorable experience, positive or negative, if they’ve never done business with you?

Al Ries and Jack Trout explain that we now live in what’s know as an ‘over communicated society.’  Consumers are bombarded with thousands of advertising messages every day.  Most people cannot remember what they had for breakfast, let alone a single advertisement claiming XYZ Company is the best.  Each individual must now see your message dozens of times in multiple media to remember it.  Yes, ad agencies do love branding.

Here’s the difference between branding and positioning.  Branding is ubiquitous.  Everyone knows who you are.  I know who Ford is, but I’ve never owned a Ford.

Positioning is value.  You are the best choice among your competition.  You stand out.

Positioning is the reason why so many people and businesses you have never heard of generate multiple millions of dollars in revenue on the Internet in very short periods of time, sometimes almost overnight, literally.  The brand is irrelevant.

The purpose of marketing is to get someone to take an action.  Simply creating a memorable image, logo or jingle is not enough.  This memorable ‘thing’ must be associated with a desire to take an action, such as make a purchase.  That desire will only come from your own marketing.

When your potential customer is ready to make a purchase, it will boil down to your positioning tactics that demonstrate why you are the better choice among all the other memorable choices.

Discover what your customers want, then demonstrate your product or service is the better choice for them among the competition.  If you’re not 100% sure what they want or what to do to get them to perceive YOU as the better choice …start asking LOTS of questions (they’ll tell you).

Focusing on positioning your business will ultimately develop it into a highly memorable, leading brand all on its own.  Focusing on branding your business for mere name recognition will seldom lead to positioning.  No doubt, fewer businesses would fail if they applied the principles of positioning, instead of wasting precious dollars on branding methods that simply get their name out there.

Mike Lewitz is an innovative marketer who truly 'gets' the mental and emotional buying process of consumers. He's shown thousands of global business owners proven, cutting-edge marketing methods that bring abundant results.  Mike is a Google Certified Advertising Professional, holds two Bachelor's degrees (business & marketing) and M.B.A. in Management.

You may freely distribute, copy & share this article with acknowledgment.