Get the Right Match

Over the past few weeks we’ve been talking about niche marketing, and how a narrow focused, laser targeting marketing effort gives you a huge advantage over your competition. To see where we started, visit the first post here at my blog. So see the last post, visit this one.

Today we’ll wrap up our discussion on the topic with the last of the marketing advantages niche marketing gives you, plus a great example, one of the best I’ve seen. Again, Thanks to Dan Kennedy for allowing me to share some of his thoughts on this topic. To get two free issues of Dan’s newsletter, plus a ton of other freebies, visit this link.

The movement of a product or service from generic to niche link to one of the most fundamental but also one of the most powerful strategies we talk about often: Message to market match. We’ve talked about this in the past, so I’ll only briefly cover it here. For more, visit this post. The basis is Dan Kennedy’s famous triangle connecting message with market with media:
The broader, looser and sloppier the match of message to market, the less it resonates, the harder it is to command attention and create interest. The narrow, tighter, more precise and comprehensive the match, the easier it is to secure attention and interest.

Alright, so how about a real world example? Here’s a link to a PDF you’ll want to check out. (I apologize in advance for the quality. It’s a scan of a copy, but it’s really good) This is an ad from a National Rifle Association publication. In reality, it’s an ad for a relatively common, widely available type of nutritional supplement intended to improve eyesight. You can find this and other supplements just like it in many vitamin retail stores, online and in catalogs.

BUT, in this case, a unique ‘wrapper’ was put around the product to make it specifically for the hunters who use rifles and a scope. Doing so makes this ad and the use of the publication possible. Merely running a generic ad for a generic product that does exactly the same thing would be a failure. When you study the ad you should also note how few words are about the product vs. how many are about the customer.

A Distinct Marketing Advantage

Last week we started talking about ‘riches in niches - and subcultures.’ I told you that when you do target specific niches, you’ll have a distinct marketing advantage, specifically a distinct price advantage. To review, see the blog post. Today we’ll dive a little deeper into two other advantages you gain when you hit targeted niches.

Thanks to Dan Kennedy for allowing me to share some of his thoughts on this topic. To get two free issues of Dan’s newsletter, plus a ton of other freebies, visit this link.

First, you’ll get a distinct advantage in readership. For example, avid fly fisherman who subscribe to Fly Rod & Reel are infinitely more likely to consistently scour ever article and every ad for things that interest them than is the diverse population subscribing to a general interest magazine, like Newsweek. Avid fly fisherman will never NOT open and read a piece of direct mail clearly about fly fishing, but routinely discard all sorts of other mail unopened. To be honest, even “fly fishermen” is probably too broad of a topic. You’d be wise to narrow it down from there but where they fish (geography) fresh water vs. salt water, river vs. lake, etc.

Second, your costs will almost always go down. Niche and subculture advertising media often costs less than big, broad, mainstream media. It is easier and often much cheaper to buy traffic online and to succeed at search engine optimization for ‘odd’ and narrowly defined niches than for generic information.

Third, there is a big absence of competition. Because most marketers are too committed to “bigger is better, everybody needs to be my customer” thinking, you face a lot less competition when you laser target your marketing to a certain niche or subculture.

Lastly, and this is a big one in today’s economy, but when you target a specific niche, you get as close to recession immunity as you can. The last thing people cut back on is the thing that interests them the most. Later in the week I’ll show you some specific examples of what we’ve been talking about the past week. Stay tuned! Again, thanks to Dan Kennedy for his help with this post.

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Riches in Niches

We wrapped up last week with a few thoughts on branding, and specifically the way small business owners should think about branding (hint: it’s NOT like big, nameless, faceless corporations). To see where we ended last week, see the blog post. Today we’re going to start up a new topic, something that every business can use and implement immediately.

Today we’ll start a discussion on riches in niches and subcultures. This, on the surface, can seem rather elementary, but mastering this concept is certainly not, and once you do, you’ll have a big competitive advantage over all your competition.

“When everybody’s your customer, nobody’s your customer.”

America (and most other countries for that matter) are divided into niches and sub-cultures. Simplistically, niches are occupational and vocational. Subcultures are sorted by interest, belief, activity, etc. So, “insurance salespeople” are a niche; “deer hunters” are a subculture. There are life insurance sales people, property/casualty, auto/home, etc. There are deer hunters who only use bow and arrow, only hunt in the Midwest etc. Virtually any product or service can be customized, semi-customized or at least “have a wrapper put on it” to match it to a specific niche or subculture. You may think that’s not necessary because your product or service is useful or beneficial to everybody, including both insurance salespeople and deer hunters, but that misses the key marketing advantage born of human nature: people want, prefer, and place significantly higher value on what is (is perceived to be) specifically and exclusively for them vs. what is generically for everybody.

Here’s a biggie. The movement of a product or service from generic to niche permits price increase, which provides you better profit margins, which in turn affords you more money to reinvest into marketing and advertising and allows you to out-spend your competition in order to get a client. This is a very good position to be in!

That’s it for this post. As we move forward over the next few posts I’ll show you some real world examples from my clients, and other businesses, who are successfully selling to very targeted niches and subcultures. I’ll see you then!

Branding You

Last week we started a discussion on a topic I normally don’t talk too much about, branding. But there are ways to use branding effectively while still adhering to our direct response marketing rules. We’ve covered them in two separate blog posts. See the first one here and our most recent discussion here for your review. Today we’ll talk about the last two ways to use branding
the right way in your business.

Thanks to Dan Kennedy for allowing me to share his thoughts on branding with direct response marketing.

When you do develop brand identity, develop a ‘customer culture’ with it so your brand is theirs. Think Starbucks or Disney. The customers are part of something, not just people being sold to. But, whatever you do, DON’T blindly copy big companies advertising practices. Very, very carefully learn from the very few smart ones, like Disney. But remember they are playing in a different
league with different rules and different means of keeping score… as example, you may keep score by profit white they must keep score by stock price. And they have more resources than you do.

For most small businesses, personal branding is far superior to corporate/Business branding. People prefer to do business with other people rather than nameless, faceless institutions. Put yourself out there! If you’re looking to learn more on personal branding,I highly suggest you look into Kennedy’s How to Create Personality in Copy.

It’s an in-depth presentation, by Dan Kennedy, about creating rapid, responsive fans… i.e. customers for life… by carefully, painstakingly developing yourself as a heroic, fascinating and unique “character” with whom your customers have a continually evolving relationship.Get more information here, and in the search bar on the top of the page, search for “How to Create Personality in Copy.”

Not the Golden Arches

Last we started on a topic that I’m sure surprised a few of you. We talked about branding. No, not like golden arches, or swooshes, but in ways most small businesses can actually accomplish it. To review, see the blog below.

Before we get going, I want to restate a very important idea from the last post. You need a very carefully selected target niche or sub-culture that your message(s) resonate with. This is critical. A brand, or brand identity is a recognized symbol that represents and calls to mind WHAT you and your business are about, but it’s all moot if you don’t have a specific WHO in mind. For more on the WHO in your business, see this blog post from a few weeks ago.

Further, don’t confuse ‘brand identity’ with logo and slogans, color schemes, etc. These are simply devices used to convey or support you brand identity. Brand identity is first and foremost about your ideas. These ‘representative things’ are a distant second. For a book relevant to this topic, check out “Made to Stick” at Amazon.

Lastly, don’t mix-up your brand identity with your unique selling proposition (USP). A USP answers the question: Why should I, your client, choose to do business with you versus any and every other option available to me?

(Thanks to Dan Kennedy for providing that gem on a USP. If you’re not yet receiving Dan’s No BS Marketing Newsletter and you’re in any way responsible for your businesses marketing, you absolutely must. Fix that here) Next week I’ll show you the type of branding you really should be involved in as a small business owner. I think you’ll really like it. Until then, keep on marketing!

Branding?

Earlier in the week we wrapping up our series on the 7 most powerful words and phrases you can use in your marketing. See all 7 at the blog. Today, we’re moving on to a different subject, and I can hear some of you gasping right now…. BRANDING.

I know you loyal readers are probably saying, “Travis is anti-branding!” And to a certain extent, I am. But hear me out during this and future emails. I think you’ll be surprised and what I am talking about.

First off, I’m all for creating and working on a name-brand identity and recognition for yourself and your business. BUT, and it’s a big BUT, do it as a by-product and bonus of a solid, accountable, profitable, direct-response advertising and marketing. You’ll want to avoid buying it outright such as with big, dumb corporate image marketing.

Dan Kennedy refers to this as the “Direct Marketing diet,” in his book, No BS Direct Marketing for Non-Direct Marketing Businesses. If you like the kind of marketing I give in these tips, this is required reading. Get it here at Amazon.

Next, when you do create a brand for you and your business, do it where it counts, with a carefully selected target niche or sub-culture marketing. Small enough that you can have impact with whatever resources you have, defined narrowly enough that you can create a compelling message for it.

A giant market is only good for someone with a giant ad budget. As Dan says in his book mentioned above, “You don’t want to spend your time peeing in the ocean.” A great example of this is Michael Gerber’s E-Myth series. Sure, Gerber sacrifices corporate American, and likely will never get 5,000 copies snapped up by Intel, but he’s created a nice little niche with small business owners and those who want to start their own businesses. That’s it for this post. Have a great week!

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The bottom of the plastic bottle comes off for easy access. Simply remove the bottom, roll up your letter and insert it! Put the bottom back on, slap the address label on, add postage and drop it in the mail. It’s that simple. Or, we can do it all for you! Just give me a call about complete implementation for you. Your letter has to end up on the top of your customer’s
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3 More Power Words

Today we’ll wind down on conversation on the 7 most power words and phrases you can use in your marketing. To review the two most powerful, visit this blog post. For phrases three and four, visit this post. Today, we’ll wrap with the final 7 most powerful words and phrases you can use. Thanks again to my mentor, Dan Kennedy, for allowing me to use some of his thoughts in this post.

First up today, FINALLY…

This works great whenever you are selling against a group of prospects who have had previous disappointments, frustrations, skepticism or offering a new solution. This is a POWERFUL word. It telegraphs a complex message, as in, “Finally – A Weight Loss Plan That Actually Works… From Hollywood Stars and Women Right Here in Seattle As Well.”

Next, one of my favorites: “Photo Enclosed, Do Not Bend.”

This is a great way to get an envelope opened. It only requires a printed photo of you, your product, your customers, your town, etc. to validate the claim.

There are variations of this, much like our X-Ray letter, which we stamp in red on the envelope, “X-Ray Enclosed, Do Not Bend.” Inside, we include a ‘real’ x-ray of a happy, smiling, client. See more on the x-ray here.

One of the best ways I ever saw this used was the Reagan Ranch and the Young America’s Foundation a few years back. They had the words, “photos enclosed, do not bend,” on the outside of the envelope. Enclosed were pictures of teens and young adults volunteering their time at the Ranch. If you’re looking for a good lesson in direct mail, I highly suggest you get on the Reagan Ranch and Young America’s foundation list.

Last and it goes hand-in-hand with “Photo Enclosed, Do Not Bend,” is “Personal and Confidential.” It serves the same purpose as above. However, some care is required, and what’s immediately seen by the prospect must really be personal and confidential, or else you’ll lose out from the get go.