Power to the Small Business | Branding / Marketing

With only one chance to make a first impression, you're tempted to cram all of your product or services benefits into that small pitch. But instead of bragging, why not reel in your prospects with something unexpected, interesting, and creative? A marketing message is that main line of communication with new customers, so capturing their attention through a message that reflects your personality, gives the customer value, and is unexpected may give customers that so called "love at first sight". The Dean of Marketing Know-How shares his three "Hitches" to get people to pay attention to your marketing message. Give people your personality + Add your brand’s promise + be clever and say something that is unexpected Chapter Five of The Marketing Plan Podcast will guide you through three principles to create the perfect brand message. Also in this chapter two guests on how to be creative with your advertising. Luke Sullivan, author of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This, and Tom Altstiel, Author of Advertising Creative.

One goal of your marketing plan is to get people to have conversations about you. How do you earn word-of-mouth in the Age of Social Sharing and Connectivity? Special guest Andrea Goulet Ford joins us to earn customer conversations through brand engagement. In Chapter Four of the Marketing Plan Podcast, it’s time for us to discuss earning the trust and recommendations of your customers. We discuss how to engage your customers, to start the flow of word-of-mouth conversation for your brand.

In Chapter 3 of The Marketing Plan Podcast we will consider the main character of the story the customer.  Looking at most business models, we can see that the customer is a target. Something to be captured. Customers are often considered transactions to be acquired, trophies to be won. This is the essence of transaction hunting, but I think that’s running the wrong way. The goal is an emotional bond between your brand and the customer, this transcends product and service. When you establish this bond, sales happen. And while the key to sustainability and growth is sales, creating a relationship does not come from sales tactics. I believe they arrive through four, simple relationship principles. Principle 1: Understanding Principle 2: Empathize with Action Principle 3: Give Unconditionally Principle 4: Safety

Chapter 2: Four Questions to Create Your Brand Story My new show, The Marketing Plan Podcast focuses on transforming your business into the brand you've always dreamed it could be. In Chapter 2 of The Marketing Plan Podcast, I will guide you through four, Level 1 Branding Questions. These will drill down and reveal the  essence of your brand to help you build your brand story. Below you will find a worksheet, listen to Chapter 2 for complete guidance through the questions, and examples of answers.

It's Time for a Transformation Plan This is my new show, The Marketing Plan Podcast. It focuses on transforming your business into the brand you've always dreamed it could be. Power to the Small Business is no longer being produced. This feed will continue until June 5, 2015, and then it will shut down. If you like the new show, you can subscribe in iTunes or your feed reader at http://MarketingPlanPodcast.com/subscribe But now, I'd like to treat you to the premiere episode of my brand new show: It's Time for a Transformation Plan. ...because it is time. If you find yourself in a continuous search for the answers to take your business to the so-called "next level" then I invite you to give Chapter 1 a try. My special guest is Tim Berry, founder of Palo Alto Software and LivePlan.com. He's a pioneer in business planning software and online businss planning. Complete show notes are available at http://MarketingPlanPodcast.com/Chapter1 Included in the show notes is one free month of business planning at LivePlan.com Thanks for listening!Jay EhretDean of Marketing Know-HowThe Marketing Spot

This podcast will reformatted and premier as a brand new show next week, April 24, 2014. But don't unsubscribe! I will post the new show in this feed for the first month so you can get a taste and see if you like it. It will be a focused, marketing podcast with lots of actionable ideas, AND a plan for you to become the business you've always dreamed you could be. Big promise, right? Tune in next episode to see if I can deliver. Meantime.... I invite you to enjoy the most popular episode in the history of the previous 99 episodes: Megan Duckett of Sew What: An Entrepreneur's Take on Marketing Megan has a great philosophy on branding. Take a listen and see why listeners made this the most popular episode of all time. For a list of the top 5 episodes of all time check out this link: http://themarketingspot.com/?p=6354 Thanks for listening!- Jay Ehret

If you meet ALL customer expectations, congratulations the customer considers that to be an average customer experience and they are only 42% likely to be a repeat customer and only 32% likely to recommend you to their friends and family. In this episode, Jay takes a deep dive into the Customer Experience Wow! formula to show you how to create customer loyalty and spark word-of-mouth conversations about your business. He will introduce two tools to you to help you take your business' customer experience from ordinary to Wow! Download-able worksheets are available in the show notes at website: TheMarketingSpot.com/blog In this episode: Customer loyalty and word-of-mouth statistics What is customer loyalty? The Customer Experience Formula How to take your experience to the Wow! level The two biggest factors that determine experience Wow! Tools to improve your customer experience.

Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer joins Jay to discuss the news that Facebook is ratcheting back the exposure of content posts from brand pages. Now, as few as 1-2% of your fans will actually see your posts organically. Jason Falls and Jay Ehret discuss:- Is this the end of small businesses using Facebook?- How will brands, both big and small react to this move?- It will not be important to be great at content marketing- Businesses who are proficient in PPC (pay per click) advertsing will have the advantages.- Was there every really such a thing as marketing 2.0?- Advice on how use Facebook now that pay-for-play is required. Get complete show notes and links at the blog website: http://themarketingspot.com/2014/03/small-business-ditch-facebook.html

This episode is about better brand communication. Do you feel like customers have a difficult time "getting it" about your business? Then you may have an explanation problem. Lee Lefever is the voice behind all the Common Craft videos that changed how we explain things on the internet. His videos have had more than 50 million views. Lee is also the author of The Art of Explanation and he joins host Jay Ehret to discuss how to craft a better explanation for your business. Topics Discussed: What a good explanation is. What you should be communicating about your business. The curse of knowledge and how it hinders your brand. The formula for a good explanation. Is creativity necessary? How Common Craft got started. Are those Lee's hands in the videos? Get complete show notes on The Marketing Spot blog at: http://themarketingspot.com/2014/03/how-to-explain-your-business.html **Please review and rate this podcast in iTunes**https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/power-to-small-business-branding/id272405020?mt=2

Jay Ehret, Dean of Marketing Know-How at The Marketing Spot.com answers the most common marketing questions and gives advice and tips to small businesses on how to handle these marketing issues. Questions answered are:   - How do I get my name out there with impact? - What local marketing tactics am I neglecting? - How do I know my tagline is good? Jay also previews how to get a discount on his new virtual workshop: Create a Custom Marketing Plan to Transform Your Business Use discount code 97 to get the entire workshop for only $97 atTheMarketingspot.com/plan

In this episode, how to used LinkedIn to market your business, network and directly go after business. Josh Turner, founder of LinkedSelling.com and LinkedUniversity.com joins host Jay Ehret to discuss beginning, intermediate, and advanced LinkedIn marketing tactics. Also in this episode:- How effective is social media marketing?- New online workshop announced: How to Create a Custom Marketing Plan to Transform Your Business.Get more details on the workshop at TheMarketingSpot.com/plan See the show notes and links at themarketingspot.com/linkedin-marketing-solutions.html

Responsive web design is the hot new trend in websites. In this episode of Power to the Small Business, web developer Cory Webb joins us to discuss the pros and cons of using responsive design for your site, or whether you should create a mobile site, or maybe nothing at all. And if you decide to go that route, how to hire a responsive web developer. We also discuss content management systems and compare the three major CMS's: WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. Your content is being accessed by a wide array of devices from desktop PCs, to laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Responsive web design is being heralded as the solution that takes all your content from one website and makes it accessible to every device. But you may choose to create a mobile website instead, or maybe just stay where you are. We will help you decide in this episode. Get complete show notes and a responsive web design cheat sheet at PowerToTheSmallBusiness.com TOPICS DISCUSSED: Responsive web design pros & cons The difference between mobile websites and responsive design Tips to hiring a responsive design web developer Content management systems WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal

According to Denise Lee Yohn, there are seven principles, seven things, that a selective group of businesses do to make themselves a great brand. She lays out those seven principles in her new book: What Great Brands Do. Denise joins Jay Ehret to talk about her new book and those seven principles. They also discuss if it's possible for an existing business to shift gears and become a great brand. TOPICS DISCUSSED: Brand influence in business strategy What is a brand? The role of marketing and advertising in shaping brand perception How to operationalize a brand. For complete show notes and links see the podcast website: What Great Brands Do

Flinging ads at a problem does not a marketer make, not in today's business world. That's the opinion of Gareth Kay as he joins host Jay Ehret for a discussion on radical marketing. What is radical marketing? What should be the role of a marketer, CMO, and marketing agencies going forward? TOPICS DISCUSSED: A Radical Approach to Marketing The Role of Marketers Today Hacking and Doing Things Differently The Unimportance of Brands The Ineffectiveness of Advertising See complete show notes and links on the website:www.PowerToTheSmallBusiness.com

Brian Clark of GMD Studios mixes philosophy with experience design to create and amplify customer stories. The result is a powerful form of word of mouth that gives potential customers a vicarious taste of your business. Clark joins host Jay Ehret to discuss the application of phenomenology is experience design to enhance brand meaning. TOPICS DISCUSSED: Phenomenology Experience Design Storytelling Making Meaning Get complete shownotes on the podcast website:Create Customer Stories by Creating Phenomenal Experiences

Search Engine Marketing is out topic on this episode of Power to the Small Business. John Gagnon of Bing Ads discusses both Bing Ads and dispenses search engine marketing advice, then Joe Kerschbaum of 3Q Digital compares Bing Ads to Google Adwords with some surprising results. TOPICS DISCUSSED: Bing Ads Google AdWords How to Approach Search Engine Marketing Tips for success on Bing Ads Landing Pages Get complete show notes and links from the podcast site: Two Sides of Search Engine Marketing

Word of mouth marketing is about passion, but not just the customer's. First, businesses must love their customers. Say what? John Moore and Geno Church from Brains on Fire, co-authors of The Passion Conversation, join host Jay Ehret to discuss the two-way conversation between businesses and customers and how the results can inspire passionate word of mouth. TOPICS DISCUSSED Word of Mouth Marketing The relationships between customers and businesses Being a talkable brand Inspiring customers to start conversations Can any business do this? For complete show notes and links, see the podcast site: Inspiring Word of Mouth Through Passionate Conversations

Roger Dooley, author of Brainfluence, joins Jay Ehret to discuss neuromarketing and marketing tactics that just don't make sense. Get ready for some of your most cherished beliefs to be challenged. Trust your gut and market by shooting from the hip? Hold on there, cowboy! Topics Discussed Neuromarketing Consumer behavior Decoy products Paradox of choice Elevator pricing and anchor pricing Emotional vs. rational marketing For complete show notes and links, see: Counterintuitive Marketing: When not to trust your gut.

Would you like to know the three most important steps to improving your business? Sorry, but you won't find them in this episode. What you will do, however, is start to examine your beliefs, and the desires and beliefs of your customers. Perhaps you will begin to adopt a new way of thinking that will lead you to develop your own A-B-C's of how to be a better business. In this episode of Power to the Small Business, Tom Asacker, author of The Business of Belief, joins host Jay Ehret to discuss what drives your customers' actions. But also, and maybe more importantly, your own actions and how they are guided by your belief in your business. Guest: Tom Asacker, author of The Business of BeliefHost: Jay Ehret, Dean of Marketing Know-How at TheMarketingSpot.com Topics Discussed What drives customer actions? How do you know what your customer really wants? Should you try to be a leader in your industry? Why aren't you the business you think you could be? For complete links, see the podcast website: Belief in Your Business

Your customer is receiving the best-of-the-world customer experiences and they are judging you against those experiences. Your competition is not just your competition. It's time to exceptionalize your customer's experience. Lior Arussy, President of the Strativity Group joins host Jay Ehret to discuss how you can turn your customer experience into a loyalty-building asset. Guest: Lior Arussy, President of Strativity Group Host: Jay Ehret of TheMarketingSpot.com Topics Discussed: Customer Loyalty Customer Expectations vs. Your Beliefs Exceptionalizing Customer Experiences Customers Paying You Back Your Real Competition