Smart Marketing … for Small Business The Attitude for Success

© 2012 Leslie R. WolffrnSmart Marketing … for Small Businessrn The Attitude for Successrn By Leslie R. WolffrnA Marketing Curmudgeon "Attitude defines altitude" It’s a tough competitive world (marketplace) out there and how one approaches it will ultimately define the degree of success they will have in business and life (and you can't easily separate them). Immediate success rarely comes the first time out, in fact failure, several failures, are typical of some of the most successful marketer in history. I'd like to tell you that there is a set formula for a successful marketing career, but there isn't. Many factors play a role in the success of a business, but none more that one's attitude and that of everyone within their organization.rnIs there a secret to smart marketing?rnNo, there are many tools and techniques and ways to use them effectively, but basically marketing is based on common sense. Unfortunately that is too often uncommon. "Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are,rnand doing things as hey ought be done." - Harriet Beecher Stowern- rnPeople are always looking for the "magic formula" or "quick fix" to making money. There are none, at least none that are legal. The fundamentals of marketing that are key to every business of every type and of every size. There are many actions you can take to maximize your marketing efforts but these I believe they are keys to success, in any size business.rnI. Be Open to Changern“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the pastrnor present are certain to miss the future." - John F. Kennedy Change is a constant; resistance to it is too often inevitable. A key element of any success formula is based on your flexibility to change. To understand that the marketplace is an ever changing current of technology, procedures, communications, training, education, information, tools and technique. Those who choose to ignore it do so at severe risk of losing everything they have worked hard to achieve. How do you stay on top of everything you need to know?rnBy keeping an open mind to improvement in all areas of your businessrn Encourage employees, vendors and customers to bring constructive suggestions to your attention.  Listen attentively to those recommendations.  Evaluate them and test or decide to move on the best ones.  Thank and recognize those that provide you with suggestions that prove beneficial. II. Be Open to Criticismrn"Censure is often useful, praise often deceitful." - Winston Churchill I'm reminded of a company I read about in INC magazine about 10 years ago where the President of a firm who…  Encourages employees to criticize him and provide ways for them to do so.  Requests his top staff to have open discussions about his behavior and "blind spots."  Takes to lunch employees who sign up to castigate him.rnHe said it clears up many points and by listening and not being defensive the morale and work environment (and performance) has been greatly enhanced as had profits. III. Look for the “missed” opportunitiesrn“In order to get people to sit-up and take notice of you, you have to sit-up andrntake notice of what makes people sit-up and take notice." - Frank Roemerrn- rnKey to outthinking, outflanking and outsmarting your competition without outspending them you need to …  Examine the "Sameness Factor" that exists in your industry. Look closely at how your competition operates. Identify the similarities and in doing so you'll find the overlook opportunities that can set you aside from your competitors, even if they are larger. Here are 8 words you need to memorize when thinking about enhancing the way you do business because they are the essence of conceptual development.  Adaptrn Magnify (enlarge)  Minify (shrink)  Modifyrn Rearrangern Reversern Combine IV. Be more creativern" Follow the crowd and you will never be followed by the crowd." AnonymousrnIt is hard to stand out by doing things like everyone else in your business category. Look around you and learn from those who have stood out due to their creativity, especially in the areas of advertising, promotion, public relations, lead generation, trade shows, customer service, etc. Below is an excellent example of a no cost way to make a favorable impression from a company from which I recently ordered a CD. It made me laugh and feel good about a company I had never dealt with before. "Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves withrnsterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make surernit was in the best possible condition before mailing. Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell overrnthe crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that moneyrncan buy. We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole partyrnmarched down the street to the post office where the entire town ofrnPortland waved "Bon Voyage!" to your package, on its way to you, inrnour private CD Baby jet on this day, Thursday, May 24th. I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did.rnYour picture is on our wall as "Customer of the Year." We're allrnexhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Sigh...rnDerek Sivers, president, CD Babyrnthe little store with the best new independent music By the way the CD was a great one named "Pure Sax" by George Nardello (A high school classmate)