Just recently, I finished reading ‘How to Wow’ by John Dwyer. This is the man whose CV includes working with KFC, Red Rooster, Pizza Hut, Caltex, 7Eleven, Disney and Warner Brothers. He is, however, better known as the man responsible for turning around the fortunes of the Greater Building Society with their ‘Get a home loan and get a free holiday’ offer that launched in 2001. As a result of this, the Greater enjoyed fantastic sales growth and did so without advertising their interest rate for 9 years running. They were the only financial institution in the world to do so. Dwyers’ association with the Greater culminated in him enticing one Jerry Seinfeld to produce a series of hugely successful advertisements for them 5 years ago.
With a history of success like that, I was keen to read about his experiences in marketing and gain some fresh ideas. By the end of reading, the top of the book was littered with yellow and purple post-its sticking out the top on account of all the pages with ideas that especially stood out to me. No matter the size of your business or how long you’ve been immersed in your particular field of industry, I highly recommend you take the time to read ‘How to Wow’. Upon my completion of the book I felt inspired, enthusiastic and my head was full of new ideas I had barely given much thought to before I began reading.
Although there is plenty to read and digest throughout the whole book, I thought I would share with you (in abbreviated form) John’s 10 Steps for attracting more clients to your business- and doing it more easily!
1. Determine your target market very clearly
In essence, determine who your most profitable customers are and what they look like- then find more people who look just like them. The old 80/20 rule applies here (80% of your business comes from 20% of your client base).
2. Be the expert!
By positioning yourself as the expert in your area of expertise (this takes time) you will stand out from your competitors and people will be drawn to you as the go-to person in your industry. Ensure you willingly and freely provide solutions to any problems that people bring to you, because that’s what experts do. You can do this by sending free media releases, hosting complimentary webinars, by posting blogs regularly. The most important thing is being seen- and being seen frequently!
3. Create a ‘Wow’ factor
Learn to deliver the unexpected. Get used to giving your customers a pleasant surprise. If you do what your competitors do, you get what your competitors get. To quote John: “Don’t follow the crowd and don’t wear beige”. If you decide not to do this, your communications with potential customers will probably be invisible for the most part, just like the majority of the other 3,000 advertising messages we are subjected to everyday.
4. Use the problem/ solution formula
Highlight the common problems that occur to your target market- then provide your particular solution to their problem. We all want our problems to disappear as quickly as possible, so if someone provides us with a magic formula, there’s every chance they’ll get our attention!
5. Get rid of your boring website- ASAP!
Think of your website Home Page as if it is the front cover of your company sales brochure. Your Home Page needs a compelling headline that addresses the problem/ solution for your target market, needs persuasive copy, an explanatory welcome video, a data capture facility and video testimonials. Your website needs to be purposefully themed and toned to suit your target audience. Your website Home Page is the “make or break” in the online world. If your Home Page has an average short “visitation time” and you’re not making sales, a high bounce rate indicates its’ time to fix your boring website. Do it as soon as you can!
6. Do events!
With an event, you are able to attract lots of clients in the one pitch. Whenever you are in front of a prospective client, you do your best to highlight the benefits of your products or services. You acknowledge the problems and challenges that your prospect might have and then try to convince them that our product or service is the solution they’re looking for.
When you hold a seminar and have a group of business owners in the one room, you’re making one presentation to multiple prospects at the same time. You can have the same opportunity for your own business, in front of dozens of ‘warm’ prospects for a number of hours.
7. Use video testimonials!
You would be surprised how many businesses, small to large, have no video content whatsoever on their sites. Everybody loves the collect glowing testimonials for their products or services, but collecting video testimonials from your satisfied customers is a step above simply collecting written testimonials. It ads an extra level of authenticity and “social proof” to your marketing message- provided the testimonials are legitimate, of course!
8. Get free publicity
Small businesses, for the most part, don’t take advantage of the opportunities to get free publicity in the offline or online media. Could you provide the local newspaper with an E-Book to give away and reap great benefits courtesy of the local newspaper promoting your website for the free download? Is there something genuinely interesting or newsworthy about your business or staff that could be of interest to the local media?
When sending out media releases, ensure that the story is newsworthy. If it looks like a poorly disguised advertorial, it will be regarded as an advertisement and treated as such. Turn your message into a story that is newsworthy, one that readers will find interesting and the journalist will find engaging. Think about your business, its products or services and how you might be able to excite the media online or offline about what you do.
9. Deliver extraordinary customer service
If you think about it, is simply providing good customer service really enough? We generally expect “good” customer service as it is. Experiencing “bad” service doesn’t happen too often outside of government departments after all!
You have to go beyond “good service” if you’re going to make a lasting impression on your clients. I can’t remember the last time I heard somebody bother to mention how they received “satisfactory” service. Can you? When you provide extraordinary customer service , the domino principle kicks in and before too long, you have committed customers out and about singing your praises! You also have a client who could be very valuable from a “lifetime value” point of view…
10. Build repetitive trade.
You want more than one customer and one sale. In order for any business to be successful, you want multiples of each! How to do this is to develop a marketing system within your business that provides an incentive for clients to return over and over again, becoming a loyal advocate. Why not consider creating a simple Loyalty Scheme for your business?
People love to feel special and this is an easy way of providing good clients with such a feeling- and at the same time encouraging them to become a loyal long-term client. The important thing to remember for your business is that when you have a competitive company with similar prices and service to yours, a “continuity program” can provide the distinguishable difference for your business, helping you attract the greater number of clients. By rewarding long-standing customers for their loyalty, you also reduce the threat of new competitors stealing your client base. Why would your happy clients ever want to go anywhere else?
All these ten points are expanded on in the book and there’s plenty more ideas, tips and suggestions throughout that present golden opportunities for your business- but you’ll have to read all about them in ‘How to Wow’ for yourself!
With a history of success like that, I was keen to read about his experiences in marketing and gain some fresh ideas. By the end of reading, the top of the book was littered with yellow and purple post-its sticking out the top on account of all the pages with ideas that especially stood out to me. No matter the size of your business or how long you’ve been immersed in your particular field of industry, I highly recommend you take the time to read ‘How to Wow’. Upon my completion of the book I felt inspired, enthusiastic and my head was full of new ideas I had barely given much thought to before I began reading.
Although there is plenty to read and digest throughout the whole book, I thought I would share with you (in abbreviated form) John’s 10 Steps for attracting more clients to your business- and doing it more easily!
1. Determine your target market very clearly
In essence, determine who your most profitable customers are and what they look like- then find more people who look just like them. The old 80/20 rule applies here (80% of your business comes from 20% of your client base).
2. Be the expert!
By positioning yourself as the expert in your area of expertise (this takes time) you will stand out from your competitors and people will be drawn to you as the go-to person in your industry. Ensure you willingly and freely provide solutions to any problems that people bring to you, because that’s what experts do. You can do this by sending free media releases, hosting complimentary webinars, by posting blogs regularly. The most important thing is being seen- and being seen frequently!
3. Create a ‘Wow’ factor
Learn to deliver the unexpected. Get used to giving your customers a pleasant surprise. If you do what your competitors do, you get what your competitors get. To quote John: “Don’t follow the crowd and don’t wear beige”. If you decide not to do this, your communications with potential customers will probably be invisible for the most part, just like the majority of the other 3,000 advertising messages we are subjected to everyday.
4. Use the problem/ solution formula
Highlight the common problems that occur to your target market- then provide your particular solution to their problem. We all want our problems to disappear as quickly as possible, so if someone provides us with a magic formula, there’s every chance they’ll get our attention!
5. Get rid of your boring website- ASAP!
Think of your website Home Page as if it is the front cover of your company sales brochure. Your Home Page needs a compelling headline that addresses the problem/ solution for your target market, needs persuasive copy, an explanatory welcome video, a data capture facility and video testimonials. Your website needs to be purposefully themed and toned to suit your target audience. Your website Home Page is the “make or break” in the online world. If your Home Page has an average short “visitation time” and you’re not making sales, a high bounce rate indicates its’ time to fix your boring website. Do it as soon as you can!
6. Do events!
With an event, you are able to attract lots of clients in the one pitch. Whenever you are in front of a prospective client, you do your best to highlight the benefits of your products or services. You acknowledge the problems and challenges that your prospect might have and then try to convince them that our product or service is the solution they’re looking for.
When you hold a seminar and have a group of business owners in the one room, you’re making one presentation to multiple prospects at the same time. You can have the same opportunity for your own business, in front of dozens of ‘warm’ prospects for a number of hours.
7. Use video testimonials!
You would be surprised how many businesses, small to large, have no video content whatsoever on their sites. Everybody loves the collect glowing testimonials for their products or services, but collecting video testimonials from your satisfied customers is a step above simply collecting written testimonials. It ads an extra level of authenticity and “social proof” to your marketing message- provided the testimonials are legitimate, of course!
8. Get free publicity
Small businesses, for the most part, don’t take advantage of the opportunities to get free publicity in the offline or online media. Could you provide the local newspaper with an E-Book to give away and reap great benefits courtesy of the local newspaper promoting your website for the free download? Is there something genuinely interesting or newsworthy about your business or staff that could be of interest to the local media?
When sending out media releases, ensure that the story is newsworthy. If it looks like a poorly disguised advertorial, it will be regarded as an advertisement and treated as such. Turn your message into a story that is newsworthy, one that readers will find interesting and the journalist will find engaging. Think about your business, its products or services and how you might be able to excite the media online or offline about what you do.
9. Deliver extraordinary customer service
If you think about it, is simply providing good customer service really enough? We generally expect “good” customer service as it is. Experiencing “bad” service doesn’t happen too often outside of government departments after all!
You have to go beyond “good service” if you’re going to make a lasting impression on your clients. I can’t remember the last time I heard somebody bother to mention how they received “satisfactory” service. Can you? When you provide extraordinary customer service , the domino principle kicks in and before too long, you have committed customers out and about singing your praises! You also have a client who could be very valuable from a “lifetime value” point of view…
10. Build repetitive trade.
You want more than one customer and one sale. In order for any business to be successful, you want multiples of each! How to do this is to develop a marketing system within your business that provides an incentive for clients to return over and over again, becoming a loyal advocate. Why not consider creating a simple Loyalty Scheme for your business?
People love to feel special and this is an easy way of providing good clients with such a feeling- and at the same time encouraging them to become a loyal long-term client. The important thing to remember for your business is that when you have a competitive company with similar prices and service to yours, a “continuity program” can provide the distinguishable difference for your business, helping you attract the greater number of clients. By rewarding long-standing customers for their loyalty, you also reduce the threat of new competitors stealing your client base. Why would your happy clients ever want to go anywhere else?
All these ten points are expanded on in the book and there’s plenty more ideas, tips and suggestions throughout that present golden opportunities for your business- but you’ll have to read all about them in ‘How to Wow’ for yourself!