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After speaking with hundreds of business owners and managers, it's time to share the very most important thing of all things that will determine your success.
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The Very Most Important Thing of All Things
…at least in Business
Presented by Scott Howard (a.k.a. ScLoHo)
www.ScottHoward.me
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The Very Most Important Thing of All Things
• Lot’s of things we do in business are GOOD:– Earning a living– Providing goods and services that others want &
need– Employing others so they can earn a living– You can come up with a few more GOOD’s
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• Lot’s of things we do in business are NECESSARY:– Comply with government rules & regs– Keep regular or predictable business hours– Pay our bills– You can come up with a few more NECESSARY’s in
your business
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Some consultants will try and sell you on the concept of:• Good• Better• Best
When referring to options about Important Things
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But of apart from all the GOOD…
And apart from all the NECESSARY …
What really is the Very Most Important Thing of All Things in Business???
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The Very Most Important Thing of All Things
It’s not:• Your Logo
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It’s not:• Your Logo• Your Location
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The Very Most Important Thing of All Things
It’s not:• Your Logo• Your Location• Your Name
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It’s not:• Your Logo• Your Location• Your Name• Your Age, Gender, Hair Color, blah, blah, blah
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While there are so many THINGS that determine the level of success you and your business achieve, there is one THING that is often:
• Overlooked• Avoided• Underplanned• Ignored
That is critical to the life of your business, no matter what type or kind of business you have…
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Okay, I’ve teased you long enough.
It’s time to tell you what this
Very Most Important Thing of All ThingsVery Most Important Thing of All Things
is
And I will…
On the next slide
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Every business, in order to stay in business needs:
Paying Customers
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The Very Most Important Thing of All Things
Every business, in order to stay in business needs:
Paying Customers
Some of you are saying “Duh, of course”
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Every business, in order to stay in business needs:
Paying Customers
But if it is so obvious, than why is this such a low priority with a majority of businesses?
Let’s go back a couple of slides.
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Like I said earlier, the process of acquiring Paying Customers is often:
• Overlooked• Avoided• Underplanned• Ignored
That is critical to the life of your business, no matter what type or kind of business you have…
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If acquiring Paying Customers is:• Overlooked• Avoided• Underplanned• Ignored
You will fail. Your business will go under. You are living on hope and a prayer. To borrow from a recent campaign slogan you need Hope, Change and Action, (along with prayer).
Let’s dig in (next slide please)
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The process of acquiring Paying Customers falls under the Marketing Umbrella.
Unless you are a Marketing Company, most companies are lousy at this.
Quite Frankly, most Marketing Companies are not very good at this either, because they focus on things that are NOT the very most important thing of all things.
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Marketing is often thought of as:• An Expense• A Necessary Evil
But you need to change your mindset and look at marketing as an Investment
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The Very Most Important Thing of All Things
Marketing as an Investment:• Focuses on acquiring Paying Customers• Is as valuable as any other business
expenditure you will make• Probably more valuable than any other
business expenditure you will make.
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The key to acquiring Paying Customers?
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Q: The key to acquiring Paying Customers?
A: Invite them to do business with you
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“Build it and they will come” is only a half-truth
“Build it, and invite them to come” is the complete truth these days.
I’ve got an example for you to consider…
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You are going to host a party. You prepare with the very best food, decorations, accommodations for 500 guests and do everything perfectly.
You have painstakingly perfected every detail from lighting to music, to the very last detail.
The hour for the party arrives and you wait for your guests to arrive.
But no one shows up. Not a single soul. Oh a few folks happen to walk by and notice the preparations for the festivities but they keep walking.
Why? The answer is simpleThe answer is obvious.The answer is (next slide, please)
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The real reason no one showed up at your party is:
You never invited anyone to the party.
Now you would never do this, of course you would invite people to your party.
But this is exactly what too many businesses do.
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Too many businesses do not invite people to becoming paying customers.
As we said earlier, The Very Most Important Thing of All Things a business needs is:
Paying customers
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So how does a business use marketing to find these paying customers?
Advertising is the 2nd most effective way to acquire paying customers.
What’s number 1?
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If advertising is the 2nd most effective way to acquire paying customers, what’s number 1?
Positive Word of Mouth also known as Referrals is usually the best way to gain new customers.
How do you get referrals for your business that lead to new paying customers?
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How do you get referrals for your business that lead to new paying customers?
• Create a business that is worth talking about• Ask current paying customers for referrals
There are limitations to this form of marketing.
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There are limitations to Word of Mouth and Referral marketing.
• You need paying customers to get the ball rolling• You need to always be on top of your game to create
a positive impression all the time.• Negative word of mouth spreads faster than positive.• This is a very time consuming process and while it is
important, it is dangerous, unpredictable and a lazy way to “market your business”
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Let’s see what makes Word of Mouth and Referral marketing effective.
We can boil it down to ONE WORD:
Relationships
It is relationship-based marketing that sometimes leads to inviting people to become paying customers.
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Take a look at the 2nd most effective way of acquiring paying customers = Advertising
Not All Advertising is created equal
and
Not All Advertising is equal in effectiveness
Starting with the next slide we’ll look at some options and how they relate to the Very Most Important Thing of All Things.
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• Traditional Advertising includes Broadcasting and Print (and all the variations).
• New Advertising options involve web based including Social Media Options.
• I advise my clients to use multiple methods.
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Traditional Advertising
TV:• Expensive to create good ads• Big audience (reach) depending on program• Cheap ads can damage your brand perception• Usually does not build relationships with
paying customers
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Traditional AdvertisingRadio:• Can be inexpensive to create good ads• Big audience (reach) depending on
program/station• Transferability of trust of station personalities
to advertisers• When ads are properly created they can build
relationships with paying customers
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Traditional Advertising
Newspaper & Magazines:• Easy to ignore ads• Targeted reach depending on publication• Readership is moving from print to online• Converting readers to paying customers is
often only effective by using coupons
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Traditional Advertising
Phonebooks, Billboards and other print:• Most homes don’t use phone books anymore• Billboards are limited in message content• Direct mail is thought of as junk mail• Converting readers to paying customers is
often only effective by using coupons
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New Advertising Options
Websites:• Visibility depends on Search Engine Optimization
which constantly needs to be tweaked.• Old, outdated websites can hurt brand perception.• Your Business needs to be online, but very few can
measure the Return on Investment from their site.
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New Advertising OptionsSocial Media:• Social Media is not free when you measure the time, energy
and efforts required to build a following that converts to paying customers.
• People do not want to be sold stuff on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Google+. They are on social media to be…social and maintain relationships.
• Very few businesses have been able to effectively merge the relationship side of social media with their desire to convert those relationships to paying customers.
• Social Media can be an effective tool for maintaining relationships after someone becomes a paying customer.
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One more very important point regarding web-based advertising options:
The growth of mobile devices ranging from tablets to smartphones is reducing the effectiveness of businesses that are not keeping up with mobile-friendly websites which is another expense that even major media firms such as Facebook are struggling with.
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Let’s wrap things up:
The Very Most Important Thing of All Things when it comes to success in business is..
You need to invite people to become You need to invite people to become paying customers. Without paying paying customers. Without paying
customers, you will not have a customers, you will not have a business.business.
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You need to invest $$$ in your advertising and marketing because:
You need to invite people to become You need to invite people to become paying customers. Without paying paying customers. Without paying
customers, you will not have a customers, you will not have a business.business.
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When done properly, you can invest in radio advertising that uses the same principles as Word of Mouth and Referrals. This is important because:
You need to invite people to become You need to invite people to become paying customers. Without paying paying customers. Without paying
customers, you will not have a customers, you will not have a business.business.
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Please remember:
You need to invite people to become You need to invite people to become paying customers. Without paying paying customers. Without paying
customers, you will not have a customers, you will not have a business.business.
Weigh all your advertising and marketing options carefully with this as your benchmark.
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My promise to you:• I will use all of my 20+ years of experience in this business to
recommend what you can do to invite paying customers to do business with you.
• I will offer options that utilize my radio stations, along with other forms of media.
• I will continue to further my education and learning and pass along that wisdom when I make recomenations.
• My 1st desire is for you to be successful. I know that my success is built of the success of my advertising partners and clients.
• Want to know more? (See the next slide)
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You need to invite people to become paying customers. Without paying customers, You need to invite people to become paying customers. Without paying customers, you will not have a business.you will not have a business.
Want help? I work with some of the most popular heritage radio stations in Fort Wayne Indiana, including the legendary WOWO AM/FM. Our company, Federated Media also has a complete and growing Digital Solutions division that is continually and consistently out performing 92.3% of other digitally focused companies.
You can find and contact me at:The Genuine ScLoHo aka Scott Howard website
My LinkedIn PageMy Twitter Page
My Facebook Page
Email: [email protected]@WOWO.com
Phone or text: 260-255-4357 My number again is 260-255-HELP, because that’s what I’m here to do.
