Why Is It That With Two Alike Businesses One Is Massively Successful And The Other Just Gets By?

Every business owner in America would like to make more money for less work, effort and expense by increasing the profits produced through superior marketing efforts--

If That's the Case, Then Why Are Some Businesses 100 Times More Successful and Make Up to 100 Times More Money Than Their Competitors?

Especially if they start with essentially the same resources and opportunities.  But some are, aren't they?

The answer is startlingly, fundamentally simple.

It's more likely than not that they are superior marketers.

Most business owners have been in their career for a long time, and their expertise creates a form of nearsightedness -- or tunnel vision.  In other words, we find as I'm sure you've experienced almost all businesses in your industry are doing plus or minus 20 percent of the same marketing approaches the same way.

That's because that's all they know -- the basic approach to business and marketing that people in the industry practice.  That's what is taught, not innovative strategies!

Size is rarely the key to success, as some may think.  If anything, it can prove a disadvantage.  Surprisingly, capital isn't all that critical either.  Particularly once you realize how much internally generated self-funding you can create with your existing customers!

The secret to achieving great business success and financial independence today boils down to one key element -- marketing.

Whether you realize and accept it or not, in order to be successful in today's competitive economy, every business must become a sales and marketing company, too!

Who's going to teach you all of these great marketing strategies? Your competitors? 

Heavens, no! Besides, they are probably still doing traditional marketing like 999 out of 1000 other businesses.

Finally, be aware that there are no limitations as long as you are not wedded to tradition.  You can play any game you want.  You can decide for yourself what the boundaries are.  You can change them at will.  You can create your own rules, as long as you don’t break the law, and more importantly, as long as you conduct business honestly & ethically!

The yellow pages are fading away because people are always looking for a faster more efficient way to do things.  With smart phones with Internet access on them, and most households having computers with Internet access we've found we can find what we're looking for a lot faster and collect a lot more information about the businesses from the Internet.

Myself, I haven't looked in a phonebook for an address, phone number or for a business to fill my need for at least 2 years!  As my children put it, "the phonebook is so yesterday!"  You know what?  They're right!

Tradition is the yellow pages.  You can't wed to "tradition".  You have to keep moving forward with your buying public and address their needs, and make yourself available to people looking for a business like yours based upon how they look for you! 

If you fight this, you'll get left in the dust of businesses who flow along with their buying public and how they want to conduct business and how they look for businesses to meet their needs.  Here's something else to consider ...

Sales Create Cash Flow, but Marketing Creates the Sales!

One of our strongest convictions about the business world is:  If you're in business - any business - you have to also be in the marketing business. 

We [marketing guru’s] firmly believe that marketing is what separates the good products from the good products.  What we mean is, all other things being equal, marketing is the difference.  Either you get into the marketing business or your business gets left in the marketing dust of your competitors!

Successful strategies will allow you to upsell, renew and cross-sell your customers better than your biggest competitor.  The great successes of the 2010’s will come to businesses who become formidable marketers. 

Excitedly, in the 2010's the Internet has provided some amazing tools to help you enhance your marketing, improve your marketing, be more effective in your marketing and keep your name in front of prospects and clients on a more frequent basis.  Businesses not taking advantage of the resources available from the Internet are just simply missing the boat!  However...

Not only is technology changing the game, the Government continues to control what we can and can't do regarding marketing.  Today it's illegal to send a solicitation fax to a business, you can't call a consumer at home if they're on the Do Not Call List, you can't do a broadcast email (spam) to people sharing your products and services with them, and now you're being told how you can use testimonials with the new law effective December 2009. 

As each of these laws were put in place, we've watched businesses go out of business because they only had one way to bring in new customers.  They couldn't survive because their complete marketing approach was based upon one method. 

Believe it or not, this is not uncommon.  We're now watching businesses suffer because people are turning to the Internet to find businesses to fill their need over the yellow pages.  Don't fight it.  Embrace the changes and move forward. 

And absolutely make sure you have more than one way to bring potential new customers to your business, along with making sure you are serving your current customers in such a way that they will continue to do business with you over a competitor! 

Finally, we just can't emphasize it enough, "Either you get into the marketing business or your business gets left in the marketing dust of your competitors."  That's apparent because businesses using effective marketing strategies seem to be doing well even in a tougher economy with increased competition, higher costs, and lower commissions.  They never appear to have cash-flow problems.  Their sales almost always keep growing, and they tend to be wildly more profitable than their competitors.

Please note … marketing is NOT selling, which is where most businesses make their mistakes in developing effective marketing strategies.  But, selling is marketing.

Once you develop a new customer, this is when you need to really to start using innovative strategies. 

Let's end with this.  Let's take a look at how we define marketing because most people really have a misunderstanding of what marketing in its purest form is ...

Defining Marketing, What It Is ...

It's important to make sure we all understand what marketing is in its purest form. 

"Marketing, in its purest sense, is a few things. First, it's the development of new customers. Then, it's the continual education of a customer or prospect for the life of that customer on the advantages and benefits your company or your service brings them that no one else does; it's the intelligently formulated process of increasing their demand or desire for your product or service; and finally, it's the selling of other products and services on a continuous basis. Marketing is a life-long process with the customer because that presupposes we are going to have an ongoing relationship. It's also educating them as to what they get by working with us versus anybody else -- and then the process of using that education to increase their desire and appreciation for our product."

Pay close attention -- marketing promotes the client, not your business.  In other words, everything you do -- yes, everything-- you should be asking yourself, "How will this be better for our clients?"

By improving the quality of service, response, relationship and education you offer your clients, the higher the retention you'll have and the more clients you'll develop from referrals, not to mention numerous other profit oriented advantages.