Join me on “Livin’ the Dream” Radio Show Tuesday August 25 2009 12Noon CST
Filed Under Core Message, Market Niche, Marketing, Sales, What's New · Tagged: Core Message, Differentiate, John Navin, Lauren Milligan, Leo Wisniewski, Livin' the Dream Radio Show, Market Niche, Small Business Marketing Systems
I am excited to be a guest host on “Livin’ the Dream” Radio Show on TUESDAY, AUGUST 25 2009 @ 12NOON CST! Please join me…here’s the link! www.MyDreamBiz.net “See you then and there!” 
Hosts are pictured below from left to right: Leo Wisniewski, John Navin, and Lauren Milligan.
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Business Ownership with Leo Wisniewski Financial Management from John Navin Career Advancement by Lauren Milligan |
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How important is your Core Message? Well…How important is your DNA?
Filed Under Core Message, Market Niche, Marketing, What's New · Tagged: Core Message Differentiation Niche DNA
I guess you could say, VERY, given it (Your Core Message) is the “essence” of who you are…and of who you are as a small business! If people do not know you, how can they remember you! It is imperative to find what differentiates you and your business from everyone else “out there!” I heard a term this week that “struck a chord” with me…DNA!
D = “DIFFERENT”
N = “NEW”
A = “ATTRACTIVE”
This ties fully to each of us have our own unique DNA and that DNA “plays itself out” in each of our businesses…so, let everyone “see” your DNA or, put differently, be sure that you are DIFFERENT (and they know how and why), NEW (fresh in approaches, thoughts, products, services, etc.) and ATTRACTIVE (professional, of interest, relevant, etc.)
I am working regularly with Small Business Owners, and recently with “Solo-preneurs” to assist them in better communicating “their DNA” to others!
“DIFFERENTIATE OR DIE IN A DOWNTURN” by Jonathan Fields
Filed Under Core Message, Market Niche · Tagged: Core Message, Differentiate, Market Niche, Small Business
I HAVE COPIED A RECENT BLOG POST by JONATHAN FIELDS that fully aligns with my thoughts, ideas, and implementation as a Small Business Marketing Coach assisting Small Business Owners with the installation of a Marketing System for their business. GREAT ARTICLE, Jonathan! THANKS!!!
Differentiate Or Die In A Downturn
Posted By Jonathan Fields On December 14, 2008 @ 6:02 pm In Marketing Trends, Small Business Advice | 23 Comments
It wasn’t so hard to skate by when all ships were buoyed, when everyone was flush with cash. You didn’t have to work so hard to show you were the best. Or at least better than others. You just had to be good enough to take a big enough piece of the pie to get by.
Not any more (though, honestly, that’s never been my approach anyway).
When money gets tighter, people get pickier. Which means, if want to continue to not only survive, but thrive, you’re going to need to dig a bit more deeply into the differentiation well and publicly showcase why you are the woman, man or business that people should be handing their money over to.
Perfect example. Walking down the block looking for a place to grab lunch with my wife on a weekday, we passed 7 or 8 restaurants and every single one was close to being empty. Then we poked our heads into the local pub. We’d never been there before. And, it was packed.
Not because people were drinking their troubles away. They were all sitting and eating. And, 75% were moms in their 30s and 40s. Whaaa?
It wasn’t long until we figured out what was going on. This little pub had figured out a way to shine, while all the restaurants around them stumbled. Along with their standard menu, we were each given a long, 6 inch wide piece of paper and a red pen.
On the paper were about 50 different options for chopped salad mix-ins. We each sat choosing our salad items and, a few minutes later, two giant finely-chopped salads arrived at our table. We dove in, couldn’t finish either and reveled about how we never about this hidden salad gem before. But, clearly others had.
Since then, this little grill has become our go-to place for taking out, ordering in and the occasional dinner with friends, family style.
Because … they get it.
People are looking for value more than at any other time in decades. And, if you can’t strongly differentiate yourself, you and your business become fungible … replaceable … interchangeable.
And, that’s an awful place to be in a down economy.
So, how will you differentiate and showcase your unique value in 2009?
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About the Author: Jonathan Fields is a former hedge-fund lawyer turned serial lifestyle entrepreneur, copywriter, Internet and direct marketer, speaker and writer. You can find him blogging on entrepreneurship and lifestyles at [1] Awake At The Wheel, crafting high-impact copy for clients at [2] Vibe Creative or training people to become entrepreneurs and career renegades at Career Renegade. His next book, also called Career Renegade, is due out from Random House/Broadway Books In January 2009.
Article printed from Small Business Trends: http://smallbiztrends.com
Specialization abounds in technology and…marketing!
Filed Under Core Message, Market Niche, Marketing, What's New · Tagged: Differentiation, Niche, Small Business Marketing, Specialization, technology
I had the opportunity to present the “Seven Steps to Small Business Marketing Success” to the Hinsdale Area Networking Group yesterday! WOW! What a dynamic group! They had over 30 business owners in attendance! Fantastic! A very vibrant, dynamic group with fantastic questions and some great success stories.
As each member introduced his or herself, Thomas Piette, Midco Systems, introduced himself as a TELECOM SPECIALIST with some emphasis on security, and his guest, as a SECURITY SPECIALIST with less emphasis on Telecom…Great intro, Tom…like duct tape, that “stuck” for me and assisted me in clearly differentiating “what you do” and “what he does!”
Tom is pictured with me receiving a copy of the Duct Tape Marketing Book! Congrats, Tom! AND…thanks again to the group for affording me the opportunity to discuss the value of building small business marketing systems for their businesses!
NFL Football Playoffs and Small Business Marketing
Filed Under Core Message, Market Niche, What's New · Tagged: Add new tag, Arizona Cardinals, Differentation, Football, Larry Fitzgerald, NFL, Niche, Passion, Playoffs, Strength
Now…how do we tie those together? As I watched with intrigue this past weekend the NFL Playoffs, I thought about how the best teams “stick to their knitting” or put differently, they “do what they do best!” Quite an upset, with the Arizona Cardinals defeating the Carolina Panthers…how and why? To me, one of the simplest of reasons is they threw the football to their major strength–Larry Fitzgerald–who is showing himself to the rest of the NFL fandom as one of the best, if not, THE BEST receiver in the NFL! As a matter of fact, his first “big catch” of the game was almost a duplicate of the previous playoff game…ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE GRAB!!!
What’s the point?
Do what you do best and continue to do what you do best! GOT IT? Don’t veer off course and do something that is “not you or your business!”
This is what “we teach/coach” all of our small business owners in building a marketing system for their Chicagoland business! GO LARRY FITZGERALD!!!
Being a Small Business Owner, I understand the challenges that other Small Business Owners face in implementing an INTEGRATED AUTOMATED MARKETING SYSTEM. I have a passion for helping Small Business Owners to do such! 