Get Slightly Famous

The Ultimate Marketing Strategy: Focus on your Long Term Investment

Many businesses pursue a marketing strategy in the same short sighted, reactionary manner as yesterday's day traders. They never develop a marketing strategy. They do not consider the long term. They lack patience. And, like day traders, they receive the same dismal results.

Gambling your business future on an over-hyped, half-baked get-rich-quick marketing strategy is simply not a good idea. It is usually the common sense business marketing strategies that offer the most reliable road to success.

Drawn from more practical approaches to finance, I call this the Long Term Investment Analogy, and at its center is the development of a highly visible, credible business reputation.

Establish A "Reputation Fund"

In this hyper-competitive world, and consumer skepticism on the rise, it's crucial to invest in the one of the last things we can still count on--a good business reputation.

Raising your company's reputation quotient is surprisingly easy--if you begin with the right attitude. Instead of looking for a marketing miracle, you can build a profitable business reputation with series of small, sustained "deposits" that ultimately deliver long-term rewards based on patience, discipline and the magic of compounding.

All of this means a commitment to establishing a reputation fund.

Because prospects must decide whether or not to buy from you, your good reputation will be an insurance policy. It reduces the risk of doing business with you because prospects will know they are going to receive value and quality.

A Smart Investment Strategy

You don't have to wait for your reputation to "happen." You can design a reputation that meets your goals and shapes perceptions about your business while helping you stand apart from the crowd in a meaningful way. Your strategic "reputation marketing plan" will be based on the following principles:

VISIBILITY. A good reputation is only as effective as the number of people who know about you. There are many low cost, high impact ways to enhance your visibility, from writing to speaking to developing a convincing Internet presence. A commitment to sustained visibility is crucial to any successful reputation plan.

TARGETING. Visibility is ineffective if it reaches the wrong people. You must first determine the most desirable, profitable audiences to receive your message. Targeting means thoroughly understanding your ideal client/customer profile. It means learning what they read, what organizations they belong to and what web sites they visit. Make a list.

CREDIBILITY. Next, look for ways to build credibility into your business and ultimately your reputation. Today's consumers are suspicious. They want to know they are getting their money's worth. Your will need to make a case for yourself and give prospects a little "taste" of what you offer.

SHARING "EXPERT" KNOWLEDGE. If you've been in business for any length of time, you know something. Use your expert knowledge to make a case for yourself as a source of genuinely helpful information and one who makes a genuine contribution to your industry, clients and prospects.
Make Regular Contributions

Start Now

Patient, smart investing - whether in stocks or your reputation - guarantees good results over the long term. The sooner you begin establishing your reputation, the easier it is to make it grow--much like compound interest can grow small, steady investments into a massive retirement payload.

But compounding takes time to work its miracles. Building a reputation that works for you means planting many seeds early on to reap the big harvest.

Be realistic. Although your initial deposits will look small at first, make no mistake -- they will, if sustained, work to your advantage in a big way, propelling you and your business throughout your career.

Strategic Partnerships In Action

The potential to form profitable relationships is around us all the time. Take a look at your business and the challenges you face. Identify which of these challenges would be more easily addressed with the help of others.

Is your office rent too high? Does it cost too much to reach the types of prospects you need to reach on your own? Could you easily establish your credibility by riding on the coattails of a larger, related business?

All of these issues have the potential to be mitigated through targeted, decisive partner relationships. Once you identify other businesses that occupy similar circles of interest, begin to look for possibilities to pool talent, capital and experience to reach mutually beneficial ends.

Target, Target, Target!

Too many businesses pursue PR with the mistaken belief that “any press is good press. This is just not true. What good is it to have your business mentioned in a local newspaper if the people you need to influence never read it and would not be impressed anyway?

To get the most from you efforts, focus less on the volume of media impressions you generate and more on the quality of those impressions. Smaller businesses usually benefit more by targeting their PR efforts toward a smaller, more qualified, tightly focused audience of the best potential customers for what they are selling.

For example, an international consulting firm could bombard their local newspaper with press releases in hopes of a mention. And if they persist, they will probably succeed in getting a mention in the paper. But if their customers are located in other parts of the country or are better reached through a trade publication, what’s the point?

Your time is best spent courting only media coverage for your firm that stands the best chance of reaching your prospects and customers. Remember, good PR is defined in sales and money in the bank, not emotionally in column inches.

SCORE Interview (pt 2)

Q: How do Get Slightly Famous methods compare with more traditional marketing approaches?

A: Direct mail and advertising are expensive. People have their filters up, and those channels are losing effectiveness. You can do well by positioning yourself as valuable resource and giving away information that others can take away and benefit from.

Q: Can you give an example of a "slightly" famous small business person?

A: Mari Gottdiener is a lawyer and an expert in breaking through bureaucratic problems. When I first met her, she was networking all over the place and spending 80 percent of her time trying to obtain new business.

I helped her refocus her credit and consumer advocacy business from general consumers to the narrowly defined market of professional mortgage brokers. An industry publication published one of her articles on effective and ethical ways to raise credit scores, and her phone started ringing off the hook. Then, she was invited to speak at an industry conference. She successfully positions herself as a solution to a problem.

Q: What should entrepreneurs keep in mind in their efforts to become "slightly" famous?

A: First, don't try to be all things to all people. Choose a specialized market and stick with it. Second, develop a consistent, sustained marketing approach. If you speak, make a goal to speak once a month or once a quarter. Third, don't expect to hit the jackpot with every strategy you pursue.

Marketing is a "process," not an "event." It's a process of doing a lot of little things consistently instead of looking for instant gratification. In other words, you have to be willing to put in some work and market yourself on an ongoing basis. Slightly famous entrepreneurs take their marketing efforts as seriously as paying their rent. Feel free to visit my Web site for a free marketing plan workbook and other resources.

Brought to you by SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business," a nonprofit association and resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration. SCORE is dedicated to entrepreneurship and the formation, growth and success of small businesses nationwide. Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 6.5 million entrepreneurs.

For more information, visit www.score.org

SCORE Interview (pt 1)

Expert interviews featured in SCORE Expert Answers give how-to advice and provide inspiration for business success.

Steven Van Yoder is the author of Get Slightly Famous: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business With Less Effort-a book that shows how small business owners can turn themselves into mini-celebrities, so that customers seek them out or at least have that "Oh, I've heard about you" recognition when they contact them.

Q: How would you describe a "slightly" famous entrepreneur?

A: These people consciously focus on a predetermined target market, not filled by the competition. They position their business within that market. They establish themselves as a leader and great resource within that industry. As a result, their names come to mind when people are looking for a particular product or service. Not only do they get more media attention, but they attract more business than their lesser known competitors.

Q: Do you have to be outgoing and extroverted to use this strategy?

A: Some people love to speak and network. Other people prefer the written word. They don't speak that often, but they contribute articles to trade and special interest publications. Use mediums you're comfortable with-write an article, have a user-friendly Web site that helps you build your email database, start a newsletter and give, give, give...try as many ideas as you can.

Q: How do "slightly" famous entrepreneurs market themselves?

A: They stay visible in spaces where prospects congregate. Their media strategy is ongoing and consistent. They build credibility by contributing articles to newsletters, magazines, e-zines and Web sites. They speak at conferences and on teleconferences. They form strategic partnerships with other businesses. They reach out in all directions and develop ways to create multiple income streams, through ancillary information products. The premise of Get Slightly Famous is that the best clients and customers are those who seek you out-because they have already heard of you.

For more information, visit www.score.org

Time, Commitment, Consistency

Comedian Woody Allen once said that 80 percent of life is showing up. This attitude goes to the heart of how you should approach your Slightly Famous marketing plan.

The ultimate goal of a Slightly Famous marketing program is to establish mini-celebrity name recognition and influence within your core market niche. You raise your business profile to attract prospects. You seek to trigger a "snowball effect" that attracts all the business you can handle.

But the only way you'll enjoy these results is to consider your marketing program a long-term commitment and set aside the necessary time to consistently implement key activities.

This will not happen if dabble. Publishing an article every so often, or attend a networking event a couple times a year, only ensures that your efforts will never achieve critical mass. You might pick up a client here and there. But you will not develop the reputational capital that ensures a steady, predictable stream of new prospects and business opportunities.

Writing articles, maintaining visibility, keeping in touch with your sphere of influence… it seems like a lot of work. Is it worth the time?

Remember that landing just a few clients as a result of publishing articles in key trade magazines or participating in teleseminars that reach your target market can pay for all of your marketing costs for the next year.

If you don't give your marketing program the necessary time, commitment and consistency, you'll never make the painful reality of struggling for clients a thing of the past. But if you develop a plan, and stick with it, you are soon likely to hear the sweet phrase: "I see your name everywhere," and attract all the business you need.

Expand Your Concept of Networking

Your success is inextricably linked to your network. The goal of networking is to create and maintain a network of people within your niche that know you, like you and trust you.

Unfortunately, most businesses do not think beyond in-person networking—i.e. attending networking events, going out to lunch with key contacts, etc—when it comes to growing and maintaining a business network.

The problem with limiting networking to in-person situations is that there’s a limit to how much personal networking you can do, especially if you have a national or global marketplace.

Consider networking from a broader perspective. Although there’s no substitute for human contact, there are many “alternative networking” activities that can supplement your in-person networking activities and expand your reputation into all corners of your niche without the need to be personally present.

Effective “alternative networking” strategies are based on the principle that you’ve got to give to get. In other words, pursue strategies that provide useful information to your target market; bring people together; provide the means for people to interact with you--but that do not require you to be personally present, such as:

• Publish articles. This strategy can not only help you grow your network and reputation among readers in your niche, but reprints of articles can be sent to prospects, clients, and others in your network.

• Create information products. Booklets, audio cds, and other info products are easy to create and allow members of your network to experience you virtually. Info products lend credibility and a way for people to experience you that opens the door to sales and referrals.

• Start a blog. A business blog enables you to connect in more personal terms with your target market than other mediums. It’s also a great way to attract new people to your network by providing valuable insight into your industry and facilitating reader feedback.

• Contribute to online communities and message boards. Cyber- or on-line networking enables you to escape the limitations of face-to-face interactions. Online communities have been growing at a phenomenal rate, because they allow you to connect with like-minded people all over the world without the expense of attending real-world networking events.

• Host your own audio teleseminars. The cost and effort of putting on an online seminar is minimal, and the impact can be huge. Create a free one-hour teleseminar on a useful topic related to your business. Then, announce it to everyone in your network. This is a great way to position yourself as a leader, connecting in personal terms with members of your niche.

These forms of expanded networking often take less time than attending a single networking event, yet can deliver a powerful impact and reach a lot more people. You’ll build relationships with your target audience by remaining visible, and cement your credibility by offering useful content related to your expertise.

Consider what you can provide that will build and reinforce your relationship with your target marketplace. Display your expertise and let your personality shine through. If done creatively and consistently, you will build a powerful network upon which future sales and referrals are possible without needing to rely solely on face-to-face contact.

Marketing is a process, not an event

Many business people see marketing as a panacea to all their business woes. Some people implement marketing efforts and expect immediate results. They are misinformed. Marketing is a long-term, persistent, and consistent activity that should never end.

Another mistake made by many companies, both online and offline, is to concentrate on the marketing or PR home run-that one story, event, or customer touch that will bring a bonanza of business.

The problem with these expectations is that home runs aren't what usually win baseball games; it's usually a collection of singles and doubles that make for the winning score. Sure, you may hit a home run occasionally, but you can't go into the game expecting to win that way.

The same applies in business, marketing, and PR. It's the little things that make for the success of a business.

As I tell my clients, marketing is a "process," not an "event." Establishing a credible business reputation is a process of doing a lot of little things consistently instead of looking for instant gratification or a marketing home run.

You have to be willing to put in some work and you have to market yourself on an ongoing basis. Slightly famous entrepreneurs take their marketing and promotional efforts as seriously as paying their rent.