Express Marketing Memo

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

One of Seth Godin’s most recent books is Unleashing the Idea Virus. It’s a practical guide to breaking out of the rut of time-wasting, money-wasting Interruption Marketing. In a nutshell, he shows how to encourage the spread of an idea from customer to customer, like a virus. This time of year with flu season reaching its peak in Wisconsin, it’s easy to draw the correlation.

Because the book, itself, is an idea worth spreading, Seth offers it for free download on his web site and he allows everyone else to do the same. My gift to you today is to call your attention to this valuable small business marketing resource. Download Seth Godin’s Unleashing the Idea Virus here.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Today’s thought from “Secret Formula’s of the Wizard of Ads” by Roy H. Williams:

“Engage the imagination, then take it where you will. Where the mind has repeatedly journeyed, the body will surely follow. People go only to places they have already been in their minds.” ~ The Wizard’s Seventh Law of the Advertising Universe

Think for a minute about the ads you’ve seen on TV or in print, or heard on the radio on your way to work in the morning. What made any of them memorable? What advertisements engage your imagination?

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

We’re progressing slowly through “Secrets of the Wizard of Ads” by Roy H. Williams. Although last week I mentioned daily reading time, this week found me doing everything but reading!

Tonight I finished up the first of six sections. The overall take-away from this section is that there is no one-size-fits-all advertising solution.

You don’t want to fit in with the crowd. Take risks. Break rules. Apply the lessons of life to your advertising.

Strive to understand what makes people do what they do. Know why ANYONE would want to do business with you.

Share that story in the most compelling way possible to your target customer and anyone in his sphere of influence.

Check back next week for more from the “Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads.”

Related Articles:

Secret Formulas Review, Week 1

Secret Formulas Review, Week 2

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

We’re picking up from where I left off last week in “Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads” by Roy H. Williams. This review process is good for me. By stepping back from my day-to-day projects for a few minutes each morning, I’m rediscovering key marketing concepts. This breathes new energy into my business AND my clients’ projects. I highly recommend it!

Who is your customer?

How many times have we asked ourselves this question? But according to Williams, this question is irrelevant because people don’t make decisions in a vacuum. Every customer is influenced by a significant other, a spouse, children, parents, friends or associates. A better question is “Why would a person choose to do business with you at all?”

Tying back to that emotional anchor I spoke of last week, we’re reminded that the best ads impress someone deeply. And he asks the question (I love this one), “Do your ads make an impression or bore all the right people?”

Dig for the diamond

We all have a story that is uniquely our own. That story itself is what sets us apart. When you dig for that diamond and find your unique story, you’ve found your unique selling proposition (USP).

“The secret of successful advertising,” says Williams, “is to uncover the story that is uniquely and wonderfully your own, and then tell that story in the most compelling way possible.”

Money, a name, and a difference

I had some trouble with this chapter. Williams says that the highest and best use of your ad budget is determined by your heartfelt answer to the question, “What is it that you most want to make – money, a name or a difference?” My heartfelt answer: Money earned by making a difference. And I’m getting there by building a name. This guides my business decisions, but how does it impact my ad budget?

Seeing your customer real

For those of us that sell b2b, look at the big picture and remember that the b2b customer is still a whole person, with a life beyond business.

We’ll continue this review next Wednesday. “Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads” is available at Amazon.com or your favorite bookstore.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I’ve chosen “Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads” by Roy H. Williams as my first business-building book-of-the-month. This is my second reading of this excellent book, the first time being several years ago.

Williams doesn’t follow the conventional path of advertising. In fact, he begins by referring to advertising, demographic targeting and media mix as “dead cows everywhere.” Conventional advertising pays too little attention to saying the right thing to the right people, resulting in the wrong people hearing the wrong message. Media mix assumes that the same people will notice and recognize your ad across a variety of media.

He advises business owners to never take the advice of an advertising person who is quick to agree with you. It’s our job to challenge you to see your own company and product objectively.

What is your brand’s emotional anchor?

Williams defines branding as building an associative memory (think “Pavlov”), including consistency, frequency, and anchoring. Our brands are built through a consistent message shared frequently, tied to an emotional anchor in our prospect’s mind. Your brand will not be recalled without that emotional anchor.

Category Dominance

When your company becomes the one that customers think of immediately, and the one they feel best about when your product category is named, you’ve achieved category dominance. What will your company be known for?

That’s as far as I progressed this week. Check back next week for more wisdom from the Wizard of Ads.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!