Wizard Wisdom

Craig Arthur sends this email each week:

Dear Scott, If you want innovation, don't give the responsibility to a committee. "A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled." – Barnett Cocks This is why at Wizard of Ads we only ever deal with the Business Owner, or one person who has absolute authority to say, YES. In this issue: A Bigger Threat to Your Business Than Recession 4 Methods to Sharpen Your Marketing Message Becoming Credible Ever thought of attending a class at Wizard Academy? Listen here to some recent students. A Bigger Threat to Your Business Than Recession "Does she love you?" "I think she hates me." "Well that's a start, at least she's not indifferent" - From a movie... can't remember the name The biggest threat to your business is... Customer Indifference. The real job of marketing is to move the bulk of people from indifference about your business, to some state of emotion about your business... preferably love. But remember, you will never please everyone. To move people in one direction means you will also move people in another. Think about it.... Is there any topic, religion, book, sport, person, or business in the world that all people feel the same about? No... of course not, so get over the fact that some people will simply never like your business or your marketing. Three questions to ask yourself. 1. What are we going to do, to move our current customers and potential customers from indifference to love? 2. Do we have the skill? Do we have the resources - money, time, energy, manpower - to implement our solutions? 3. Do we have the will? If we decide to try it, do we have the endurance to go the long haul and see this through to its end? If things don’t work out as we’d hoped, do we have the guts and flexibility to adjust to the situation, or will we cave in? Recessions will come and go. Customer indifference is a silent threat you must face daily. The Editor: Questions 2 & 3 borrowed and edited from Wizard Partner Michele Miller. 4 Methods to Sharpen Your Marketing Message By Wizard of Ads Partner, Tom Wanek Edited from original article titled... Copying Obama’s Winning Strategy. 1. Uncover a heartfelt need. As a marketer the best thing you can do is identify and address your customer’s most pressing need. Are you addressing your customer’s heartfelt need? I sure hope so. Rambling on and on about things customers are indifferent to is a surefire way to lose. 2. Define your position in the customer’s mind. Okay, you’ve uncovered a heartfelt need. Now what? Take a sledgehammer approach to advertising it; creating a noticeable difference between you and your competition. My friend and partner, Chris Maddock calls this difference a positioning wedge. Chris puts it this way: “Say what your are; say what you’re not.” Every ad you create should contain a clearly defined positioning wedge. The first to clearly define their position and their competitor’s usually wins the race. And avoid this rookie mistake: Don’t attempt to scale a mountain already occupied by your competitor. Find a mountain that’s uniquely yours. Climb it. Own it. And make it known. 3. Speak in an intimate voice. No, I’m not recommending you break out your best Barry White imitation. That would feel kinda creepy. I’m urging you to communicate with customers in an open, honest and personal tone. According to the 2007 Edelman Trust Barometer, when asked whose opinion they trusted most when seeking information about a company or organization, the majority of consumers responded with, “a person like me”. Consumers want to know you share their values. And your communication style gives them unmistakable clues. 4. Harness the power of social media. Face it folks. Social media isn’t going away. It’s importance is accelerating Unlike advertising, social media is organic and non-threatening; making it a perfect customer relationship builder. But heads up: You’re customer doesn’t want to hear a sales pitch; so happy-talk and hype is off limits. Breaking the rules will only hurt your image. Not sure where to begin? Here’s my beginner’s social media marketing game-plan: Create a blog. Discipline yourself to update it regularly (at least once a week). Add in a Facebook or Twitter account and you’ve got something to build on. And do yourself a favor: Please jump on the social media bandwagon before your competitor’s do. These are sound marketing principles. Use them to sharpen your marketing message and grow your business. The Editor: Tom Wanek is availble to help grow your business. Call: In North America (440) 610-9746 Email: tomwanek (at) wizardofads.com In Australia call 07 47284866 Becoming Credible - The Monday Morning Memo for 17-11-08 By Roy H. Williams Tom Wanek believes credibility can be “purchased” by risking one or more of six currencies. The more you put at risk, the more believable your message. Currencies that Buy Credibility: 1. Material Wealth Of the six currencies, we see material wealth risked most frequently in money-back guarantees and statements like, “Find a lower price anywhere and we’ll refund the difference plus 10 percent.” Can you think of a better way to increase credibility by increasing the customer’s perception of your risk? 2. Time & Energy Are you in a business that provides an in-home service? Imagine the power of an ad that says, “If we’re not there when we promised, we do the job for free. Unlike other companies, we would never waste your time, then ask you to pay for ours.” Variations of this classic example of risking time and energy to increase credibility have been used by the Clockworks group to build a number of America’s most successful in-home service franchises. How else might you risk time and energy to increase credibility? 3. Opportunity Ladies, when a man claims to love you but continues to date other women, is his statement credible? A self-imposed restriction on opportunity – dating you exclusively – adds credibility to his statement, does it not? Likewise, the manufacturer who gives access to just one retailer in an area is perceived as committed to that retailer’s success. Is there a way your business might risk opportunity to strengthen credibility? 4. Power & Control The original purpose of Amazon.com was to sell books. But by choosing to allow visitors to write negative reviews, they increased the credibility of the positive reviews and quickly became one of the internet giants. Likewise, your company can gain power by giving it away and you can increase your credibility by giving up control. How many ways might you do this? 5. Reputation & Prestige In a report released two weeks ago by CNN/Opinion Research, George W. Bush had an approval rating of just 24 percent. In a press conference held the following week, the President said he regretted saying he wanted Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" and that he had urged the Iraqi insurgents in 2003, “bring ‘em on.” He said he was sorry such language made the world believe he was “not a man of peace.” By putting his prestige at risk and eating a slice of humble pie, George W. Bush regained some of his lost credibility, don’t you think? 6. Safety and Well-Being You're 12 years old. Your stepfather says he loves you as much as if you were his own, but you’re not sure you believe him. But when you fall through the ice while skating on a frozen lake your stepfather dives through the hole into the freezing water to rescue you. Do you believe him now? The president of Lifelock, an identity-theft protection program, runs ads that say, “My name is Todd Davis. My social security number is 457-55-5462. So why publish my social security number? Because I’m absolutely confident LifeLock is protecting my good name and personal information, just like it will yours. And we guarantee our service up to $1 million dollars.” By risking his personal well-being through the publication of his Social Security number and risking his company’s material wealth by reimbursing up to $1 million in identity-theft losses, Todd Davis has built Lifelock into the dominant player in its category. Are you beginning to see how embracing risk increases credibility? Fight the Big Boys and Win is a class taught by Tom Wanek, the discoverer of the Six Currencies of Credibility, and Mike Dandridge, the director of The American Small Business Peer Groups, a division of Wizard of Ads, Inc. If you own a business, this 2-day class is how you should begin 2009. We're looking at a brand new day. Are you up for it? Previous stories, just in case you missed them: What is Your Message Worth? Goodbye AdSpeak... Hello Intimacy (Part 1) Goodbye AdSpeak... Hello Intimacy (Part 2) Stay Ahead of Your Competitors... a 339 Second Lesson A Closing Thought "Advertising begins only after you win the attention of your target, a difficult thing to do in this over communicated world." - The Wizard See you next week. Craig Arthur Wizard of Ads PS. Need help to attract more customers and grow your business? Australia Call (07) 4728 4866 or email craigarthur@wizardofads.com North America Call 308-254-2732 or email daveyoung@wizardofads.com Call 440-610-9746 or email tomwanek@wizardofads.com We will never try and sell you. You may punch us in the arm really, really hard if we do. Call or email to book a FREE alignment meeting. No obligation. No pressure. It is at this meeting we both decide if there is a fit between our 2 companies. It is only then can we explore your options. We will never try to sell you. Call (07) 4728 4866.

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