Sary's notes on The 1-page Marketing Plan

Vilfredo Pareto 80/20 Rule: The 80/20 rule holds true for more than just land ownership in Italy. It holds true for almost anything you care to think of. Some examples: • 80% of a company's profits come from 20% of its customers. • 80% of road traffic accidents are caused by 20% of drivers. • 80% of software usage is by 20% of users. • 80% of a company's complaints come from 20% of its customers. • 80% of wealth is owned by 20% of people. • Woody Allen even noted that 80% of success is showing up.

If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying "Circus Coming to the Showground Saturday," that's advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that's promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor's flower bed and the local newspaper writes a story about it, that's publicity. And if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that's public relations. If the town's citizens go to the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they'll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and, ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, that's sales.And if you planned the whole thing, that's marketing. Yup, it's as simple as that--marketing is the strategy you use for getting your ideal target market to know you, like you and trust you enough to become a customer.

The marketing priorities of a large company look something like this: 1. Pleasing the board of directors 2. Appeasing shareholders 3. Satisfying superiors' biases 4. Satisfying existing clients' preconceptions 5. Winning advertising and creative awards 6. Getting "buy in" from various committees and stakeholders 7. Making a profit The marketing priorities of a small business owner look something like this: 1. Making a profit That’s it.

Ways to kill your business: copy the strategy of large companies .. For two reasons: #1 Large Companies Have a Different Agenda Large companies have a very different agenda when it comes to marketing than small businesses do. Their strategies and priorities differ from yours significantly. (Refer to the 7 vs 1 priorities for large and small companies ) #2 Large Companies Have a VERY Different Budget Strategy changes with scale. This is very important to understand. Do you think someone investing in and building skyscrapers has a different property investment strategy than the average small property investor? Of course.

Branding, mass marketing and ego-based marketing is the domain of large companies. To achieve any kind of cut through requires an enormous budget and the use of expensive mass media. The idea is that the more times you run ads from your brand, the more likely people are to have this brand at the top of their consciousness when they go to make a purchasing decision. The vast majority of large company marketing falls into this category. If you've seen the ads from major brands such as Coca-Cola, Nike and Apple you'll have experienced mass marketing.

Small and Medium Business Marketing Direct response marketing is a particular branch of marketing that gives small businesses cut through and a competitive edge on a small budget. It's designed to ensure you get a return on investment that is measurable. So what makes a direct response ad? Here are some of the main characteristics: - It’s trackable - It’s measurable - It uses compelling headlines and sales copy - It targets a specific audience or niche - It makes a specific offer - It demands a response - It includes multi-step, short-term follow-up - It incorporates maintenance follow-up of uncovered leads

The Three Phases of the Marketing Journey 1- Before (get them to know you) We label people going through the before phase as prospects. At the beginning of the "before" phase, prospects typically don't even know you exist. The successful completion of this phase results in the prospect knowing who you are and indicating interest.

The Three Phases of the Marketing Journey 2- During (get them to like you) We label people going through the during phase as leads. At the beginning of the "during" phase, leads have indicated some interest in your offer. The successful completion of this phase results in the prospect buying from you for the first time.

The Three Phases of the Marketing Journey 3- After (get them to trust you) We label people in this phase as customers.' At the beginning of the "after" phase, customers have already given you money. The after phase never ends and, when executed correctly, results in a virtuous cycle where the customer buys from you repeatedly and is such a fan of your products or services that they consistently recommend you and introduce you to new prospects.

What is Niching? A niche is a tightly defined portion of a subcategory. For exam-ple, think of the health and beauty category. This is a very wide category. A beauty salon can offer a wide variety of services, including tanning, waxing, facials, massage, cellulite treatment and much more. If, for example, we take one of these subcategories let's say cellulite treatment--this could be our niche. However, we could tighten it up even further by focusing on cellulite treatment for women who've just had a baby. This is a tightly defined niche.

Why is Niching? you may be thinking why on earth would we want to limit our market so much? Here's why: 1. You have a limited amount of money. If you focus too broadly, your marketing message will become diluted and weak. 2. The other critical factor is relevance. The goal of your ad is for your prospects to say, "Hey that's for me"

Niching Do you think a bride-to-be looking for a photographer for her special day might be looking for something radically different than a purchasing manager from a heavy machinery distributor looking to photograph a truck for a product brochure? Of course. However, if the ad just rolls out a broad laundry list of services, then it's not speaking to either prospect, therefore it's not relevant, and it will likely be ignored by both market segments. That's why you need to choose a narrow target market for your marketing campaign.

Try to answer all questions about your target market: • What is their gender, age, geography? • What keeps them awake at night, indigestion boiling up in heir esophagus, eyes open, staring at the ceiling? • What are they afraid of? • What are they angry about? • Who are they angry at? What are their top daily frustrations? • What trends are occurring and will occur in their businesses or lives? • What do they secretly, ardently desire most? • Is there a built-in bias in the way they make decisions? For example, engineers are exceptionally analytical. Do they have their own language or jargon they use? • What magazines do they read? • What websites do they visit? What's this person's day like? What's the main dominant emotion this market feels? What is the ONE thing they crave above all else?

Have you ever been to a party or gathering and been seated next to someone who just spends the whole night talking about them-selves? It gets old pretty fast. You keep giving half-hearted smiles and polite nods but your mind is elsewhere, and that exit sign is calling your name. Similarly, most advertising by small businesses is inwardly focused. Instead of speaking to the needs and problems of the prospect, it is focused on self-aggrandizement. The prominent logo and company name, the laundry list of services, the claims of being the leading provider of that product or service. All of these things are shouting, "Look at me!"

Unfortunately, you're in a crowded market, and with everyone shouting "look at me!" at the same time, it just becomes background noise. By contrast, direct response marketing focuses heavily on the needs, thoughts, and emotions of the target market. By doing this, you enter the conversation already going on in the mind of your ideal prospect. You will resonate at a deeper level with your prospect, and your ad will stand out from 90% of other ads that are just shouting and talking about themselves.

You need to develop your unique selling proposition (USP). This is where a lot of people get stuck. They say something like "I sell coffee. There's nothing unique about that.?" Really? Then why aren't we all just getting our $I coffee from 7-Eleven? Why do we queue up to spend $4 to $5 to buy our coffee from some hipster that looks like he's in urgent need of a bath? Think about it. You regularly pay 400% to 500% more for the same commodity.

The entire goal of your US is to answer this question: Why should I buy from you rather than from your nearest competitor? Another good test is this: if I removed the company name and logo from your website, would people still know that it's you or could it be any other company in your industry?

The common place that people go wrong with developing their USP is they say "quality" or "great service" is their USP. There are two things wrong with that: 1. Quality and great service are expectations; they are just part of good business practice not something unique. 2. People only find out about your quality and great service after they've bought. A good USP is designed to attract prospects before they've made a purchasing, decision.

We want to get into the mind of our prospect. What do they really want? It's rarely the thing you are selling; it's usually the result of the thing you are selling, The difference may seem subtle, but It's huge. For example, someone buying a &go watch is purchasing something very different than a person buying a $50,000 watch. In the lourer case, they are likely buying status, luxury, and exclusivity. Sure, they want it to tell the time, just like the buyer of the $50 watch does, but that's unlikely to be their core motivation.