Standing out in a crowd. What crowd?

One of the biggest problems for any marketer is getting people’s attention. OK, great products, customer-focused messages, enticing offers and amazing customer service aren’t easy. But once you have all those other things, you have to do is get noticed.

Yesterday, I was reading Seth Godin’s blog. Seth knows how to get noticed, but that’s not my point… at least not entirely. He was describing his alternative MBA program. In his words, “Unaccredited, residential, free and six months long. A new way to learn about a new way of doing business.”

Most of the nine “graduates” left the program ready to start or grow their entrepreneurial companies. One, was determined to land the best job ever. What makes Susan Lewis different is her approach. She isn’t submitting hundreds of résumés (crowd), she’s inviting potential employers to apply to her (what crowd?).

Beware of anti-marketing!

I was facilitating a discussion with a group of small business owners this morning when a new word popped into my head — “anti-marketing”. Sounds dangerous, but what is it?

I had encouraged everyone to think about marketing as a conversation, in fact, every conversation they have with customers, prospects, employees, colleagues… even friends and family. They were all familiar with the concept of the “30 second elevator pitch” and the USP (unique selling proposition), so I asked them to think about the value of personal storytelling as a marketing tool.

If marketing is every positive conversation we have and storytelling is a great way to connect with customers and generate positive word-of-mouth, anti-marketing would be every negative conversation we have or story we tell. Let’s face it. Who wants to do business with someone who is negative? Do you?

To combat anti-marketing, just be aware of the conversations you have and the stories you tell. If you’re tempted to go negative, bite your lip! Let the other person do the talking for awhile, or find a way to change the subject.

Keep your personal brand positive and you can expect a lot more referrals and a lot better word-of-mouth.

Leadership Mantras

Not a mission statement or an elevator pitch, they are quick and easy statements that capture the essence of what you want to accomplish. Leadership mantras work like product taglines, imbedding a message in employees’ minds with repetition. To work, a leader must use them and act on them consistently. For example…

“You will miss 100 percent of the shots you do not take.”
“Hire slowly, fire quickly.”
“Hope is not a strategy.”
“Work is not a place.”

Marketing isn’t always external. Leaders must sell their vision to employees and customers. Mantras can be effective, if occasionally hokey, tools.

What’s your favorite mantra? How do you use it? What has it helped you achieve?

What’s your story?

Personal stories can be a powerful way to communicate intangible value.

Back in high school, my sister used to tease me for having “study parties” to prepare for AP physics exams. She called me a nerd, and maybe I was, but I also knew that without those “study parties” I would be lost. I knew that I could handle the concepts of physics, but that I was awful at the math. By meeting with my classmates, I could explain the theory, and they could explain the calculations. It was all about give and take. I’ve understood the value of peer groups for a long time, so I am really passionate about building the community at ExpertCEO, an online network for senior executives and the community that inspired this blog.
– Nathalee Ghafouri, Marketing Manager, ExpertCEO

When I was involved with Vistage as a CEO group chair, I talked to potential candidates about the benefits of joining a peer group. I could have used a similar story about my days in engineering school, but didn’t think of it. Shame on me, because it clearly demonstrates the value of a peer group without sounding like a sales pitch.

Take a minute and think about the stories in your life that could help someone understand the value of what you do. They can be very powerful, and they are free.