New Running Shoes

New Running shoes

I bought new running shoes today. If you examined my old running shoes you might wonder why I needed new shoes. The old shoes looked in near perfect condition – just a little scuffed. If you are not a runner that would be a perfectly normal response.

When I was a child my dad bought me new running shoes whenever my toes were sticking out of my existing running shoes. It didn’t matter that the tread on the bottom was worn down or that pieces of the rubber were torn off – either from natural wear or on purpose. Both shoes had to be exposing my toes to justify replacement. A new pair of running shoes cost $12.

Today my new running shoes plus three pairs of socks (on sale) cost me almost $200.00. I didn’t blink at the price. In fact I never asked the price of the shoes until I got to the cash with my credit card out and ready to pay.

So what are the lessons here?

I bought new shoes because my knees were starting to hurt when I ran.

Pay attention to the signals that things are going wrong. It’s easy to ignore the little changes. Very seldom will you see a Tsunami until it is way too late. Don’t wait for the Tsunami.

When someone really wants something they don’t care about the price. I want to run every week. I do not want to wait until I find shoes on sale.

Pain is a motivator to buy aspirin. Be very clear on the aspirin that you offer to your clients.

Change is uncomfortable. I want not to change. I want to run every week like I have for years. I want to get the same shoes from the same store when I need them. Running once started is a habit. It’s a drug. Feed my drug habit and I will continue to buy from you. No crack user shops around for a better deal.


George Torok
Marketing Speaker
Secrets of Power Marketing

Power Marketing Tip 26: More Channels for more hooks

Power Marketing Tip 26:

More Channels Equals More Hooks

In the five million channel universe how many channels are you broadcasting on? It's a long way from the days of less than a dozen TVchannels broadcasting in black and white to audiences without remote controls. People had to get up from the couch and turn the dial to change channels. It was easy to hold their attention.

To get noticed and reach your market today you need to be sending your message on more than one channel. Not every channel but at least a few.
Some channels of marketing that you might use: direct mail, sponsorship, networking, telemarketing, special events, trade shows, client meetings, info-seminars, award programs, newsletters...

You might promote through the media on TV, Radio or in print. You could advertise or leverage public relations.

You have many choices online. You can choose from websites,blogs, ezines, YouTube, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and more.

You don't need to be everywhere. But your clients and prospects need to believe you are everywhere.

Strong relationships
To maintain strong relationships with your clients you need to connect with them on several channels. Why? Because having a multiple channel relationship makes the relationship stronger.

For example: If you talk to people only by email - that is pretty cold and one dimensional. It's very easy to dismiss such a relationship.

Count the hooks
Imagine how difficult it would be to stop doing business with you if you call your client regularly, send him informative newsletters about the industry, sponsor his daughter's soccer team, promote on the local radio station, mail post cards from across the country, contribute to the industry magazine, attend the association convention and are godmother to his youngest son.

Those are a lot of strong hooks.

How many hooks do you need? One strong hook might be okay but why risk it? I suggest that you have at least three strong hooks to hold your clients to you. And have some secondary hooks to sweeten the connection for them. Then they will see you everywhere and keep doing business with you.

George Torok
Power Marketing

Tell me how this marketing tip helps you.
PS: Forward this tip to your associates.
PPS: Thanks for your comments and feedback.

Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" at www.PowerMarketing.ca

--------------------------------

Feedback on the book, Secrets of Power Marketing

"Next to a lifetime of experience this is one of the most practical marketing books I have seen. I know you wrote this book for small business - but big business could learn a lot from it too."
George Cohon
Senior Chairman of McDonalds Canada and McDonalds Russia
Author of "To Russia with Fries"
-------------------

Read an excerpt from the book, Secrets of Power Marketing

Order your copy of the book, Secrets of Power Marketing

Video: Bransen on PR

In this video interview with Seth Godin, Virgin CEO Richard Branson talks about the importance of a good PR person to make sure people know about your business.



George Torok

Read Get Your Name in the Media

Read How to Write Your News Release

Power Marketing Tips 25: Be Bolder

Power Presentations Tips 25

Be Bolder

Now is the time to be bolder in your marketing.

Why?

Because many businesses are doing just the opposite. They are cutting back on their marketing and taking a wait and see approach. Some of them are even hiding and dropping out of sight.

By being bold in your marketing you can leapfrog ahead of those cautious folks. This is the lap where you push while they hold back and you will leave them in your dust.

According to Global Trends Expert, Warren Evans, "Most markets will look very different when this recession ends." The lineup of players might look like the whole team got traded.

The last thing you should be doing right now is snoozing.

Be bold. Be daring and take the offense.
Offer more value to your best clients.
Differentiate yourself more clearly.
Take a strong position on a nagging issue in your industry.
Be more vocal and visible in the marketplace.
Be willing to offend your competition and undesirable clients.
Talk about the big elephant in your industry that everyone else is ignoring.
Do the thing that your competition is unwilling to do.

Consider this - the reason we have a recession is to remind people that the way we were doing things wasn't working.

Those who want to survive must change. Those who will win big are those who make drastic changes. There are plenty of naysayers, whiners and profits of doom. Here's your opportunity to be a market leader.

George Torok
Power Marketing

PS: Tell me how this marketing tip helps you.

Weight Watchers marketing mistake - the momentum plan

Weight Watchers: The Momentum Plan

What a dumb name.

Weight Watchers has a program called “The Momentum Plan”.

Why is that a dumb name?
Because as any high school physics student knows, momentum is equal to mass times velocity. That means you can increase momentum by increasing your mass (weight) or velocity (speed) or both.

In layman’s thinking momentum is usually associated with continuously moving forward. Ships come to mind. A super tanker has much more momentum than a tug boat even if they are both moving at the same speed – because the super tanker has more bulk. More bulk (even if that bulk is dead weight) means more momentum. For that reason the super tanker takes more time and distance to steer. Inflexible companies are often compared to the super tanker. Momentum is not necessarily desirable.

Picture Fat Albert, of The Bill Cosby Kids Cartoon show, striding slowly down the street. Now imagine Jughead, of Archie Comics, walking beside him at the same speed. If Fat Albert weighs in at 300 lbs and Jughead tips the scales at 100 lbs – Fat Albert has three times the momentum of Jughead.

Fat Albert has more momentum because he weights more than Jughead. Now imagine them both sitting in a chair. Velocity is zero. Fat Albert has more momentum than Jughead because it is more difficult to push him out of the chair than it is to move Fat Albert. Is that the picture that Weight Watchers is trying to paint?

One of the rules of modern marketing is to put the benefits in the headline. For example, SlimFast is a better headline that Weight Watchers. People want to be slim. They don’t want to watch their weight.

You might ask, “Why has Weight Watchers been so successful as a business?” Because they were one of, if not the first in the “weight loss” business. And when you are the first in your market you tend to be the market leader until you mess up a lot. The first in any field enjoys a head start on the competition. But that might not be enough.

Make enough mistakes and you get bypassed by smarter runners. Look at how Toyota bypassed General Motors and Hyundai is sprinting through the pack. General Motors still has more momentum because it has more bulk – more assets, more employees and more debt than the leaner car companies. And when GM crashes the momentum it has will leave a huge crater of destruction. Is that the image that Weight Watchers is trying to create in the minds of its prospects?

What is Weight Watchers suggesting with their “The Momentum Plan”? Are they saying that you will have more momentum with this plan? You just keep moving at the same pace and keep adding mass so that you have more momentum just like Fat Albert (Hey, hey hey!).

Do the customers of Weight Watchers really want more momentum?

George Torok
Marketing Speaker
Marketing Expert

Write Headlines that kick Butt

Write Headlines That Kick Butt

Write head-snapping profit-driving headlines in seconds. Stop wasting hours or even days agonizing over a good headline. Why settle for good when you can choose from 100 commanding headlines? And generate these headlines in a few heartbeats. All you do is answer four simple questions about your offering, hit go, and stretch for just a few seconds. And like magic you can select from 100 killer headlines that are guaranteed to out-draw your previous results by at least 30%. You know the importance of a powerful headline. If your headline doesn't grab your reader - you have lost that sale. Download this amazing program that will write headlines for you in 17 seconds or less… (read more)

You know how important a headline is.
You know how tough is can be to write one.
This software just blew me away with the results and ease of use.

I liked it so much I bought the resale rights.

Go ahead and check it out. I guarantee you’ll love it and more importantly improve your marketing results.

Go ahead – make your day.
Learn more about Headline Writer Pro.

Start writing killer headlines and kicking butt with your headlines.

George Torok
Power Marketing

Power Marketing Tips 24: Pick your crowd carefully

Power Marketing Tips 24

Pick your crowd carefully

What do you think your associates are saying about you?
The people, companies and groups that you are connected with say a lot about you. And it's not necessarily what they say in words. It's more about what being associated with them says about you.

"When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends."
Japanese Proverb

If we don't know you then our first impressions will likely be determined by the company you keep.

If we don't know you well our opinion of you is influenced by who you associate with.

Even when we think we know you our opinion can be swayed by our opinion of the people around you.

This works both ways. Some connections lift you up and some put you down.

Clients
Your clients speak to your credibility.Are you bragging about your impressive clients? If your clients are well known then drop their names into conversations. If the company names are not well known then mention the industry. Of course be sure to get and publish testimonials from them - whether they are known or not.

Suppliers
If you are a reseller, then your product lines and suppliers can lend you credibility. This is one reason for the power behind franchises.This is why IT consultants are proud to boast that they are certified by Microsoft, SAP or Cisco. Meanwhile no one admits that they were audited by Anderson.

Memberships
Your certifications, awards and memberships send messages about you. It talks about the things you value and the institutions that respect you. Being a member of a group that is known for high ethical standards or leading edge education can help your own image. The events you attend showcase the type of people with whom you want to be associated.

Community
Your community work and support for charities reflect your character and community values. Sponsoring these groups suggests that you care and therefore might be a decent person to do business with.
Everybody is watching and judging you and your crowd. Pick your crowd carefully.

George Torok
Power Marketing

Tell me how this marketing tip helps you.
PS: Forward this tip to your associates.
PPS: Thanks for your comments and feedback.

Feedback

"George - we were all very impressed with your talk - both the substance and the form!"

Peter Churchill-Smith
Managing Director
Newport Partners

George Torok
Register for your free Marketing tips here