Casual Articles - Why Marketing Fails: Situational Marketing 101

There is a nuclear-strength “secret” weapon that 90% of self-employed professionals are missing out on as they try to build their businesses. It’s amazingly simple, amazingly powerful – and – amazingly overlooked!

It’s called “Situational Marketing,” and it can revolutionize your business.

As professionals in service industries, we live, eat, and breathe ideas. We live flying in the stratosphere, soaring with angels, shooting with stars. We think in terms of big ideas and processes. When we talk about what we do, we love to describe how things work in our field and theoretical explanations of how to fix problems.

The trouble is that the vast majority of our potential clients don’t live in the world of ideas. They live on the ground. They think about getting their kids to school. They worry about being laid off from work. They struggle with getting their own businesses to work better.

People have very short attention spans. Most people are aware of a very small number of acute, practical problems that are driving them crazy. They want solutions, they want them to be quick, and they want them now. They don’t have the bandwidth for a lot of exposition.

Self-employed professionals like coaches who try to sell “realizing your potential,” “getting where you want to go,” or “creating the life you want to live” really have a problem. Most people might think those are nice ideas, but they have to think so hard to figure out what that means for them that they’d rather go home and balance their checkbook. Even if they might be intrigued, they are thinking something like, “It would be nice to work on that right after I deal with my employee turnover problem.”

Other professionals who try to sell “accurate accounting services” or “high-quality graphic design” face a different but related problem. Those are commodities in the minds of their potential clients. Such language goes in one ear (or eye) and out the other. Ten minutes after finding out about you they have forgotten all about it.

It’s a well-known fact that people buy what they want rather than what they need. Your marketing needs to be about the client: the client’s situation, the client’s feelings, the client’s problem, and  - finally – the solution you will provide for the client.

I was talking with a struggling self-employed woman the other day.  She asked me what kind of coaching I do. I said, “I work with business owners who are tired of having their marketing efforts fall flat.” She said, “Oh my God, that’s me!” I asked her, “Do people’s eyes glaze over when you tell them what you do?” She said, “Yes! They do! I need you!”

She was excited when she heard my marketing statement! She instantly heard herself in the description. It indicated to her that I know her situation and probably have the perfect solution. This is what situational marketing does for you.

Good situational marketing has several important qualities. It is:

·         Clear and specific – the listener hears themselves exactly in the message

Use a Business Center as a Profitable Alternative to Paying High Rent
A unique service that is being used by many professionals today is the Business Center. With so many business professionals working from their homes or on the go, the Business Center has evolved into a popular alternative to leasing a permanent office. It provides a creative solution which benefits the small business owner tremendously.What is a Business Center?A Business Center gives small business owners a presence in the business world for a fraction of normal rental costs. It is an alternative to leasing an office space, which can be costly for a new business owner. Business Center services may also provide a set of online tools to help manage the small business. Although Business Center services differ, below is a list of some of the most common features.1. Physical Business AddressClients are provided with their own physical mailing address where business mail and small packages can be received. Business Centers are not typically used to receive heavy volumes of mail as in a mail order business, but normal business mail quantities only. Those who operate a business from their home can use the Business Center address instead of their home love to describe how things work in our field and theoretical explanations of how to fix problems.

The trouble is that the vast majority of our potential clients don’t live in the world of ideas. They live on the ground. They think about getting their kids to school. They worry about being laid off from work. They struggle with getting their own businesses to work better.

People have very short attention spans. Most people are aware of a very small number of acute, practical problems that are driving them crazy. They want solutions, they want them to be quick, and they want them now. They don’t have the bandwidth for a lot of exposition.

Self-employed professionals like coaches who try to sell “realizing your potential,” “getting where you want to go,” or “creating the life you want to live” really have a problem. Most people might think those are nice ideas, but they have to think so hard to figure out what that means for them that they’d rather go home and balance their checkbook. Even if they might be intrigued, they are thinking something like, “It would be nice to work on that right after I deal with my employee turnover problem.”

Other professionals who try to sell “accurate accounting services” or “high-quality graphic design” face a different but related problem. Those are commodities in the minds of their potential clients. Such language goes in one ear (or eye) and out the other. Ten minutes after finding out about you they have forgotten all about it.

It’s a well-known fact that people buy what they want rather than what they need. Your marketing needs to be about the client: the client’s situation, the client’s feelings, the client’s problem, and  - finally – the solution you will provide for the client.

I was talking with a struggling self-employed woman the other day.  She asked me what kind of coaching I do. I said, “I work with business owners who are tired of having their marketing efforts fall flat.” She said, “Oh my God, that’s me!” I asked her, “Do people’s eyes glaze over when you tell them what you do?” She said, “Yes! They do! I need you!”

She was excited when she heard my marketing statement! She instantly heard herself in the description. It indicated to her that I know her situation and probably have the perfect solution. This is what situational marketing does for you.

Good situational marketing has several important qualities. It is:

·         Clear and specific – the listener hears themselves exactly in the message

The Important Function of Shrink Wrap for Boats
Shrink wrap can help protect and organize a gift fruit basket, but if your gift is a boat and not a fruit basket, do not fear. Boats can be shrink wrapped too, using the same technology.Shrink wrap systems use a plastic film, typically made of PVC, Polyolefin, or polyethylene. The plastic film is wrapped around an object to protect it from moisture, dirt, and other hazards of travel or storage. The plastic film is heated to conform to the shape of the object. Shrink wrap systems may be small and inexpensive, used by a home businessperson, or large, automated machines costing tens of thousands of dollars. DVDs, CDs, videos, artwork, mailers, newspapers, and packages are commonly shrink wrapped before transport.Shrink wrapping a boat, however, presents unique challenges. A boat is large and cannot be fit through an automatic shrink wrap machine. Special shrink wrap films exist to wrap boats. Films are heavy duty so that the boats can be stored during cold winters and can be purchased in blue, white, or clear. Shrink wrap for boats can also protect a boat from prolonged periods in warm weather. A special chemical in the polyethylene film keeps them soft, flexible, and mal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Self-employed professionals like coaches who try to sell “realizing your potential,” “getting where you want to go,” or “creating the life you want to live” really have a problem. Most people might think those are nice ideas, but they have to think so hard to figure out what that means for them that they’d rather go home and balance their checkbook. Even if they might be intrigued, they are thinking something like, “It would be nice to work on that right after I deal with my employee turnover problem.”

Other professionals who try to sell “accurate accounting services” or “high-quality graphic design” face a different but related problem. Those are commodities in the minds of their potential clients. Such language goes in one ear (or eye) and out the other. Ten minutes after finding out about you they have forgotten all about it.

It’s a well-known fact that people buy what they want rather than what they need. Your marketing needs to be about the client: the client’s situation, the client’s feelings, the client’s problem, and  - finally – the solution you will provide for the client.

I was talking with a struggling self-employed woman the other day.  She asked me what kind of coaching I do. I said, “I work with business owners who are tired of having their marketing efforts fall flat.” She said, “Oh my God, that’s me!” I asked her, “Do people’s eyes glaze over when you tell them what you do?” She said, “Yes! They do! I need you!”

She was excited when she heard my marketing statement! She instantly heard herself in the description. It indicated to her that I know her situation and probably have the perfect solution. This is what situational marketing does for you.

Good situational marketing has several important qualities. It is:

·         Clear and specific – the listener hears themselves exactly in the message

Business Recovery
If you stay in business long enough you will witness the good side and the bad side of business life. It is an unfortunate fact of life that things never run smoothly all of the time, in fact they have a way of turning bad when least expected.One of the most difficult decisions a business owner can face, is deciding if their businesses worth recovering? To find the true answer to this question it is sometimes worth employing the opinion of an outside agency. This agency will carry out a complete audit and report their finding to you, the good thing about employing an outside agency is they are devoid of emotion towards the business and deal purely with facts and figures.If the company is deemed recoverable a recovery package can be put in place, generally this comes in the form of a long term loan. Most recovery loans come with stipulations; the reason is to prevent the business failing in the future. Businesses the world over will come across difficult times, for various reasons, the one factor that separates successful businessmen from their peers is lessons are learned by their mistakes and errors of judgement.Administrators are usually called in for largeFONT face="Times New Roman"> 

It’s a well-known fact that people buy what they want rather than what they need. Your marketing needs to be about the client: the client’s situation, the client’s feelings, the client’s problem, and  - finally – the solution you will provide for the client.

I was talking with a struggling self-employed woman the other day.  She asked me what kind of coaching I do. I said, “I work with business owners who are tired of having their marketing efforts fall flat.” She said, “Oh my God, that’s me!” I asked her, “Do people’s eyes glaze over when you tell them what you do?” She said, “Yes! They do! I need you!”

She was excited when she heard my marketing statement! She instantly heard herself in the description. It indicated to her that I know her situation and probably have the perfect solution. This is what situational marketing does for you.

Good situational marketing has several important qualities. It is:

·         Clear and specific – the listener hears themselves exactly in the message

Top 10 Workplace Trends for 2006
As 2005 starts to slowly fade in our rear view mirror, I get excited about thinking what we will see ahead of us in the areas of workplace trends. After reading numerous articles, attending conferences and analyzing research reports, here’s what my crystal ball says are the top 10 trends we’ll be seeing in the workplace in 2006:As businesses struggle to attract and retain the best and the brightest people in a hot market, as our population continues to gray, and the global economy gains more momentum, employers will have to start managing and engaging their work force. All the automation, tools and processes will go in vein if there aren’t good people to create, invent and manage the business.William Bridges noted it first. Technology, information and communications have come together to radically and permanently change the structure of work. This trend is not about losing jobs; rather, it is about redefining our understanding of work and learning how to develop ourselves within this understanding. People in workplaces will need to learn how to continually embrace change and re-confN: 0in 0in 0pt">She was excited when she heard my marketing statement! She instantly heard herself in the description. It indicated to her that I know her situation and probably have the perfect solution. This is what situational marketing does for you.

Good situational marketing has several important qualities. It is:

·         Clear and specific – the listener hears themselves exactly in the message

·         Emotional – it elicits a response in the gut or the heart

·         Communicated in the words your clients actually use themselves

·         Easy to remember

·         Unusual in a way that really makes it stand out.

Start with a careful examination of your unique talents and strengths. Then examine the situations your ideal clients face and listen to the words they use to describe them. Ask yourself what they say to themselves as they’re driving to the office or brushing their teeth at night. When you find a match between the work you are passionate about doing and a problem your clients are aware that they have, you have struck gold. You know what to say, and you know what products and services you need to develop in order to help them. You know you can help them because their problem is really rooted in an area of personal growth in which you are an expert. And your ideal clients actually become excited to talk to you!

Here are some more examples of situational marketing:

·         People who secretly wish they’d get laid off so they can go do what they REALLY want to do

·         Single working moms sharing custody with a jerk

·         Contractors who are tired of worrying where their next job is coming from

·         Business owners who wish their employees would stop bickering and do their jobs

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