Marketing is not that difficult

At times, we make certain things out to be more difficult than they really are. This can create anxiety, fear, and even paralyze us from taking action. Let’s make a commitment to not do that with marketing.

To keep things simple, at a minimum you need just a few marketing systems if you aspire to be in the top 5% of our industry. You will need a system to:

1. Attract and Acquire right-fit clients who look like your top 20% of clients. This includes a referral system.
2. Appreciate and Ascend your best clients, getting them to use as many services you offer as possible.
3. Retain your best clients.

That’s it. Don’t over-complicate it. You want a flow of new clients. You want to get your best clients to come as often as possible and use as many of your services as possible. And you want to keep those clients.

There are a ton of strategies and tactics that you can use to accomplish this, but here are a couple of tips:

• Don’t follow your competition, unless they are in the top 5% of our industry. The majority of your competition is almost always getting it wrong.
• When in doubt, follow the Golden Rule. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Then get to know them. And then switch it to the Platinum Rule – treat others the way THEY want to be treated.

One note of caution...... About 1 in 30 dry cleaners I talk to do not want to do any marketing because they think marketing is all about discounting their services, which in turn degrades their brand and sets the standard for clients wanting more discounting in the future.

My response to this is always the same – let’s change out the word “discounting” for “investing.” Marketing at its core is investing in your target and current clients so that they trust you and utilize your services. I compare it to fishing – could you imagine going fishing and not putting any bait on the hook? You might occasionally get lucky and catch a fish if your hook is very shiny, but even this is unlikely. The bait is not a discount. The bait is an investment that allows you to catch more fish.

You don’t have to bait the hook with a deal every time you do marketing. But when you are trying to change the behavior or routine of your target / current client, you will get much more business if you bait the hook. The primary examples of when you need to bait the hook by creating an irresistible offer are:

1. Acquisition of a right-fit client
2. Getting a current client to use a new service
3. Retention of a right-fit client

Whether you get marketing ideas from me or from someone else, learn from the best and compress time by using tactics that are already proven in our industry. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel or spend years trying all kinds of tactics. I encourage my Maverick Mastermind Members to ethically steal my ideas so they can have tremendous success. Be wary of anyone who does not give you their very best ideas to use, especially if you are paying for it.

Have an awesome week, my friends!

Dave