There are several themes you will read about in my blog. One of them is overcoming fear and the other is being boring (and yes, I know they are related themes). I talk about these themes a lot because I’m trying to work them out in my own life. You see, I have a confession to make; I’m basically a plain vanilla who secretly wants to be a Jalapeno Chocolate Crunch!

So what exactly is the difference? Vanillas are nice, people-pleasing people. They don’t like to make waves. They don’t stand out in the crowd. There is very seldom anything STRONG about their personalities.

Jalapeno Chocolate Crunch individuals, on the other hand, are either loved or hated. They don’t mind being hated because it is not their purpose in life to be a pleaser. They are who they are and not everyone likes them.

When vanilla individuals go into business for themselves they start with a whimper. It takes them time to get their momentum. It takes time to establish their USP – probably because they don’t want to offend anyone. This fear can keep them stuck. Therefore, it is a bit more difficult for them to gather a following.

When Jalapeno Chocolate Crunch businesses emerge, they do so with a bang. Some people hate them and some people love them. They develop a following because of their strength. They know who they are. They are not worried about everybody liking them (at least on the exterior.) I admire that.

My favorite example of a Jalapeno Chocolate Crunch business is ittybiz. Naomi, the proprietress has a strong personal web presence. She tells it like she sees it. People either love her or hate her – I personally adore the woman and think she is usually ‘right on the mark’ when she expresses her views.

Vanilla-type personalities are not likely to turn into Jalapeno Chocolate Crunchies because it would be too uncomfortable for them. Now, for the clincher – (drum roll please) how does a vanilla become memorable?

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It’s December. That means decorations, parties, and Christmas presents. It’s a time when packages arrive on porches announced by the ringing of the doorbell. It’s a time when the postal service, Fed Ex, and UPS are very busy.

Saturday I got a wonderful package from my sister. I was in the middle of writing when I saw the UPS truck drive up. It was exciting to see what he was bringing. As I opened the door I thought about how UPS has a unique USP. (Yes a play on letters here). UPS this season says, “Delivering holiday spirit worldwide. UPS makes the holiday flurry a little easier.” I don’t know what their official USP is; however, I do know that they communicate a sense of caring through making my life easier. They do this with timely package pick up and delivery, inexpensive copying services, mailbox services, and packing my boxes carefully for shipment.

What is a USP?

USP stands for unique selling proposition. A USP is the foundation of great marketing. It sets you apart from your competition. It tells customers why they should do business with you, instead of anyone else.

Why does a business need a USP?

Every business communicates a USP whether they want to or not. Having a USP can help you make decisions concerning your business. It is a way to also develop your brand. A brand based on the experience you give your customers.

Use these lucky 13 questions to help you find your very own, specific USP:

1. Why would someone want to do business with me instead of choosing my competitor?
2. What don’t they like about the competition that I can offer instead?
3. Why would someone choose my service or product at all? (Why change what they are currently doing? – which is usually nothing.)
4. Who are my customers?
5. Who do I want to be my customers?
6. What are the facts about my business now?
7. What do I want my business to look like in the future (your vision)?
8. What are the features of my business?
9. What are the benefits of these features?
10. What am I really selling (emotional benefits)?
11. What metaphor might help clients understand my message quickly?
12. Do I want to share my personality in my marketing? If so,What essentials features (of my personality) do I want to share?
13. What makes me memorable?

In answering these questions, remember that it’s not what you specifically do, it’s what you specifically communicate.
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When I talk to my clients about marketing, many of them tell me they hate it. They say things such as, “I don’t know what to say.” Or, “I don’t want to be too pushy.” My advice to them is not to sell. I hate selling as well. So how does someone who hates selling let people know about their products and services without being pushy?

Permission Marketing.

Permission Marketing, is turning strangers into friends and friends into customers.

The best way to get permission marketing to work for you is to give. Give advice, samples, freebies, trials, and other such goodies related to what you do in your business. Don’t expect anything in return for these goodies. (That defeats the purpose of giving.)

When you give something for free, it creates good feelings between you and the person you gave the gift to. They might not need your product or services right now, but when they do need your services or products, they will think of you first because of your gift. They will also readily refer people to you.

An example of this is when someone learns that I am a copywriter. I get lots of requests to look over promotional items that someone has written. I don’t charge for this (unless it’s very long). I spend a few minutes going over the item, and then I give the person my impressions. Most of the time I will find many good things about what they’ve created. Usually I’ll also find one or two things that need improvement, or something that could be changed or added. This doesn’t take a long time and has given me tons of business.

Even if the person decides to change the flier herself, she will remember that I offered advice for free. She will think of me the next time someone mentions that they need a brochure or flier, or something else.
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“One good letter from a satisfied customer may be all you need to convince the customer that he or she is safe in buying from you,” claims Brian Tracy in his book Be a Sales Superstar. He adds, “They [testimonials] are incredibly powerful in building mega-credibility.”

There are so many choices today for consumers that it takes mega-credibility to get sales. Credibility is an appeal to quality and service. Mega-credibility is more than that. It is increased trust in your company – trust that puts you above what your competitors are offering.

The reason over 80% of qualified consumers don’t buy something is because they don’t want to make a mistake. Developing mega-credibility in your product or service helps customers overcome this fear. One way to do this is with case studies and customer testimonials.

Case studies show satisfied clients using your product or service to solve a problem. This develops trust in your company as prospects see others like themselves happy with their purchase. Case studies build mega-credibility because they go beyond claims of great quality or wonderful customer service. They show real life examples of success.

Customer testimonials are short paragraphs about how your product or service helped them. Case studies are usually used in Business to Business advertising, while customer testimonials are more prevalent in business to consumer marketing.

Every company should have at least one case study and/or testimonial for each product or service it offers. Many companies take this further and develop a case study for different features of products. This is especially helpful in up-selling. Highlighting a satisfied customer who purchased an add-on feature and found it became indispensable is priceless in getting more customers to purchase that feature.
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Zebras roam in herds. Their stripes help each other get ahead by camouflaging them from predators. At the same time each Zebra has its own pattern, which makes her recognized by other members of the herd.

You can apply these Zebra-striping principles to your business as well. You want to help your customers, or herd. You want to protect, or camouflage, them from predators. (Predators are those unscrupulous companies or individuals who scam people.)

You can do this with Permission Marketing, which is a term coined by Seth Godin. As Seth Godin says, “Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them.”

He discusses how consumers want to be treated with respect. They have learned to ignore the noise of most advertising messages, so they tune it out. When someone pays attention to you, they are giving you a gift. You can get and keep their attention with valuable information on things they are interested in. As you develop your permission marketing methods, you create a herd, or village of people who like, trust, and know you – so they are more likely to buy from you. You can help them avoid scams, which further develops your relationship with them.

We all like to do business with people who we like, trust, and know. It’s more fun that way.
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Yesterday I talked about breaking down big tasks into bite-sized pieces as a way to “eat your elephant.” Today my tip is how to “catch your tiger” or the planning part of organizing.

The tiger above is just a cub. He hasn’t gotten big and shaggy yet. This is the best to time to catch those tigers –when they’re small.

To translate this into ‘business speak’: After you’ve broken your big project down into smaller tasks, schedule time to complete them and stick to your schedule. This is a simple, but essential step in the process.

I tend to make plans, schedule my time, and then get distracted by “urgent” things that aren’t necessarily important. (If you’ve ever read any of Steven Covey’s books or used a Franklin Day Planner System, you will understand these terms already.)

Urgent things are the telephone ringing, emails, or the next chapter in the newest mystery I am reading.

Important things are writing on my blog, keeping my books up to date, and spending time with my family. When I schedule the important things and stick to my schedule I am happier and I accomplish my goals.

As I was writing this article, this quote appeared on my digital dayplanner: “People have more options than they think they do. But most people spend more time planning their vacations than thinking about what they want to do with their lives.” Bob McDonald – The Lemming Conspiracy

Marketing takes planning and scheduling. Many people don’t market until they need more business, but marketing is best done a little bit at a time each day. It can also be fun.

So what do you think? Do you spend your time with ‘urgent’ or ‘important’ things?
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The other day some flashing lights at the side of the road grabbed my attention. I knew it wasn’t a police car, or a fire truck, so I was curious as to what was going on. I passed a small truck with a sign in the back that said, “DESIGN,” with flashing lights around the sign.

As I passed, I wondered exactly what kind of design the sign was referring to. I had just passed a restaurant that showcases local works of art. I was coming up to a t-shirt design and printing store. There was a very small interior design store around the corner. I was also near some car dealerships. So what kind of design did this sign refer to? I have no idea.

Flashing lights are attention-getters; they do not tell a potential customer what action is desired, or how a product or service can benefit someone. I notice this type of attention-getting advertising on TV all the time. There have been several commercials recently I have seen and noticed how clever they are; but I have no clue about how the product can benefit me.

To effectively create a marketing message you need three things:

1. Attention. (The flashing lights did this.)
2. A message that appeals to your customers. (If the design sign above had referred to the t-shirt store, I might have stopped. If it referred to custom designs painted on a car, it would have appealed to other customers. As it was, no one knew who the sign was intended for.)
3. A call to action. A call to action is what you want people to do. This would include:
“Turn here if you want . . . .”
“Call this number for a free visit from our interior design specialist.”
“Honk your horn if you like these flashing lights.”

Remember not to get caught up in a cut, attention-getting idea to the exclusion of who your customers are and what you want them to do.

That’s all for now.
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Many years ago I attended business school. After school, I got a job in the corporate world of business. Writing in these two venues was very formal – just like this paragraph.

Then I started blogging. Blogging is casual and uses conversational language that my professors and bosses would have cringed at. (Yes that is a preposition at the end of the previous sentence.)

So what does language have to do with building rapport? Everything!

1) Using Casual Language is the first block to building rapport. Readers are looking for solutions to problems – not perfect prose. Imagine a casual conversation with your good friend as you write.

2) Being Personal is the second rapport-building block. Sharing stories, about your business or personal life, makes you come alive to your readers. You become someone they can share with, not just some faceless “blogger.”

3) Sharing your struggles and failures is the third block of building rapport. This is my favorite building block because I have so much to learn. I hope people will be patient with me as I learn and share with me their solutions to problems. I am so excited when I find something that works that I love to share it – especially after I have struggled with a problem for a while.

4) Talking about others’ achievements is the fourth rapport block to use. Everyone likes to savor their successes. It is especially fun when someone else talks about that success. It shows that you are wiling to share the spotlight and help them.
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I love my children’s orthodontist. So the other day when someone asked me if I knew of a good orthodontist, I didn’t hesitate to recommend him and his great staff. I knew he did a good job and that he and his staff understood teenagers. Besides that, their office is organized enough that I don’t have to wait for my appointment when I arrive. I felt confident in my recommendation.

The same type of recommendation exists in blogs. It is called linking.

When you link to something in your blog, you are giving the linked content a mini-letter of recommendation. So make sure you know what and who you are linking to, and that your readers will appreciate the reference.
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Remember watching John Travolta in the shower belting out the Band-Aid song, “I am stuck-on bandaid because bandaid’s stuck on me?” This is a classic example of branding.

Advertising has changed a lot in the past few years. It is no longer enough to come up with a clever jingle, show it to tons of people, and hope they will buy your stuff. Consumers are smarter than they were in the 70’s. They want more from their products than just clever advertising. So what’s a small business to do?

Develop your Relationship Marketing. Relationship marketing is cheaper, more measurable, and much more fun than branding. Relationship marketing is about getting to know your customers and helping them solve problems through your products or services. In the process, you actually develop your very own brand. Seth Godin describes a brand as: “a promise made over time.”

For this type of “promise-made-over-time” branding to work, you have to have a promise that is exciting – to you and to your customers. You have to fall in love with your business.So quit thinking of your brand as a clever jingle and instead work on developing your business integrity. A good way to do this is to:

1) Offer a high-quality product or service that people want.
2) Make sure your product or service is something you love as well.
3) Give your clients great customer service.

This reputation or status is what branding in business is all about anyway. You really can’t have that before you start. It’s like a baby learning to run before they walk. So worry more about building value in your business than choosing exactly the right logo for your brand. Here at Digital Marketing Diva, my branding is that I help small business owners (who are overwhelmed by all the ’stuff’ to do on the internet) get online with their business. It’s an exciting process to see the light turn on inside someone’s head as they figure out how they can help others through the power of the internet.

So what promise does your business make?