Trapped in Your Comfort Zone? Break Out and Send Your Marketing Skyrocketing

A marketer whose advice I generally respect recently published an article about how to find your comfort zone and stick to it in your business in order to create a more harmonious work environment.

In theory, it makes sense. Most of us have gone into business for ourselves to have more control over our own destinies, financially and otherwise.

In reality, however, settling into a routine can wreak havoc on your marketing, making you complacent with small rewards when taking tiny risks could give you a major business boost.

Small risks can't hurt

Recently a large corporation I did some marketing work for developed a product that was head and shoulders above the anything like it anywhere in the world (really!) in terms of quality and price. We "oohed" and "ahhed" over the product and everyone wanted one.

You'd think the company would want to capitalize on their new winner. But management wouldn't allow any comparisons to the competition in the marketing campaign for this product because it had not been done in their market before.

However, it's a tactic that is proven to work in just about every other market, it's perfectly legal and could easily have been launched on a small scale just to test it. It wouldn't even be expensive. If it worked, it would pay for itself 20 times over and could be implemented elsewhere for a small additional sum.

"No," said Mr. Top Marketer. "We want to have 1 launch because it's what we've always done, and we've been successful so far." So they used the same approach they always had.

And you know what? Despite the fact that their product was phenomenal, they lost the battle. Another brand name now owns that market.

Unless the competitor goes out of business sometime soon (unlikely, since this product rejuvenated their business), the corporation I mentioned will never make it in that particular market. Last time I checked, I couldn't even find a product from this risk-averse company in that section of a department store.

It's easy to see that the corporation I mentioned should have known better. After all, they have a whole team of marketers dedicated to bringing in more business and could have spent minimal money to try a more effective approach. But ...

How do your small business marketing plans fit in?

Although I used a big business example, corporations have no monopoly on making decisions based on how they've always done things. And most decisions to stay with the status quo anywhere are based on one thing: fear of change.

I get lots of requests for help on marketing issues. People want to know how to get more clients to hire them, want advice on an upcoming direct mailing, are frustrated because they feel like they've tried everything and want a new direction for their marketing, and so forth.

But although it seems like a major challenge when you haven't yet achieved success, marketing isn't as hard as it seems. I can think of a few dozen tactics offhand that -- if you used just a couple out of the whole lot following some simple rules -- you would see results almost overnight.

But that's where the word "but" rears its ugly head.

Stop being a "but"!

Some entrepreneurs don't even realize that they are afraid when they say, "But my clients won't respond to that," "But I'll hurt my reputation if I actually ask them to consider buying from me/hiring me," "But I tried that once and it didn't work."

How do you know your customers won't respond? Most good marketing practices are based on fundamental human psychology. Although we love to believe our clients are different, they're still human, just like us, and it's less than 5% of the general population that can't be marketed to.

Are you sure you followed the rules? Oftentimes when you put out a marketing piece on your own, you miss certain critical points. Did you follow a checklist?

Did you have an expert marketer review it before you sent it out? Even just getting an outsider to proofread your upcoming sales letter will often illuminate problems in sales copy.

Did you try this once with 3 people or with 300 or with 3,000? It takes quite a few rejections to get a single "yes" using even the best marketing tactics. And a handful of "nos" shouldn't discourage you. All it takes is one affirmative response to give your bank account a boost!

Turn each "but" into an opportunity

Rather than focusing on the negative, think about what you have to gain by trying. I'll use myself as a guinea pig to show you what I mean.

If I hadn't gotten past my own objections to moving abroad 8 years ago, I never would have had a great career as a creative director/copywriter because the opportunity never would have arisen in my hometown in Alabama.

If I hadn't moved beyond the "But it's a pain to move to another country" excuse when my husband and I decided to move to Los Angeles from Hamburg, Germany, recently, he and I would still be suffering from major health problems due to allergies we don't have here in sunny Southern California.

And to bring this back to the subject of small businesses, if I hadn't gotten past my own fear of self-promotion (which doesn't make much sense, given that I make my living helping others promote themselves, but kicked in for a short while early on), you wouldn't be reading this article today, and I wouldn't be able to help people around the world grow their small businesses.

I could tell you another 30 or so other small, but calculated risks (far less scary than international moves, I can attest) that I have made in my own small business promotions just since opening shop a few months ago. And I'll bet you've probably also been postponing a particular marketing activity because of fear and doubt.

The power of "yes"

Whether you believe it or not, every time you say no in your marketing efforts, you're stating in no uncertain terms that you don't want to succeed. What do you have to lose by saying yes?

Trust me, once you've tasted success, it will get easier to make more bold (but calculated) moves and get your marketing on track!

Copywriter/marketing strategist Jennifer McCay helps individuals and small businesses turn their expertise into marketing success stories. She is the publisher of the Avenues to Marketing Success Newsletter, which delivers tips to help you rev up your small business marketing. To subscribe and receive a FREE special report on 7 ways to improve your sales copy, head to http://AvenueEast.com

---

Translation and Your International E-Commerce Strategy

Most businesses realize that they are simply a click away... Read More

The Most Powerful Marketing Strategy Available To Small Businesses

Most small business owners want to generate huge profits, with... Read More

Direct Mail Response Rates Mislead if You are Careless

I could tell you that the average temperature in the... Read More

Utilizing Your Best Hidden Asset To Increase Sales

You probably already have in your possession one of the... Read More

What You Need in Your Marketing Calendar

Marketing calendars are used by many businesses to help keep... Read More

Design Does Matter

The idea that good design can improve how people perceive... Read More

Getting Your Services Used

Every day I talk with professional service providers who do... Read More

Consistent Marketing Provides Big Rewards

Being inconsistent when it comes to marketing your business can... Read More

The Battle of Positioning -- Altruism or Paranoia?

Competition in the past has embodied such beliefs of "kill... Read More

How A Tiny 10 Year Old Girl Can Throw A 20 Stone Man - 3 Key Lessons In The Gentle Art Of Business

Half my immediate family trained in Judo and excelled in... Read More

Corporate Cleavage

I enjoy cleavage as much or even more than the... Read More

How to Magnetize Your Business

Do you ever wonder how some businesses always seem to... Read More

For Market Breakthroughs, Put Timing on Your Side

In today' s marketplace, the pressure for immediate bottom-line results... Read More

7 Ways to Evaluate Your Marketing Plan

Business owners often find it difficult to know whether their... Read More

CRM: Strategic Engine or Just Another Tool?

CRM?strategic engine or just another technology tool? How would you... Read More

5 Ways to Give Your Web Site a Big-Company Look and Feel

We all DO judge a book by its cover, and... Read More

The Death of Product Packaging as We Know It.

It used to be you that if you had a... Read More

4 Easy Ways to Get Free Marketing Exposure

Are there really ways you can get valuable marketing exposure... Read More

How to Use Flyers to Increase Your Business

What benefits will you get from flyers?Flyers are much different... Read More

Developing a Contact List- Part One

One of the most essential things to successful networking is... Read More

The Apprentice: 5 Lessons in Marketing

Donald Trump's hit reality show, The Apprentice is a godsend... Read More

Consider Consumer Psychology

In your marketing efforts, be they on or offline, it's... Read More

Michael Jackson, Classic Marketing Blunders And Your Wallet!

You couldn't help but be captivated by the unbelievably cute... Read More

5 Tips to Heat Up Your On-Line Marketing Using Off-Line Tactics

The internet of course brings a huge arena of marketing... Read More

Five Cheap Tricks for Promoting Your Business

If you're like me, you're always looking for ways to... Read More

Website Marketing: 10 Uncommon Bonuses That Will Help Make Your Product Hotly In Demand

Giving away free bonuses is an important website marketing secret... Read More

Effective Marketing

For any business to be successful whether on or offline... Read More

Winning At Business With Your Marketing Game Plan

Stuart from Colorado had talked to a number of marketing... Read More

Getting New Clients - When Only a Few is More Than Enough

Many of the business owners I speak with are looking... Read More

Your 30 Second Commercial

This tip is so simple, that many people we've talked... Read More

Marketing Planning - Preparation and Accountability

We all know the saying, "Failing to plan (prepare) is... Read More

10 Start Up Marketing Tips

This list has been compiled as a result of years... Read More

Marketing Effectively to More Than One Audience

What's a small business owner to do if they have... Read More