Marketing is Marketing is Marketing

April 12, 2013 / Updated: October 7, 2015 / Jay Huling
Filed under: ,

marketing-directionLet’s reveal a marketing “guru” magic trick, shall we?

This is something the “experts” don’t want you to know. Because they are making a handsome profit with this lie, and judging by some of the phone calls I get, a lot of you out there believe this bunk.

But before I pull back the curtain on this secret, let me warn you: This is advanced stuff. What I am about to tell you applies specifically to marketing your business. Don’t take it any further than that, because if you do, you’ll be just as guilty as those false prophets who have it all wrong.

The sleight of hand you’re being fooled by comes in many incarnations. But it’s typically expressed in a small little phrase that goes something like this:

“NICHE TO BE RICH.”

Oh, that sounds so good, doesn’t it? If only it were true!

Tom Sawyer made the idea of whitewashing the picket fence sound pretty good, too.

Here’s the secret: “Niche to be Rich” is a marketing strategy that marketing people use to sell THEIR OWN products and services.

For example, the advertising agency that claims to specialize in Restaurants. Or the freelance copywriter who claims to specialize in Education. Or the website designer who claims to specialize in Banking.

Name the niche — health, financial, B2B, retail, non-profit, faith-based, internet, catalog, travel and hospitality, pets, professional services, self-help, technology — whatever, you’ll find someone (and if you look hard enough, numerous “someones”) who claim to be THE EXPERT in that field.

“I’m the pet copywriter specializing in rare Snoopy beagles with webbed feet. Or I’m the alternative health marketing expert specializing in low-fat, non-toxic snake oil.”

You have to hand it to them — that’s a great strategy FOR THEM. If you are a tourist attraction, all you see from them is stuff that relates to tourist attractions. But if you are a restaurant, they only send you their restaurant stuff. Sure, they are doing BOTH. But they are presenting it to YOU as if it is their specialty — their niche — their life’s passion.

It’s a lie.

And it’s not good for YOUR BUSINESS.

If you’re a convenience store, it might sound like a good idea to hire a marketing expert who says he or she specializes in convenience stores.

Until you realize what’s really happening.

What’s really happening is that you’ve now pigeonholed yourself into only doing what they say has worked for other convenience stores.

So you never achieve any real BREAKTHROUGHS in your business. Because you are ignoring all the great stuff that is working for everyone outside your niche. You’re being told — and you fall for it — that those things don’t apply to you.

You’re told “your business is different.” And since you believe that, you are a vulnerable target that swallows it up hook, line, and sinker. We all like to think we’re different; we’re special; no one understands us, etc.

In your personal life, maybe that’s true. In your business, you are a product in need of a customer. That’s it.

Here’s the famous pitch they probably got you with. It typically is some sort of analogy regarding doctors. You know the spiel — who makes more money, they ask, the specialist or the generalist?

“If you need heart surgery, don’t you want a heart surgeon? If you need brain surgery, why would you choose the guy who’s spent his entire career looking in people’s throats? You wouldn’t want that would you? Hmm?”

It sounds like a good argument — if you’re stupid enough to believe that marketing is like brain surgery.

It’s not.

It’s complicated, yes. It’s hard to do and hard to make successful. But it’s NOT rocket science.

Marketing is marketing is marketing.

You need a systematic approach for achieving your marketing goals. If you are a bank, you might benefit from applying the same marketing techniques your local successful pizza parlor is using. Stop using “bank marketing” and start using “successful marketing.” Apply that last sentence to your business. In other words, use your head.

Let me give it to you straight . . .

If you are a business, you need MORE BUSINESS. I can get it for you. And I’ll use successful, proven, and guaranteed MARKETING TECHNIQUES to do it for you.

Are you a restaurant? I can get you more customers.

Do you offer professional services? I can get you more clients.

Are you a doctor or health services provider? I can get you more patients.

Are you a real estate agent? I can get you more buyers and sellers.

Fill in the blank — are you a ___________? I can get you more _____________.

If you think the agency or freelancer or consultant that specializes in churches . . . or gas stations . . . or veterans affairs . . . or fundraising . . . or whatever . . . can help you just because they say they “specialize in whatever” . . . well . . . good luck.

Last week I wrote and produced a radio campaign for a credit union. This week I’m writing marketing articles for a non-profit. Next week I’m finishing a direct mail package for an alternative health supplement. I’m also working on web site copy, a client newsletter, and sales collateral.

None of these clients’ “niches” overlap. Some of them couldn’t be further from each other on the surface. But marketing is marketing is marketing. I do whatever must be done — whatever strategies, techniques, and systems work — to help my clients find business, get business, and keep business.

If that’s what you need, give me a call.

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