DMJ Podcast: The Power of Done
Quick Update on Tanner Ward
6 Lessons from Delivering Marketing Joy!
Delivering Marketing Joy is one of the pieces of content that I am most proud. Why? Probably because it was one of the first consistent pieces I produced…and it helped put me on the map.
Now, nearly 250 episodes later, it’s still rolling. As you might expect from a journey like this, I have learned a lot from Delivering Marketing Joy. But what can it teach you? Here are a few lessons I am proud to share.
Don’t Listen To The Voice: I have talked about this before here, but it’s worth mentioning again. The hardest voice to overcome when starting something like this is the one in your own head. For Delivering Marketing Joy, I had to overcome the voice telling me that no one wanted to talk to me on an interview show. Who was I? I am so glad I pushed through that. Most people were more than willing (and generous) to spend the time.
Share Platforms: One of the reasons I think the show worked (early on) was because I was sharing platforms with other people in the industry as I grew my own. In my first episode I talked with Mark Graham. He was already an influencer in the industry, so I was able to leverage his audience too! Obviously, the goal is to provide value. So by sharing platforms you get to share the goods with more people.
Stay With It: When I was about 20 or so episodes into the show, I was kind of tired. I was proud of how many shows I had done…but I did not know whether it was worth it to continue. Insert Seth Godin. I got the chance to interview him (with Mark Graham) and Seth mentioned that he had seen the show! Wow! Then he said something I will never forget. “Stick with it. In 3 years you will be glad you did.” At the time I did not have the next episode lined up! But I did keep it up. And Seth even agreed to be my guest when I got to Episode 100. Watch that here.
Be Consistent: This is something I preach a lot…because I think it really matters. If you want to build an audience (and I am still working on it), you need to be consistent. It’s important to the audience. But I think it’s important to you too. It sets a deadline. Otherwise, it becomes really easy to “just miss one.”
Start With A Few in the Bank: This leads nicely to Start with a few “in the bank.” When I started DMJ, I heard that the average web show never makes it to Episode 5. I have no idea if that was true. But I was obsessed with starting with 5 shows done! That bank of episodes gave me some confidence and gave me time to get more going!
Don’t Worry About the Metrics (at first): It’s not about creating a “viral video.” It’s about creating value. Way too many people get really focused on the numbers too early on. It’s a recipe for frustration. You are (likely) not going to have a big audience at first…so the numbers are not going to be impressive. That’s fine. It will build. Plus, I have found that despite the numbers, you never know who is watching. Keep focusing on the value…the numbers will take care of themselves. Delivering Marketing Joy is a weekly class for me. I learn something all the time. But these are just a few lessons that I am reminded of as I look back.
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2 Secrets to Creating
Succeeding in the Give First Economy
This is an excerpt from the book Delivering Marketing Joy. You can find that here.
“The person that gives the value first has the leverage.” Gary Vaynerchuk
We are living in a “Give First” economy. That is my belief. I believe that the person, salesperson, entrepreneur or company that has the strength to provide value first, will win…long term. The Give First economy does NOT mean the good old boys network. It does not mean that just because we play golf together you have to buy from me. It’s about value. It’s about providing more than you are paid for. It’s about doing business “the right way.” Push vs. Pull: Why? Because times have changed! Since the beginning of marketing and advertising, we have lived in a “push” world. The company that pushed their message out the strongest and the loudest won. But with the onset of the internet (and social media) that has changed. Consumers have the ability to tune us out. They have the ability to shut us off. The power in the relationship has changed. So we need to pull customers in. We need to “give first.”
“Life is an echo. What you put out you get back. What you give you get.” Zig Ziglar
But here is the great news, when it comes to Promotional Products: this plays right into what our Promo is all about. This medium is built on the idea that we provide something of value first, so that we might be able to earn your business. “Okay,” you might be thinking, “I believe you. I need to give first. But what does that mean?” Great question. We are going to dig into some real things you can start to do today in order to impact your business. But be forewarned, these are going to seem like common sense. They will seem simple. But here is a very important secret: simple is not the same as easy.
“The greatest distance in the world is the distance between “I know” and “I do.”
So let’s dig into the steps for building a business that succeeds in the Give First Economy.
Give Joy: That’s right. Give out Joy. The world needs more of it. Studies will tell you that 89% of everything you see in the world is negative. With social media and the culture today, my guess is that number should be higher. We are a culture that is drowning in the negative. That’s the bad news. But the good news is, it’s pretty simple to stand out. Just be positive. Give out Joy. By being the person that spreads good into the world, you have the ability to not only stand out…but to be the kind of person someone WANTS to be around. You will be different. And in the mind of the customer, better is not better…different is better. Pro-Tip: Do an audit of your personal social media pages. Look at the last 10 posts. If 4 or more can be “perceived” as negative, then you are likely seen as negative. Be on the lookout for ways to push out joy!
Give Praise and Thanks: Here’s a scary statistic: 69% of customers that leave you will do so because of perceived indifference. They will leave because they don’t think you care. Yikes. But you can do something about that. Take the time to send real thank you notes. Stop by when you are not selling something just to say thanks. Be grateful for your clients business. You be pleasantly surprised by the response. Pro-Tip: The best organizations and sales professionals send thank you cards. Most don’t. If you are not, start there. If you have mastered that, gather your client’s birthdays. Send them a birthday card…they will not be expecting that!
Give More Than They Pay For: Seth Godin says that if you want to be remarkable, you need do something worth remarking about! This is a simple, but totally under-used way to make people appreciate and remember you. Simply provide more value than your customer is expecting. When you do this, consistently, your customers will find you remarkable. Pro-Tip: The next time you have a large order, add a little “something extra” to it. Maybe this becomes a future sale…maybe not. But you will have provided more than they paid for…and that WILL pay off.
Give Content: This is a very important piece of the Give First success plan. That is why I post a lot about content creation. Social media and content (creation and curation) are great tools to use to provide value up front to customers and prospects. What does this look like? It might be as simple as sharing an article that would be helpful to your client base. It might be a fun video about your staff. It might be pictures of your team having fun. There are tons of ways that content can help you provide your customers and prospects value. What it is not is selling first. Too many entrepreneurs, sales professionals and organizations try and use social media to “push” their message out. You have likely seen them. They simply say “buy from me, buy from me, buy from me” and never provide value.
Pro-Tip: Think of ways to tell your story and provide value through content. Are you a writer? Do you like to take pictures? Are you a talker? Think about what you most enjoy…and get ready to provide value there. The fact is, there are tons of ways to win in the Give First Economy.
But what about the most obvious? Give Promo Premiums: Are you using promo to help to grow your business? We have been preaching that you need to provide value to your customers and prospects first…and this is the perfect tool. So before you go any further, its time to think about how you will use promo to grow your business. Pro-Tip: Create a quarterly appreciation plan for your Top 20% of customers. This will give you an excuse to reach out and provide value every 3 months. It shows them you appreciate their business and (when done right) provides a long term advertising piece right where they are.
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