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TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
This is not a question but hopefully a little information that may be helpful to someone at sometime. If you find something that causes you to think then I will have done what I wanted to do, if not no harm done.
I’ve been told many times that free advertising is worth every penny you pay for it; told that just recently on here. But I disagree and over the past twenty five years I’ve become even a bigger fan of all the free marketing that a business can do. This thread is about how/where/when/why to get free advertising. It will take much more than one post to cover it all and I plan on doing that over the next few days, weeks, months. But feel free to add any ideas or comments you may have that could be helpful.. Remember, what works for one may not always work for everyone else, and the good thing about owning your own business is YOU are in control of it. You get to call the shots. But there is one thing I think most of us can agree on and that is word of mouth advertising is probably the best advertising there is, so we will begin there. I’ve owned a number of businesses over my lifetime and looking back now I can see where the saying ‘business is business’ really is true. Some rules/principles apply to all business. The magic business is no exception regardless of what some may tell you. Every single business in the world has one thing in common, it needs sales to take place somewhere down the line. Sales IS the most important role in a business. A business that doesn’t produce sales which is MONEY is not really a business for long. Now to be clear there is nothing wrong with paid advertising most businesses would go out of business if they did not advertise. It’s ok to mix free and paid, in fact they can work good together for some. One of the first things all the business experts will tell a new business person is to set aside an advertising budget that you absolutely must advertise. But let me give you something to think about, while many businesses will spend huge amounts of money on marketing, attempting to drive customers to their business, there are some very successful companies that have no advertising budget at all. They don’t advertise. Now for those wondering who doesn’t advertise? Let me name a few that you may have heard of, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Costco, Krispy Crème Donuts, Sriracha, Trader Joe’s, Jiffy Muffin Mix and more. So what is the lesson we can learn from these no ad companies, I would say, that they trust people and the power of word-of-mouth enough to do the job for them. Let me give you a real life example. When my wife first opened our daycare, Land Of Make Believe, she spent more than three thousand dollars on advertising in the beginning and it produced no results. Not one parent had registered their child the first two weeks. That’s when I got involved and decided that throwing money into paid ads like Newspaper, TV & Radio advertising was a complete waste. From then on we didn’t spend any more money on paid ads. Other than signs on the building and flyers we printed up that was about it. For about a month I went door to door to all the nearby businesses giving them a flyer and answering any questions that they may have. I choose to target the businesses instead of the homes because that’s where you find the working people, the ones needing childcare the most. For the first three months I think we had more teachers than we did kids. BUT we provided unheard of service and kept the place so clean that you could eat off the floor. (One parent actually said that) After about five or six months we had 17 kids registered, not enough to pay all the bills must less have a profit. But it was enough to put the word of mouth advertising into motion that we needed so badly. We needed proof that we could be trusted and we got it because in less than a year we were filled up with more than one hundred kids. We remained full with a long waiting list for the next nineteen years. During that time we watched other nearby daycare centers come and go. We had won the trust. Word of mouth advertising really works. What I take from that experience is that word of mouth advertising does work but it takes a lot of work to get the right kind. It also doesn’t happen overnight, but without it you would always need a large advertising budget and even that may not work. Being average won’t get you word of mouth. Nor will being good do it. You have to be outstanding. People refer others because they want to share something they LOVE and TRUST. What makes word of mouth better than a paid ad is that people will trust friends, family (and even strangers) much more than they will paid ads. It’s no secret that ads are being paid for, and no matter how great it may read, it will never be fully trusted until it has been experienced by you or someone else you trust. Simply put, you can’t build a successful business by yourself no matter how hard you try. A successful business is like a good strong building, it’s built with one brick at a time. You go out and get a solid brick (customer) that you can depend on then with the help of that brick you search for another strong brick. The foundation needs to be strong in order to hold up. You keep on building one brick at a time. One will get you two, two will get you four, four will get you eight and so on. Before long you will realize that you have a steady stream of customers that you can depend on. I think the only thing better than having a good customer base is having made them all friends along the way. Friends will stick together. Ok speaking of happy customers let’s move on because customer satisfaction is not enough. Yes I said, Customer Satisfaction Is Not Enough. When it comes to customer service the goal for a business, including the magic business, is a satisfied customer. We all want satisfied customers don’t we? So that should be our number one goal huh? No, that’s not the best way to look at it if you’re serious about building a solid business. Ok, just keep reading. Think about this for a moment. If someone else has a better price than you, wouldn’t that customer be more satisfied with a better price? What if it’s more convenient for them to do business with the competition? Wouldn’t the customer be more satisfied? This is why I say customer satisfaction is not enough. Just think of it this way, if your goal is a satisfied customer, even if you do everything perfect, the best you’ll get is a satisfied customer. After all that’s the goal. Now if you are serious about building and keeping a solid business, just having satisfied customers is not good enough. You need to …….. To be continued, Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Entertainers have one of the best and hardest jobs in the world. The hard part may be that they have two separate clients to please, the person that hires them and the audience they are performing for. It’s not always a given that if you please one the other one will be pleased too. You would think that if you pleased the audience the one that hired you would be pleased too, but don’t bet that it will always be that way. And that’s why it’s important to keep an open mind and step outside the entertainment world once in awhile and listen to those that have some real world business experience up their sleeve. Understanding how business in general works is very important.
The very first step to meeting and exceeding your client’s expectations is to understand those expectations. Common sense needs to be common practice. For example, the birthday mom wants an entertainer that can be entertaining to everyone there, including the adults that may be in the audience. Corporate people understand that an entertainer can make or break their event. But more on this later but for now let’s get back to where we left off with customer satisfaction not being enough nowadays. Think about this for a moment. If someone else has a better price than you, wouldn’t that customer be more satisfied with a better price? What if it’s more convenient for them to do business with the competition? Wouldn’t the customer be more satisfied? This is why I say customer satisfaction is not enough. Just think of it this way, if your goal is a satisfied customer, even if you do everything perfect, the best you’ll get is a satisfied customer. After all that’s the goal. Now if you’re serious about building and keeping a solid business, just having satisfied customers is not good enough. Your goal should be to have HAPPY & LOYAL customers. There is a difference. What happens when a HAPPY & LOYAL customer finds a lower price? They’re likely just stay with you. A loyal customer had rather pay more and ensure the same quality service or product they already know and love. What happens when a competitor who’s a bit more convenient comes around and your customer is already happy and loyal; they are most likely to just stay with you. It’s very hard for a HAPPY & LOYAL customer to change who they do business with. What happens when you make a mistake with a happy and loyal customer? Your loyal customer will know that is not normal for you and they’re likely to tell you so that you can make it right. They TRUST you. And another important thing about a happy and loyal customer is they have no problem advertising for you, in fact they enjoy telling others about you. A big key to building a successful business is having your customers get you new customers. So how do you develop Happy & Loyal customers? First thing is to stop calling them ‘customers’ and use the word ‘client’ Why, well because the word ‘customer’ implies that the person just buys things from you. But the word ‘client’ implies a close working relationship in which you are helping someone. Customers can be seen as someone who buys from you but may not buy from you again. Clients are viewed as someone you do business with, someone you care about. Tip number Two: Make sure the client understands upfront your role is to put their best interest first. Make them feel you’re more than just hired help; you’re a partner in the event. You want it to be a success for everyone as much as they do. Tip Three: Understand what business you’re in. We know that the Ford Motor Company is in the business of making cars and Whirlpool makes dishwashers. But what do we entertainers make? We Make People Happy. And frankly that’s what all the successful businesses do; they make people HAPPY otherwise they’re not in business long. Tip Four: Understand who the real competition is. Your competition is anyone who raises client expectations—because if someone else satisfies clients better than you, no matter what type of business, you suffer by comparison. You see, the competition is really anyone the client compares you with. Tip Five: Don’t look at client complaints as problems. Look at a complaint as an opportunity to improve your business and maybe an opportunity to WOW this client. Seize the moment as they say. Please understand that a client who complains cares enough to complain. If they didn’t care they probably wouldn’t complain and would simply go somewhere else. I can tell you from experience, when you turn a complaint into a happy client, you have created a client for life. Tip Six: Listen to the Wise. Get to know the difference between Knowledge and Wisdom. Knowledge is gained through learning facts. Someone who knows a lot about a certain subject can be considered knowledgeable. Wisdom comes from observing experiences and learning from them in a way that affects future decisions and behavior; it is the capacity to see the truth of a matter, in spite of any illusions or distractions. Oftentimes, wisdom is passed down in the form of common sayings, philosophical phrases, and quotes like in the examples below. Many of the famous people of the world have left us with their thoughts, experience, and wisdom, all condensed down into short sentences. Call them proverbs, quotes, wise saying, feel good stuff, or whatever you like, but do understand, they all come from people worth listening to. “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” – Walt Disney “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”―Bill Gates "Never tell the audience how good you are, they will soon find out for themselves."--Harry Houdini “Every great business is built on friendship."--James Cash Penney, Founder J.C. Penney Stores "If you work just for money, you'll never make it, but if you love what you're doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.--"Ray Kroc, Founder McDonald's “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” –Sam Walton “Make your product/service easier to buy than your competition, or you will find your customers buying from them, not you,” –Mark Cuban “Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, “Make Me Feel Important” Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.” “People will forget what you said. They will forget what you did. But they will never forget how you made them feel.”―Maya Angelou As for loyalty, you can’t earn loyalty in one day. You earn loyalty day-by-day. To be continued Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Good marketing is more than just advertising and it’s not that you shouldn’t buy local ads if you want to reach a local market. But, before you go out and buy any advertising, you should understand what you’re trying to accomplish. The best local marketing puts your message in front of your audience in a variety of ways. The more ways someone hears about you the more they will remember you and the more credible your message is. Some of the experts will tell you to try and find 7 or more different ways to deliver your message to your target audience.
Advertising with ads is only ONE way to deliver your message. Depending on your specific business, you could have many, many ways to reach your target market. Remember, the purpose of marketing is to deliver you exposure. It exposes your target market to your message. The goal is to obtain as much exposure as possible within your budget, and of course those with a bigger budget will have more options. If you have a huge budget then you have a lot of options. if you have a small budget, then you have fewer options. But no matter what your budget is, you should look at different options to deliver your message. There are many out there. But I would caution that you should not get so caught up in the many marketing systems out there that you become confused and halt all your actions. Doing a little is better than doing nothing. Also staying positive is very important. The following is a story I think I have shared with some on here but the lesson from it is well worth sharing again. Sometimes just being reminded is as important as being informed. One day little Jimmy asked Sally if she would like to help him set up a lemonade stand during the upcoming garage sale. Sally was a very creative girl. She had a lot of ideas and she set right to work. “We need a big sign – what should we call ourselves?” she said. “Should we set it up by the street or by the garage?” Sally had a million questions: Homemade lemonade or made from a mix? Regular or pink lemonade? What size should the cups be? Paper or plastic? Would Jimmy mind if they sold the lemonade in pink cups? How much would they charge? She had learned how to make brownies last week; should they sell brownies too? What if some people are on a diet; should they also sell sugar-free lemonade? What if someone just wants water? What if someone likes it sweeter? What if… What if… As they talked, it got late. The “what ifs” never seemed to end. They still hadn’t finished going through all the details, but Jimmy had to go home for dinner. The next day, Jimmy got up early. Without worrying about Sally’s million questions, he wrote a simple supply list and went with his mom to the grocery store. He bought cups, lemons, sugar, ice, and a poster board. He made some lemonade, wrote “Lemonade – 50 cents” on the poster board, and set it all up on a little table during the garage sale. He sold a lot of lemonade that day. In fact, he made enough money to invite Sally to the movies that afternoon. Are you one of those people who can get so caught up in all the details that you can’t get started on a project? Are you surrounded by people like that? Like Jimmy, you’ll accomplish the most when you can focus on the core plan, consider the most important details, and then take decisive action. Being creative and thinking of new ideas is a great quality for brainstorming sessions. When planning out where you want to be in five years and what you’d like to accomplish, it’s great to think in big and broad terms! But when it comes to an effective course of action, here’s the best plan: Decide which of your possibilities makes the most sense right now. Get rid of the fluff. Take action, tackling one detail at a time. When we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the details, we become paralyzed into a state of inaction and hopelessness. We then lose sight of the big picture. When you feel that a project is becoming too cumbersome and may never get off the ground, it may be time to reflect on the question: “What is my big picture?” Once you refocus on your greater purpose, you can work on the important details first and then grow as needed. Bogging yourself down with an overly complicated plan only opens the doors to procrastination and failure. Don’t let the fine details overwhelm you and keep you from achieving your goals! Throw out those extraneous details and organize the important ideas, taking one step at a time. To be continued, Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
hypnoman1 New user 76 Posts |
Thank you for sharing this wisdom and knowledge you have caused me to think and re-think some of my strategies. I will be using some of these tips!
For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not believe, no explanation will suffice.
Joseph Dunninger |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Thank you and I really appreciate the kind words.
More to come later, but first let me share a $25,000 business lesson that can and should be used in every small or large business. The following story has been told in different ways by many people, but I first read it in a free one page report written by Frank Tibolt (1897-1989). He gave me a copy of the little double sided report many years ago and I have treasured it ever since. He later included it in his book (now out of print) A Touch Of Greatness. It is a $25,000 lesson on how to get things done. It still works today as well as it did back then. The only difference now is, it can be worth a million dollars today. Read it carefully. In the early 1900's Ivy Lee was a consultant in New York City. His regular clients were Rockefeller, Morgan, Carnegie, The Du Fonts and other big shots. One day Charles Schwab of the Bethlehem Steel Co. asked Lee about his services. Lee outlined them briefly ending with the statement, "With our services you'll know how to manage better." "Hell!" shouted Schwab. "I'm not managing as well now as I know how. What we need around here is not more "knowing" but more "doing" . . . not more knowledge, but more action. If you can only show us how to do half the things we already know we ought to do ... show us how to "GET THINGS DONE" . . . I'll gladly engage your services at any price." "You're on", answered Lee. "I can give you a lesson in 20 minutes that will help you get more done tomorrow." "O.K." agreed Schwab, "I have just about 20 minutes before train time. What's your idea?" Lee pulled out a 3 x 5 filing card, handed it to Schwab and told him, "Spend 10 minutes every evening before retiring, reviewing the day's work. Ask yourself, "What did I forget, neglect or foul up? What specific steps can I take to prevent these foul ups in the future? What can I do to improve on today's work? Then spend 5 more minutes writing on this card the six things you need most to get done tomorrow." That took 8 minutes. "Now, said Lee, "Number them in the order of their importance." "Next", said Lee, "Put this card in your pocket and the first thing tomorrow morning, look at item 1 and start working on it. Look at item 1 every hour on the hour until you've finished it. Tackle No. 2 the same way. Then No. 3. Do this until quitting time." "Don't be concerned if you've only finished two or three, or even if you haven't finished No. 1. You'll be working on the most important. The rest can wait. If you can't finish all with this method, you can't with any other method either, and without this method, you'd probably never even decide which are most important." "Before making up your next day's list transfer all your unfinished items to it. Spend the last 5 minutes every day making up a "must list" of the next day's most urgent tasks. After you've tried this method, have your key employees try it. Test it for as long as you like, and then send me a check for what you think it's worth." A few weeks later Schwab sent Lee a check for $25,000 saying: "This innocent looking little lesson is the most practical lesson I ever learned in all my life. It motivated me to make a phone call that I had put off 9 months. That phone call brought me an order for steel beams that netted me 2 million dollars. I explained this humble lesson to all my executives. That did more to make the Bethlehem Steel Co. the world's largest independent steel producer, than all the meetings I held with my high-salaried executives." Schwab learned, like most great men learn, that the simplest ideas are often the greatest in getting results. This plain little lesson is so plain looking and so plain sounding that many average people won't even try it. It's so plain that its results are almost unbelievable. But it has turned more little shots into BIG SHOTS, than any "secret of success", or any high priced "Motivation Course". It tops all methods for turning "ordinary" people into "extraordinary" producers. If you think I'm claiming too much for this humble little lesson, let's look at what bigger and wiser men have said about it. Walter Chrysler said, "I never started producing until I engaged a taskmaster ... a written list of things to be done each day". Henry Ford said, "No executive is worthy of the name unless he works to a written schedule". Thousands of other big men in business, industry, banking, education, selling, and other fields, have placed this method at the top of the list of "habits that make for success." You'll find big producers everywhere, probably in your own company, use some version of this method. For GETTING THINGS DONE, it beats all the fancy, high sounding, and high priced systems ever invented. If you’re not already doing this I urge you to go out tomorrow and buy yourself a pack of the index cards. It works. To be continued Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
There was once an old man who lived by the side of the road who decided to sell hot dogs. He put up signs on the highway telling everyone how good they were, he also stood on the side of the road and cried out to all that past by 'buy a hot dog, they are the best in town'.
The old man was hard of hearing so he had no radio - he had trouble with his eyes, so he read no newspapers and of course he didn't look at television. But he sold very good hot dogs. He kept telling everyone how good his hot dogs were and people in the small town loved it, and as they bought more and more he increased his meat and bun orders. He also bought a bigger stove to take care of all the extra business. With all the new business, he finally got his son to come and help him out with his booming business. But then something happened, his son who had been well educated said . . . ' Father, haven't you been listening to the radio or reading the newspapers or watching television? There's a big recession happening right now. The current business situation is terrible in this country - we have problems with unemployment, high living costs, strikes, pollution, the influence of minorities and majorities, the rich, the poor, drugs, alcohol, capitalism and communism '. The father begin to think, ‘well my son's been well educated, he reads the papers, listens to the radio and watches television, so he ought to know '. So his father took down some of his signs along the highway and no longer bothered to stand by the side of the road to promote his hot dogs, . . . . and his hot dog sales fell almost overnight. 'You're right, son' the father said 'we certainly are in the middle of a recession' Lesson: When it comes to marketing your business, be careful who you get your business advice from. ----- Notice closely and you will discover that a good business will always have a good story to tell. The better the story the better it can help the business. Storytelling has always been a vital part of our lives, even in ancient times people used stories to communicate and connect with others. Much like the entertainer needs to ‘connect’ with the audience, the business needs to ‘connect’ with its clients and prospects and that is what stories do. Stories are everywhere and whether we realize it or not, we love them because they engage us, they evoke our emotions and make us feel things. They shape us, motivate us and influence us. A good example of how a story can influence us: Let’s say you are considering buying a phone. You look at reviews, and reviews are nothing but stories, they are not facts about phone features, they are stories about the experience of people who’ve used that phone. I recently read an article where some researchers wanted to show the value of storytelling by listing insignificant items on eBay with a good heartfelt, well-written short story about the item in the description section. One of the items which was originally purchased at a garage sale for one dollar resold for nearly eight thousand dollars. This made their point that a smart storytelling strategy can contribute to raising the perceived value of an item. There is a saying among salespeople that “to sell you must tell” meaning you have to tell your story in order to make a sale. There are many ways for a business to tell a story. One excellent way is with testimonials from satisfied clients. The testimonial is your spokesperson. So how do you get testimonials from your existing clients? If you’re doing a good job but aren’t getting the kind of support you need from your customers, there can only be one reason. So let me answer the question of how to get a testimonial/story with a story: The top salesman for a large corporation got up to speak; he had been top salesman with the company for several years. He had won many awards over his career and was about to retire. He said, “Tonight I am going to reveal the secret of my success. I wrote it down on a piece of paper and I put it in this envelope. But success must be earned so I can’t just give it away. I'm going to sell the envelope to the highest bidder. You have my word that it contains my true secret to success not only as a salesman, but also in life.” The bidding started at $5. Then it quickly jumped to $10. Then $50, $100, $200. Finally one of the salesmen bought the envelope for $1000. The excited buyer took the envelope and kept it to himself until he got home that night. What was written on the piece of paper? How was he able to make more sales than anybody else for so many years? What was this high priced secret? That night at home the auction winner locked himself in his room and opened the envelope, unfolded the piece of paper and read the following seven words: "The Secret To Success Is To ASK." To be continued Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Speaking of adding stories to your business marketing, one simple way to tell a story is with data or a milestone you have reached with your business. Example, maybe the magician has done shows for more than 1000 clients.
Business storytellers is a huge topic and we can’t€™ cover it all here, we will touch on it later but for now let me suggest a book to anyone wanting to learn more about this subject, it’s €œ”Business Storytelling For Dummies”€ by Karen Dietz & Lori L. Silverman. I am not affiliated with the book in anyway, but it can be helpful to anyone wanting more storytelling information. You can find it on Amazon and ebay. Do a google search and you can find a download of the index to the book with some free sample pages. Moving on, The word Guerrilla Marketing was first coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing. Its goal is to create buzz about a product or brand so that it increases the likelihood that a consumer will purchase the product or service, or talk about it with other potential buyers. Wikipedia describes Guerrilla marketing today as an advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a product or service. It is a type of publicity. ... Guerrilla marketing focuses on taking the consumer by surprise to make a big impression about the product or brand. But I was first introduced to Guerrilla type marketing much earlier as a stock clerk while working in a local Sunflower Food Store. I can’t remember the exact year but I believe it was around my senior year in high school which would’ve been in the 1960’s. My duties were stocking shelves that included the cleaning aisle. I was also responsible for ordering the product for the aisles that I was assigned to. One day I accidently ordered 10 cases of Spic and Span, a brand of all-purpose household cleaner. That order was 10 times larger than the normal one case that I usually ordered. But we didn’t catch the mistake until it had been unloaded into the back stock room. But to my surprise it came with a display kit which included a bucket with a pump inside and coming out of the bucket was a clear glass pipe with a water faucet attacked to the top. The idea was to fill the bucket with water, plug in the pump and it would appear that the water was running out of the faucet into the bucket. It’ looked magical awesome to me. So I built a display of the Spic and Span product around it. The display was taller than head high so nobody could see down inside the bucket. The pump cord was hidden behind the display and it looked as if the water was really coming out of the faucet. Actually it was being pumped up inside the clear tube and coming back down the outside of the tube, it’s a great illusion. Customers stood watching, and I’m sure some wondered how often we emptied the bucket. I took it one step beyond the instructions and added a large piece of dry ice to the water inside the bucket which caused fog to flow from the bucket producing the illusion it was hot water coming from the faucet. The local newspaper liked it so much they got a picture of the crowd around it and published it in the weekly paper. The store manager sent a copy to the company and they sent me a nice box of free gifts. Later, after moving my employment to Piggly Wiggly, I won several company (Fleming Foods) sponsored contests using what is now known as Guerrilla Marketing techniques. One of the better prizes was a two week all expense paid trip to London. I won that one using a magic show incorporated into the promotion. My point is Guerrilla Marketing worked well back then and it is still working today. When executed well, it will often be low cost yet reach a highly targeted audience. It is a great way to get noticed, distinguish you from the competition and earn a reputation for being fun and different. To see some photos of how Guerrilla Marketing is being used today simply search Google. This link includes a photo of a Lance Burton prop (it’s about half way down) https://www.anerdsworld.com/best-100-gue......ampaigns To be continued… Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
It makes no difference what media you use to advertise, the rules should be the same. Benefits, benefits, benefits. Advertise benefits and your advertising will be a success. Explain what you have done for others. Tell them what you can do for them. Remember the rule - it is always about them - not about you!
The reason you see so much bad advertising these days is that "ego" sells and the advertising people know it. You often see people who can barely read stumbling through their own commercials. Then you have two friends mention it and they think the advertising was a success and buy more. Look at the advertising around you. Most of it is about the advertiser and not the customer. Think benefits and you have one up on advertising that works, rather than advertising that gets the neighbors to say “ I saw you on TV” or "I saw your picture in the paper again." Trust me, strangers won't mention your picture. And your picture alone won't bring a sole through the door or get them to buy your product or call about your service. Don't tell me you have the largest or latest styles and colors without telling me why I need it. Don't tell me you have 20 years experience and not tell me you'll show up on time, smell good and fix my toilet, or I don't pay. You don't need a picture of a building; you need a description of what is inside and what it can do for me. Let all the other guys flush their ad money with giant pictures of themselves, or TV commercials with the grand kids shouting a slogan. You concentrate on, What's In It For Me, and your advertising will work harder for you. ------- A lack of an advertising budget doesn’t mean you can’t effectively find ways to promote your business and gain new customers. Yes there are a number of great ways to market at no cost. This link will take you to an article with 51 free business advertising ideas from industry pros to help you market your business at little or no cost: No they all won’t apply to your business, but many can be modified to fit any business, and like I say, the more you know the more you grow. https://www.fitsmallbusiness.com/free-advertising-ideas/ To be continued, Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Thanks for reading. Today I want to share a list of links that could be helpful to those looking for ways to improve their business. (And who wouldn’t want to do better) Remember the more you know the more you can grow. Business is a never ending learning process, you will never know it all and those who think they do are only fooling themselves. Times change and your business has to change too in order to stay up. That doesn’t mean you discount all the older business basics, you just adjust to the new. The links below will take you to another page where you can read/study some business info and insights, with many being written specifically for the entertainment industry. Enjoy the hundreds of free tips and ideas.
Marketing 101 for Performers https://www.daveruch.com/advice/marketing-for-performers/ What You Can Learn From Street Performers About Marketing https://www.grasshopper.com/blog/what-st......rketing/ 18 Cash Flow Strategies For Magicians & Entertainers https://www.makemagicmoney.com/18-cash-f......tainers/ Magician Business - Marketing for Magicians https://tunein.com/podcasts/Entrepreneur......p622478/ 15 Marketing Tips For Performing Artists https://www.brownpapertickets.com/local-......artists/ How to Market Yourself Like an Artist https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/301170 How To Use Social Media For Entertainment Industry https://www.unboxsocial.com/blog/how-to-......ndustry/ Email Marketing For Artists: The Ultimate Free Guide https://theabundantartist.com/newsletter......d-do-it/ 58+ Headline Formulas: The Ultimate Non-Copywriter’s Guide To Writing Headlines That Get The Clicks https://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/blo......ormulas/ 69+ High Quality Copywriting Templates Proven to Work https://www.optinmonster.com/proven-copy......te-list/ How to write copywriting headlines that are strictly designed to sell stuff https://kopywritingkourse.com/copywritin......at-sell/ 40 Free Places to Promote Your Website Online https://www.wix.com/blog/2016/12/free-pl......-website 5 Major Sites with Free Online Advertising https://www.promisemedia.com/online-adve......ertising 10 Ways to Advertise Your Business Online – For Free https://hostpresto.com/blog/10-ways-to-a......or-free/ PS: I don’t profit from any of the above links. To be continued, Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
I think we all know that marketing is much more than just advertising. But do you know how many marketing types there are? Probably more than you think. I have a link below with 163 types of marketing, all clearly explained with examples.
Now if you’re thinking what is the best type of marketing for me to use? Quick answer, the one that works best for what you do. For most reading this I would suggest a mix of Self-marketing and Service-marketing. I wouldn’t get all caught up in understanding all the different types and forget what the real purpose of marketing is. Fact is, if you can find clients, you don’t need to market, just keep doing what you’re doing. But seriously, it’s not rocket science folks, just let people know what you do, ask then to trust you, and then do it in such a way that they will want you to do it again. Besides the list of 163 types of marketing, there is also some worthwhile reading on the blog there. Enjoy. https://www.splashcopywriters.com/blog/types-of-marketing To be continued, Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Sometimes I think we get so caught up in all the marketing babble and completely forget about using good ole common sense. Often times those peddling their marketing courses clouds the thinking even more with suggesting something like a magic show shouldn’t be promoted using traditional marketing methods. But Traditional Marketing is the foundation of all marketing and if you skip it you’re in trouble from the beginning. Most traditional marketing strategies fall under one of these categories: print, broadcast, direct mail, referrals and telephone. It’s hard to get the word out without using one or more of those.
Common sense marketing, as I call it, can take you a long way and I would avoid those who tell you different. But now that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to those already doing what you wanting to do; learning common practices from others in your field can be very helpful. I’m just saying avoid those who pitch that marketing a business is some highly guarded secret that only they know about. The real secret to marketing success, in any business, is simply putting common sense into common practice but that my friend is much harder to do than one might think. I’ve listed ten common sense marketing thoughts below that should never be forgotten or ignored. 1. It’s common sense to target the right market. 2. It’s common sense to not mistake ‘self’ marketing with ‘ego’ marketing. Ego marketing is making it all about ‘me’ and not including the client. 3. It’s common sense to have a modern day website that demonstrates you are up to date with the times. 4. It’s common sense to spell check all your printed marketing material. Always get another set of eyes to read what you have written for the public. 5. It’s common sense to act in a professional way at all times when around clients. At the same time, humanizing yourself is important too. Being a likeable person goes a long way, 6. It’s common sense to listen when making a sales pitch. Many salespeople talk themselves out of the sale. Listening is much harder than it seems, and sometimes it takes losing a sale to understand that. 7. It’s common sense to seek repeat customers. Selling to a new customer can be five times more expensive than selling to an existing customer, so don't forget to target a few of your marketing campaigns toward your existing customer base to get the repeat business. 8. It’s common sense to have a good USP. A Unique selling proposition, or USP, tells why you believe customers should buy from you and not someone else. 9. It’s common sense to know what your competitors are doing. 10. It’s common sense to never assume that common sense is common. It’s not. Regardless of what the product or service you selling, they all deal with ‘people’ and people are about the same anywhere you find them. A good salesperson will usually do well in most any business. More on that later oh… To be continued, Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Now a few more words on customer service
Back when I was a magician for Fleming Foods Corporation I would sometimes give talks to store personnel on customer service. It never failed I got the question, “is the customer always right?” My answer would be, “if they ‘think’ they are they may as well be.” I went on to explain the phrase “the customer is always right” is credited to three successful retailers from the early 1900's, Harry Gordon Selfridge, John Wanamaker and Marshall Field. These men learned early in their careers that the success of their stores depended on the happiness of their customers. They didn’t actually intend the phrase to mean that the customer was right in every situation. Rather, it was a signal that all customers were special. Staffs were trained and instructed to treat customers as if they were always right, even if it was clear they weren’t. The change in mindset was a major shift to how customers were used to being treated, and people came running to these department stores. When a customer has a compliant one of three things usually happened, you made a mistake, they are mistaken, or they are lying. Don’t assume they are lying until you hear them out. It’s possible there is just a misunderstanding and the irate customer just wants to blow off steam. Hear them out. Then acknowledge the problem. Let the customer know you hear what he or she is saying. If you or your company made a mistake, admit it. If you did not make a mistake and it is a misunderstanding, simply explain it to the customer: Don’t be afraid to say “I can see how that would be frustrating for you.” You are not necessarily agreeing with what the customer is saying, but respecting how he or she perceives and feels about the situation. Next you get the facts. After listening, take the initiative in the conversation. Now that the customer has calmed down and feels you have heard his or her side, begin asking questions. Be careful not to speak scripted replies, but use this as an opportunity to start a genuine conversation, building a trusting relationship with your customer. To help you understand the situation, get as many details as possible. Take charge of the situation and let the customer know what you are going to do to solve the problem. Yes it is possible the customer is lying, that’s rare oh. If it’s a free can of beans they want, I would give it to em and send them on their way. Sometimes it’s better to trust customers and risk getting taken advantage of occasionally than to get a reputation of being mean or disrespectful. Now if it is a $1000 refund for a show, you may want to suggest that it be worked out to avoid going to court. To be continued Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Booking a magic show is somewhat similar to applying for a job. You need to dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s as they say in order to look your best. Over my lifetime in business I have hired countless employees. Yes I will admit some were bad hires and it didn’t work out. Truth is in the beginning I didn’t know much about hiring, I just sort of hoped for the best. But I learned quickly from a few other successful business people that you should always Hire The Person Not The Position. From then on as I interviewed new employees, I would pay close attention to how they greeted the other employees. The individuals who show a kind, genuine, happy personality are the ones who will usually do the best job and stay around the longest. I learned through trial and error that you can never train people to be nice. They either are or they just aren’t.
Today I’m convinced that one of the most overlooked secrets to operating a successful business is Kindness. And that applies to all businesses. Kindness is not a weakness, as many think. Kindness requires integrity, courage and the willingness to go against the norm. I often see unkind business people struggling to stay in business, many of which are magicians, and they don’t have a clue how they could improve their business. But I’m not alone in this belief, Billionaire Mark Cuban once said, and I quote, “One of the most underrated skills in business right now is being nice. Nice sells.” He continued: “I went through my own metamorphosis, if you will. Early on in my career, I was like bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, I might curse. I might get mad. And then I just got to the point. I wouldn’t have wanted to do business with me when I was in my 20s, so I had to change, and I did, and it really paid off.” Sure common sense tells us all that you should be nice to your prospects and customers, but common sense ain’t so common today. Just look around on social media at how some magicians treat people, makes you wonder how they stay in business. Kindness Sells, especially in the world we live in today, and those who promote it will outshine the competition every time. To be continued Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Customers can’t do business with you unless they know the business exists. This is an obvious statement, but I have found that many small business owners who are trying to increase their business don’t realize how ‘invisible’ their businesses are. Potential customers can’t book your magic show if they don’t know about you. Being an invisible magician might be a neat magic trick, but it will never get you work. Potential customers must know you exist and they must know where to find you. If your magic business is not growing and you need to attract more clients, the very first thing you need to do is gain more visibility.
There is an ole saying about business that reads, “Build a better mousetrap and people will beat a path to your door.” But I would argue that no matter how good the product is, be it a mousetrap or a magic show, if people can’t see that door they will never walk through it. You have to make yourself visible. And you can’t depend on others to do all of it for you. It’s true that word of mouth is the best and cheapest advertising there is, but that alone is never enough. Besides, something has to cause that word of mouth. The more your prospective customers hear/see your name on places like Facebook posts, articles, your website, blog posts, radio, word of mouth, etc, the more you are seen as an expert. The fact that all these sources seem to have sought out your opinion and your audience is seeing your name everywhere they look, automatically gives you a celebrity ranking. Think about this, many politicians get elected on name recognition alone. Voters know very little about them other than having heard the name many times. In my book The Daycare Magician I suggest that the magician should use the selling methods that they are best at when first trying to book a daycare show. If you're the type that can sell best in person, visit the center in person. If you're better at selling on the phone, use the phone to book shows. If you like snail-mailing postcards or flyers to book shows send your best promotional material and if possible include references from other daycare centers. Email blasts also work if you can get email addresses of daycare center directors. Social media is a powerful way to sell yourself as being the local magician. Post professionally shot pics of you on Instagram and tag them with hashtags that will attract prospects in your area. Search out Facebook groups made up of daycare center owners and teachers and try to gain membership as an expert in daycare programs. Contribute good content and you’ll be respected and eventually asked to perform at one of the group member’s daycares. In the book I go on to explain that a place like a daycare center is the information headquarters for parents. Unlike regular school, parents take the children inside the daycare and spend time chatting with the staff and other parents. It's much more of a family thing than a school, where the children typically ride a bus and the parents never see the teachers or other parents. The magician who does family shows for banquets, company parties, picnics and block parties will have many additional opportunities by using the daycare center as a springboard. If you do bigger, higher paid gigs, the centers are still the perfect way to get your name out there. Remember, the parents are leaving the children at the center so that they can go to work. Many work at places that may be able to use your service sometimes during the year. Selecting a magician is a lot like choosing a daycare center, before even searching the Internet, parents often ask other parents for references. Now you may be thinking I don’t do daycare shows or kid shows, that’s not a problem because the same process can be applied to other groups. People are about the same no matter where you find them. Building a good relationship with a few local groups can be very beneficial. People talk, and when they talk about you they’re helping you build your business. One of the best ways to find new friends/prospects and get involved in neighborhood activities is to join local clubs and visit some of the local business groups. Local business people like to support each other and when you position yourself as being a real ‘business’ and the magic is not just a hobby, they will support you too. Now this doesn’t mean you should be afraid of giving free samples of the show to a few of the group meetings from time to time. I can remember giving a free fifteen minute talk/show at a Lions Club luncheon one time and they hired me on the spot to go do a show for a local senior citizens group. The lady in charge there gave me her husbands name and through him I booked a paid show for the Moose Lodge. Don’t Be The Invisible Magician. Get Out There And Make Yourself Visible. To be continued… Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
MichaelKent Special user 560 Posts |
I hope it's okay that I humbly add my offering to the awesome list that Tom has provided above. This is a social media content calendar. You print it out and it gives you a new prompt for every day of the year! Social Media Posting ideas for magicians!
http://gum.co/magiccalendar |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Thanks Michael. I can see where that would be very helpful to those wanting to do social media right.
Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Tricky business » » Free Advertising/Marketing Ideas (8 Likes) |
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