I speak to small business owners all the time about marketing. Often, the person who reaches out to me is very skillful at their work but lost when it comes to marketing. They have a Mad Men mentality assuming that marketing = advertising. Nothing could be further from the truth. The secret I share first and foremost is simple.

How will you get people to tell your story and what is the feeling that comes from being your customer?

It is a mind shift and a new frame to see their brand. Often small business owners don’t understand that boring blurs into the woodwork and will never stand out.

[tweetthis] When done spectacularly, great marketing leaves its fingerprints on a customer. Your customer FEELS different. [/tweetthis]

They have an experience that changes them – even if it is just for a little while. It alters their emotions. And it is through this transformation, that they share their story with others online and in person.

• The dry cleaner that carries my clothes from the store to my car makes me feel pampered.
• The woman who cuts my hair remembers me, my stories and makes me feel important.
• The veterinarian who calls and lets us know our cat’s special order food is in but remembers to make us smile when they say, please tell Shambhala we have his food. They acknowledge the importance of our pet.
• The dentist on Facebook who shares real life stories about her family and makes me feel part of her community of clients.

Benefits, not features

The other piece of advice that comes in every conversation with a new coaching client is also simple.

Focus on the benefit you provide. Don’t focus on the features.

Like many businesses, small businesses want to give you a laundry list of WHAT they do. Their home page looks like the phone book filled with blah, blah, blah of information. Stop doing this. Right now. Stop.

Tell me what benefit I derive from being your customer. Give me a clue if I’ll feel safe, protected, happy, emotional, warm, cold or healthy.  We buy benefits – the features are the details that most people don’t really care about as they just want to arrive at a new and different emotional state.

Recently the son of a friend asked for some advice about his kennel and grooming services.  I suggested to him that when someone takes their dog to a kennel, they want their dog to feel as loved, protected and honored as they are at home. You need to communicate this in the name of your business. The name of your business should be the emotional state someone experiences after they are your customer.

Tactically, we discussed that his website could have testimonials (bark-amonials) that come from the dogs who all tell how they felt coming in for grooming or boarding.  Get people to share stories from their dog’s point of view on social media. Get people remarking (re-barking?). Connect with the emotions. Don’t worry about telling me that it is $85 for grooming. Make me feel that you’ll take good care of my dog.

The Secret of Great Marketing

The secret is that there really isn’t a secret.

Marketing is about all the little steps taken to make you have a specific emotional experience. Marketing happens when someone tells their friends about you and your work.  Think about a friend recently sharing a story about an amazing experience they had at a restaurant, with their accountant or a shoe repair shop. Marketing is the telling of that tale.

What are the little steps you can take each day to get people to tell your story about your business? How are you remarkable?