Do you know what the three most dangerous words in all of marketing are?

Actually, they’re the three most dangerous words in all of English language. But, since this blog is focused on marketing and small business success topics, we’ll limit the discussion to the dangers in regards to marketing.

By themselves or used within the context of millions of other sentences, these words pose absolutely no threat. But, string these words together and the results could be devestating to your results.

And, you’re probably using this little three-word phrase way more than you realize. Most of the time it’s probably not even being spoken out loud. But, if you ever hear “the little voice inside your head” saying it then the power of its destructive force is even greater.

OK, enough of the suspense already… What are these three “most dangerous” words in all of marketing?

Are you ready?

“I Know That.”

Any time you catch yourself saying that, either out loud or in your mind, stop and concentrate twice as hard on what lesson or knowledge you might aquire. You see, it’s not what you don’t know… It’s what you already know that just isn’t so that’s keeping you from all the results you desire.

You need to focus on a well-defined target market - I Know That!

But do you really? Have you done that for your own business? My experience is that most small businesses are taking whatever business they can get through the door. Do you know how to create a laser-focused target market definition?

You need to establish your uniqueness (why you’re different) to stand out from competition - I Know That!

But do you really? Have you done that for your own business? My experience is that most small businesses are still focused on telling prospects they’re different because of their number of years in the business or because they’re totally focused on quality customer service. But who is not saying those things?

You need to focus on client results and benefits, not on your product or service’s functions and features - I Know That!

But do you really? Do your current marekting messages reflect that? My experience is that most small businesses never get beyond trite phrases like, “We’re focused on your results! Our success is based on helping you succeed!”

Look, I’m not suggesting that small business owners in general don’t know anything about marketing. In fact, most have a pretty good idea about how marketing should work. It’s just that when you keep saying “I Know That” you are closing your mind to new ideas, new perspectives, and new possibilities.

With marketing, a slight adjustment in your wording could mean a 1,000 percent or more increase in your results. Isn’t it possible that someone else’s perspective or idea could lead you to that slight adjustment? Well not if you’re constantly saying “I Know That!”

There is a saying in busienss and in life that goes something like, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.” If you’re not continually learning and picking up nuggets of wisdom, then you’re likely stagnating and withering away.

And that’s why “I Know That” is the three most dangerous words in all of marketing (and of course in life). When you’re saying “I Know That” you’re not learning and looking for nuggets.

So when you hear it (out loud or only through the little voice inside your head)… My advice is to concentrate twice as hard on what the new idea, perspective, or possiblity is for you.

Way too many small business owners rush into doing things without adequately planning and preparing. And marketing is a great case in point.

You set up shop and then hurry to get the word out about your business and services. You rush to get a brochure made up, develop a web site, and get out and start networking without much planning or preparation. And then you wonder why your results are so poor.

If you do nothing else from a marketing preparation standpoint, I suggest you spend some time thinking about your best clients. Your best clients aren’t simply the ones who pay the most money, but also the ones you enjoy working with the most. Spend some time to create a profile.

1. Define Your Target. How do you describe your ideal target market demographically and characteristically? Demographics are the basic facts like the kind of industry they’re in, size of company, revenues, geographic location, etc. If your target is individuals, then it means income levels, age, gender, education, etc. Characteristics deal more with things like the style, philosophy, and approach to business of your targets.
2. What’s The Problem? What are the problems, issues, challenges, or predicaments you’re trying to help your target customers and prospects with? Every product or service is designed to address some sort of issue or challenge for your client. What is your target market dealing with and what’s the potential impact of not being able to address those problems?
3. What Do They Get From Working With You? What are the solutions you provide? What benefits do you offer? What results do you produce? Note that this isn’t “what you do” or a list of services you provide, but what your clients actually get from you.
4. What’s It Like Working With Them? What is it about working with your best clients that makes them your best clients? What is the relationship like? How do things work? What is it that you’re able to uniquely do for them that makes it a great working relationship?

You’ll be amazed at what it can mean for your business when you spend some time preparing a profile of your best clients (and potential clients). If you know exactly who your potential clients are, then you can more effectively focus on them in your marketing efforts.

So now that you’ve defined your best clients, do your current marketing efforts really reach these folks and others like them?

Do you know what your prospects really want?

Well let me ask the question this way. Are you attracting all the clients you can handle? If not, then the answer is probably not really? Experience tells me that most small business owners feel like they have a pretty good idea what potential clients want, but they’re often missing the mark.

This much we all should know… If you want to get marketing results, then you need to get into purposeful marketing action. However, if you’re in action but still not getting results, then it means you’re not giving prospects what they want. (And by-the-way, trust me, not all prospects expect everything for free.)

The typical small business approach. If you think you’re going to pick up clients because you have the best product/service, the most experience of anyone in your field, or because you offer the best service at the best rates then YOU ARE WRONG! This flawed, but widely-used approach is based on trying to get potential clients to notice you so they want to come work with you. But that’s not what your prospects really want.

I’m not saying that your experience and quality products/services are not important. It’s just not as relevant to a winning marketing message as you might think. And that’s largely because the focus tends to be more on you and not on your prospect(s).

Your prospects want to know that you understand what they’re dealing with and that you’re focused on helping them. For the most part, your prospects are looking for the promise of a solution to some problem, issue, or challenge that has been weighing them down or holding them back from some greater outcome.

Avoid the “who cares?” information overload. People want to know “what’s in it for me?” They’re looking for information that will help them resolve that problem, issue, or challenge once and for all. That’s what your prospects really want.

On the Get More Clients Fast Path, we want to show you how to leverage this marketing insight. Will you join us on the Get More Clients Fast Path? Details Inside!

What if I told you that most of what you believe about marketing is probably wrong? And what would you say if I told you that tossing out your pre-existing notions and adopting some proven marketing principles would put you on a path to much greater success?

Would you ask me, “How do you know this?”

My response is pretty simple. I know because I was also wrong for many years. But, when I started paying attention to someone who knew what they were talking about, my results began to change pretty much overnight.

I know because every small business I’ve worked with since I started my marketing coaching practice a handful of years ago has been wrong. However, when they’re willing to let go of their flawed pre-existing notions and begin applying some proven marketing principles they begin getting vastly improved results.

Shift the focus of you marketing from you to your clients and prospects and watch your results begin to soar.

What do I mean by shift your focus?

For most small businesses, it’s hard for them to see what they’re doing wrong. They’re usually clinging to their old notions about marketing.

Take a look at some of your own marketing materials. If they’re talking mostly about who you are, what services you provide, and how much experience you have - your focus is all wrong.

Shift your focus to talk about what types of clients you want to help. Help them understand what problems and challenges you want to help them solve. Get clear about what kind of outcomes and results you want to produce for them.

Effective marketing is not about coming up with catchy phrases or sexy messages. It’s about applying proven principles that focus on clarity regarding who you want to help and what you want to help them get done.