I just finished reading an article posted by a friend of mine on his Blog. (Chris Hurn, Mercantile Commercial Capital, Orlando, FL). Also to be totally transparent, his company has done a fantastic job providing financing for our new building. Anyway, back to the story. They had made an application to create a National Bank that would be the holding company for their firm and give them greater lending power for people like us who would like to own their own building. But they were turned down even though they were an INC 500 fastest growing company in a failing economy. The governing agency decided they weren't going to approve any more banks for the foreseeable future. He was upset at the government agency for stringing him along, when they are a highly profitable company and showed proven quality lending skills.
You can read his Blog post on this issue at the following link:
The "Great Big Quivering Gelatinous Invertebrate Jelly of Indecision"
What struck me was several people that commented decided Chris' issue was with Obama and that the problem was Bush bad Obama good. I'm not quite sure why it is when we discuss the administration of Career Government agencies and employees; it has to turn into a referendum on one Presidential administration over another. Chis was comparing this experience with his partner's former bank start-up experience. The earlier bank application was approved with people that had less experience and with less proven capital. Several saw this as a Bush/Obama issue when his partners first experience was actually under a totally different administration than Bush or Obama.
So the Presidential comparison was irrelevant to this conversation. Everyone immediately gets defensive and assumes you are badmouthing their candidate. Instead, the issue really is the broken bureaucracy we must wade through to fulfill Government legal requirements and the shroud of hypocrisy that happens when they encourage you to invest your time even though they've decided in advance they aren't going to approve the application.
The Government in general in the Clinton, Bush and now Barrack Obama administrations have in the past and continue to undermined the private sector's ability to excel. The issue is not what President is in office and whether you like that choice. The issue is the bureaucracy our legislature has created over the last 30 years. They find it necessary to create laws to prevent stupidity and greed. When those two are present in a business, and they fail, our government should get the heck out of the way and let them fail. Our economy will survive. It has in the past. Our government should not be in the role of deciding who should fail and who should survive. The truth is, when government takes that path, you almost always just prolong the inevitable. A fine example: do a Google search for "Chrysler Bail-Out 1979."
The Government gave Chrysler $1.2 Billion to keep it from going into bankruptcy. But under the table they did anyway. Creditors only received 30 cents on the dollar. They still laid off 63,000 employees. That sounds a whole lot like bankruptcy to me, without formally calling it "Chapter 11."
Now 30 years later we're back in the same boat with that industry. When does the government stop and get out of our way? Presidential politics should have nothing to do with it. Most all problems are created by large bulbous government agencies and congressional officeholders who must payoff constituents to get re-elected and don't have the fortitude to do the right thing for the country regardless of the election outcome. (All legislators need to be required to read the writings of our founding fathers before they are allowed to take office.) We are repeating the same historic mistakes over and over again except the numbers are getting gigantic.
I welcome your comments on the subject below.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
"Show Me The Money - V"
Final Edition: Show Me The Money, 12/24 Marketing Plan - Part V
Remember, I've been discussing the 12 to 24 months we have to ramp-up our businesses to prepare for a changing economy that will probably last for at least 3-5 years after 2010, maybe longer according to top economy strategists.
You can decide to be ready or you can ignore it and be scrambling to find customers when the real problems hit. Nothing our government can do at this time will have a lasting effect on the weakening economy.
The positive impact from government fiddling will only be short lived. We must be prepared and creating our own bail-out, because they ain't going to give us one. We tend not to learn from history, and history has show the direction we are going right now, will actually extend the recession.
As a continuation of our study of the Affluent market place that has the potential to be a lifesaver for us, I want to complete my review for you today. Dan Kennedy has given us some great strategies in his book No BS Marketing to the Affluent. Here's some more of his 'Keys to the Vault' and a report from his book.
Kennedy Key to Vault #2: "Who you bring through the door matters a lot. Why not deliberately get higher value customers?"
Boomers represent more than 70% of U.S. households with incomes exceeding $75,000 and assets $200,000 and above. Over the next 30 years they will be inheriting an enormous transfer of wealth from parents because their parents believed in leaving a financial legacy to the kids.
Patrick Swayze, the actor from "Dirty Dancing" is suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer. They say smoking is one of the contributing factors. But he refuses to stop smoking. You see how many in our generation think?
The boomer is fueling the alternative health industry, the magic treatment with nutritional and dietary supplements, herbal supplements, treatments in foreign clinics etc.
The Wellness Industry has emerged as a major business sector. Spas, organic foods, nutrition, exercise and fitness, cosmetic surgeries and procedures, beauty products and services, chiropractic, message therapy, and cosmetic dentistry. This is all because of demands from the boomer. Business week says this is a $400 Billion industry today, growing to $1 Trillion by 2020.
Boomers & Nostalgia
Emotional Nostalgia will go a long way to connecting with the Affluent Baby Boomer. Many times you'll see advertisers using very popular, well-remembered songs of boomer youth.
Dan says, "Roy Rogers is an (nostalgia) anchor for male boomers of a certain age, but...sitting on the floor in front of the B&W TV, still in pajamas, with a bowl of cereal, to watch Roy Rogers, his super horse, Trigger, and Dale Evans . . . that's a better anchor."
These types of Nostalgia Anchors are extremely useful in marketing to Boomers. That's the lure of the country store, for instance the allure of Cracker Barrel restaurants.
How to Lose a Boomer in 60 Seconds
Here's some sure fire way to turn off the boomer in your business or with your advertising. If you subject them to perceived or real DISRESPECT. (Don't call them Pops, Ma'am, Old Man, etc.) If your employees dress in ways considered disrespectful, for instance, having employees with piercing earrings in every part of the body, whole arms or necks, etc full of tattoos. Using language that is perceived as disrespect.
There was a young Irish lady on American Idol this last season. She had an amazing voice, probably the best on the show. But her whole arm and parts of her body (that showed on camera) were covered with tattoos. She didn't last very long on the show. She didn't get votes. I think one of the big reasons is the Boomer regular viewers that refused to vote for her because of her appearance.
The language your employees use can be very disrespectful. "I realize at your age you don't know much about the internet, but...." If they engage in impolite, disrespectful behavior such as talking on a cell phone while ringing up a sale the boomer will buy less and most likely walk out of the business. The boomer just isn't very thrilled with having to deal with very young disinterested employees.
Selling to the Self Employed Affluent
Self employed business owners are a significant portion of the population - statistics show that it's 20% of the U.S. Population but will account for over 70% of the affluence. Many self-employed affluents came from poor backgrounds and seldom disconnect emotionally from this past. Some even romanticize their past struggles according to Dan.
Dan gives the example of Jay Leno's star on Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's located at the corner where he was arrested twice for vagrancy. Or, that he has a massive collection of classic cars may have its roots in the fact that he slept in his car while he was homeless.
Ron Legrand is a highly successful educator and information marketer in the RE business. He travels in his two private jets, lives in a palatial estate in Florida, once worked as an auto mechanic and Dan says Ron remembers having to tell his wife they couldn't afford to get the dryer repaired. And . . . he talks about it frequently in his workshops and seminars.
These affluent boomers have sacrificed much in their life for everything they've gotten. They feel they have to put up with anything unnecessary off of anyone. They view themselves as fiercely independent. They hate rules and tend to run quickly away from a business if they start hearing any rules based language in the businesses advertising.
Remember, I've been discussing the 12 to 24 months we have to ramp-up our businesses to prepare for a changing economy that will probably last for at least 3-5 years after 2010, maybe longer according to top economy strategists.
You can decide to be ready or you can ignore it and be scrambling to find customers when the real problems hit. Nothing our government can do at this time will have a lasting effect on the weakening economy.
The positive impact from government fiddling will only be short lived. We must be prepared and creating our own bail-out, because they ain't going to give us one. We tend not to learn from history, and history has show the direction we are going right now, will actually extend the recession.
As a continuation of our study of the Affluent market place that has the potential to be a lifesaver for us, I want to complete my review for you today. Dan Kennedy has given us some great strategies in his book No BS Marketing to the Affluent. Here's some more of his 'Keys to the Vault' and a report from his book.
Kennedy Key to Vault #2: "Who you bring through the door matters a lot. Why not deliberately get higher value customers?"
Boomers represent more than 70% of U.S. households with incomes exceeding $75,000 and assets $200,000 and above. Over the next 30 years they will be inheriting an enormous transfer of wealth from parents because their parents believed in leaving a financial legacy to the kids.
If you believe this is just the rest of the country not New Mexico, I just did a mailing list search of only three counties in New Mexico (Bernalillo, Sandoval and Santa Fe). The list gave me 55,652 households with income over $100,000 and Investable Assets over $200,000. Is that a big enough marketplace for you?
Disney is going after this demographic in a big way. A few months ago we reviewed the Harley Davidson ad targeting this age group. It was titled "Screw It, Let's Ride." The "Screw It" referred to the bad economy news from the press.
1/3 of all boomers are from financially secure to financially independent. About half of that 1/3 qualifies as wealthy. "Within the boomer population, there is a historically unprecedented percentage of affluent and ultra-affluent consumers coupled with a historically unprecedented willingness on their part to spend their money on themselves. This is a terrific dynamic for us marketers!" Dan Kennedy
Because of their expected inheretance, the boomer generation is expected to have a wealth transfer of $7.2 Trillion over the next 30 years.
Boomers are Re-Inventing Their Lives - And You Could Profit
Disney is going after this demographic in a big way. A few months ago we reviewed the Harley Davidson ad targeting this age group. It was titled "Screw It, Let's Ride." The "Screw It" referred to the bad economy news from the press.1/3 of all boomers are from financially secure to financially independent. About half of that 1/3 qualifies as wealthy. "Within the boomer population, there is a historically unprecedented percentage of affluent and ultra-affluent consumers coupled with a historically unprecedented willingness on their part to spend their money on themselves. This is a terrific dynamic for us marketers!" Dan Kennedy
Because of their expected inheretance, the boomer generation is expected to have a wealth transfer of $7.2 Trillion over the next 30 years.
Boomers are Re-Inventing Their Lives - And You Could Profit
Dr Mary Furlong, in her book "Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace writes: "Today, boomers are RE-INVENTING their lives. They are finding NEW places to work, NEW places to travel to (and NEW ways of traveling), NEW ways to spend their days, NEW ways to spend time with their children and grandchildren, and NEW ways to stay vital and connected as they age. Each choice represents enormous business opportunity."
Leslie M Harris, in " After Fifty: How the Baby Boom Will Redefine the Mature Market, said: "Boomers see age as a lifestyle choice rather than a chronological imperative." They are very different from their parent's generation.
So what do they want?
In his book, "Common Census: Counterintuitive Guide to Generational Marketing," Ken Gronbach reports that they know what they want. They've been buying the same oil for their cars for years and they wear tan pants. At this point in their lives, they want only three things:
1. Life made easy. 2. Time Saved. 3. Not to be ripped off.
How are you targeting your message to these wants? Note: Affluent boomers already own a lot of stuff. Consequently, boomers are SERVICE CONSUMERS more than product buyers. We want nothing as a thing; we want a thing that gives us time, convenience, freedom, or ease.
The third on the list is missed more than any other. How much do I harp on you about using guarantees? Many times in our lives we have been disappointed by our purchases and even felt ripped-off at times.
Kennedy Key to Vault #3: "Your desired customer's attitudes about things related to your product or service matter much more than any facts about your product or service."
What do you think Dan means by that?
Attitudes Governing Boomer's Spending
Age: Studies show early boomers (my age group) placed old age at 83. That's 3 years after average life expectancy. Boomers now expect to be cured of all sorts of things our grandparents accepted as incurable: breast cancer, and other cancers, heart disease and heart attacks, and other serious ailments. Optimistic faith in medical research producing cures.
Truth?
There hasn't been a new, complete cure for anything since polio. But boomers still inherently believe it will happen. That makes them not very interested in self-help, self-discipline, and so on regarding disease. Many diabetics ignore creating a healthy environment for themselves. They believe there will be a cure or maybe advancements in organ transplants to take care of the problem. So they ignore healthy eating and exercising as a solution.
Patrick Swayze Does!
Leslie M Harris, in " After Fifty: How the Baby Boom Will Redefine the Mature Market, said: "Boomers see age as a lifestyle choice rather than a chronological imperative." They are very different from their parent's generation.
So what do they want?
In his book, "Common Census: Counterintuitive Guide to Generational Marketing," Ken Gronbach reports that they know what they want. They've been buying the same oil for their cars for years and they wear tan pants. At this point in their lives, they want only three things:
1. Life made easy. 2. Time Saved. 3. Not to be ripped off.
How are you targeting your message to these wants? Note: Affluent boomers already own a lot of stuff. Consequently, boomers are SERVICE CONSUMERS more than product buyers. We want nothing as a thing; we want a thing that gives us time, convenience, freedom, or ease.
The third on the list is missed more than any other. How much do I harp on you about using guarantees? Many times in our lives we have been disappointed by our purchases and even felt ripped-off at times.
Kennedy Key to Vault #3: "Your desired customer's attitudes about things related to your product or service matter much more than any facts about your product or service."
What do you think Dan means by that?
Attitudes Governing Boomer's Spending
Age: Studies show early boomers (my age group) placed old age at 83. That's 3 years after average life expectancy. Boomers now expect to be cured of all sorts of things our grandparents accepted as incurable: breast cancer, and other cancers, heart disease and heart attacks, and other serious ailments. Optimistic faith in medical research producing cures.
Truth?
There hasn't been a new, complete cure for anything since polio. But boomers still inherently believe it will happen. That makes them not very interested in self-help, self-discipline, and so on regarding disease. Many diabetics ignore creating a healthy environment for themselves. They believe there will be a cure or maybe advancements in organ transplants to take care of the problem. So they ignore healthy eating and exercising as a solution.
Patrick Swayze Does!
Patrick Swayze, the actor from "Dirty Dancing" is suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer. They say smoking is one of the contributing factors. But he refuses to stop smoking. You see how many in our generation think?The boomer is fueling the alternative health industry, the magic treatment with nutritional and dietary supplements, herbal supplements, treatments in foreign clinics etc.
The Wellness Industry has emerged as a major business sector. Spas, organic foods, nutrition, exercise and fitness, cosmetic surgeries and procedures, beauty products and services, chiropractic, message therapy, and cosmetic dentistry. This is all because of demands from the boomer. Business week says this is a $400 Billion industry today, growing to $1 Trillion by 2020.
Boomers & Nostalgia
Emotional Nostalgia will go a long way to connecting with the Affluent Baby Boomer. Many times you'll see advertisers using very popular, well-remembered songs of boomer youth.
Dan says, "Roy Rogers is an (nostalgia) anchor for male boomers of a certain age, but...sitting on the floor in front of the B&W TV, still in pajamas, with a bowl of cereal, to watch Roy Rogers, his super horse, Trigger, and Dale Evans . . . that's a better anchor."
These types of Nostalgia Anchors are extremely useful in marketing to Boomers. That's the lure of the country store, for instance the allure of Cracker Barrel restaurants.
How to Lose a Boomer in 60 Seconds
Here's some sure fire way to turn off the boomer in your business or with your advertising. If you subject them to perceived or real DISRESPECT. (Don't call them Pops, Ma'am, Old Man, etc.) If your employees dress in ways considered disrespectful, for instance, having employees with piercing earrings in every part of the body, whole arms or necks, etc full of tattoos. Using language that is perceived as disrespect.
There was a young Irish lady on American Idol this last season. She had an amazing voice, probably the best on the show. But her whole arm and parts of her body (that showed on camera) were covered with tattoos. She didn't last very long on the show. She didn't get votes. I think one of the big reasons is the Boomer regular viewers that refused to vote for her because of her appearance.
The language your employees use can be very disrespectful. "I realize at your age you don't know much about the internet, but...." If they engage in impolite, disrespectful behavior such as talking on a cell phone while ringing up a sale the boomer will buy less and most likely walk out of the business. The boomer just isn't very thrilled with having to deal with very young disinterested employees.
Selling to the Self Employed Affluent
Self employed business owners are a significant portion of the population - statistics show that it's 20% of the U.S. Population but will account for over 70% of the affluence. Many self-employed affluents came from poor backgrounds and seldom disconnect emotionally from this past. Some even romanticize their past struggles according to Dan.
Dan gives the example of Jay Leno's star on Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's located at the corner where he was arrested twice for vagrancy. Or, that he has a massive collection of classic cars may have its roots in the fact that he slept in his car while he was homeless.
Ron Legrand is a highly successful educator and information marketer in the RE business. He travels in his two private jets, lives in a palatial estate in Florida, once worked as an auto mechanic and Dan says Ron remembers having to tell his wife they couldn't afford to get the dryer repaired. And . . . he talks about it frequently in his workshops and seminars.
These affluent boomers have sacrificed much in their life for everything they've gotten. They feel they have to put up with anything unnecessary off of anyone. They view themselves as fiercely independent. They hate rules and tend to run quickly away from a business if they start hearing any rules based language in the businesses advertising.
Who's Paying Attention To The Boomer Affluent?
How many business do you know that will set themselves up to meet every need of a boomer affluent? Disney hotel resorts at Disney World are trained this way. That's why you see them advertising for them to bring their kids and grandkids for a family reunion at Disney World. And guess what, it's working.
They admire the qualities that got them where they are now when they see it in other people and businesses. They're looking for people with stories like their own to do business with.
These people reward ingenuity, drive, persistence, and salesmanship.
They admire the qualities that got them where they are now when they see it in other people and businesses. They're looking for people with stories like their own to do business with.
These people reward ingenuity, drive, persistence, and salesmanship.
Jo Media, MasterMind member
Jo Medina, Medina Insurance agency, often talks about how her clients respond to her and refer their family and friends because she goes out of her way to share stories about her family and where she came from and how hard she has worked to make her agency a success. She has clients with several businesses, several homes and many cars. She's moving her business to targeting affluent households and business owners.
They Are Searching for Value as THEY Define It.
The affluent consumers and businesses are smart about money and getting good deals and bargains. Donald Trump brags about buying a bankrupt billionaire's oceanfront mansion our of a foreclosure. He loves to tell the story of how he then got his whole investment back by replacing all of the antiques and antique furniture with reproductions and then selling the originals. As a result, he basically got the mansion for free, a big bargain.
If given no other reason to judge your product's or service's value, the affluent will choose the best price. I'm sure you've done this yourself. We're buying a new refrigerator. Once we've decided which one we want, Linda is searching the internet and the stores for the best price. That's because no store has given us a compelling reason not to pick price as the only differentiator.
The affluent is hungry to learn as much about a subject of interest in a buying decision as possible. Linda has gone to every website she can find and to every opinion site to get info she needs on a refrigerator.
Affluents Are Information Magnets
Affluent consumers reward those businesses that teach them the key things they need to know to make a right decision. They also reward those who seem to know insider information and are willing to share it in language the affluent understands. That's one of the reasons I push you so hard to implement a printed newsletter. You will be considered an author, and authors have a higher perceived valuel in business by affluent consumers.
This is especially so in B2B. Rick Gee, (Imaging Concepts of NM) (also a MasterMind member) is a very successful salesman of high dollar document management systems (high end, high volume color office printers and storage systems). He gets higher profit margins than competing salespeople because he simply provides written proof of his expertise.
Another advantage you can bring is to take the hassle and trouble out of any transaction by doing things for your client that relieves them of mundane tasks. In the auto repair industry, the Affluent would rather you just come pick-up the car in their driveway so they don't have to mess with bringing it in and then arranging transportation back home or to work for themselves. Or, better yet, provide them a loaner car of equal or better quality to their own.
If you connect with the affluent in a way that speaks directly to them, their needs and prejudices, and offer unusual services, price becomes virtually irrelevant.
Kennedy Key to Vault #4: "Be a good news merchant. Sell optimism along with whatever else you sell."
Why would this be important to the affluent buyer, especially the boomer affluent? It's important because they have been through many downturns in the economy over their life and come out ahead. The Boomer Affluent especially is tired of hearing bad news. That's one of the reasons why you see much of the newspaper industry failing and losing readership.
We're just downright tired of it and will refuse to read it any more. Be upbeat when you write. Be upbeat when you present to your potential customer. Show them you have a great optimism for the future and they will reward you for it.
Conclusion:
Affluent and Mass Affluent consumers, business owners and company executives will continue to spend even in a down economy. They will get what they want. Travel is up; spending on natural healing products and services is up. This is why so many fortunes were built during the depression of the 1930's.
Linda and I owned 2 snowmobiles that we bought a couple of years ago to try out to see if we would enjoy it. We weren't getting time to go out on them, so we decided to sell them this year to get them out of the yard.
We put two ads up on Craig's List, on the web, one in Albuquerque and one in Colorado Springs. We had 18 calls of people ready to buy them for cash right away. They would drive to Albuquerque to get them and for full price. But, we have a sinking economy, right? People will continue to spend on what they really want. You just have to find what that is and provide it.
That makes the affluent marketplace a better target for your products and services. We just need to learn how to market and speak to them in a marketing language they respond to. We need to learn to package our products and services that meet a perceived need or desire. There is much opportunity here.
And, you need to study this group much more. Get and read Dan Kennedy's book, "No BS Marketing to the Affluent" and subscribe to his monthly affluent newsletter to keep up on the latest developments. We can help you with that subscription. Just call us at 505-260-4663.
J. Wayne Story
Small Business Marketing Strategist
http://www.marketingstrategiesrx.com/
They Are Searching for Value as THEY Define It.
The affluent consumers and businesses are smart about money and getting good deals and bargains. Donald Trump brags about buying a bankrupt billionaire's oceanfront mansion our of a foreclosure. He loves to tell the story of how he then got his whole investment back by replacing all of the antiques and antique furniture with reproductions and then selling the originals. As a result, he basically got the mansion for free, a big bargain.
If given no other reason to judge your product's or service's value, the affluent will choose the best price. I'm sure you've done this yourself. We're buying a new refrigerator. Once we've decided which one we want, Linda is searching the internet and the stores for the best price. That's because no store has given us a compelling reason not to pick price as the only differentiator.
The affluent is hungry to learn as much about a subject of interest in a buying decision as possible. Linda has gone to every website she can find and to every opinion site to get info she needs on a refrigerator.
Affluents Are Information Magnets
Affluent consumers reward those businesses that teach them the key things they need to know to make a right decision. They also reward those who seem to know insider information and are willing to share it in language the affluent understands. That's one of the reasons I push you so hard to implement a printed newsletter. You will be considered an author, and authors have a higher perceived valuel in business by affluent consumers.
This is especially so in B2B. Rick Gee, (Imaging Concepts of NM) (also a MasterMind member) is a very successful salesman of high dollar document management systems (high end, high volume color office printers and storage systems). He gets higher profit margins than competing salespeople because he simply provides written proof of his expertise.
Another advantage you can bring is to take the hassle and trouble out of any transaction by doing things for your client that relieves them of mundane tasks. In the auto repair industry, the Affluent would rather you just come pick-up the car in their driveway so they don't have to mess with bringing it in and then arranging transportation back home or to work for themselves. Or, better yet, provide them a loaner car of equal or better quality to their own.
If you connect with the affluent in a way that speaks directly to them, their needs and prejudices, and offer unusual services, price becomes virtually irrelevant.
Kennedy Key to Vault #4: "Be a good news merchant. Sell optimism along with whatever else you sell."
Why would this be important to the affluent buyer, especially the boomer affluent? It's important because they have been through many downturns in the economy over their life and come out ahead. The Boomer Affluent especially is tired of hearing bad news. That's one of the reasons why you see much of the newspaper industry failing and losing readership.
We're just downright tired of it and will refuse to read it any more. Be upbeat when you write. Be upbeat when you present to your potential customer. Show them you have a great optimism for the future and they will reward you for it.
Conclusion:
Affluent and Mass Affluent consumers, business owners and company executives will continue to spend even in a down economy. They will get what they want. Travel is up; spending on natural healing products and services is up. This is why so many fortunes were built during the depression of the 1930's.
Linda and I owned 2 snowmobiles that we bought a couple of years ago to try out to see if we would enjoy it. We weren't getting time to go out on them, so we decided to sell them this year to get them out of the yard.
We put two ads up on Craig's List, on the web, one in Albuquerque and one in Colorado Springs. We had 18 calls of people ready to buy them for cash right away. They would drive to Albuquerque to get them and for full price. But, we have a sinking economy, right? People will continue to spend on what they really want. You just have to find what that is and provide it.
That makes the affluent marketplace a better target for your products and services. We just need to learn how to market and speak to them in a marketing language they respond to. We need to learn to package our products and services that meet a perceived need or desire. There is much opportunity here.
And, you need to study this group much more. Get and read Dan Kennedy's book, "No BS Marketing to the Affluent" and subscribe to his monthly affluent newsletter to keep up on the latest developments. We can help you with that subscription. Just call us at 505-260-4663.
J. Wayne Story
Small Business Marketing Strategist
http://www.marketingstrategiesrx.com/
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Your Keys To The Affluent Vault
"Show Me The Money" 12 / 24 Marketing Plan Part 4
In my last three newsletters, I have defined what's coming, outlined the significant opportunity to grow your business and defined who are the affluent in our the U.S. marketplace. Then in the next couple of newsletters / blog posts I will discuss the outstanding opportunity.
If you missed the earlier posts, you can get to them on the right under the December posts.
You should plan to re-orient your business to appeal to the group in the U.S. that will still have an ability to spend on your product or service during a potentially lengthy recession. To do that we need to research and understand what this new or additional target market is for us.
I am going to review some key strategies that I have learned from Dan Kennedy, in his book, "No BS Marketing to the Affluent," his "Marketing to the Affluent" monthly newsletter, and in conversations with him.
Most of us wish we owned a bank where we could just walk into the vault and give ourselves a loan. That bank vault does exist for us, but we have to go out and get it. Our vault over the next few years will be providing products and services to the Affluent.
It's the one fewer businesses will know how to open, thus providing the biggest opportunity. Let's start with what Dan Kennedy calls the "Keys to the Vault."
Kennedy Key to Vault #1:
"Make all your marketing to the affluent mirror the way they see and think about themselves."
In the 1960's husbands picked out the family car. In the 1980's couples picked it out. Today in mass-affluent household the woman has her own car and picked it out for herself. Most likely even made the final decision without much if any input from a man in her life.
Linda Picked Out Our Last Car, B-u-t . . .
A couple of years ago, Linda, my wife, decided that we needed a larger SUV because when our kids and their families came to town, we had to take two cars everywhere. One big 8-9 seat SUV would make that much easier.
Linda got on the internet and researched all the cars the size she wanted. She narrowed her choice down to two make/models. Then she started calling around to see where she could get the best deal.
After about a month of research and decision process she chose the one she wanted, and negotiated through email and telephone with the dealer where she would get the right selection and the best price.
She asked me to go with her to the dealer in Santa Fe so that they wouldn't try to intimidate her. She wouldn't have let them intimidate her but she just didn't want to go through the hassle. We got there and she did most of the talking to the salesman and we signed all the papers, arranged for the financing and picked out the accessories.
A few weeks later we picked up the car. Now, ever since that time, who do you think the dealer has been marketing to? Me, the man of the house. I wasn't that involved in making the decision. I didn't do the telephone and fax negotiation. I sat behind the scene as she asked all the key questions.
But they still send all their follow-up marketing materials addressed to me. They should have picked up on the fact that she was the decision maker for this transaction, not me. But they didn't. You may be doing the same. Or, you may not be targeting women individually for your product or service.
Start Target Marketing for Greater Success
There again you are making the big mistake I see often. "I want to try to get everyone." When you do that you will get fewer everyone than you would if you targeted your message. This is extremely important with the Affluent.
Marketing to affluent households will have to include, if not target, women. 2007 marked the first time there were as many single women as married women in U.S. Why do you think that would be important to note?
2005, Single women were the 2nd largest group of home buyers (1.5 million homes). When have you seen any Real Estate advertising aimed at single women?
Why do you think we have this trend of mass affluent women?
There is also a large group of willfully unmarried affluent women - especially in Boomer age. And, they are controlling a significant buying power. They're buying homes, doing their own investing, planning and funding retirements, planning their own vacations and so on for life.
But hardly anyone is marketing specifically to this group.
They are permanent heads of households. Do you know anyone like this?
You can't design a business to be exclusively for men anymore. That would be sexist. But you can design one exclusively for women. (That's not sexist) Discrimination is one of the most powerful of all marketing strategies.
What do you think I mean by that?
Men tend to buy for status as a matter of competition or comparison. For women status may be a matter of association rather than competition. But both often buy for status.
The affluent guy will often purchase a 60 foot yacht because everyone else at the club has a 48 foot yacht. Many yacht owners freely admit their size choice was based on the sizes of their peers. An expensive 'My blank is bigger than your blank.' A throw back from the high school locker room, maybe.
Next week I'll discuss Kennedy's the next two Key's to the Vault of the Affluent pocketbook.
Wayne Story
http://www.marketingstrategiesrx.com/
In my last three newsletters, I have defined what's coming, outlined the significant opportunity to grow your business and defined who are the affluent in our the U.S. marketplace. Then in the next couple of newsletters / blog posts I will discuss the outstanding opportunity.
If you missed the earlier posts, you can get to them on the right under the December posts.
You should plan to re-orient your business to appeal to the group in the U.S. that will still have an ability to spend on your product or service during a potentially lengthy recession. To do that we need to research and understand what this new or additional target market is for us.
I am going to review some key strategies that I have learned from Dan Kennedy, in his book, "No BS Marketing to the Affluent," his "Marketing to the Affluent" monthly newsletter, and in conversations with him.
Most of us wish we owned a bank where we could just walk into the vault and give ourselves a loan. That bank vault does exist for us, but we have to go out and get it. Our vault over the next few years will be providing products and services to the Affluent.
It's the one fewer businesses will know how to open, thus providing the biggest opportunity. Let's start with what Dan Kennedy calls the "Keys to the Vault."
Kennedy Key to Vault #1:
"Make all your marketing to the affluent mirror the way they see and think about themselves."
In the 1960's husbands picked out the family car. In the 1980's couples picked it out. Today in mass-affluent household the woman has her own car and picked it out for herself. Most likely even made the final decision without much if any input from a man in her life.
Linda Picked Out Our Last Car, B-u-t . . .
A couple of years ago, Linda, my wife, decided that we needed a larger SUV because when our kids and their families came to town, we had to take two cars everywhere. One big 8-9 seat SUV would make that much easier.
Linda got on the internet and researched all the cars the size she wanted. She narrowed her choice down to two make/models. Then she started calling around to see where she could get the best deal.
After about a month of research and decision process she chose the one she wanted, and negotiated through email and telephone with the dealer where she would get the right selection and the best price.
She asked me to go with her to the dealer in Santa Fe so that they wouldn't try to intimidate her. She wouldn't have let them intimidate her but she just didn't want to go through the hassle. We got there and she did most of the talking to the salesman and we signed all the papers, arranged for the financing and picked out the accessories.
A few weeks later we picked up the car. Now, ever since that time, who do you think the dealer has been marketing to? Me, the man of the house. I wasn't that involved in making the decision. I didn't do the telephone and fax negotiation. I sat behind the scene as she asked all the key questions.
But they still send all their follow-up marketing materials addressed to me. They should have picked up on the fact that she was the decision maker for this transaction, not me. But they didn't. You may be doing the same. Or, you may not be targeting women individually for your product or service.
Start Target Marketing for Greater Success
There again you are making the big mistake I see often. "I want to try to get everyone." When you do that you will get fewer everyone than you would if you targeted your message. This is extremely important with the Affluent.
Marketing to affluent households will have to include, if not target, women. 2007 marked the first time there were as many single women as married women in U.S. Why do you think that would be important to note?
2005, Single women were the 2nd largest group of home buyers (1.5 million homes). When have you seen any Real Estate advertising aimed at single women?
Why do you think we have this trend of mass affluent women?
There is also a large group of willfully unmarried affluent women - especially in Boomer age. And, they are controlling a significant buying power. They're buying homes, doing their own investing, planning and funding retirements, planning their own vacations and so on for life.
But hardly anyone is marketing specifically to this group.
They are permanent heads of households. Do you know anyone like this?
You can't design a business to be exclusively for men anymore. That would be sexist. But you can design one exclusively for women. (That's not sexist) Discrimination is one of the most powerful of all marketing strategies.
What do you think I mean by that?
Men tend to buy for status as a matter of competition or comparison. For women status may be a matter of association rather than competition. But both often buy for status.
The affluent guy will often purchase a 60 foot yacht because everyone else at the club has a 48 foot yacht. Many yacht owners freely admit their size choice was based on the sizes of their peers. An expensive 'My blank is bigger than your blank.' A throw back from the high school locker room, maybe.
Next week I'll discuss Kennedy's the next two Key's to the Vault of the Affluent pocketbook.
Wayne Story
http://www.marketingstrategiesrx.com/
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
"Show Me The Money" 12 / 24 Marketing Plan Part 3
Biggest Opportunity To Grow Your Business In Your Lifetime
As you can see from my previous Marketing Prescription Newsletter posts, we are most definitely headed for a recession or possibly worse a full-fledged depression. If you haven't read the earlier installments, look in the right column of this blog. You can find the link to read the first two installments.
You have a 12 - 24 month window to prepare and put your business in a position to thrive and grow during the extended recession that could last 3-5 years . . . or more if congress succeeds in getting their grubby hands on it.
Now that we've resigned ourselves to the coming recession or worse, we can start preparing our business. We should immediately refine and target our marketing to those in the economy who will still have money to spend.
Affluent households and affluent and emerging industry businesses in the United States are the smart target markets for us going into 2010 and on. If you aren't already targeting this prospect market, you should start moving your company or sales territory that direction as fast as you can possibly move.
I'm going to invest the next couple of posts defining this group and explaining how to market to them and how to connect your business to the households and businesses that will still be spending money.
First, lets lay down some definitions for you to put your arms around and understand where we're going. Let's start out with the consumer market. By the way, this also applies to businesses because the people who make the buying decisions in businesses are also affluent consumers.
I will primarily discuss three groups, Ultra-Affluent, Affluent, Mass Affluent. Later I will use the term affluent to refer to all three groups unless I specifically designate one of the groups individually.
There are also Specialty groups within the affluent such as Affluent Boomers, Mass Affluent Boomers, Affluent Entrepreneurs & Business Owners. The reference for the following definitions come from Dan Kennedy's new book, "No BS Marketing To The Affluent."
First the Mass-Affluent group has a household Income range between $85,000 - $150,000 and/or net worth above $250,000 not including their primary residence. They are generally younger and more diverse than previous affluent populations in history. They shop at WalMart as well as upscale stores like Saks 5th Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
The next group up the ladder is the Affluent group with household incomes $150K - $250K and net worth above $1 Million not including primary residence.
Then there is the Ultra-Affluent group with annual incomes in excess of $250,000, Net worth $3-$10 Million.
Believe it or not, those that have a net worth of $1 Million or more represent 10% of all U.S. households - 11 Million, and hold 36% of all income, 70% of all net worth, and 89% of value of all publicly traded stocks and mutual funds in U.S.
Being a millionaire isn't quite the exclusive club it used to be 30 years ago.
There is also an Ultra-Ultra-Affluent group: Incomes above $1 Million, Net worth starting at $10 million.
If you would like to learn more about marketing strategies that will carry your business through this new economy, then you need to be studying the guy I study, Dan Kennedy. He's the top small business marketing consultant and thinker in the country. If you aren't a member,
click here and go to this website and register for your 2 months of free newsletters and a whole lot more. Then start implementing what Dan teaches. It will be the best action step you've ever taken for your business. It was for mine.
Then to study more on the Affluent Marketplace, Dan has an add-on newsletter dedicated to strategies for marketing your products and services to this lucrative market. It's his "NoBS Marketing To The Affluent Letter." You have to be a member of his regular marketing letter to subscribe.
Email me at info@MarketingStrategiesRx.com and I'll send you a special invitation with a free report and one free month to test it out.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Show Me The Money - 12/24 Marketing Plan - Part 2
As I posted last week (December 12), there's a perfect storm coming in our economy. What I'm discussing here is not a DOOM AND GLOOM report. It is a reality, that when we prepare and take action, gives us as business owner marketers a significant opportunity to create new wealth. Understanding is the first step to opportunity. Action is the one that "Shows Me The Money."
One key premise I manage my life and business by is this: Things are never as good .... or bad as the Media makes it out to be. I probably ought to make that into a banner to display at our meetings.
The media is about creating extremes. Extremes sell stories. So you can almost always discount what you hear. Or, better yet, stop listening. Turn it off. You and I don't make decisions in extremes.
The history of the US economy goes through approximately 40-year low-to-peak cycles. At the end of a 40-year cycle our economy drops off significantly. These cycles are usually created by population growth and generational cycles. The start of this last cycle was 1969-1970, just about 40 years ago (as the baby boom generation started entering adulthood).
We also have (approximately) 30-year low to peak Commodity Cycles. The most prominent one we see today is energy prices and the recent peaking technology cycle of computers. Both of these have peaked or are peaking in the next two years. Almost all of life is driven by cycles. These are just two that affect the economy.
Both the 40 year and the 30 year cycles are peaking right now or over the next 12 to 24 months. This hasn't happened in over 100 years. A perfect economic storm is coming.
I don't believe we are quite there yet like the media is saying. I think we are going to get another small run up in the economy in 2009 and another possibly big run up in the oil commodity prices.
After that, the bottom is probably going to drop out of our economy. But, there is great hope for business owners with a marketing mindset like yours and mine. My clients are growing their businesses even when everyone else says the economy is terrible. Why is that? Outside the Box Direct Response Marketing.
Even in a down economy there will still be areas of the economy that are growing. All we have to do is identify where that is and target our business to those parts of the economy. Sounds simple right? But maybe not. YOU have about 12 to 24 months to work long hours and work creatively to put your business in a position to not just survive a downturn but to prosper during a recession.
If we experience a recession during the next 2-3 years, where are we going to find customers/clients that will still be spending money? Did you know that during the 1930's recession we got a whole new generation of wealth created during one of the most difficult times in our history? These were people that identified where there was still going to be a market spending their money, where there would be people still having desires and wants. The Auto industry boomed out of the depression years. The movie industry boomed in the 30's. The oil industry started taking off and did very well during the depression years.
Places like California and Texas weren't affected nearly as much as the rest of the nation because of these new industries, movies and oil. Factories in Michigan and what is now called the rust belt were building and expanding for the auto industry.
People had to buy cars because they needed to trek across the country to find work. They had to move to the city and drive to work because public transportation couldn't keep up with demand.
My dad moved to Houston, Texas during the depression because there were jobs in Houston supporting the build-up in the oil industry.
We have about 1-3 years to prepare our businesses for what's coming. That means we have to work very smart and very fast over this next year if we want our businesses to survive.
So who is affected the least in a down economy? Affluent households and businesses that are in, cater to, and supply key growing industries. People that have disposable incomes and are not on the edge of bankruptcy when things go south.
People in lower income brackets will not be able to weather the storm because they have no cushion. We have to reorient our businesses away from the masses to target people with higher incomes. We need to understand what they want and need.
If we market B2B, the people we will be selling is the business executive, the business owner who will make decisions and react the same way the affluent do because they are the affluent. We will also want to niche market to key industries that will be starting a new technology and commodity cycle for the next 30 years.
In my next post I'll discuss the outstanding opportunities offered by affluent households and affluent new-growth businesses.
One key premise I manage my life and business by is this: Things are never as good .... or bad as the Media makes it out to be. I probably ought to make that into a banner to display at our meetings.
The media is about creating extremes. Extremes sell stories. So you can almost always discount what you hear. Or, better yet, stop listening. Turn it off. You and I don't make decisions in extremes.
The history of the US economy goes through approximately 40-year low-to-peak cycles. At the end of a 40-year cycle our economy drops off significantly. These cycles are usually created by population growth and generational cycles. The start of this last cycle was 1969-1970, just about 40 years ago (as the baby boom generation started entering adulthood).
We also have (approximately) 30-year low to peak Commodity Cycles. The most prominent one we see today is energy prices and the recent peaking technology cycle of computers. Both of these have peaked or are peaking in the next two years. Almost all of life is driven by cycles. These are just two that affect the economy.
Both the 40 year and the 30 year cycles are peaking right now or over the next 12 to 24 months. This hasn't happened in over 100 years. A perfect economic storm is coming.
I don't believe we are quite there yet like the media is saying. I think we are going to get another small run up in the economy in 2009 and another possibly big run up in the oil commodity prices.
After that, the bottom is probably going to drop out of our economy. But, there is great hope for business owners with a marketing mindset like yours and mine. My clients are growing their businesses even when everyone else says the economy is terrible. Why is that? Outside the Box Direct Response Marketing.
Even in a down economy there will still be areas of the economy that are growing. All we have to do is identify where that is and target our business to those parts of the economy. Sounds simple right? But maybe not. YOU have about 12 to 24 months to work long hours and work creatively to put your business in a position to not just survive a downturn but to prosper during a recession.
If we experience a recession during the next 2-3 years, where are we going to find customers/clients that will still be spending money? Did you know that during the 1930's recession we got a whole new generation of wealth created during one of the most difficult times in our history? These were people that identified where there was still going to be a market spending their money, where there would be people still having desires and wants. The Auto industry boomed out of the depression years. The movie industry boomed in the 30's. The oil industry started taking off and did very well during the depression years.
Places like California and Texas weren't affected nearly as much as the rest of the nation because of these new industries, movies and oil. Factories in Michigan and what is now called the rust belt were building and expanding for the auto industry.
People had to buy cars because they needed to trek across the country to find work. They had to move to the city and drive to work because public transportation couldn't keep up with demand.
My dad moved to Houston, Texas during the depression because there were jobs in Houston supporting the build-up in the oil industry.
We have about 1-3 years to prepare our businesses for what's coming. That means we have to work very smart and very fast over this next year if we want our businesses to survive.
So who is affected the least in a down economy? Affluent households and businesses that are in, cater to, and supply key growing industries. People that have disposable incomes and are not on the edge of bankruptcy when things go south.
People in lower income brackets will not be able to weather the storm because they have no cushion. We have to reorient our businesses away from the masses to target people with higher incomes. We need to understand what they want and need.
If we market B2B, the people we will be selling is the business executive, the business owner who will make decisions and react the same way the affluent do because they are the affluent. We will also want to niche market to key industries that will be starting a new technology and commodity cycle for the next 30 years.
In my next post I'll discuss the outstanding opportunities offered by affluent households and affluent new-growth businesses.
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