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Mastering Marketing Strategy: Simplify Your Success with These 5 Key Questions

Mastering Marketing Strategy: Simplify Your Success with These 5 Key Questions written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I dive into the complexities of marketing strategy. I break down marketing strategy into five essential questions that you need to be able to answer if you want to be effective in your marketing efforts. This approach helps you focus on what’s important, saving time and improving effectiveness.

Key Takeaways:

From understanding the need for a clear objective in guiding your marketing, to choosing the right platforms that resonate with your ideal client, this episode emphasizes the importance of focused efforts.

An effective plan that aligns with your motivations and meets the needs of your ideal client is key. Developing the necessary capabilities is vital for successful execution, and measuring success with defined KPIs fosters continuous improvement.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • The real essence of a marketing strategy.
  • Five key questions to make your strategy more effective.
  • Tips to align your marketing with your business goals.
  • How to choose marketing actions that yield better results.

Join me in this episode as we clear the confusion in marketing by answering five critical questions, setting the stage for unmatched success in your marketing strategy.

 

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John (00:08): Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch, no guest. Today. I’m going to do a solo show. So the whole basis of this show is the large confusion that I have seen around this idea of marketing strategy. What is a marketing strategy? This is, boy, I tell you, if I would ask 10 people, I would get 10 different definitions. If I were to ask Google, I’d get 10 different definitions. I think for a lot of people, this is a needlessly complex idea, but it’s also a terribly misunderstood idea. So today what I want to do is simplify this idea by boiling the entire thing down to answering five questions. Now, I’m not saying each of the answers to these questions are just going to pop off your tongue that you’re going to know exactly what these are, but these are the questions you need to be able to answer.

(01:12): And once you can, they become really the guiding light for your entire business activity or certainly your marketing activity. In fact, one of the benefits of having a solid marketing strategy around these five questions is that it really helps filter out what you shouldn’t be doing. And I think for a lot of business owners that can actually be more stressful than trying to decide what to do. So this gives you the filter to say yes to this, no to this. Is this helping us answer one of our questions? No. Is this helping us answer one of our questions? Yes, than let’s add that. And I think that that’s for a lot of folks. I think a lot of the confusion around this idea of marketing strategy is that there’s so many things that can be done that maybe you want to do, but what a good solid marketing strategy allows you to do is focus on what should be done in order for you to go where you’re trying to go.

(02:13): So let’s start with the questions. And this I think is a, you could make this, and there are plenty of folks out there pitching the idea of a one page this and a one page that you can make this a one page document if you like. So I suggest if you’re not driving in your car or running on a treadmill or something while you’re listening to this, I suggest that you make note of these five questions because I think that they can be a way for you to start maybe understanding what a marketing strategy is, but further how you would actually use it in your business. Because again, it’s one thing to define something in academic terms and quite a different thing to create a tool that you can actually use and build upon. So here we go. First question, this is the biggie. What is our objective?

(03:04): I mean, what is our purpose? What’s our motivating aspiration? What are we trying to do? What are we trying to win? I know that was more than one question, but some variation of that. The answer to that idea, here’s how we intend to compete, here’s how we intend to really grab market share. I mean, that motivating aspiration has to be a big part of where you start. And I will tell you from a down in the weeds detail standpoint, this comes across from messaging. We spend a significant amount of time with the folks that we work with working on what I call a core message. But a core message is not your nice to have thing you put on your business card thing that you put on the back of your invoices. A core message is your motivating aspiration. Here is how we intend to compete.

(03:54): Here is how we want to be seen in the market. We want to be seen as the high price leader. We want to be seen as the incredible experience. We want to be seen as the expensive but worth it. I mean, those are the motivating aspirations that come out of a core message that clearly communicates how you intend to compete. So that’s number one. Number two, where do we need to be seen? This I think is really tough for a lot of folks because there’s a lot of places you can be seen today. In fact, there’s probably been a new one introduced since I’ve been recording this. And I think that that’s, of course the problem is that we scatter ourselves everywhere because we don’t want to be missed on TikTok or we don’t want to be missed on this platform or whatever the new platform of the day is.

(04:44): And consequently, we spread ourselves so thin that we can’t really make any impact on any single channel. So where do we need to be seen is largely maybe completely driven by who do we need to see us? Who is our ideal client? We understand clearly who makes an ideal client for our business, who does not. Some people call it personas, whatever you want to call it, understanding the exact person or business that you need to attract the exact problem that you solve for that very specific business. That goes largely into this. Where do we need to be seen? So I like to call this one platform. This is really driven by your channels that you say, look, our ideal client is here, and so we need to dominate. We need to have so much energy around these, maybe two or three, maybe it’s content, maybe it’s SEL, maybe it’s LinkedIn, but we’re going to focus a great deal of our efforts.

(05:49): Whatever those efforts are on those channels, on that platform, that’s going to be our platform. So that again, does a lot weeding out where you don’t need to be seen. And sometimes you might need to be seen there, but the reality is you, I mean, you can’t make an impact. You don’t have enough resources. You have time constraints, you have budget constraints. So you want to focus on where can we make the greatest impact based on what we have? That’s our platform. Alright? Now that we have, I mean we’ve got message, we’ve got ideal client, we’ve got kind of the channels that we’re going to go into. Now it’s simply a matter of let’s create the plan. What tactics, systems, campaigns do we need to put in place that we believe will allow us to be seen and to communicate the message of the problem that we solve for a very specific person in a very specific way.

(06:45): So that’s number three. What tactic systems and campaigns must be in place. Some people call that a marketing plan, but so many people skip straight to that. What tactics do we need and miss this? What’s our objective? Where do we need to be seen and by whom? And those are core elements that come into deciding then what tactics that you need. Once we have those, and again, this is we’re trying to attract, maybe it’s a new message for us, maybe it’s new positioning that you’ve developed. Maybe you’re narrowed your focus on an ideal client. And now we’ve come up with the tactics that we believe are the best case. Like our plan is we’re going to dominate content. SEO, we’re going to dominate on Facebook ads, maybe driving people to that content. I mean, that’s what comes around the plan. But now we need to look back or step back and say, well, what new capabilities are needed for us to execute this plan at the highest level?

(07:47): Doesn’t mean you have to do it today, but you have to realize what are we missing? It might be people, some people generate a whole bunch of leads and realize we don’t have a great sales process, or we don’t have a sales process at all, or we don’t have a sales team at all. So if you are going to execute at the highest level on your plan, what people, what new offer, what new product perhaps, what constraints do we actually need to get rid of in many cases to execute on a marketing plan, the founder of the business needs to get out of certain aspects of what they’re doing. So it might be, if we’re going to do a new marketing plan, we’re going to grow this business and scale this business. Maybe a constraint is that the founder or the CEO or whoever you have in charge of marketing is doing too many admin type of tasks.

(08:37): So those may not on surface feel like marketing tactics, but in many cases, if we’re going to execute on this plan, the process for doing so, that’s number four. The process needs to be set up and planned. It may not happen today, but you need to say, look, our next hire needs to be X if we’re going to execute on this plan, or we need a better offer, or we need new services and products if we’re going to execute on this plan. So there is a linear order to the answering these questions, but also then addressing them. And then number four, how will we win? How do we know we’re winning? What does winning look like, right? So our objective, our motivating aspiration was to be X. How will we know if we’re making progress in that? So simply code for metrics. So we have to measure, we have to first identify what if we’re going to meet our objective, what are the milestones?

(09:40): What are the key performance indicators that are going to suggest we’re actually making progress? And certainly, what does winning maybe in the one year, three year look like? It might be revenue, might be new, customers might be profit, might be, heck, it might be reviews, it might be referrals. I mean, there can be many, many things that become a part of that measurement of winning, but we have to actually identify them and then start tracking them and start watching them. You’ve all heard the cliches, what get measured gets improved or something along those lines. It’s true. I’ve seen it over the years in my business when I didn’t measure. Sometimes good things happen, sometimes bad things happen. When I did measure, we always, if something bad was happening, if something wasn’t working, we always had the ability to jump in and say, why? Where’s the constraint?

(10:33): What’s broken? What’s not working? Where are people getting stuck? And those are things that clearly then allow you to build some momentum. So lemme just recap, what is our objective? What’s our motivating aspiration? That to me comes from message. Where do we need to be seen? What’s our platform in a large degree that is driven by who are we trying to attract? Who is our ideal client? What tactics, systems, campaigns, once we put in place, that essentially is the plan. Again, so many people skip to that, but that’s step number three. What new capabilities are needed? That’s the process. So people offer product solving constraints. And then finally, how will we win? What does winning look like? That’s the metrics. So there you go. Answer those five questions, message, platform, plan, process, metrics, and you’ve got a solid marketing strategy that you can then go ahead and execute on that plan at the highest level. Hopefully this was helpful. I’d love to hear any of your thoughts always on this idea of marketing strategy. Just remember strategy before tactics and you will win.

How To Stop Losing Customers To Your Competition

How To Stop Losing Customers To Your Competition written by Shawna Salinger read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Generating leads can be challenging, especially if you are a small business owner. There is A LOT that goes into obtaining just one lead, let alone ten or 100 leads. But what’s worse? Creating a plan, paying for a successful advertising campaign, driving traffic to your website, generating leads…and then losing those sales because you don’t have the proper communication and lead nurturing systems in place.

Most businesses are moving away from the fragmented lead nurturing world and adopting an integrated digital lead nurturing and communication strategy. However, this can be harder for small businesses that maybe don’t have the resources or time to put some of these systems together. 

Fortunately, technology has given us multiple possibilities, and now there is a lot we can do about it. 

For small business owners, I’ll show you the program I created to help you communicate and nurture your leads and how to make it a success.

Find out more about how you can optimize your lead nurture system

But first, let’s look at the three main trends making it hard for small businesses, imparticular, to create a unified lead nurture system.

Here’s a quick overview of the three problem trends and actions you can take to resolve them.


Top trends Robbing Small Businesses of Leads

Speed to Lead

The first trend is Speed to Lead, which is the time a business takes to reply to a prospect from the moment they become a lead. 

People today expect instant contact, but research indicates they’re not getting it. And this is really hurting businesses that don’t address it.

According to Velocify, responding to leads within the first-minute increases conversions by 391%. Other related research from Harvard Business Review reveals that contacting a lead within the first hour makes you seven times more likely to qualify that prospect

But who has time to do that? Especially when you must reply quickly during working hours, at night, and over the weekends.

Of course, it doesn’t mean you have to sit all day long responding immediately to everything, but people expect at least a reply.

Do they want to know if you received their message? If someone is going to get back to them? What’s going to happen next?

Is speed to lead making a difference in sales?

Companies that acknowledge the importance of speed to lead have a huge advantage. According to E-marketer,  51% of leads will work with the organization that contacts them first

Think about yourself as a buyer. If I had a new project to repair my home, for example, I might contact three companies and, without much concern for the price, the first one that replies will probably get the work. We are at the point where speed has become more influential in certain circumstances than price.

You could even make the case that if you responded faster, you could charge more. The most profitable companies today have made speed to lead one of their highest priorities, and they are raising their prices because of it. What if your speed to lead was your differentiator? 

Now think about all the different channels people can get ahold of you to request a quote or a consultation. Or how many places are you not paying attention to because you can’t or don’t have the time to monitor them? 

chat funtionality of google business profile

Google Business chat, for example, is one of the functionalities that Google added recently. Instead of calling you, getting directions to your business, or going to your website, customers can just send you a message and ask you a question or get a quote.

But you have also phone, voicemail, emails, website forms, website chat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, SMS, and the list goes on. Do you monitor and respond to all of them?

Now companies have to reply almost immediately, despite the fact that nobody has the time to monitor a ton of different apps and places.

As a business owner you need to think strategically about how you are going to utlize all the tools available to generate leads for your business while also being realistic about what you can manege.

SMS Overtaking Email

SMS has become a real choice for a lot of the people we do business with. In fact, 48% of the people said that SMS is their preferred channel for receiving updates from a brand. More than two-to-one SMS over email.

statistics of the best channels for brand updates

I assume there may be generational gaps in these statistics, and certainly, specific industries are more prevalent than others, but this trend is real.

Mobile is now overtaking desktop in terms of website visits. In the same survey, E-Marketer found that mobile devices today are driving 45% of web leads. And if people are using a mobile device, it is a whole lot easier to just send a text message to start the conversation.

Businesses need to not only be able to monitor and reply quickly but probably need to move a portion of those replies to text.

analytics showing the increase of leads coming from mobile devices

For example, the graph above is website traffic data from a home service business. 54% of their traffic comes from a mobile device, which really explains the convenience of moving part of the marketing strategy to text messages.

Of course, I am not talking about the spammy text messages that we all get. I am encouraging you to use SMS to create a better experience for people that are already on the customer journey and close to becoming a client. Or even build marketing campaigns to reengage past customers that have gone cold. People that already know you, but just haven’t heard from you for a while.

Personalized Website Journey

The bar has been raised. No longer can your website be a brochure that just describes what you do and how you do it. Today people expect to have personalized content experiences and real conversations within your site.

They want to engage in content that is highly relevant to them as fast as possible. Most of us serve multiple markets and multiple segments, which means you have to help people find what’s suitable for them. And that is where the customer journey starts, many people get a referral, Google your business, and then end up at your website. 

Ask yourself: Is your site designed perfectly to engage everyone who visits or do you need help from them?

Technology is getting smarter every day. Our website chat is an example of a simple personalized website journey. And it begins with a straightforward message, “Welcome back, John Jantsch, How can we help you today?”

duct tape marketing website chat showing an example of a personalized website journey as a lead nurturing option

It knows who I am, and that type of personalization has become expected because technology makes it so easy. We can now lead our prospects directly to the most relevant content for them based on an answer they just typed.

A unified lead nurturing system

Let’s face it, if you have to reply immediately in a bunch of places, you need some automation. You need some technology that can help you do that.

Lead Spark, is a way to unify your messages, automate follow-ups (even on weekends), immediately get Google reviews to build social proof, reactivate one-time customers, turn website visits to chat conversations, run activation campaigns, capture more leads, and more.

screenshoot of a message showing how a unified lead nurturing system works for small businesses

For example, an automated follow-up that acknowledges a lead message and starts a conversation to explain what is going to happen next in the customer journey. Turning inquiries into text chats. 

If you’re spending money on ads, if you’re spending money on SEO and then you’re wasting some of that money because you’re not responding quickly to some of the leads that are coming in, then to me that’s worse than not figuring out how to get leads in the first place.

Learn how to automate your lead nurturing

The Marketing Book Podcast – The Ultimate Marketing Engine

The Marketing Book Podcast – The Ultimate Marketing Engine written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

It is more difficult than ever for businesses and marketing professionals to cut through the noise to create relationships with their customers.

Organizations that focus on converting their customers to members and helping them achieve the lasting transformation they are seeking rather than simply offering the transaction of the moment are winning.

In this episode of the Marketing Book Podcast, I had the opportunity to sit down with host Douglas Burdett to talk about my new book, The Ultimate Marketing Engine. We discuss an innovative new approach to a marketing strategy that will transform how listeners view their business, their marketing, and perhaps, even how they view every customer. In this full-length interview, we get deep into the details.

Listen to the episode of the Marketing Book Podcast here

 

 

 

The $100MBA Show – The Ultimate Marketing Engine

The $100MBA Show – The Ultimate Marketing Engine written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

In this episode of the $100MBA Show, I had the opportunity to sit down with host Omar Zenhom to talk about concepts from my new book, The Ultimate Marketing Engine. We discuss what marketing is really for — and how to know you’re doing it right.

In other words, we’re cutting through the “hacks” to discover what really, truly works.

By focusing on what’s proven over time for countless companies, you can bypass the forest of trends and create a real marketing “engine,” a system that delivers consistent results. In this full-length interview, we get deep into the details.

Listen to the episode of the $100MBA Show here

 

 

 

The Experience This! Show – The Ultimate Marketing Engine

The Experience This! Show – The Ultimate Marketing Engine written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

This episode of the Experience This! Show feature 3 new, incredible books that launched on the very same day.

You’ll learn about how to get your customers to “come back” again and again, how D.A.D. can help you stand out in a crowd, and how to grow your business by growing your client’s business.

1. I’ll Be Back – by Shep Hyken

2. Get Different – by Mike Michalowicz

3. The Ultimate Marketing Engine – by me, John Jantsch

In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down with hosts Dan Gingiss and Joey Coleman to talk about my new book, The Ultimate Marketing Engine.

People want to be members instead of customers. By focusing on making people feel like members, I show how you can create “The Ultimate Marketing Engine.”

Listen to the episode of the Experience This! Show here

 

 

 

7:47 Conversations – The Ultimate Marketing Engine

7:47 Conversations – The Ultimate Marketing Engine written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Creating relationships is more challenging than ever for business and marketing professionals. But it doesn’t have to be.

If you want to become the ultimate marketing engine, focus on making customers into members to help them achieve lasting transformation.

In this episode of 7:47 Conversations, I sit down with host Chris Schembra where I detail the marketing concepts in my new book – The Ultimate Marketing Engine – that transforms how readers view their business, marketing, and customers.

Listen to the 7:47 Conversations episode here.

 

 

Amazing Business Radio – The Ultimate Marketing Engine

Amazing Business Radio – The Ultimate Marketing Engine written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Creating Customers for Life

In this episode of the Amazing Business Radio, I talk with host, Shep Hyken, about my new book The Ultimate Marketing Engine. We discuss how to serve, understand, and create evangelists out of your ideal customers.

Listen to the Amazing Business Radio episode here.

 

 

The Unstoppable CEO – The Ultimate Marketing Engine

The Unstoppable CEO – The Ultimate Marketing Engine written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Any business can grow and scale in good times.

Can your business thrive and survive through tough times?

Modern marketing isn’t about tactics anymore, it’s about transformation over transaction. Learn how to create happier customers by helping them transform, and then watch as those customers drive your referral engine to new heights.

In this episode of the Unstoppable CEO podcast, I talked with host, Steve Gordon, about my new book The Ultimate Marketing Engine, “hourglass marketing”, and how you can rev your marketing engine by making your business more meaningful to your customers.

Listen to the Unstoppable CEO Podcast episode here.

 

 

Conversations About Collaboration Podcast – The Ultimate Marketing Engine

Conversations About Collaboration Podcast – The Ultimate Marketing Engine written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

I sat down with Phil Simon, host of the Conversations About Collaboration podcast, to talk about concepts from my new book, The Ultimate Marketing Engine: 5 Steps to Ridiculously Consistent Growth.

In this episode, we discussed the collaborative nature of marketing, Monday.com, customer journeys, automation, and referrals.

Listen to the Conversations About Collaboration Podcast with John Jantsch episode here.

 

 

Social Media Marketing Podcast – The Ultimate Marketing Engine

Social Media Marketing Podcast – The Ultimate Marketing Engine written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Businesses that don’t understand their customer journey will not only attract the wrong customers but also won’t be able to retain the few that they do attract.

In this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast, I sat down with host Michael Stelzner to talk about rethinking the customer journey and a strategy you can use to optimize your marketing.

Listen to the Social Media Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch episode here.