Author: Garth Beyer

It’s apparent that marketers sell hope, but to know what kind of hope to sell is the real challenge.

Smart marketers ask and wonder and amuse the idea of what people are longing for.

Is it that they’re longing to be looked up to by their peers? Is it a mother who longs for her husband to say how much he appreciates her cooking a meal? Is it an artist longing for his parents to approve his career choice?

Smarter marketers, however, take it a step further by adding an element of connection.

The smartest marketers ask where the target wants to belong? What’s the group dynamic like? What is the hope that will be a group of like-minded people together?

It’s far more rewarding to build a tribe than it is to get a single sale that leaves a person feeling alone.

 

Stay Positive & Where Do You Belong?

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It goes without saying humility connects us to each other, but what about when no one is around. What about when humility isn’t a shared experience.

Here’s why humility is so important.

Each day we face decisions and situations that we’re afraid of.

What if you were to write down “I’m afraid of…” and to finish the sentence (however many times it takes). What if you forced yourself to put your fears onto paper.

It’s clear what you would read back to yourself would be ridiculous. You would laugh at yourself for believing or thinking such things could happen. You would embrace humility.

Seizing your insecurities and laughing at them is one of the best actions you can take to doing work that’s important, and by that, I mean doing that which you fear.

 

Stay Positive & Solo Humility Is Essential To Conquering Fears

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The worst part of the end of the day is looking back and feeling like you didn’t do anything, didn’t accomplish anything. For all the world cares, you gave nothing of value. It’s a harsh reality that many of us go to bed feeling unfulfilled.

That’s why I have an “at least” task each day.

What’s the one thing that if I at least did that, I could look at my day and feel good about myself, my self-worth, my contribution to this thing we call life.

It need not be big or small, it just needs to be.

For example, mine, today, is to enroll in an online course I’ve put off. I’m not getting lost in the details of completing a task within the course or engaging with the greater group or even watching the first video, partially because all of that is inevitable once I enroll, but partially because what speaks to our fears is the details of pursuing something meaningful that leads to vulnerability that leads to the lizard brain speaking up that leads to anxiousness that leads to inaction that leads to going to bed feeling dissatisfied with ourselves.

What’s your one action for today? What will it take for you to go to bed, look back at your day and feel proud of yourself?

 

Stay Positive & It Only Needs To Be One Thing

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The infamous Tony Magee said, “If you want to dislike someone, don’t get to know them.”

The same concept applies to being disliked.

If you want someone to dislike you, don’t let them get to know you.

Often times to make a connection with someone, we have to go out on a limb, be vulnerable, and make the first move.

There are two kinds of people in the world.

Those seeking a connection and those waiting for it.

 

Stay Positive & The World’s Short On One Of Those

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I was recently in a conversation about making things right for customers when it costs you.

Maybe not relatable, but let’s use craft beer for an example.

If you own a craft beer bar and someone comes in, pays for a beer, and doesn’t like it. Do you give them a new one for free? Do you do that for everyone?

Many think not. Many will say it’s not good for your bottom line to always be giving free beer away to every person who doesn’t like it, especially when they knew what they were getting into.

Two responses. The first a riff on “free.”

The replacement beer isn’t actually free. The price they paid for the first beer splits and now they’ve paid $2.50 for two beers. It’s no different from an all-inclusive resort: the food, drinks, activities aren’t free. You pay for them in advance. The more “free” things you do and consume doesn’t hurt their bottom line because they’ve attributed a price value on everything. Free isn’t so free, but what matters more is the story the customer tells herself about the beer.

“Free” is a great way to get customers in to try something, but it’s an even better way to make things right. “Free” is the story most consumers jump to when they’ve had a poor experience. So when you make things right by giving something for “free,” it fits her story and she either feels content or, even better, cared for.

In business, what matters most is the feeling people leave with. Sure, first impressions matter, but ending impressions matter more. They are the deciding factor if the customer will come back or not. Those two beers that were originally $2.50 area actually more valuable because the customer is more likely to come back based on you fulfilling your promise of selling beer people love (even if that means dumping a few glasses of liquid to get there).

If you need the rational, monetary evaluation for guaranteeing a great experience and “taking the hit” to satisfy customers, there you have it. But what’s more convincing to me is that you’re in business to fulfill a need, to make people happy, because you care. You’re in business to make things right. So why wouldn’t you?

 

Stay Positive & Care More Than Others, That’ll Be Another Of One Your Differentiators

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It amazes me how often I interact with the same person at a business and they treat me – and every other person who walks in their door or shops on their online store – as if it was our first time.

The hairdresser asks you to remind her what length you like your hair even though you’ve been going to her for two years and it hasn’t changed.

The online T-shirt store thanks you for choosing them to buy a shirt, but doesn’t thank you for the 15 other shirts you’ve already purchased from them.

All it takes is a note here and a note there. What this person liked. What that person didn’t like.

Businesses are failing to capitalize on the time they have to respond to recurring customers.

Jill calls the hairdresser a day before she comes in to get her hair cut. That’s a whole day to flip back in a book or search one’s Evernote for what Jill likes! Maybe you noted she was celebrating her anniversary shortly after her last hair cut, so you ask,“Do you want your hair like we did last time for your anniversary celebration? How was that by the way?”

Instead most interactions go: “What length did we go with last time?” *face palm*

The online T-shirt store has a digital database tallying all the purchases made by a particular name and card. It’s not hard to go in and add a more unique thank you to the confirmation email… but they don’t. Hell, they could even write a letter in advance to have put in the T-shirt package next time that customer ordered…but they don’t. *face palm*

I think I’ve riffed enough.

These businesses exist… but they won’t for long.

 

Stay Positive & Thinking Of Starting A Business? Here’s Your Differentiation ^^ Take Note

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If you’re not feeling doubt about an idea, you’re not thinking big enough.

Most of us limit what we do to that which we can reassure ourselves will work out.

The truth about remarkable work is that it’s significantly likely it won’t work out. Things won’t go as planned. Everything won’t be okay.

When you’re ready to put an end to the false reassurance and the quest for acceptance, then all that’s left is bravery to go at it anyway.

“This might not work.” may be the four most beautiful words one can say.

 

Stay Positive & Second Is “Wow, It Actually Worked”

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