Bigger Is Better

Every brand should aspire to be bigger.

Not in and of itself. No. In that case, bigger isn’t often better.

But a brand that helps someone feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves – that’s the recipe for brand success, brand loyalty, brand growth.

That’s the area that bigger is better.

Stay Positive & Don’t Be Anything But

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Trial Runs

There’s a beautiful attribute to trial runs.

And it’s not just that you learn how to make or do something better.

Nope.

It’s actually the additional story you can tell in the future.

Every trial run always results in some funny or interesting story that one can share at the next trial run or launch.

I’d argue that the storytelling additions are almost as important as the tactical updates you can make to the product or service.

Mainly because a wonderful product without any edutainment story is one that will quickly fall to a competitor who brings their story A-game.

Stay Positive & Trial And Error Story

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The Other Way Around

Isn’t it great to get a gift?

Isn’t it great when someone is nice to you?

Isn’t it great when someone cuts you a break or helps lighten the load?

Now, imagine how great it would feel for them? It’s very much the same.

It’s hard to choose to be the one who receives – but it’s incredibly easy to choose to be the one who gives.

You know how good you would feel about something, now think about it the other way around.

Stay Positive & They’re Waiting For You

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Divided Attention

Too often a marketer gets her attention divided.

It’s divided between those who have showed up and those who haven’t.

Most status roles, job descriptions and work incentives are built to broaden the divide and they emphasize putting the marketer’s attention on those who haven’t shown up yet.

Of course, this is counterintuitive.

Far better it is to focus on those who have already showed up, to be more generous with them, to create new ways for them to enroll further in your brand – and so on.

If you build something, you might get some to show up.

But if you prove something, you can turn those interactions into magnets that attract new people.

Stay Positive & Keep Connecting (To Grow)

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Keep Following Up

If you want something, it’s in you’re best interest to keep following up.

With some caveats, of course.

Keep following up but in different ways.

Keep being generous with who you are following up with outside of your follow ups.

Keep following up with proof that you’re still moving and shaking things rather than sitting on your hands waiting for a reply.

Most of the time, when you do all of these things during your follow up, one of two things happens.

Either the follow up works or something else works out because you kept doing and sharing your work rather than hanging out and waiting for a response.

Stay Positive & Go Ahead, Follow Up Again (But Differently)

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New And Same

For a business to thrive, there needs to be a steady stream of new: new products, new messages, new events, new new new.

At the same time, for a business to thrive, there needs to be consistency in nearly every other aspect.

Trouble finds a business when a business focuses more on new that they neglect the sameness that it’s customers or clients need.

Stay Positive & Embrace The New And Stick With The Same

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Upsell Or Downsell

It’s quite easy to sell something unique of similar value after you’ve made an initial sale.

People are committed and enrolled in your story. They can easily rationalize buying the next thing you offer.

The problem for marketers is not upselling, but getting the first sale that starts the chain reaction.

My two cents is to consider the ways you can downsell– as in, what do you need to sell even before the thing you’re trying to sell now?

Real life example from the bar: we’re selling specialty themed beer boxes. The upsell can be a pint when they pick them up or a subscription to the boxes or some merch. As for the downsell, we’ve learned that we can sell tasting events around the theme of the beer boxes to encourage people to buy the beer boxes.

The problem wasn’t the beer boxes themselves, the price or the value; it was the lack of connection to the box in advance.

What you’re offering isn’t always the problem; it’s likely the enrollment people have signed up for in advance.

Stay Positive & Focus There First

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