Creating Your Marketing Blueprint Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Issue No. 103

There is a profound difference between beating on prospects’ doors, trying to convince them of how good you are, and prospects coming to you, saying they’ve heard of your value and the results clients achieved and are curious as to how they can work with you. In the latter case, there is zero cost of acquisition and fees are seldom an issue at all.

The secret to building a strong clients’ attraction on the web is to deliver profound value and engage in as many effective marketing initiatives as you can. As you review the accompanying Your Marketing Blueprint visual, my advice is to begin with those “initiatives” most within your passion and comfort zone, that convey the highest potential need and value impact for your buyers and the greatest financial rewards for you. For example, if webinars are your passion and expertise, then find the right platform, create the right valuable content, and market to the right audience.

Move on as you implement each tactic to those outside your comfort zone by gaining expertise and mastering new resources. You needn’t use all the marketing initiatives (though some do), and you can always reach out and solicit the help of experts.

There is a powerful duality present in these marketing initiatives—you attract new clients but also educate existing clients about the varying ways you can help them. This works for both corporate buyers and consumers.

The more diverse your marketing efforts, the more effective and attractive your web presence strategy. Some people enter because they want to purchase attractive products or services; others because they learn best through listening or watching teleconferences; still others because they read interviews; and some by watching videos on YouTube.

Note that you draw people to you via both web-based and non-web based options, because you never can be sure about which buyer is more influenced by which kind of media or marketing initiative.
Here is a powerful exercise I conduct with all my clients. Review Your Marketing Blueprint visual. 

The columns at the top indicate:

• Non-existent – You are not currently engaged or planning to engage in this initiative.
• Competitive – Only as good as most of the competition or mediocre at best.
• Distinct – Contains distinguishing features that make you stand out.
• Breakthrough – Leading edge and state-of-the-art where you are among the few or the only one doing it.
• Action – What action are you and will you take with this marketing initiative?
• Frequency – How often and when will you execute towards this initiative?

First, review each of the marketing initiative rows on the left and then indicate and rank where you honestly think you are now, by placing the letter “N” in the columns between 0 thru 3. So, for example, where would you rank the effectiveness of your website, your blog, newsletters strategy and the rest of the categories on the left? Is each non-existent, competitive, distinct or breakthrough? When you are done, I would then draw a vertical line in one color and connect the dots indicating where you are now.

Second, for each of the rows on the left, representing the various categories, place the letter “F” indicating where you think you need to be in the future, in other words, where you think you need to be in the next one to two years. There are a couple of points I need to clarify. Although some of you may want to become “breakthrough” in most categories, it is completely unrealistic to do so and would require unimaginable amount of energy. The other point is that stagnation (or not doing anything), creates the gravity, which actually moves you to the left. Obviously, not the desired direction to move in. Once you have completed this step, you would then draw another line in another color representing where you need to be in the future. The distance between where you currently are and where you need to be is your call to action and your marching orders.

I recommend you now pick out the top three initiatives representing your utmost passion, highest potential for buyers’ impact, and greatest financial rewards for you. Identify the action and frequency needed that you will commit yourself to doing and get started. Once you have these three initiatives going, I would then move on to the next three.

Third, how would you rank some of the top and most successful thought leaders and organizations? I would place the latter “T in that column and draw another reference line in another color. 

When I present this diagnostic tool to my clients or to the audience during my speaking presentations, it is not uncommon to see them diagnose themselves somewhere between competitive and distinct with the majority of categories falling in the competitive column. Yet, they rank most successful thought leaders and organizations somewhere between distinct and breakthrough.

Use this tool to identify where you want and need to be in the future to create the success you desire and deserve to achieve.

© Chad Barr 2014. All Rights Reserved.