Sales Secret: Take "No" for an Answer

Great article in Inc. regarding the secret to sales success: click here to read.

Essentially the article suggests that there is a direct correlation between sales success and the number of "nos" a salesperson hears. In other words, the more rejections you hear, the more sales you will make.

Salespeople are thus "happy losers." A "happy loser" is someone that is not deterred by rejection. Successful salespeople will take "no" for an answer because that will bring them closer to "yes."

Even when you land a sale, you should continue to press for "no" like the shoe salesperson who successfully sold you a pair of shoes but then asks if you need socks, a matching belt or another pair of shoes.

Move your business to the next level by embracing rejection. Take "no" for an answer and become a "happy loser."

Good stuff Inc.!

Photo courtesy of http://blog.rogersradiointernet.com/afternoondrive/2008/05/

Fit vs Fat

Obesity is not just a health epidemic; it’s a marketing epidemic as well.

In an attempt to communicate their value, businesses will try and cram as many messages as possible into one marketing piece. Everything gets bolded, underlined and called out. With so many marketing messages, it’s like having too much food on your plate: you can’t possibly consume it all.

This is what I call “Fat Marketing.”

The opposite is “Fit Marketing.” Fit Marketing means you restrict your marketing diet to a few simple messages. Less clutter means more impact.

Fit Marketing moves people through the sales funnel one step at a time. Fat Marketing tries to consummate the deal in one step. Fit marketing is clear and concise. Fat Marketing bogs you down.

Get fit with your marketing and you will move your business to the next level.

How do you get fit? Here are a couple of ways:

• E-newsletters: drive readership with valuable content, but stick with one message at a time. Don’t overload your newsletter with too many articles and too many calls to action. One article, one call to action is perfectly fit.
• Website: a website is mostly a source of information about you and your company. Keep it that way. You can’t do everything with your site, so don’t. Most important, your website will evolve so be prepared to analyze visits so you can optimize it and streamline it.
• Print Ads, Direct Mail: focus on one primary message. Be sure you ask yourself: “What one thing do I want someone to do once they’ve seen my ad/postcard/letter?”

This is just the start. The Fit Marketing concept should be applied to all of your marketing collateral because Fit Marketing is a long term approach to building a customer base.

So put your marketing on a treadmill today and shed some of that clutter!

Turn OK Marketing into KO Marketing

Let’s be honest: your marketing is just okay. It’s not knocking anybody out. It may be getting your message out there but it's not doing much else.

You want knock out marketing. In fact, you need knock out marketing. Okay marketing just doesn’t cut it nowadays. With so many messages and so much competition, your wasting marketing dollars if your collateral is just okay.

So how to you go from okay marketing to knock out marketing? Here are three ways:

1) Simplify Your Message: less is always more. Always. Marketers constantly struggle with optimizing their message. It’s both art and science. But the struggle should never be solved by adding more messages. Instead, take away messages. Cut to the core of what you want your audience to comprehend. Stick with one key, consistent message. You can always change your message if it doesn’t work. But don’t try and fit a bunch of messages into one space. Knock out your marketing with one swift blow.

2) Provide a Specific Call to Action: the reason a lot of marketing is just okay is that there is no call to action. If you don’t have a specific call to action in your marketing then there is no knock out punch. Focus messages on the specific actions that you want your audience to perform. If you want people to stop by your store, then state “visit.” If you want people to call, then state “call.” Unless you push someone to do something, they won’t do it.

3) Focus on Benefits, Not Features: sell the sizzle, not the steak. Right? Hair loss products are my favorite example of this. They rarely sell the features of their product and instead focus on the benefits. Dude swimming in the pool, surrounded by beautiful women…that’s what sells! Not the price, or the color. These are features. Learn from hair loss advertisements: if you want knock out marketing, then focus on the benefits.

Move your business to the next level with knock out marketing. Okay marketing is just, you guessed it, okay. You don’t want okay. You need knock outs. Your small business may depend on it.

3 R's to a Healthy Sales Funnel

It's a given that you will move your business to the next level with a healthy sales funnel.

So how do you keep a sales funnel healthy? Simple. Focus on the the R's: recommendations, referrals and repeat business.

Recommendations: offline and online platforms demonstrate that recommendations influence buying decisions. Ratings, testimonials and comments are powerful marketing messages. Get recommendations by simply asking: provide a forum to rate your product/service online or request quotes from satisfied clients to include in your marketing.

Referrals: the ultimate goal of cruise control marketing is referrals. Getting referrals requires three things: outstanding service, asking for them and giving them.

1) Outstanding Service:
Your business should deliver such a special experience that customers would want to spread the word for you. Wow your customers with excellent follow up like thank you cards or personal calls to just check in on them.
2) Ask for Referrals:
The best referrals are free ones but paid referrals are also viable. At a minimum, develop a consistent and simple referral system. Give out extra business cards, donate to a charity in the referrer's name or have a payout plan. Consistent and simple is easy to manage and the return on investment is very powerful.
3) Give Referrals:
The Golden Chain of Referrals starts with you. Give, give, give and you will get. Note that you will need to give at least three times to get.

Repeat Business: every business relies on repeat customers. The shortsighted business owner sees one transaction. The wise business owner understands the lifetime value of a customer. Customer acquisition is always more costly than customer retention.

Recommendations, referrals and repeat business will keep your sales funnel healthy. Focus your marketing efforts on these three R's. Ensure that all marketing messages enable more recommendations, referrals and repeat business.

Sweepstakes? Great List Builder, But…

Your marketing is only as good as your audience. In other words, the better your list, the better your marketing.

But “better” is a subjective definition of a list. Does better mean quantity or quality?

Quantity is for businesses that sell products/services for the masses. These businesses generally offer a commoditized and price sensitive product in a market with many competitors. For them, a “better” list means a longer list of prospects. Think soft drinks or pizzas.

Quality is for businesses that sell products/services for a niche market. These businesses usually sell a unique and differentiated product in a market with only a few direct competitors. For them, a “better” list means more qualified prospects. Think luxury cars or swimming pools.

Small businesses should fall into the latter category where quality of a list is paramount to quantity. A small business with a strong Marketing DNA will know that a targeted niche is more attractive than a mass list. More qualified prospects is always better than more prospects.

So should a small business build its list with a sweepstakes?

A sweepstakes can be a great way to build a list. Give away your product for free for those that sign up on your website, at a conference or in your store. If you gather these names and add them to your database, you are growing your list.

But the names you gather aren’t necessarily the most qualified. They are only people that have signed up for your contest. This doesn’t make them high-quality leads. In fact, they might just be freeloaders looking for a handout that would never purchase from you in the first place.

Sweepstakes responders are a skewed list towards those interested in the free prize.

You can still do a lot with your sweepstakes. If you are considering a contest to build your list, be sure that your procedure gathers actionable data. Think of ways to further qualify leads. For example, ask when the prospect would be in the market for your product or service. Or invite entrants to subscribe to your e-newsletter. Maybe include a multiple choice question about the best way to follow up.

Leads are great, but qualified leads are better. Move your business to the next level with quality not quantity.

3-Second Test You Must Take

For any printed marketing--and even some electronic marketing--be sure you take the Three Second Test. Place the piece at a distance a potential viewer would see the material and count for three seconds.

Now, ask yourself: what message is communicated?

If the primary marketing message can be communicated within three seconds, your piece is solid. If more than one message is coming through during the timeframe, you may be trying to do too much.

The worst result of the Three Second Test is if you cannot articulate any message from your piece. In this case, you should probably start over and refocus on the primary message.

Now this test doesn't work for everything. A sales letter, for example, requires a bit more. The test is best for print ads, flyers and direct mail. It can also work for banner ads and e-mail blasts.

Regardless, the idea is clear: any marketing piece needs to get to the point clearly and quickly. Boil down your communcation to one clear and concise primary message.

Move your business to the next level with the Three Second Test. You will be challenged but you will achieve results.

Marketing is a Steak

If marketing is a steak, it needs to be either rare or well done.

The well done part goes without saying: market your business well and your brand will grow. Marketing well means understanding your Marketing DNA, following a S.M.A.R.T. plan and repeating your message consistently.

The rare part is a bit harder to grasp but equally as effective. Being rare means being unique and special. Marketing that cuts through clutter is new and different. It creates buzz and conversations. Rare marketing fosters cruise control marketing.

If your marketing is neither rare nor well done it's just...um...medium.

Medium is the worst kind of marketing. It's bland, commoditized and fails to create action.

So move your business to the next level with rare marketing or marketing that is well done. Don't settle for anything medium.

Opinions are Like (BLANK)?

Fill in your own blank. I'll go with "data" as in "opinions are like data."

You see, opinions are like data because everyone has some. Demographic statistics, sales forecasts, budget variances and more. In fact, many businesses are drowning in data.

Too much data means too many opinions. Paralysis by analysis, as the saying goes.

Even worse, small businesses owners are always subject to other's opinions. It seems that everyone who walks into your store thinks they know the best way to run your business.

So whose opinions matter? What data are important?

It can't all be important. Especially with respect to marketing. Try and please all opinions and your marketing will fail. Miserably.

Remember, successful marketing focuses on a narrow but deep market. So pay attention to the opinions and the data about your niche. This is where you'll find actionable information.

Still struggling to find out what data and what opinions are most useful? Do an 80/20 analysis: undertand the 20% of your market that gives you 80% of your revenue. Find data and opinions that represent the 20% and act on that.

Data and opinions alone cannot move your business to the next level. Instead, move your business to the next level with actionable data and opinions that directly reflect your narrow target market.

22% Increase in Sales with a Cup of Coffee

Trying to find ways to grow your sales? Try a free cup of coffee.

One initiative I tried with a QSR client of mine was to give away free coffee during breakfast hours. The restaurant competes directly with QSR breakfast category leader, McDonald's. To make matters worse, the location is down the street from McDonald's and a bit tucked away--not ideal for capturing traffic coming off the highway.

So I recommended they give away coffee for free. That's right. Free.

Coffee is a low cost item for this concept so the cost of goods was not a factor. We utilized a sign waver at the main intersection for a couple of weeks so labor cost increased slightly. But the bump in sales more than compensated for the extra labor.

In fact, the bump in sales was a healthy 22%.

Better yet, the increase in sales sustained beyond the promotion. And if sales dip again, the store is prepared to roll out this easy promotion any time they need it.

For your small business, can you create buzz and traffic with a low cost and high value item? Is there a cup of coffee you can offer your prospects to get them in the door?

Free is a powerful concept. Leveraged well, free can move your business to the next level.

How Far Do Your Loyalists Go?

Every successful business needs some loyalists.

Loyalists are generally satisfied customers, but not always. Friends and family make great loyalists as do suppliers and vendors.

Loyalists move to the next level when they become brand evangelists. Evangelists spread the good word about your product or service. They are the ones feeding the word-of-mouth, generating referrals and recommending your business to others. They drive your passive marketing efforts.

So how far do your loyalists go? Are they evangelizing? Are they willing to take on a permanent tattoo on their body to show their loyalty?

Perhaps few loyalists will go that far, save the ones pictured here.

Nevertheless, the point should be clear: move your business to the next level by creating brand loyalists willing to go to the extreme to express their devotion and willing to do whatever it takes to spread your good word.

So maybe instead of asking "how far do your loyalists go?" I should ask "what are you doing to create brand loyalists willing to go to the extreme for you?"

Which Sign is More Effective?

For many small businesses, signage is one of the most important marketing channels. Yet too many businesses miss the mark with their signs.

A poor sign is overcrowded, lacks visibility or otherwise fails to move the reader to the next level of the sales funnel.

So what makes a good sign?

A good sign is both simple and memorable. To achieve this, start with the objective of the sign. What do you want the reader to understand? What action do you want them to take?

Now focus on that specific objective and make a simple yet memorable sign. Good signage communicates one simple message that can clearly be remembered.

Take these two signs for example. Located on a busy street less than one block from each other, both these signs offer the same deal.

So which is more effective?

Well, the only way to really know is to document traffic counts. You should track traffic with your own signs particularly if you have a storefront. Put up a sign one day and count the number of people that enter based on that sign. Put up a different message the next day and count again. Repeat this and optimize your messages over time. You may find that "2 for 1" draws more business than "Clearance" or something along those lines.

Without the ability to track these signs, I would argue that the second sign is better. Yes, it is crude, unprofessional and incorrectly written. Hardly what many brands want to communicate. But the message is loud and clear.

Simple and memorable.

Move your business to the next level with simple and memorable signage. Proffesionalism is nice as you want your signs aligned with your brand, but if your message is not simple and memorable your sign will miss the mark.

Marketing DNA Haiku

Differentiate.

Target a narrow market.

Add lots of value.

For more on Marketing DNA and how to move your business to the next level, see past blog entries here.

3 Things a Recruiter Can Teach You About Marketing

A good recruiter is more than an expert in Human Resources. A good recruiter is also an expert marketer.

Consider three strategies a good recruiter implements and how they can be applied to successful small business marketing:

1) Extremely Targeted Search: a recruiter has one person in mind to fill a certain position. In order to find that one person, the recruiter establishes a very defined profile: experience, performance, salary, skills, etc. In creating a clear profile, the recruiter narrows the talent pool. Instead of trying to find a needle in a haystack, a recruiter cleans out most of the hay to make the search easier.

Same goes for marketing: narrow your focus. Target a small niche. Recruit only the most qualified customers with your marketing. Unless you're Starbuck's or McDonald's, you don't want to attract the masses. Like the recruiter, simplify your efforts with a clear and defined profile of your target market. It will make your job much easier.

2) Quality is Better Than Quantity: a targeted search will yield more qualified candidates for a recruiter. Less is more for a recruiter: less candidates with more qualifications is always better than more candidates with less qualifications. A recruiter finds less candidates with more qualifications with one simple, clear and direct message. More important, a good recruiter will broadcast his or her search in fewer channels, not more. A clear message in one or two channels will cut down on the quantity and yield more quality.

Same goes for marketing. Too many businesses spin their wheels trying to broadcast a variety of messages across various channels. In this case, quantity will bury your marketing efforts. Instead, focus on the quality of the marketing. Think about the specific market you are targeting and dedicate your energy to one or two key messages to communicate to that market. Find one or two channels for that market and extract quality from fewer channels.

3) Be Romantic: the ultimate test of a recruiter is if he or she can land top talent. This requires ample wooing. Sure, a recruiter needs to paint a real picture of the job, but in order to compete for the best, a recruiter must go above and beyond what everyone else is doing to ensure that his or her company will get the talent they need.

This is no different than marketing. Romance your prospects. Woo you customers. Go above and beyond what everyone else is doing and you will convert leads into paying customers in no time.

In all, recruiting is more like marketing than you might expect. Move your business to the next level by applying some key recruiting strategies to your Marketing DNA.

How Does a Small Business Get Away With This?

Recently I called a local small business with a question about my account. I was told that the person in charge of billing was out until the next day and that it was best if I call back then.

I offered to leave my message on the person's voicemail to which the receptionist flatly told me "we don't use voicemail."

As a consultant to small businesses, it was hard for me to resist the urge to find out why.

"Why is that?" I asked curiously.

"We find it impersonal. And we just don't use it."

Her frankness floored me. I just couldn't fathom how a small business in today's environment could be so shortsighted.

I understand the fact that voicemails can be impersonal. Sure, we all would rather talk to a live person. But if the appropriate person is not available, why make things more difficult for your customer? Now the burden is on me to chase down the person I need.

Things must be going swimmingly at this business if they expect customers to chase them. What a luxury!

I couldn't hide my disappointment with the receptionist. I wasn't rude, but I pressed for more information.

"You really don't use voicemail?" I asked.

"No, we don't." the receptionist stated.

"Well, you may not want to use it, but your customers might." I responded.

I broke the awkward pause with, "so thanks for your help. I will try back tomorrow."

I hung up incredulous. What business can really afford to make it more difficult for their customers?

Business basics: make it easy to do business with you. This maybe one of the easiest and most successful ways to add value and it should be part of your Marketing DNA.

Move your business to the next level by ensuring your customers don't have to chase you.

Then again, if your business can afford to make life more difficult for your customers, maybe the next level is not for you.

4 Ways to Put Your Marketing on Cruise Control

The last thing you want to do is market your business passively. Right?

Wrong.

Passive marketing is the key to move your business to the next level.

Passive marketing is marketing derived from an activity in which you do not materially participate. Word-of-mouth, referrals, recommendations and repeat business are all examples of passive marketing. Passive marketing is thus marketing on cruise control.

So how do you achieve cruise control?

Here are four ways:

1) Gather and Publish Testimonials: testimonials are very powerful. They build credibility and brand awareness. Ask a handful of your best customers for a brief testimonial. Take the best ones and put them on your website, in your blog, on your brochures, etc.

2) Incent Referrals and Recommendations: a realtor client of mine offers a 25% referral fee to anyone that refers business her way. 25% of a $5,000 commission is extremely attractive. Needless to say, she has many people doing some of her marketing for her.

3) Refer and Recommend Other Businesses: you have to give to get, right? The Golden Chain of Referrals is extremely powerful. Refer your friends and customers to other non-competing businesses and watch those same businesses fill your sales funnel. A leads group, a networking group or a business association is a great place to do this.

4) Create and Use a Customer Retention System: repeat business is the most important component of passive marketing. New customers are always more expensive to find than existing customers. So for each customer interaction, make sure you have a method to follow up with that person. The easiest thing to do is to capture contact information and mail that contact regularly. Try SendOutCards for some great personalization. Or go big and invest in a customer resource management software to really put things on cruise control.

In all, passive marketing is about filling your sales funnel with as little effort as possible.

Nevertheless, don't think that passive marketing is easy. Quite the contrary.

Achieving passive marketing requires much time and energy. Passive marketing is not autopilot. It's cruise control, so you still need to steer the course and be aware of what's going on.

In the end, passive marketing will move your business to the next level more efficiently and more effectively than active marketing. When nurtured properly, the 3 R's (referrals, recommendations, repeat business) can generate amazing returns on your marketing investment.

Best Marketing ROI: Passive Marketing

Passive income is income derived from an activity in which you do not materially participate. Collecting rent or earning dividends are examples of passive income.

Active income, on the other hand, is income earned with blood, sweat and tears.

Robert Kiyosaki popularizes the concept of passive income in his Rich Dad/Poor Dad Series when he illustrates that the key to personal wealth building is to leverage passive income. Active income, Kiyosaki states, is the trap to keep you in the rat race.

Let’s apply this same concept to marketing.

Passive marketing is marketing derived from an activity in which you do not materially participate. Word-of-mouth, referrals, recommendations and repeat business are all examples of passive marketing.

Active marketing, on the other hand, is marketing earned with blood, sweat and tears.

Think about your business. Do you generate more revenue from active marketing or passive marketing? Are you successfully leveraging passive marketing? How can you generate more passive marketing?

There’s no easy answer and Kiyosaki would probably agree: you need a certain amount of activity to generate the return on the passivity. It takes lots of blood, sweat and tears to reach the point at which your income chases you instead of you chasing it.

But if you start to think in terms of passive marketing, you start to see its power.

Move your business to the next level by focusing on how to achieve more passive marketing. Concentrate your Marketing DNA on generating repeat business, testimonials, referrals, recommendations, customer retention and word-of-mouth.

After all, what someone says about your brand is always more powerful than what you say.

Absolute #1 Way to Increase Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is easily attained. Nowadays, it doesn't take much to get your name out there.

Just ask the parents of the Balloon Boy.

But Balloon Boy's time has come and gone. The original buzz around the controversy has lost its momentum. We will see some follow up news about this family because their actions were so remarkable, but interest will wane because people feel duped.

Marketing via controversy is not a long term strategy.

The best way to increase brand awareness over time is to increasingly supply value. Value is the fuel for the brand awareness machine.

Add value--per your Marketing DNA--and move your business to the next level.

Sure, you can increase brand awareness with a publicity stunt, a controversial idea or some other audience-grabbing event. But if there is no substance beyond the initial exploit, then awareness will fade faster than it was built.

The graph is an illustration that strong brand awareness is built by increasing levels of value. Per the small curvature, you can reduce value and still increase brand awareness. But this is just a blip, just like the Balloon Boy.

In order to build a strong brand, you need to increasingly provide value without any blips.

For most small businesses, brand awareness depends on referrals, recommendations and repeat business. Value is the key to unlock the flood gates of referrals, recommendations and repeat business.

So host a tasting event, have a customer appreciation week, give informative (i.e. not salesy) presentations, offer an add-on service for free or otherwise create some additional value for your product or service.

Adding value will build your brand and move your business to the next level.

It's Not What You Do; It's What You Do With It

Marketing is not what you do. It’s what you do with it.

Time after time I have seen small businesses fail in their marketing efforts because they simply “do” marketing and they don’t “do anything with it.”

Successful Marketing DNA requires more than just marketing alone. Successful Marketing DNA requires taking that next step and doing something with your marketing.

As you plan your next marketing initiative, think beyond the marketing and determine what you are going to do with it. Here are some ideas to get you started:

What you do: publish a print ad

What you do with it:
• Lead generation: “Call for more details”
• Invite participation: “Come to our FREE tasting”
• Encourage response: “Mention this ad and take 10% off your next order”

What you do: e-mail marketing

What you do with it:
• Send out informative topics to encourage readers to always open your content
• Provide valuable information in each email so that responders forward your email to others
• Build a community around your database by mentioning and referring your contacts to other businesses

What you do: build a Facebook page

What you do with it:
• Build a following by providing links and information that directly benefits your fans
• Engage in discussions and dialogue to encourage participation amongst fans

What you do: mail a postcard

What you do with it:
• Commit to at least four direct mail touch points with the same audience: one postcard does nothing
• Incent response with a simple yet compelling offer
• Test two versions of the same card and track responses to determine optimal messages

What you do: sponsor an event

What you do with it:
• Have enough free “takeaways” for everyone: examples include pencils, key chains, product samples, coupons, etc.
• Make your presence known with huge signage and other display items that will make your name standout
• Donate products or services to event coordinators to use in a raffle or something else

I could certainly go on, but I think the idea is clear.

It’s not about doing marketing. It’s about doing something with your marketing. If you want to move your business to the next level, then be sure you do something more with your marketing.

The Only 5 Seconds That Matter

Researchers suggest that the majority of purchases are impulse buys—purchases made in less than five seconds.

While this makes perfect sense in a retail setting, I don't think it explains buyer behavior with respect to services, big ticket items or long term contracts. Most people tend to ruse a bit longer over a decision like that than they would, say, over a pack of gum.

But the five second rule still applies.

You see, regardless of the setting, a marketer has less than five seconds to make an impression. With so many marketing messages orbiting our daily lives, consumers have only a fraction of time to respond to any single message.

For this reason, the idea behind successful marketing is to build positive brand associations with a consumer, even for only five seconds at a time. After handful of five-second positive associations, the consumer's opinion is shaped. This opinion would lead to the ultimate five-second interaction: the decision to buy.

Five seconds. That's all it takes.

So what does this mean for the small business? How can you take advantage of this five-second rule and move your business to the next level?

Simple: with every marketing piece, idea and collateral, take the 5-second Test. The 5-second Test will determine if your marketing message will resonate during the only five seconds that matter.

Start with your marketing message. If you can communicate one and only one thing, what would that be?

Now design your marketing communication around that message. Email, print ad, sign, social media post, etc. The medium doesn’t matter; just stick with one message.

Once you’re ready to execute the marketing, take a glance at your piece. Give yourself five seconds: can you walk away from that marketing communication in five seconds or less and understand the meaning you wish to convey? Try the test with others. It usually helps to get a second, third or even fourth opinion.

Five seconds is not a lot of time, but it is the difference between successful and unsuccessful marketing. It truly is the only five seconds that matter.

5 Ways to Get Your Marketing Message EVERYWHERE

Unless your Starbuck’s or McDonald’s, you’ll have a hard time getting your message everywhere. These guys have the deep pockets necessary to invest in massive marketing campaigns.

Most small businesses do not have deep pockets, particularly in today’s environment.

Nevertheless, even a small business can create the perception that its message is everywhere. Perception is the key. You don’t need your message everywhere; you need the perception that your message is everywhere.

Here are five ways to shape the perception that your message is everywhere:

1) Narrow Your Focus: Remember the 80/20 Rule? 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers. So narrow your focus to those 20%. Really dig into that segment and find out what they do, read or watch and get your message there. You don’t need to be everywhere for everybody. Just 20%.

2) Use Multiple Channels: this basic marketing strategy is an area where many small businesses fail. One ad in one newspaper is not enough. Only a certain segment of you market—and a shrinking one at that—reads the newspaper. Be sure you leverage a number of marketing channels. At a minimum, have a plan for at least four marketing channels. Choose from events, direct mail, print ads, the web, sponsorships, social media, relationship marketing or more. Select ones that your target market will hit.

3) Keep Your Message Clear and Consistent: the last thing you want is a confusing or convoluted message. Find one key message and repeat that same message across all channels. The more clear and consistent the message, the more pervasive it becomes. Repetition and consistency feed the perception that you are everywhere.

4) Leverage Technology: technology is an excellent way to do more with less. There are sophisticated web companies, like Acerno, that can set up banner ads that will actually follow web users from your site. Someone that visits your site will get a cookie that enables your banner ads to pop up on other sites on that visitor’s computer. This makes the visitor feel that you are everywhere, when in fact you are just following that one person.

5) Feed Your Word-of-Mouth: the ultimate goal for any marketing message is to have the message spread with as little investment as possible. This is the entire basis of viral marketing: the message spreads like a virus while the original agent does nothing. So feed the word-of-mouth. Get your message recipients to spread the word for you. Create some buzz and excitement that will get people to talk and communicate to each other about your message.

In order to move your business to the next level, you need to create the perception that your marketing message is everywhere.

Even the heavy hitters with million dollar marketing budgets can’t get everywhere. Yet with a couple of tricks like the ones mentioned above, their marketing message is pervasive.

So get pervasive, or at least create the perception that your message is pervasive.