The Marketing Message Blog

How Info Products Unshackle the Free Agent

If you read Daniel Pink's great work, you know that he champions the role of the 'free agent.'  An article by Jeffrey Pfeffer in October 2006, Business 2.0 called, 'Why Free Agents Don't Feel Free' furthers this discussion.  It brings up what I believe to be an important point about how free agents, entrepreneurs and small business owners should approach their business.

If you trade hours for dollars, you are still limiting your ability to achieve a balanced lifestyle. Most business owners believe 'time is money' so they work very long hours in exchange for dollars. The missing ingredient is the ability to create passive revenue streams. Put another way, you have to create products that sell while you're not working.

I speak to many small business owners who don't want to create an info product because they believe it will be too much work. If you are an expert in your field, you live and breathe the content for an info product every day. And as for too much work, I think they are forgetting that they will be able to take time off while the product is working.

Think about what you can create. If you have an idea you want to share, don't hesitate to drop me a comment.

Mind Maps For Small Business

Anyone who has read my blogs or looked at my website knows that I think mind mapping is an essential tool.  BusinessWeek Online, Sept. 25th, has a short blurb called "A Mind Map From IDEO'S David Kelley."  He sums up the use of mind maps perfectly when he says, "When I want to do something analytical I make a list.  When I'm trying to come up with ideas or strategize, I make a mind map." 

Small business owners often find themselves having to strategize alone—no big staff, no input, just a blank page and a bunch of ideas.  If you face this on a regular basis, a mind map will help pull out the information you need to create a plan and build an effective strategy. 

I have some samples on my website I call DigiMaps.  Take a look at them, teach yourself the very easy process and you'll see that it can help you create a solid strategy in half the usual time.

The Word 'Free' Should Not Scare Small Business Owners

There is an interesting article in the October, 2006 issue of Business 2.0 by Katherine Heires called "Why It Pays to Give Away the Store."  She gives nine tips culled from venture capitalists and entrepreneurs about how a 'freemium' strategy can be successful. 

This 9 point list may scare some small online business owners.  They are already struggling with the fact that many of their potential customers expect everything for free!  I've spoken to many small business owners who marvel at the fact that their target audiences are shocked when they confront a "buy now" button. They believe everything should be free. 

The key to making a freemium strategy work is to plan ahead and never sway from your plan.  The article states, "once you've decided that a product will be given away for free, don't change your mind."  The free product should act as a good solid lead-in to an enhanced one.

The real key is to figure out ahead of time what you can do to enhance the product to entice paying customers.  Also, figure out how you can customize the product for specific audiences and sell to them.  Make sure that you interact with your customers and find out how they want to use the product and give it to them.  Giving away a free product is only a great risk if you haven't thought it through ahead of time.  If no one wants or needs your product, even a freemium costs too much.

Think you know who the small business owners are?

An interesting study by Experian defines a segment of small businesses as "microbusinesses: 25 employees or fewer than $10 million or less in annual sales."  They find that 'incorporated business owners have 35% higher incomes; and are 2.62 times more likely to have sales of $5 million or more compared with unincorporateds."  The key here is that since 'incorporateds' tend to grow more quickly, it may be wise to create a niche that targets this audience.  Don't assume that since it has an 'Inc.' after it's name, that it's a large company.

Niche marketing is crucial; getting it right may be the difference between a hit and a miss.  Forget what you think you know about your audience and look with a fresh eye to determine if you are missing a new target segment.

Collaboration is the hottest buzzword in business today

I enjoy a contrarian viewpoint especially when I agree with it.  Check out David H. Freedman's article, What's Next: The Idiocy of Crowds in the September, 2006 issue of Inc.  He points out that with the advent of Web 2.0 technology, everyone gets a chance to weigh-in on every issue a business faces.  (See "Wisdom of Crowds" by James Surowiecki.)  He believes that this can be counterproductive.  At its worst, it can lead to 'groupthink' which causes groups to be overly confident about their decisions.  This does not negate all the great ways we can utilize group consensus, but it should make us more cautious about how we apply it.

This is good news for small business owners who often have to make bold decisions without much feedback.  'Gut-think' (relying on the wisdom of our own gut) can sometimes take us to places we never dared wish for.  If you have a big business decision to make and you feel that you know the 'right answer', then trust that.  If you are wrong, at least you took the reins of your own life.

New Product Strategies: Opportunity May be Knocking

I am currently reading Hot Button Marketing by Barry Feig. (See reading list.) It provides lots of great insights about what really makes people buy.  While reading this, I came across his article, "Getting to NO: Listen closely when consumers reject your product and you could hear opportunity knocking."  It discusses how to approach the development of your marketing message so that buyers get past the emotional component to really see the product's value. 

He recounts how the Glad Lock Bag seal (yellow and blue strip becomes green)  was rejected by focus group after focus group because the consumer thought she was being 'taken for a dolt.'  They repositioned the message and had a big hit on their hands. 

One response to heavy negative feedback could have been to scrap the seal or not focus on it.  As you can see, this would have been a huge mistake.  Instead they crafted the message based on the consumer's perception.  This illustrates a really key point for small businesses.  Start with the customers perception of your product and build your marketing message from there.  Don't assume you know how your product will be pereceived without asking.

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