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What makes marketing “hard” when it doesn’t have to be? How can you easily reposition yourself apart from your competitors? Why should you demystify your company to attract your clients?
In this podcast episode in the New Year, New Habits series, Joe Sanok speaks with Mike Snyder about The Great Marketing Lie and the 6 Truths for C-Suites.
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Meet Mike Snyder
- Mike’s tip that true marketing isn’t “hard”
- Simple differentiation
- Reposition your competitors
- Practice storytelling
- Mike’s advice to private practitioners
Mike’s tip that true marketing isn’t “hard”
Business owners confuse marketing with “marketing communications” which is what SEO, blogging, social media, ads, websites, and all that is about. These are all subsets of marketing.
I would challenge the listeners and the business owners out there to think about marketing differently [this] year. Stop thinking tactically – which is marketing communications – and instead, start thinking strategically; that’s actually marketing. (Mike Snyder)
Marketing has a simple goal: to create value for your clients and customers, and it’s not as difficult as you think. Think about what helped you to decide to buy something.
Everything you see around you, you bought that for a reason. So reverse-engineer that idea and come out to the value that is going to lead to your clients investing in you.
Simple differentiation
How can you make your practice different from the others in your industry, city, niche, or modality? In classical marketing and education, there are the four Ps:
- Product
- Place
- Price
- Promotion
These are the four markers that you need to hit for successful marketing and work on them under the umbrella of differentiation.
Reposition your competitors
When it comes to companies, they tend to position themselves relative to the category that they’re in. However, all of their competitors are using the same positioning strategy, so they’re all in the same place, trying to reach the same clients.
What that tends to do is drive prices down … It’s a function of competition … No, reposition [your competitors] by perhaps changing the way that you talk about your business. (Mike Snyder)
Mike’s firm started changing their labels to reposition themselves and to get noticed more easily by clients outside of all their competitors doing similar work.
Listen to your clients and customers to figure out what they are looking for – they will tell you, and then you can use that actual information directly in your marketing efforts so that they can see you more easily because you speak directly to their needs.
Practice storytelling
Tell the stories of your business on your website where clients can find out more about you, and practice storytelling through explaining how your business works.
You may know your company intimately, but your clients don’t – yet. To them, you’re just another name in the crowd. So take the mystery out of it and tell them who you are, what you do, and how you can help them.
Show them that you understand their issue and that you have the solution for them, and show them how they can connect with you to access that solution.
Just demystify it. You know [many businesses] don’t make it relatable and easy to digest. [Tell clients], “Here’s what’s going to happen to you”, so make it easier strategically for your new prospects or your new clientele what’s going to happen maybe on the first or second [session], and [what] the outline is. (Mike Snyder)
You don’t have to make any promises, but you are trying to tell them that – in general – this is what you are trying to do, and this is what you can offer them.
People don’t wanna know what you do, they want to know why you do it … That is something that any private practice can really log onto and portray. (Mike Snyder)
Mike’s advice to private practitioners
Get your team enthusiastic about the work that you are doing in your practice, and get them involved so that they own the successes and execution alongside you because this positive attitude feeds into a culture of happier, more satisfied employees.
Sponsors Mentioned in this episode:
- Find out more about the Seven Figure Club!
- Head on over to gusto.com/joe to learn all about their payroll solutions. There is no reason that you should be worrying about payroll.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Mike Snyder & Bruce Rowley – The Great Marketing Lie: 6 Truths For Biz Owners & C-Suiters
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Visit RaptorUSA and connect with Mike on LinkedIn.
- Save the date for Level Up Week: March 11-14, 2024!
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Email Joe at [email protected] to suggest guests for the show
Check out these additional resources:
New Year, New Habits: The Biggest HR Mistakes Practice Owners Make with Candice Elliott | POP 946
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Meet Joe Sanok
Joe Sanok helps counselors to create thriving practices that are the envy of other counselors. He has helped counselors to grow their businesses by 50-500% and is proud of all the private practice owners who are growing their income, influence, and impact on the world. Click here to explore consulting with Joe.
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