MARKET – MESSAGE – MEDIA
By Eric Ruth
I desperately want to make an impact on you and the way you view the importance and the functionality of marketing.
But if there’s anything I’ve learned over the past 12 years of in-the-trenches marketing work I’ve done, it’s this…
…very, very few people are able to grab the reins and control the bucking bronco of their business.
It’s like everything else – there are those who are highly motivated to excel (20% or less) and there are those who won’t pay the price to master what is ultimately the most important aspect of their business survival (80% or more).
So, no matter what I say here, the vast majority of people will never achieve what they want from their business.
That’s sobering.
And it makes you think, doesn’t it?
Which one are you?
Are you the person who will do what’s necessary to live the life you envision for yourself…
…or are you the person who will find excuses why you can’t do what you know is of paramount importance to your success?
It’s really good news and bad news.
Bad news because it’s sad that so many will not realize their dreams.
Good news because if it were easy and everyone were able to do it, it would be much harder for the cream to rise to the top.
There would be too much competition.
So you’ve got to ask yourself, “when am I going to get serious about marketing my business?”
If you’re ready to get serious now, then listen up, because I’m going to share with you the most fundamentally important, foundational marketing “wisdom” right here and right now.
MARKET – MESSAGE – MEDIA
The three M’s.
See, most people attack marketing from the wrong end. They go straight to, “where am I going to advertise?”
The real question is, “to whom am I going to advertise?”
Your MARKET always comes first.
Can you clearly define your target market(s)?
You may have more than one target, just don’t make the mistake of lumping them in together.
Each market is distinct, different and unique. Don’t ever forget it.
People respond to things that are designed for them…
SPECIFICALLY FOR THEM!
Therefore, the first step in your marketing plan is to clearly define your market(s).
Next, comes your message.
Each market you serve must be targeted with a distinct, different and unique MESSAGE.
That’s why we call it a Unique Selling Proposition.
If you deliver the same message as everyone else, why should a prospect choose you over anyone else?
You must provide compelling reasons for them to choose you.
The key to the vault – if ever there was one – is a message that differentiates you from all your competitors in a positive, appealing and compelling way.
Your USP is about POSITIONING.
It’s a way of explaining yourself against your competition. It’s also a way of summarizing and telegraphing one of the chief benefits of doing business with you – generally THE chief benefit.
Do you have a LIST of the benefits your clients get from working with you? If not, I suggest you make one now. It should contain literally every single benefit they get – down to the most miniscule thing. Because what may seem miniscule to you, could be the reason a prospect chooses you over and above your competition.
From that list, you want to pull out the single most compelling benefit to the majority of your prospects within that market.
And that benefit should be incorporated in your USP.
For example, my USP is:
I show fitness professionals how to use smart marketing to earn an ever-growing six-figure income.
Two of the greatest USPs in recent memory are these:
Fresh, hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed.
When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.
Can you name these companies?
Dominos Pizza and Federal Express were built on the back of these great unique selling propositions.
These USPs clearly DIFFERENTIATED Dominos and FedEx from their competition and filled a void in the marketplace.
But you can’t develop an appealing and compelling USP until and unless you have defined your target market. Right? It’s a logical progression.
Your USP must answer the question that’s in your prospect’s mind:
“Why should I choose your service versus any and every other competitive option available to me… including doing nothing at all?”
Don’t overlook that last clause – it’s very important.
Your biggest competition is not gyms and weight loss programs and home fitness equipment infomercials…
…IT’S APATHY!!!
It’s indifference!!!
It’s INACTION!!!
IT’S FEAR!!!
You’ve got to overcome those huge hurdles with your marketing. And the only way to overcome them is to ADDRESS THEM.
And you must address them clearly, precisely and unambiguously.
You must be clearly understood. You MUST bend over backward to avoid confusing your prospects.
And you must not be boring, stale or sound like everyone else.
I know, it sounds like you “must” do a lot of things.
It’s really not nearly as hard as you may be thinking.
If you TAKE THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS, YOUR MARKET AND HOW YOU WANT TO COMMUNICATE TO IT, YOU’LL BE FINE.
I’m yelling cause I want you to really get what I just said. And the key word in the paragraph above is “think.”
It’s like a lost art. Nobody sits and thinks anymore. I hope you will.
Because the more you think, the better able you will be to do what is arguably a very difficult step for most fitness professionals…
…finding the right MEDIA to advertise your MESSAGE so it impacts your MARKET.
Most fitness professionals I know of are on a pretty restrictive marketing budget. There just isn’t much discretionary income for TESTING.
This is good and bad.
It’s good because it makes you THINK (hopefully, very hard) before spending your money.
It’s bad because you may run out of money before you hit on the right mix of market-message-media.
Here’s the bottom line. Advertising in your local paper CAN work. It’s not easy. Don’t count on it occurring your first time out. It may. Just don’t count on it.
I don’t want to dissuade you from testing this medium because I have many members who are making it work handsomely for their businesses.
I’m just counseling CAUTION. I’m telling you that if you are in a rush to get a couple clients in the next couple weeks, and you “run an ad” – you will probably fail.
8 times out of 10, successful media advertising requires cash flow for testing. There’s no getting around this fact.
There are times when, if you’ve done your homework and prepared diligently, you will “hit it” right out of the gate. I’ve experienced it myself. I started my first company, Fitness Marketing Systems, as a test back in March of 1998 with $500. I decided if, with my knowledge and background, I can’t make it work with $500, then I can’t make it work with $5,000.
My first ad cost me less than $300 and it generated $4,100 in sales.
I’ve never invested another penny “out of pocket” into this business and I’m approaching the seven figure mark in sales.
That’s what’s called “pyramiding your profits.”
And it’s something I highly recommend.
It’s internal financing.
The reason so many dot coms went out of business is because they had huge bankrolls and they just threw money at the problem. If you have limited resources and a great plan, you will (generally) outperform those with a fat wallet and a poorly defined plan of action.
The interesting phenomenon (Murphy’s Law?) is that if you need that first ad to hit, it probably won’t. But if you don’t really need it to hit, it probably will.
So, before you venture forth and risk your limited resources on media advertising, do the other things that don’t cost much money at all – just time and effort – to get your business rolling, then establish an advertising budget and stick to it.
If something doesn’t work, evaluate why it didn’t work. Call the prospects who requested your reports, but have yet to commit to training with you and find out why. Survey your market. That’s why MARKET always comes first.
The reason my first ad hit the sweet spot is because I know you guys. My first wife was a Fitness Professional and I understand what you want. I know the “hot buttons” to push.
If you don’t FULLY understand your market, you have little probability of being able to speak to them in a compelling, meaningfully specific way that will… to put it bluntly… separate them from their money.
But back to MEDIA. The biggest gripe I have with so many trainers I talk to is that they don’t spend NEARLY enough time finding EFFECTIVE media.
Again, it goes back to your market. Where do they go to get information on health and fitness? You’d be amazed at the wealth of media that’s available to you that you have never even considered – because you don’t even know it exists.
You need to SCOUR your local area and ask everyone and anyone what media is available. Your market may only listen to the local AM talk radio station. They may only read one senior’s magazine. They may only buy things advertised in the local homeopathic tabloid. They may only respond to direct referrals from friends. A personal, direct mail letter may be the only way to get them to call you. They may only read the Sunday edition of your paper. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW UNLESS YOU INVESTIGATE.
And if you don’t investigate, study, research and do your DUE DILIGENCE…
…you may as well be pumping quarters into the slots at Caesar’s Palace, because you’ve got those kind of odds working in your favor.
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