Want to Outsell the Competition? OutThink Them.

An article on business travel in a recent issue of USA Today focused on how Independent Bookstores Find Readers on the Fly.

The essence of the article was, "How can smaller bookstores compete with retail giants who can buy and sell books for less?"

The answer? By zigging where the competition zags.

For example, business traveler Brian Norton was searching for a good book to read on the plane and was frustrated to find the airport bookstores featured only the top five leaders in each category of the New York Times Bestseller list.

What to do? Walter High, smart-thinking owner of the 2nd ed. Booksellers at Raleigh-Durham International, says, "I make a point of stocking books the new-book sellers don't. I recently bought a huge collection of Civil War books that includes first editions from the 1920's. You're not going to see that down the hall at Borders."

Are you offering the same selection of products/services as your competitors? That's a perscription for blending in, not breaking out.

Ask youself, "What are our potential customers looking for they can't find elsewhere?" Offer that and people will flock to your store or business.

As I say in my presentations, CD's and book on POP! (endorsed by Seth Godin, Jeffrey Gitomer, John Jantsch, and Ken Blanchard), "The best way to stand out from the crowd is to lead it, not follow it."

Create Sticky Messages with POP! and John Jantsch’s Duct Tape Marketing

Best-selling author Elmore Leonard was once asked why he thought his books were so popular. His answer? “I try to leave out the parts people skip.”

I had the pleasure of sharing my POP! tips on a podcast recently with John Jantsch – author of Duct Tape Marketing and creator of Forbes’ and Fast Company’s #1 rated blog on small business and marketing.

As you may already know, POP! stands for Purposeful, Original, and Pithy – the three prerequisites to sticky messages that capture and keep your attention.

John modeled the POP! process with his succinct definition of marketing. He said, “Marketing is getting somebody who has a need to know you, like you, and trust that you can supply it for them.”

John also mentioned his sure-fire system for test-marketing his material to make sure it POP!s. He runs it by his four teenaged daughters to see if they “get it and want it.” He added, “They’re imaginative, playful and have no time for B.S. If it doesn’t pass their litmus test, it’s back to the editing room.”

Look at your marketing messages and elevator speech.

Are you leaving out the parts people skip? Have you condensed the definition of what you do into a succinct sound-bite? Do you have a litmus test to see if people “get and want” what you have to offer?

If so, kudos. If not, it’s back to the drawing board or . . . listen to our podcast that talks about how you can market your business by developing attention-grabbing names, slogans, and ad campaigns at www.DuctTapeMarketing.com.

***************************************************************************

I've recently made the move to Wordpress.

Please visit www.samhornpop.wordpress.com for my latest blog (and don't forget to update your technorati links, too)

Best Wishes.

Sam Horn