Page 50 - Duct Tape Marketing

Discover Your Core Marketing Message

Deborah Read of ErgoFit Consulting, Inc., in Seattle,
Washington, took the advice of her business advisory
group and embraced a character she had been using in
her e-mail, ErgoGirl, an injury prevention superhero who
only occasionally shows herself in public. The biggest step
toward doing this was to buy a shiny, red cape, which she
began wearing intermittently at business networking events,
including ones with Fortune 500 companies.

Your Clients Know Best

So let’s dig in and create a position for your firm.
In some cases, you may have already become known for a certain

type of work or position. In those cases, your task may be to simply
communicate what you already know. In most cases, however, it is not
that obvious, so the best way to get at your positioning is to ask your
clients. It is amazing how often your clients will be able to articulate
the best positioning for your firm, even if you can’t. In fact, many
times I have found that business owners don’t often fully understand
what they do that their clients truly value.

My advice is that you ask, or hire someone to ask, your clients
several telling questions. I suggest that you call up ten clients or so
and ask:

 Why did you hire us in the first place?
 What do we do that others don’t?
 What’s missing from our industry as a whole?
 What could we do that would thrill you?
 What do you find yourself simply putting up with in this

industry?
 What would you do if you owned a business like ours?

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