Marketing is Three Things

• Shining
• Making Friends
• Nurturing Your Fans (some would argue this is really Public Relations)

Shining

Shining is intangible. It is not a budget line. It is not magic strategy or formula. When your light is really turned up as bright as it will go, words are not even involved. People notice the brightness of your shining as soon as they lay eyes on you. Before you've spoken a word. Before you've given your elevator speech. Before you've given them a brochure.

Here's the rub. Even if your elevator speech is polished and smooth. Even when your brochure is drop dead gorgeous. If your shine does not show up, your lack of true confidence or possibly a lack of integrity turn people away.

On the other hand, if you are shining , without an elevator speech, without a brochure, you will still attract people who feel the excitement at witnessing your radiance.

(For real life practice and support with shining, join us for this workshop.)

Making Friends

Of course, you might meet under the pretense of something in common like knitting or chess, but you know you don't feel this resonance with every knitter, every chess player.

This resonance is the basis of a peer-to-peer relationship that is the root of all great business interactions.

Friends are often interviewed to learn more about someone. Testimonials are interviews of your company's friends. They know the company. They feel they have shared in the Spirit of your company. They have a relationship with the company.

When you make friends for your company, your company is becoming known to people who will be proud to know you and tell others.

I can hear the doubtful voice, "What if I need lots of customers? Do I have to make friends with all of them?" The short answer is yes, you do. The good news is that its a lot easier than you think!

It is possible to make friends through a web site, through packaging, by the way it feels when people enter your store.

To me, marketing is all about SHINING. It is about being a beacon. Make it easy for people who are already looking for you to find you. Show up where they are and offer what they seek from you.

When these seekers discover you, they are the first to shout out, "Hey! Look what I found!" And if what you offer is a strong match for them, you have just met a new raving fan.

Nurturing Your Fans