Congratulations!!!  The following list of talented women has been selected as the WINNERS of our $45K Training contests:

• Colleen McGunnigle
• Amethyst Wyldfire
• Kristin Ecklund

As part of their prize package, they will be featured in my speaking presentation AND on my various websites for a TON of exposure.  Most importantly, they will part of a special VIP Day (which goes for $15K EACH) where I will personally re-strategize their business.  I can’t wait!!!

There were so many entries it was difficult to choose, so thank you to everyone who submitted a video. I’m truly grateful for all your kind and encouraging words.

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If you are ready to really be known as an expert with affluent clients, dominate your competition and showcase your genius on a national level, I think you are going to LOVE this really opportunity.  Please check out my video below to learn about a special telecall with me and Nick Nanton (my celebrity attorney who helped shaped the deal I have with my publishing agent!) happening this THURSDAY.  There’s already a ton of interest and not a lot of space. Click Here To Register Now!

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Mass marketing refers to treatment of the market as a homogenous group and offering the same marketing mix to all customers. Mass marketing allows economies of scale to be realized through mass production, mass distribution, and mass communication. The drawback of mass marketing is that customer needs and preferences differ and the same offering is unlikely to be viewed as optimal by all customers. If firms ignored the differing customer needs, another firm likely would enter the market with a product that serves a specific group, and the incumbent firms would lose those customers.

Mass marketing is not the best approach for small businesses for a variety of reasons.  Here’s what you need to consider when approaching your marketing plan:

1. Mass marketing is not targeted to the people most likely to buy what small businesses sell.
2. Mass marketing rarely creates quick sales.
3. Mass marketing can be expensive and suck up your resources.
4. Mass marketing is difficult to design to appeal to a target market.

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The number #1 mistake I see businesses make with their marketing – the vital step the often skip – is failing to properly research and define their ideal target market.  They often launch a product or service offering without actually seeing if their customer values what they are offering.  Doing your due diligence can mean the difference between success and failure, and it doesn’t have to cost a penny. Networking, online research, informal focus groups and other do-it-yourself methods can do the trick.

Here are the 7 steps you need to take to define your ideal target market:

Step 1: Acquire a Thorough Understanding of the Affluent Mindset, Attitudes, Beliefs and Values

Step 2: Research the Market

Step 3: Define Your Ideal Client

Step 4: Segment Your Market

Step 5: Conduct a Competitive Analysis

Step 6: Identify Powerful Niche

Step 7: Create Your Ideal Client Profile

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The first step to putting together a strategic marketing plan is to thoroughly understand your market space and your ideal target client.  This includes acquiring a thorough understanding of the affluent mindset (Attitudes, Beliefs and Values), defining the demographic and psychographic qualities of your ideal client and understanding who else is serving your clients.

Whether you are starting a business or launching a new product line, it is a little like buying a car:

You need to do some research before taking the plunge. First, figure out if there’s demand for your product or service. Do a competitive analysis. And ultimately, create a plan to differentiate your offering.

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Many of my clients come to me once they find a Joint Venter partner and want to know what they should do next.  Once you agree to embark on a venture, there are many marketing activities you can engage in to exploit the relationship and bring a highly desirable bundled offering to your combined base of followers.  Here are some ideas:

• Write a referral letter introducing your partner to your clients and recommending their service and vice versa.
• A simple idea would be exchanging text links or banners with other related web sites or ad swapping as suggested in the eZine section.
• Exchange testimonials or endorsements for each other’s products or services.
• Combine your products or services together with another business into one big package.  You could split the profits.
• Host a teleseminar with another business.  Include each other’s promotional material on the web site.
• Hold a live event together and invite both of your client databases.

Now here is your mission:  find ideal joint venture partner TODAY and determine the results you desire create. Next, design your plan accordingly and set your intention for success. Get ready for a mutually-beneficial business endeavor–the sky’s the limit!

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Beyond the obvious benefits like: an increased chance of beating your competition, increased sales and profits, time and money savings, the receipt of valuable referrals, and increased market share, there are implicit rewards to Joint Venture partnerships as well. By finding a partner who compliments your business offering, you have the potential to harness incredible barrowed equity—fortifying your brand beyond what you are each able to accomplish independently. This in turn adds VALUE, a key ingredient for the affluent customer. Remember, the affluent are time crunched. They want services and products that offer a huge amount of value and a level of convenience to their hectic lives.

The point being here is this: Apart you are strong but together you are POWERFUL. By connecting with a strong strategic partner, the groundwork is laid to create a service offering or marketing opportunity far more powerful and desirable to your wealthy clients than almost anything you can bring to market on your own.

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What if I told you there was a really, really easy way to increase your chances of beating your competition, increasing your sales and profits, saving time and money, getting valuable referrals, and increasing your market share AND this method requires very little investment other than what you are likely already spending on marketing.

You’d probably respond by saying, “Sign me up,” right?

One of the smartest ways to grow your business with affluent clients is through strategic joint ventures. A joint venture is two or more businesses joining together under a contractual agreement to conduct a specific business enterprise with both parties sharing profits and losses.

The venture is for one specific project only, rather than for a continuing business relationship as in a strategic alliance.

Here’s the first step you need to know to get started:  put together a list of your top 10 ideal partners then consider how a JV could fit into your business plan in 2010!

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Client loyalty takes customer service to a whole new level.  It isn’t just about providing exceptional service.  It is about creating an entire experience for your clients.  Here’s why it is essential to solidify your customer’s loyalty:

1. While a growing business needs to constantly capture new clients, the focus and priority should be on pleasing your existing client base.
2. If your company fails to nurture your existing client base, your business will pay the price.
3. You will also be limited in your ability to attract new clients if you can’t hold onto and satisfy your existing clients and clients.
4. Referrals among repeat clients are 107% greater than non-clients.
5. It costs six times more to sell something to a prospect than to sell that same thing to a client.
6. Nurturing your existing client base is a strategy that will move you forward in increasing your sales by 50% without increasing your budget.

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When you begin the process of outlining a customer service plan you must first identify what you want that experience to look like.  To do so, you must reverse engineer your desired world class client experience vision.

When a client has an experience with your business what exactly do you want it to look like.  At our company, we have several goals:

• Have our clients recognize our commitment to exceptional customer service
• To feel appreciated as a client
• Have our clients believe that if we make a mistake we will make it right.
• Have our clients recognize that we always go the extra mile and are innovative in our processes.
• To create loyal raving fans who feel very comfortable referring us business on a regular basis.
• If they leave our business, to leave satisfied with the results they have achieved

What does your vision look like?  Write it down to begin the process of creating the ideal experience for your clients.

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