I know that you must have been told that marketing is all about gimmicks, tricks or tactics. That it is all about being smart, right? Wrong! The moment you begin to see marketing as simply being smart with your target customers using all forms of gimmicks, tricks or tactics to cajole them into buying, then you've got it all wrong. And just so you know, the fact that some companies get away with this form of marketing doesn't validate it in anyway. As a matter of fact, it's the quickest way to devalue your brand and lose the trust of potential customers. It's a short term solution to a … [Read more...]

In my work with entrepreneurs, especially small business owners in my country Nigeria, one re-occurring theme is their approach towards marketing. Each time I’m in a consulting or strategy session with a client and I ask the question; “how do you get clients?” I hear almost the same answer; “through referrals”. So out of curiosity, I ask a second question; “you mean from satisfied customers?” And then I get a surprising answer; “not really, from my family and friends who know about my business.” Every time I get these responses, I no longer wonder why they are … [Read more...]

The success of your business depends on several contending factors; perhaps top on the list besides product development is marketing. You must have heard the famous saying that the best mouse trap in the market may not always be the fastest selling mouse trap. Why? Because the market needs to buy from you first to know whether you are the best mouse trap or not and before they can buy from you, they need to know you exist. Many entrepreneurs fall prey to the best mouse trap illusion; your product/service can be the best ever, but it won’t sell itself until you find a way to get the word … [Read more...]

  Who is Brian Clark? Blogger Entrepreneur Both None of the above   The option you pick to the question above will determine the success or failure of your endeavours online.   Brian Clark is a smart ass unusual entrepreneur who leveraged on the power of blogging as a marketing tool to build a software and education business called; Copyblogger Media LLC.   So next time when you see Brian Clark churning out epic shit week after week, watch out. Don’t be deceived into thinking he’s a blogger or in the so called blogging … [Read more...]

Last week I wrote an unusual article about revolutionary marketing: how to create an untapped market for your business. In it, I laid out the rationale for this kind of marketing which basically means going against the market. Rather than compete by focusing on meeting the needs of today, carve out a new market for yourself by focusing on meeting the needs of tomorrow. If you haven’t yet, make sure you read it, click here. In continuing this series on revolutionary marketing, I present to you the blueprint for going against the market profitably.   Why Going AGAINST The … [Read more...]