Can you learn to swim by reading it in a book? Haha! NO way. Eventually you need to get wet and if you start by jumping in the deep end, well that’s a bad idea. We’re not dogs. Dogs typically can “just swim” you don’t need to help them float by holding them under their belly chanting “kick kick kick” they can just swim. They’ve even got their own swim stroke, it’s called the doggy paddle.
Are dogs smarter than us? I know my dog thinks he’s smarter than me… until dinner, he still hasn’t figured out how to open the can of food… yet. But at swimming he’s a natural. However, here’s the deal, have you ever seen a dog do a back stroke, butterfly, or synchronized swimming? No. They’ve got that doggy paddle and they’re really happy with it.
So is self education better than formal education?
In a lot of ways, yes.
Let’s look at swimming. It’s important to learn to swim and the younger the better. If you never learn a how to butterfly, that’s ok. But if you do learn to swim you can snorkel at the coral reef which is out of this world amazing.
If you learn that maintaining a database for your business will help you organize your customers information in one location you’ll make a living. If you switch your view of the database from a “tool” to a profit center and you target products and services to segments within your database, you will achieve an entirely new level of success.
You need the formal education to learn how to create and maintain a database, because like swimming, we are not born with the gift. And just like swimming we can get away with a simple doggy paddle and be happy cruising around the pool. But if you really want to see some magic, create a database that will turn your marketing a profit center (marketingistheprofitcenter.com). To do this, you’ll need some self-education mixed with your formal education. You’ll need trial and error.
Your customers are unique to your business because of your relationship. Your value system has attracted your customers to you. Therefore a “one size fits all” type of database and message system will not show results in the same way as crafting your message to fit your audience. This is a tough hurdle to get past because there are other businesses that will try to sell you their miracle product for posting or email communication. It seems like a great solution, but most of the time you should run. You’ll spend a lot of money for mediocre results.
Start practicing message crafting today. Get that self education going. When you discover what speaks to your customers you will be unstoppable in your marketing. It will translate to other areas of your business. Will it make you a fortune? Maybe.
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Action Step
1- Start a database (collect the contact information from your customers and if you don’t know how to create a database, at least have the information and pay someone else to set it up for you)
2-Collect email and mailing information – there are times you’ll want to do both types of contacts.
3- Start communicating! Take note of what works and what does not.
4- Install my free app! (SmallBusinessClubApp.com)
Listen to Episode #110 of the Two Minute Commute audio blog Podcast
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