Ever wonder what the most successful agencies did differently than everyone else?

Was it luck, skill, hard work, the industry they chose, or something else?

Through my consulting work at Revenue Boost, I’ve worked with and taught over 400+ agencies how to scale their business.

From this, I’ve seen consistent patterns & traits in the ones who grow effortlessly…

Versus the ones who stay stuck for years – no matter how hard they work.

One key difference in approach stuck out to me.

I’ll illustrate what this one difference was with a story.

Once upon a time…

Two marketers graduated from business school with big plans to start their own agency. 

Ready to conquer the world, they started cold calling, cold emailing, and doing everything under the sun to get clients.

And although they had the SAME levels of work ethic and talent…

One of them now has an 8-figure agency.

The other one of them is still freelancing odd jobs, barely making ends meet.

What did the successful one do differently?

He took a big risk and started turning down clients and projects.

Instead of offering everything to everyone, like most agency owners…

And being a jack of all trades but a master of none…

He decided only to serve Plumbers and be the best dang’ plumbing marketer on the planet.

With a goal to make their pipeline fuller than a broken toilet pipe.

He mastered the art of niching down and realized it would be easier to be the biggest fish in a small pond.

And you should too – and in this article, you’ll learn exactly how to define your own niche.

Now it may seem scary to turn down clients…and it may feel like you’re limiting yourself by focusing on only one client-type.

But it’s exactly the opposite. You’re actually limiting yourself by being everything for everybody.

Niching Down Can Help 2x-3x Your Revenues

One of my clients Lauren ran a digital agency offering everything under the sun.

Social media, paid ads, web dev, SEO, and she offered it to clients from many different industries.

Because of this, her agency stayed stuck at $25,000 a month and she couldn’t break through.

On top of that, she and her team worked so much harder than they had to and operations were messy.

Every client needed different things, required customization, and nothing was standardized.

We sat together to audit all her past clients, and we found that Medical practices were her best clients.

They were easy to sell, stayed the longest, and gave her the least amount of headaches and complaints.

So, she changed her entire business model to ONLY service this industry.

Then, she developed a standardized offer for that industry, rather than customizing everything.

One offer, to one target market. Afterwards, she started cold emailing businesses in her niche with her new offer.

The Results?

 She 2X’d her revenues and grew to $52,000 in monthly revenue in not even four months time.

All from making one simple shift. One decision that can make everything easier, and you can do the same.

See, most agency owners and marketers start out with one or two clients, and then they get referred new clients from various industries.

Before they know it, they’re marketing everything for everyone and have NO idea who their ideal client is.

The Problem with Running a Business This Way Is That It Becomes Impossible to Scale.

Every single new client requires a ton of research, thought, and brainpower.

Because each new client has different needs, it leads to having no standardized processes and systems.

Which keeps the founder stuck in the business and unable to hire a team.

The other problem that arises is acquisition.

There are hundreds of thousands of agencies on the planet, and it’s really hard to stand out.

UNLESS you specialize.

When you specialize in a niche – let’s say, SEO for plumbers…

Then you aren’t competing with every other agency on the planet. You don’t look and sound just like them anymore.

Now, you’ve created your own tiny pond in which you can be a big fish.

There are way fewer agencies that specialize in plumbers or SEO, let alone both. So, you’ve eliminated the competition with one decision.

If a plumber was looking at two agencies – one that was a general digital agency and one that specializes in helping plumbers…

They almost always choose the agency that specializes in their industry and has testimonials from people just like them.

Not to mention, it’s easier to market when you have a clear niche in mind.

You know who you’re writing your content for…

You know who to send emails and social media DMs too…

You know exactly who to target in your ads….

You know what podcasts you should get booked on

And so on and so on.

Plus, you can charge whatever prices you want. Because you aren’t compared to the hundreds of thousands of agencies out there – you have a unique offer now.

Committing to one niche makes marketing easier, it makes selling easier, and it makes scaling easier.

You only have to be good at doing 1 thing for 1 person, and you can build systems and processes around it. This way, you can hire a team to take it over and be able to work less.

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Now how do you do it? What if you don’t know who your ideal client is?

Step 1: Audit Your Current + Past Client List.

Write down every single client you’ve ever served, and group them by niche. Industry, location, size and so on.

Once you group them together, one niche might stick out for you already as your favorite type of client.

If it doesn’t, use my 7-Point checklist and rank each niche on a 1-5 scale.

These 7 criteria points are what makes a great niche.

#1 – Total Addressable Market:

How many businesses are in this market? Is it large enough to support your bigger goals? Is the market shrinking or growing? Make sure the niche is big enough for you and that it’s not declining.

#2 – Purchasing Power

Is this market (or at least a segment of it) able to afford what you want to charge?

Think back to if you’ve received a lot of pricing objections when you’ve sold to these people in the past.

#3 – Lifetime Value

How long did these clients stay? Were they one-and-done projects or did they stay with me for eternity?

The bigger the life-time value, the more money and time you can spend to acquire a client.

If the niche typically churns in a few months or only works with you for quick, one-off projects…

Then you’ll have to spend so much energy on sales and marketing to keep the business alive.

#4 – Strong Need & Pain

Does this market have an important problem to solve, one that they have to fix? Or, is what you sell just a “nice to have”?

If the latter, it’s going to be very hard to get clients.

If they can’t live without your solution, then getting clients will be a breeze.

#5 – Desire to Solve that Pain

It’s one thing for a market to have a problem, but they must also have a desire to solve that problem.

Even if they have the need that you fulfill, that’s not enough – they also have to care about fulfilling that need.

#6 – Easy to Reach

Is the market fairly easy to find online? Can you reach them via most advertising platforms and social channels? Are their groups and communities online?

If you’re targeting businesses that are hard to reach online, you’re creating one extra barrier to your success.

Step 2: Choose 1 Niche After Ranking Each of Your Past Clients.

Tally up all the rankings and pick the 1 with the highest score.

Don’t worry about making the wrong decision.

Consider this an experiment.

You aren’t married to your new niche, you can always change back in a few months if it doesn’t work out.

Step 3: Create a Pre-Packaged Offer for Your New Niche

The whole point of niching down is to create more focus and simplicity in your business

Part of this is about WHO you sell, part of this is about WHAT you sell them.

Start out by choosing 1 problem to solve for them, and 1 solution to that problem.

List out what the deliverables will be and what you want to charge.

Keep it simple! You can build upon this later.

Step 4: Test the Waters and Go Land 5 New Clients.

Before you make any drastic changes to your business, such as letting go of clients, changing your branding and website…

Test the waters first, and verify if this new niche is the direction you want to go.

Go land another 5 clients or so, and that’ll be enough to identify if these are really our ideal clients or not.

You might think they are at first but you’ll know for sure once you serve more of them.

Wrapping Up…

You know now the problems of being a jack-of-all-trades with no clear focus.

Every new client is a ton of work and requires customization…

And getting new clients is difficult because there’s nothing that stands out about your agency. You’ll look and sound like everyone else.

This means when you do niche down, and sell 1 offer to 1 target market…

Your workload will decrease. Each new client will be easier to serve than the previous one.

You’ll become world-class at helping your clients from all the focused repetition

You’ll quickly develop a reputation and become a big fish in a small pond.

In every way, it’ll become easier to grow, scale, attract, and retain clients.

Plus, you’ll have more fun and the business will be simpler & easier to run.

And with this knowledge…

You’ve learned the 5 simple steps to niching down.

So…

Time to get to work!

Put this into practice and watch it transform your business.

The post Profit More, Work Less: 4 Steps to Niching Down For Your Agency appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Let’s face it—it does no good to build a funnel and spend zero time optimizing for conversion. That’s a no-brainer, right?

But, how many of you are working closely with your head of sales to ensure that the opportunities you help generate actually convert into paying clients? Ultimately, if you want to be seen as a successful marketer, you’re going to have to show that marketing is driving sales.

Now, the challenge is that in today’s commoditized world, sales teams often struggle to stand out from the crowd. As a result, closed won rates plummet, and organizations find it challenging to demonstrate to prospects how their total value proposition is the clear winner against all of the other competitors.

To make matters worse, many organizations rely on “super hero” sales people or even the founder to close deals. This approach is not sustainable or scalable. You can’t build a successful sales team if you’re constantly relying on a select few individuals to bring in all of the business.

The solution to this problem is a sales process that follows a standardized approach while also creating clear differentiation with prospects at the same time. By implementing a systematic sales process, you can scale your sales efforts beyond just the founders and “super heroes.” This will lead to higher closed won rates and higher gross profit margins, as you’ll be able to win at premium prices.

The benefits of a systematic sales process are clear. You’ll be able to scale the process beyond founders and “super heroes,” achieve higher closed won rates, and enjoy higher gross profit margins as you’re now able to win at premium prices.

When I implemented a systematic sales process in my former agency, I was able to consistently have 60-70% closed won rates, even when I had zero involvement in deals. This is the power of a well-designed sales process. In fact, I standardized this process and called it the Systematic Sales Process.

So, what does a Systematic Sales Process look like? Here are the five stages:

Stage 1: Evaluation

In this stage, you’ll have a 30-45 minute call with your prospect. The goal of this call is to point your prospect in the right direction—it’s not to “make a sale.” The reason we want to take this approach is that many prospects are likely not a good fit for your firm, so let’s not assume that every first call is an “opportunity.” That’s why we call this call the “Evaluation”—you want to evaluate whether or not you can help your prospect, whether or not they align with your requirements, and whether or not they are ready to move forward. We call this “two-way qualification.”

It’s not uncommon to reach the middle-to-end of the call and determine that your prospect, in fact, needs someone or something else other than you!

IMPORTANT: You should NOT move anyone beyond this point unless you have full alignment.

Do this stage right and you will ensure that your pipeline is real.

Stage 2: Discovery

After you have alignment with your prospect from the Evaluation call, you’ll engage them and their team in a 60-120 minute Discovery meeting.

The key in this meeting is to have a strong business conversation and less of a tactical conversation related to what you do. You’re looking to create paradigm shifts with key stakeholders on your prospect’s side. You want them to leave the meeting thinking about their problem in a completely different way and with a sense of excitement about the potential of moving from where they are now to where they want to be.

IMPORTANT: You want to ensure critical stakeholders are present for this meeting, as they’ve agreed-to in the Evaluation call (this is non-negotiable), to whatever degree you require for your process.

Do this stage right and you will sub-consciously win the business.

Stage 3: Plan

In this stage, you’ll collaborate with your main point of contact to develop your plan. That said, be a leader and show them what needs to be done to achieve their desired outcome, then discuss how you can divide and conquer together. Don’t treat this as a “pick from a menu” excercise.

This collaborative approach to developing your plan helps your main point of contact see your plan as their plan, too. This increases the odds that they will be a champion for you.

IMPORTANT: During these dicsussions, be sure to have them help you avoid “land mines”—things that could lose the business for you.

Do this stage right and you will eliminate surprises at the next stage (Presentation).

Stage 4: Presentation

You’re now ready to present and officially win the business during a 60-90 minute meeting. That siad, do not call your plan a “Proposal”! Instead, give it a specific title that speaks to their goals (e.g. “How ACME Corp Can Drive 17% More Revenue Through Conversion Rate Optimization”).

Your presentation should tell a “story” that includes:

• Their Vision
• Their Goals & Objectives
• Their Challenges
• How to Win (Strategy)
• Highlights (Tactics)
• Required Commitments (Their time, money, and resources to make this plan a success)
• Expected Results (ROI!)
• Why Your Firm

After you present, answer any questions they have and when their questions are done, ASK FOR THE SALE.

IMPORTANT: You want to ensure critical stakeholders are present for this meeting, as they’ve agreed-to in the Evaluation call (this is non-negotiable), to whatever degree you require for your process.

Do this stage right and you will differentiate your firm.

Stage 5: Negotiation

Finally, you’re ready to provde the contract and negotiate, but don’t give this until they’ve given you the “verbal” that you have won the business. The reason you do this is to make sure that you’ve wont the business based on the material things before the prospect starts nit-picking your contract scope. That said, be clear about what you will do and what you won’t do.

Additionally, your standard terms and conditions will accompnay the scope. You want to know up-front the terms and conditions you will bend on and the ones you won’t bend on.  You don’t want to make a decision about an important term and/or condition during the emotion of trying to ink a deal. Knowing up-front your points of negotiation will help you make logical decisions in the heat of the moment.

Do this stage right and you will set up your team for success.If you’d like to learn more about how to grow your firm using a Systematic Sales Process, register for Frank’s free Systematic Sales Process training today!

The post How Standardizing Your Sales Process Boosts Overall Conversion appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Did you know there are about 200 Facebook Ad metrics? That’s way too much to keep your eyes on. A smarter approach is to focus on a few metrics and ignore the rest until you need them. But how do you know which ones are really worth your constant attention? Let’s find out…

Every Facebook Advertiser Struggles with Metrics

You are not the only one who is lost in the maze of Facebook ad metrics. Every day, my team at MeasurementMarketing.io answers dozens of questions from business owners and agencies about this topic.

• I read somewhere that metric X is important but is that true?
• Why would I even track metric Y?
• Can I really ignore metric Z? 

These kinds of questions are important, but they are often asked at the wrong moment. 

The key to understanding which Facebook Ad metrics matter the most to you, is to see them as possible answers to questions you have about Facebook campaigns.

Let’s dive in…

Are my Facebook Campaigns Profitable?

Paid ads are like an investment. You pour money into ads and hope that you will get more money back. 

But like any other investment, there is a difference between hope and reality. 

One metric in Facebook Ads Manager will partially answer whether your ads are performing as you had hoped.

Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)

This metric tells you how much money you get back from every dollar you spent on Facebook ads. 

It is calculated with the following formula:

Revenue / Ad spend

For example: (your revenue) $1,000 / $500 (spent on ads) = ROAS 2

That means that for every dollar you spent on Facebook ads, the platform  generated $2 revenue. 

All that sounds great, but keep the following in mind:

• Revenue and profit are different things. So, you will have to do your own calculations to find out if your Facebook ads are actually making profit for you.
• To calculate the real Return On Investment (ROI) of Facebook paid campaigns, you need to include costs for setting up and managing your ads. 
• This metric is especially useful to ecommerce stores because they sell directly and know for which price. For service providers, ROAS is harder to calculate because it is hard to assign a price for someone who, for example, signs up to a newsletter. 
• Facebook knows a lot about you, but you need to assign values to conversions. I cover that a bit further below. 

How Much do My Facebook Ads Cost?

Running ads costs money. To keep track of how much, you can use over 60 Facebook Ad metrics. Here are some interesting ones that can give you valuable insights.

Amount Spent

This metric tells you how much money you have already spent on a Facebook ad or campaign. 

Although you can set daily budgets to keep your budget under control, it is absolutely worth checking this metric regularly. If the amount is low, for example, that can mean nobody is seeing or clicking on your ads. 

Cost Per Mille (CPM)

This metric answers the question how much it costs to show your ad 1,000 times. If you run awareness campaigns, it is useful for two reasons:

• CPM is a metric that is used by other ad platforms or websites that sell advertising space. It makes it easy to compare the price to advertise on different platforms. On the other hand, it doesn’t tell anything about how profitable the ads are. 
• The CPM also lets advertisers easily compare the cost of different campaigns on the same platform. If, for example, the CPM for one Facebook campaign is $10 and $5 for another, it is worth diving deeper to understand what causes this price difference. Is it because of the timing? The copy of the ad? The audience? The frequency? Etc.

Cost Per Impression

This metric tells you how much every impression of an ad on Facebook costs you. It is not a very important one from the digital marketer’s helicopter point of view. 

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But I included it anyway to illustrate that Facebook has metrics that can give answers to more complicated questions you didn’t come up with before. 

Prices per unit also put things in a different perspective. Knowing that every bite you take from, let’s say a Philly Cheesesteak (Can you tell I’m from Philly?!?), costs you 0.25 cents, may either spoil or add more taste to your meal. 

Cost Per Click (CPC)

Facebook has two metrics for clicks. CPC links are more important than CPC All, because it tells you how much a link to your landing page costs. A click that is, for example, included in CPC All is when someone clicks to see more of your ad copy. 

CPCs fluctuate and the price Facebook charges you depends on factors such as timing, audience size, the services or products you promote, and so on. 

Yet, the CPC is a powerful metric that is worth keeping your eyes on:

• It gives you a clear idea of how cheap or expensive clicks to your site or web shop are.If, for example, you pay $10 per click to sell a $3 product, it may be time to rethink your paid advertising strategy completely. 
• A high CPC may also be a sign that your landing page has an issue. I will get back to that further below. 
• CPC is also a useful metric to compare the performance of campaigns over time, or to find out which ads are repeatable or need optimization. 

Cost Per Action (CPA)

Ideally, people take action when they see your Facebook ad. That can, for instance, be a click to your landing page, watching a video, sharing your page, and so on. 

The CPA metric shows you how much these actions cost. It is also good to:

• Use the CPA as an internal benchmark. Simply put: if you can decrease it, you will get more at a lower cost. 
• Compare the CPAs of different actions. If you  take the bigger picture into account, it may turn out that you have been running ads to trigger people to take actions that don’t boost your business.

Cost Per Conversion

Another metric that is definitely worth your attention is the Cost Per Conversion. If you know, for example, that your paid ads cost you $5 for someone to add a product to the shopping cart, that will give you a good idea whether the campaign is profitable or requires fine-tuning.  

Do My Facebook Ads Actually Contribute to My Goals?

The best way to find out if your Facebook ads help you actually achieve your campaign goals is to look at conversion metrics. 

Conversions are important actions that people take, like adding a product to the basket, filling in a form, signing up for a trial account, and so on.

Conversion Rate

The conversion rate is the percentage of people who click on your ad and do what you want them to do. Let’s assume 100 people click on your product ad and 50 of them add the product to your cart, the conversion rate will be 50%.

That may sound exciting, but if none of them actually buys your product, the conversion rate for your sales goal will be 0%.

It is therefore important to think about your goals and conversions before you dive into metrics. 

How Much Value do My Facebook Ads Generate?

In Facebook Ads, you can assign a ton of conversion values for every goal you want to achieve.

Even if you don’t sell products or courses online, you may profit from assigning a value to conversions, like the Contact conversion value or Leads Conversion Value.

Total Conversion Value

The total conversion value is self-explanatory. But it can also be misleading. If you define, for example, a Content views conversion Value or App activations conversion value, you may get a total skewed version of what your conversions actually are worth. 

Is My Facebook Target Audience Even Interested in My Ads?

Although Facebook is a great advertising platform to reach your ideal audience, your ads may not be appealing to them. The following metrics can help you find that out quickly.

CTR (Click Through Rate)

The click through rate metrics is the calculated percentage of clicks compared to how many times your ad was displayed.

If, for example, your ad was shown 1,000 times and the link to your site was clicked 10 times, your CTR is 1%. 

The toughest part is to decide whether your CTR is good or bad. One way to know this is to run several ads simultaneously and see which one has the highest CTR. 

But this approach is risky too. A higher CTR may not result in higher conversions.

Relevance Score

Facebook assigns a relevance score between 1 and 10 to your ads. The higher the score, the more relevant the ad is for your audience, according to Facebook.

Ads can break or make your campaigns. A picture, the copy, but also how many times it is shown are all details that can make or break your campaign. The following metrics help you better understand how your ads are doing.

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Ad Frequency

This metric tells you how many times the ad has been displayed on average in the Facebook feed of your target audience. 

Mind that this metric can mean many different things depending on the type of campaign you are running.

• With brand awareness campaigns, you can show your ad more before people get tired of it.
• If you are running a lead gen campaign, people usually get annoyed when they see the same ad too many times in a short period of time. 

The list of metrics will help answer the important questions you, your business or customers have about paid marketing campaigns on Facebook

Alas, these metrics cannot give all the answers you need to run successful paid campaigns… 

The 4 Biggest Mistakes Facebook Advertisers can Make

The MeasurementMarketing.io team has taught and supported hundreds of businesses with measuring and optimizing their marketing campaigns for success. 

There are 4 mistakes that keep returning and I figured it’s worth dropping them here so you won’t need to make these mistakes yourself…

Mistake 1: Misunderstanding Metrics

Like any other industry, digital marketing is filled with jargon. It’s easy to misunderstand what something is and is not.

Metrics are often confused with: 

• Business goals 
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Dimensions
• Segments

Metrics are just the numbers you add, subtract, multiply, and divide.

Dimensions, on the other hand, are how you sort those numbers.

For example, you might have a “Dimension” that is the Traffic Source and then the “Metric” might be the number of users from that traffic source.

Always remember though, you’ll always first start with a question in mind and then you jump into the data to find the answer (never the other way around!).

Mistake 2: Ignoring Data from Facebook 

Most businesses understand that data is important. But in two situations, it is tough to make data-driven decisions.

Analysis Paralysis

Facebook Ad Manager contains a lot of data, but that is often overwhelming. Not all businesses have the know-how or resources to even look at numbers, charts, graphs and therefore simply ignore them.

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Focus on just ONE THING at a time.  I like to take the advice I learned from my buddy Jeff Sauer at DataDrivenU.com…

“Assign one KPI per team member.”

This keeps it really simple.  If it’s just you, focus on the ONE metric that needs the most improvement.  As your team grows, you can expand your focus (because you’ll have more people to help!).

No Access to Real-Time Data 

This happens, for example, when an external party is running ads and reports monthly. By the time decision makers know what’s going on, the monthly Facebook marketing budget is already gone. 

Businesses that ignore, or don’t have access to Facebook data, lose a lot more than money.

The target audience may, for example, have seen a Facebook ad too many times. It will be an expensive challenge to turn that around.

Mistake 3: Focus on the Wrong or too Many Metrics

Facebook, and other ad platforms, make it very easy to set up your first campaign. They promise you will get results without having to lift a finger. 

And then reality kicks in. 

At one point, you need to understand the true value of data. 

But as I said in the beginning of this article, it can feel overwhelming, confusing or for some, not enough. 

The opposite reaction of analysis paralysis is wanting to have even more data to make complete data-driven decisions. 

Facebook Ads has a ton of them available, like 

• Photo views
• Unique achievements unlocked
• Unique ratings submitted
• Cost per unique level completed
• Etc. 

The question is…

Do you really need all that data to drive your business forward?

In other words, ask yourself, “Is this useful?”

This brings us to the last mistake (which actually might sound contradictory)…

Mistake 4: Ignoring Data from Other Sources

Customers start their journey after they have clicked on your Facebook ad. But as you know, a lot can go wrong when the user lands on a site or web shop.

Think, for example, of:

• The contact form may not be working. 
• The site might not be optimized for a specific device.
• The conversion tracking may not be set up correctly.
• The landing page may not be aligned with the message of the ad.
• Your actual revenue may differ from what Facebook or other platforms, like Google Analytics 4, shows. 

I am not claiming that Facebook Ad metrics are worthless, but you need to pick them carefully. 

Sometimes the best “source of truth” will definitely be Facebook Ads.  But sometimes (often!) it won’t be the best source for the answers you’re looking for.

To measure your actual revenue, for example, it is wiser to rely on data from your cart, or (even better!) your merchant processor (platforms, like PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, etc.).

Conclusion: 

Facebook Ad metrics are very powerful to 

• Measure the performance of your campaigns
• Get insights on how to improve your campaigns
• Control your paid ads budget on the biggest social media platform
• Reach the right audience with the right message at the right moment
• Achieve your business goals

But Facebook Ad metrics reveal only one part of the complicated customer journey. 

If you want to stay ahead of your competitors, as a business or marketing agency, then make sure you:

• Track only the most valuable Facebook Ad metrics
• Include metrics from other platforms and tools to make profound decisions
• Give your team access to the data they need to do their job
• Present everything in a shared dashboard that’s explains itself

This is the secret sauce of businesses that thrive in the complicated digital marketing landscape. 

I hope this information will help you become a better Facebook marketer or give your business a better understanding of Facebook Ad metrics and how they fit in the bigger picture of digital marketing.

The post 12 Facebook Ad Metrics Worth Your Attention appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Navigating through the world of business can be chaotic. At the time of this publication in November 2023, global economic growth is expected to remain weak for an undefined amount of time.

However, certain rules of marketing remain steadfast to guide businesses towards success in any environment. These universal laws are the anchors that keep a business steady, helping it thrive amidst uncertainty and change.

In this guide, we’ll explore three laws that have proven to be the cornerstones of successful marketing. These are practical, tried-and-tested approaches that have empowered businesses to overcome challenges and flourish, regardless of external conditions. By mastering these principles, businesses can turn adversities into opportunities, ensuring growth and resilience in any market landscape. Let’s uncover these essential laws that pave the way to success in the unpredictable world of business marketing. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to integrate these insights into your career. Follow the implementation steps!

Law 1: Success in Marketing is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Navigating the tumultuous seas of digital marketing necessitates a steadfast ship, fortified by a strategic long-term vision. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Take Apple, for instance. The late ’90s saw them on the brink of bankruptcy. Instead of grasping at quick, temporary fixes, Apple anchored themselves in a long-term vision. A vision that didn’t just stop at survival, but aimed for revolutionary contributions, resulting in groundbreaking products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

In a landscape where immediate gains often allure businesses, it’s essential to remember that these are transient. A focus merely on the immediate returns leaves businesses scurrying on a hamster wheel, chasing after fleeting successes, but never really moving forward.

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A long-term vision, however, acts as the north star, guiding businesses through immediate challenges while ensuring sustainable success and consistent growth over time.

Consider This Analogy: 

Building a business is like growing a tree. Initially, it requires nurturing, patience, and consistent care. But with time, the tree grows, becoming strong and robust, offering shade and fruits—transforming the landscape. The same goes for business. A vision, perseverance, and a long-term strategy are the nutrients that allow it to flourish, creating a sustainable presence in the market.

Implementation Steps: 

• Begin by planning a content calendar focused on delivering consistent value over the next six months. 
• Ensure regular reviews and necessary adjustments to your long-term goals, keeping pace with evolving market trends and demands. 
• And don’t forget the foundation—invest in robust systems and ongoing training, laying down strong roots for sustainable success in the ever-changing digital marketing landscape.

Law 2: Survey, Listen, and Serve

Effective marketing hinges on understanding and responding to the customer’s needs and preferences. A robust, customer-centric approach helps in shaping products and services that resonate with the audience, enhancing overall satisfaction and loyalty.

Take Netflix, for instance. Netflix’s evolution from a DVD rental company to a streaming giant is a compelling illustration of a customer-centric approach.

Their transition wasn’t just a technological upgrade; it was a strategic shift informed by attentively listening to customer preferences and viewing habits. Netflix succeeded, while competitors such a Blockbuster haid their blinders on.

Here are some keystone insights when considering how to Survey, Listen, and Serve…

Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty:

Surveying customers is essential for gauging their satisfaction. When customers feel heard and valued, it fosters loyalty, turning one-time buyers into repeat customers. Through customer surveys, businesses can receive direct feedback, helping to identify areas of improvement, enhancing overall customer satisfaction.

Engagement:

Engaging customers through surveys not only garners essential feedback but also makes customers feel valued and involved. It cultivates a relationship where customers feel that their opinions are appreciated and considered, enhancing their connection and engagement with the brand.

Product & Service Enhancement:

Surveys can unveil insightful customer feedback regarding products and services. This information is crucial for making necessary adjustments and innovations, ensuring that offerings remain aligned with customer needs and expectations.

Data Collection:

Surveys are instrumental in collecting demographic information. Understanding the demographic composition of a customer base is crucial for tailoring marketing strategies, ensuring they resonate well with the target audience.

Operational Efficiency:

Customer feedback can also shed light on a company’s operational aspects, such as customer service and website usability. Such insights are invaluable for making necessary enhancements, improving the overall customer experience.

Benchmarking:

Consistent surveying allows for effective benchmarking, enabling businesses to track performance over time, assess the impact of implemented changes, and make data-driven strategic decisions.

Implementation Steps:

• Regularly incorporate customer feedback mechanisms like surveys and direct interactions to remain attuned to customer needs and preferences.
• Continuously refine and adjust offerings based on customer feedback, ensuring products and services evolve in alignment with customer expectations.
• In conclusion, adopting a customer-centric approach, symbolized by surveying, listening, and serving, is indispensable for nurturing customer relationships, driving loyalty, and ensuring sustained business success.

Law 3: Build Trust in Every Interaction

In a world cluttered with countless competitors vying for your prospects attention, standing out is about more than just having a great product or service. It’s about connecting authentically, building relationships rooted in trust and understanding. It’s this foundational trust that transforms casual customers into loyal advocates, ensuring that your business isn’t just seen, but it truly resonates and remains memorable.

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For instance, let’s talk about Oprah! Through vulnerability and honest connections, Oprah Winfrey didn’t just build an audience; she cultivated a community. Sharing, listening, and interacting genuinely, she created a media landscape where trust and respect flourished. Oprah was known to make her audience and even guests cry for the first time live. She had a natural ability to build instant trust.

Here are some keystone insights when considering how to develop and maintain trust…

The Unseen Fast-Track

Trust is an unseen accelerator. It simplifies decisions, clears doubts, and fast-forwards the customer journey, turning curiosity into conviction and interest into investment.

The Emotional Guardrail

Trust is like a safety net or a warm embrace, making customers feel valued, understood, and cared for. It nurtures a positive environment, encouraging customers to return, not out of necessity, but a genuine affinity towards the brand.

Implementation Steps:

• Real Stories: Share testimonials and experiences, both shiny and shaded, to build credibility and show authenticity.
• Open Conversation: Encourage and welcome customer feedback and discussions, facilitating a two-way conversation that fosters understanding and improvement.
• Community Engagement: Actively participate and engage in community or industry events, align your brand with genuine causes and values, promoting real connections and trust.

Navigating through this law involves cultivating a space where authenticity leads, trust blossoms, and genuine relationships flourish, engraving a memorable brand story in the hearts and minds of the customers.

Guarantee Your Success With These Foundational Laws

Navigating through the world of business is a demanding odyssey that calls for more than just adaptability and innovation—it requires a solid foundation built on timeless principles. In our exploration, we have just unraveled three indispensable laws that stand as pillars supporting the edifice of sustained marketing success, enabling businesses to sail confidently through the ever-shifting seas of the marketplace.

Law 1: “Success in Marketing is a Marathon, Not a Sprint,” advocates for the cultivation of a long-term vision. It is about nurturing a resilient mindset focused on enduring success rather than transient achievements. Like a marathon runner who paces themselves for the long haul, businesses must strategize, persevere, and adapt, ensuring sustained growth and innovation. The embodiment of this law is seen in enterprises like Apple, whose evolutionary journey is a testament to the power of persistent vision and continual reinvention.

Law 2: “Survey, Listen, and Serve,” delineates the roadmap to a business model deeply intertwined with customer insights and responsiveness. This law emphasizes the essence of customer-centricity, urging businesses to align their strategies and offerings with the preferences and expectations of their audiences. It’s a call to attentively listen, actively engage, and meticulously tailor offerings to resonate with customer needs, forging paths to enhanced satisfaction and loyalty.

Law 3: “Build Trust in Every Interaction,” underscores the significance of building genuine, trust-laden relationships with customers. It champions the cultivation of a brand personality that resonates with authenticity, fostering connections marked by trust and mutual respect. This law navigates businesses towards establishing themselves as reliable entities that customers can resonate with, rely on, and return to, enriching the customer journey with consistency and sincerity.

These pivotal laws form the cornerstone upon which businesses can build strategies that withstand the tests of market volatility, competition, and evolution. They stand as unwavering beacons guiding enterprises towards avenues marked by not just profitability, but also a legacy of value, integrity, and impactful contributions to the marketplace. Armed with these foundational laws, businesses are empowered to navigate the multifaceted realms of the business landscape with confidence, clarity, and a strategic vision poised for lasting success and remarkable achievements.

Oh yeah! And do you know Newton’s Law?The law of inertia, also known as Newton’s first law of motion, states that an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion… The choice is yours. Take action and integrate these laws. Get in motion!

The post Mastering The Laws of Marketing in Madness appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Recognizing the immense value this group brings to my business, I’m eager to contribute by sharing my unique “Holy Grail Copy” methodology. This approach, though unconventional, has been pivotal in building multi-million-dollar businesses for both myself and my clients.

To pique your interest, someone once said about my frameworks:

“Your strategies are like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumb trail leading to the Witch’s House. But in this case, you’re the witch, and what you conjure is pure magic.”

Let’s dive in.

A few years back, I sold one of my companies internally. This move allowed me to amalgamate my diverse passions into a singular, powerful persuasion strategy. When I unveiled it last year, we observed:

• $383 per email subscriber.
• $209 per FB Group Member.
• $1.83 EPC, while the industry average was $0.53.

These figures are far from ordinary. And here’s the secret behind them:

Introducing Holy Grail Copywriting (HGC):

HGC’s core principle is “Start at the Finish Line.” In perception management, you can strategically position yourself within your prospect’s hierarchy of needs. By aligning your product with their most pressing desires, selling becomes effortless.

The 5-Step HGC Process:

1. Identify Your Prospect’s Most Pressing Pain:

While basic marketing emphasizes targeting pain points, it’s crucial to differentiate between passive pain (complaining without action) and active pain (which drives action). The key is to focus on the latter.

Differentiate Between “Moaning” and “Moving” Pain: Understand the spectrum of pain. A stubbed toe is Moaning Pain, a mere inconvenience. In contrast, the urgency of a severed thumb is Moving Pain, demanding immediate action.

Apply the DUG Checklist: Grasp the essence of the DUG checklist, a tool to categorize pain into:

• Desperation: A situation so dire that immediate action is the only option. Example: Think of a business owner teetering on bankruptcy’s edge.
• Urgency: An imminent threat that demands swift action to prevent dire consequences. Example: Picture a smoker discovering early signs of lung cancer.
• Gravity: Deeply held values or priorities that might override other considerations. Example: Visualize a parent prioritizing their child’s needs over lucrative opportunities

2. Tailor Your Product to Alleviate That Pain:

Understand what relief from this pain looks like for your prospect. Then, either create a product or reposition your existing one to offer that relief.

• Craft or Reposition Your Product: Determine the ideal solution for the identified Moving Pain and ensure your product aligns with that vision.
• Introduce Novelty: Unexpected solutions to pressing problems are often the most enticing. Always introduce an element of novelty to stand out.

3. Infuse Your Product with Unique, Attractive Qualities:

Creating allure in a product is an art. At its core, allure is about evoking emotion, creating a connection, and making a product more than just a tangible item—it becomes an experience. One of the most potent tools to achieve this is storytelling. Stories have the power to breathe life into otherwise mundane products.

• Identify Popular Cultural References: Draw inspiration from powerful symbols like the Infinity Gauntlet.
• Integrate Psychological Triggers: Weave in elements of storytelling, unique mechanisms, and shared values.

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4. Use a Religion-Inspired Persuasion Sequence:

Religions have, for millennia, captivated the human spirit. It has an astonishing 83% penetration rate. They’ve done this through powerful narratives that touch upon the very essence of human existence, desires, fears, and aspirations. At the heart of many religious texts is a sequence that resonates deeply with believers: Sin, Salvation, Heaven, and Hell.

• Sin (The Problem): This represents the pain or problem your prospect faces.
• Salvation (The Solution): Here, you introduce your product as the answer.
• Heaven (The Benefits): This is the promised land, the utopia that awaits.
• Hell (The Consequences of Inaction): The bleak future that awaits if the problem remains unresolved.

5. Promote Your Product Using Diverse Marketing Angles:

With AI now optimizing ad performance, the key is to provide it with diverse data. I use the TADA Template, which helps generate multiple ad angles based on dominant human emotions. This approach allows for rapid testing across various channels.

In summary, Holy Grail Copywriting is about creating a magical “escape from moving pain” novel product, pitching it via religious persuasion sequence and shouting it loud via an infinite angle approach on paid and social media.

So there you go. Hope it helps you make a mint!

I hope this enriched perspective proves invaluable to you. If you want to find out how Holy Grail can best be deployed in your business, please email my assistant with the subject line “HOLY GRAIL!” here: john.holygrailoffer@gmail.com

The post Holy Grail Copywriting: The 5-Step Mental Model Behind Blockbuster Marketing Campaigns appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

As a marketing pro, you know how tough it can be to capture the attention of potential clients and keep them. There are more than 10,700 digital advertising agencies in the U.S., giving business owners a lot of options. So, if you want to stand out, you need to be more than an expert in digital marketing. You need to be an expert in marketing science.

If you’ve spent years promoting your agency as the go-to for all things digital marketing, this can be a hard pill to swallow. But the fact is the landscape has changed. To be successful, you have to position yourself as a true marketer—who happens to love digital marketing. 

Why Digital Marketing Expertise Isn’t Enough

No marketer wants to hear that their digital marketing expertise isn’t enough. I get it. You’ve likely put a lot of effort into studying proven frameworks, staying on top of trends, and even recruiting top talent for your agency. And chances are, that effort has paid off. However, having an agency adept at digital marketing won’t bring you to the pinnacle of success—not without marketing science savvy.

Here’s why…

• Digital marketing has been around for a long time. 

Although digital marketing has evolved, it’s not a new concept. The history of digital marketing spans more than 30 years. In fact, the term was introduced back in 1990, around the time the first search engine (Archie) was launched. 

In short, everyone knows about it by now. And many agencies are doing it. Unfortunately, that means your digital marketing know-how isn’t anything novel or unique. 

• Business owners get digital marketing (for the most part). 

Today’s business owners are more knowledgeable about digital marketing. Of course, they don’t necessarily have a clear grasp of it. And there are still plenty of marketing misconceptions out there. But research shows that 47% of small business owners handle their marketing efforts themselves. So, it’s fair to say they get it—more or less. 

In most cases, potential clients aren’t impressed by an agency’s ability to handle social media, implement SEO tactics, manage paid advertising, etc. They’ve heard it all before. Even if you can do it better, that may not be reason enough to outsource to your agency. 

• Marketers have to work extra hard to earn respect.

DigitalMarketer’s own Mark de Grasse has talked about how marketers don’t get the respect they deserve, and it’s true. As marketers, we have to work harder than other professionals to demonstrate our worth and prove we know what we’re doing. Claiming digital marketing expertise—even if you do have it—just won’t cut it. You need to have broad marketing knowledge and use marketing science to back up your recommendations. 

• Tools and tactics change, but the principles of good marketing don’t.

As touched on previously, digital marketing is constantly evolving. New tools and channels are constantly being introduced, resulting in new tactics to adopt. But if you focus too much on what’s changing, you lose sight of what doesn’t. Being on top of every new “shiny object” doesn’t matter much if you can’t follow the principles of good marketing. And that only comes with an understanding of marketing science. 

What Do We Mean by Marketing Science?

Many believe that marketing is both an art and a science. And they’re right. But for now, we’re focusing on the latter. After all, it’s the piece of the puzzle your digital marketing agency is likely missing. 

There are several different takes on marketing science out there. But when we talk about it, this is what we mean…

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Making Decisions Based on Data—Not Guesswork

Those who embrace marketing science know that data is key. That doesn’t mean a marketer’s knowledge and experience should be tossed aside. However, data should play a critical role in decision-making.

Leveraging data just makes sense. 

• It allows us to see what’s working and what’s not. 
• It provides valuable insights that help us answer tough questions.
• It ensures we’re making the right decisions for each client.

Science-driven marketers are skilled at compiling, analyzing, and interpreting data from various sources. They apply their findings accordingly, using facts and figures to support their choices. As a result, they can serve their clients better—and with more confidence. 

Applying Techniques from Other Disciplines

Digital marketing can be bolstered by other practices. Science-driven marketers know that. They see the value in disciplines like psychology, sociology, economics, and neuroscience (the last of which is combined with marketing to create neuromarketing). That’s why they look at research from those disciplines to see what they can leverage. Then, they apply techniques to make their marketing efforts even stronger. 

Conducting Well-Designed Experiments

Experts in marketing science realize that experimentation is essential to improvement. After all, you can’t ensure the best result if you don’t do some testing first. So, they conduct experiments using the scientific method to determine if their initial choice (or hypothesis) is correct. 

The most successful marketers tend to be those who are constantly testing. On a granular level, they create different variations of assets, analyze the data, and make improvements as needed. They view every test as a source of valuable information and use it to their clients’ advantage. 

Using Technology Wisely

True marketers who understand the science side use technology to their advantage. They don’t get hung up on every new tool that arrives on the scene. Instead, they conduct in-depth research to create a marketing technology stack that benefits them and their clients. 

At the most basic level, they find technology to assist with the following:

• Data tracking
• Automation
• Keyword research
• Model building
• Wireframing

Although most marketers understand the importance of marketing technology in serving their clients, scientific ones don’t suffer waste. They only invest in tools that will enhance their efforts. And they strive to get the most out of each one they use. 

Taking a Holistic Approach to Marketing

There are many different facets of marketing—social media, paid advertising, SEO, email, copywriting, web design, etc. But science-savvy marketers don’t see them as individual pieces. Instead, they view them as parts of a much larger whole. They know that each one contributes to a business’s online presence. 

That’s why they take a holistic approach. 

They ensure consistency in all assets across all channels, connecting them for maximum impact. Every part is working together to promote the client’s business. More than that, every team member is doing the same. 

How Marketing Science Yields Success for Agencies

When you’re an expert not only in digital marketing but also in marketing science, you position your agency for success. It helps set the stage for being known as unique and smart.

Here’s how…

• You can frame your agency as an authority in the space.
• You can demonstrate your understanding of marketing as a whole. 
• You can encourage your team to start thinking about the big picture. 
• You become more strategic in marketing for each individual client.
• You can provide proof that your efforts are yielding results. 
• You can gain a competitive advantage over tactical marketers.

Ultimately, it doesn’t just make your agency better. It makes your agency appear better to current and potential clients. 

Takeaway

These days, digital marketing expertise isn’t enough to stand out from the crowd. If you really want to take your agency to the next level, you need to embrace marketing science. You need to show you have what it takes to build a business, develop a brand, and achieve long-term results. By convincing clients you’re a true marketer who offers digital marketing services, you’ll have an easier time acquiring and retaining them.

The post How Marketing Science Yields Success for Agencies appeared first on DigitalMarketer.