The Marketing 24-7 Podcast

Everybody thinks that in their business they have to be immediately and constantly accessible.

I say they are wrong.

Listen to this podcast to find out why!

Taylor Swift puts Travis Kelce on the map

After months of rumours, speculation, and internet detectives using circumstantial evidence and the tiniest of bread crumbs to determine the validity of Kansas City Chiefs' tight end Travis Kelce's romance with pop star Taylor Swift, the 33-year-old megastar finally showed up to a game.

Though this does not confirm the rumours, Swift's presence right next to Travis's mom, Donna Kelce, and enthusiasm as Kelce pointed to her in the stands as he ran out of the tunnel and after he scored a touchdown definitely give the rumours more ground to stand on. 

According to a report from TMZ Sports, Kelce jerseys are "selling like hotcakes" after Sunday's game. Fanatics told TMZ that Kelce was one of the five highest-selling NFL jerseys over the last 24 hours and saw a 400 percent increase in sales in that span.

Travis Kelce already knew stardom all too well. Not only is Kelce an eight-time Pro Bowler, four-time First Team All-Pro, and two-time Super Bowl champion, but his podcast New Heights with his brother, Jason Kelce, a center for the Philadelphia Eagles, has been one of the most popular sports podcasts in America for several months now. Landing Taylor Swift just sends Kelce from a 9 out of 10 on the celebrity scale to a 20.

Boardroom also noted that Kelce saw his Instagram following increase by 250,000 this past week, with 80,000 followers jumping on board Sunday.

A tripwire offer is something that’s so amazing, so good, and so super cheap that people feel compelled to buy it.

A lot of amateur marketers spend so much time on their big profitable offer, they leave the crumbs for the low-end offer.

That’s a mistake.

Podcast Transcript

A tripwire offer is something that’s so amazing, so good, and so super cheap that people feel compelled to buy it.

A lot of amateur marketers spend so much time on their big profitable offer, they leave the crumbs for the low-end offer.

That’s a mistake.

Tripwires are so amazing when they are done right because the HARDEST sale is always the first one.

Once you get someone in the buying mood, they will start buying upsells and other products.

Because of this, your tripwire has to be insane. So irresistible it would be idiocy to say no.

Once I bought a How to Make Money as a Consultant Book from the marketing legend Frank Kerns.

It was a free + shipping offer. For $3, who would ever say no to such a thing?

As soon as I purchased it, I was hit with three upsells—and I bought them all: an audible version to listen to whilst I was driving, a workbook with templates of the strategies, and…you know, I don’t even remember what else (I think it was 5 or 6 videos). I was in a buying mood because the tripwire had set me up.

Your tripwire can be set up one of two ways.

You can give a person something free (like a course or a PDF download or a newsletter) and on the thank-you page, offer your tripwire.

Or you can make your tripwire part of a free + shipping offer.

This is so powerful because you’re using the word “free” so even though the client has to pay for shipping, there’s this sense of getting something for nothing. Now this may not be what you are offering or have to offer so think how you can use it for your business.

Remember tripwires are different to 100% FREE bribes or giveaways – tripwires are designed to get you to buy – even though it’s a little buy it is still about having you commit to a purchase.

Tripwires are not designed to make you money. They are used to help you break even and acquire a lead or prospect who buys for free.

If you spend $5 a day on Facebook ads and it gets you one customer, they might spend $7.95 on a tripwire. That $8 goes toward the cost of the tripwire ($3) and the Facebook ad ($5). You’ve now just acquired a customer for free and everything they buy from here on in is all profit.

And remember the critical point, now they are in a buying mood!

Each year, in Lahore, Pakistan, the Punjab Youth Festival features a variety of extreme and odd competitions. In one, martial arts practitioner Mohammad Rashid set a new speed record for breaking walnuts by smashing his forehead on them, the walnuts lined up on a table, he smashing his head down from a leaning position: 155 walnuts shattered in 60 seconds. 

I hold the slow record for banging one’s head against things. 

It’s a fair description of much of my business life. But it is also an exercise I strive to avoid and have gotten better and better and better at doing so, as years have passed. 

Just for example, I recently declined a potentially high value, ‘whale’ referral from a friend – gently explaining that I was not interested in big, dumb companies run by committees, where I would have to start convincing skeptics. 

Reaching way, way back in time, I was, even then, fairly decisive and quick about exiting bang-head-against-wall situations. After the successful guy I was working for sold his company to a publicly listed Australian corporate I pretty quickly exited and I switched to a business using many of the same skills and strategies, but where my pay relied only on others’ consumption. 

As a consultant, the first time I fired a client was in 2007, when I could ill afford it financially. The last time I fired a non-compliant client was about 10 weeks ago.

No matter how cautious, tough-minded, avoidance-minded and swift sword swinging, overall, in a broad sense, my time has still been about banging my head against walls.

The business of getting other people to think better yields something between a 1% and 5% success rate. It’s 95% exercise in futility. And that leaves lumps. They never completely recede either. 

A lot of businesspeople unnecessarily bang their heads against walls, in many different ways. You have to be ever-vigilant, stop yourself or catch yourself, and act decisively when you do find yourself engaged in such self-punishment. 

Many stay on un-fertile land as if rooted there. They suffer fools, corporate political animals in their employ, procrastinating endlessly over the inevitable. 

And so on. 

Ultimately, only you can call you on your head banging. Only you can decide what of it is inescapable and worth living with. But no one else will step in and make you see what of it you can put an end to, either. 

Most attempts to liberate others fail; most hopes of being liberated by others disappoint. 

Liberty is personal.

Having a USP is one thing, using it effectively is another. In this episode I take you through some of the genius of radio creative Garry Dean from NOVA 93.7 in his use of the USP for the WA's Big Butcher launch ads.

Podcast Transcript

Big Butcher (Grand Opening)

*MV has a big, deep voice

Sfx:                  Large butcher’s knife being sharpened

MV:                 Big Butcher here …

                        No prizes for guessing how I got my nickname.

                        Yes I’m big. Yes, I’m a butcher!                       

                        For me, it’s all about the CUT.                       

                        Premium cuts of meat … at cut prices … because I cut out the middle man …

… and bring ‘Margaret River Fresh’ meat direct from the paddock to your plate.

Sfx:                  Butchers knife slams down on heavy duty chopping board

MV:                 Come to my GRAND OPENING on October 10th!

                        39 King Edward Road Osborne Park.                       

BIG BUTCHER .com.au

For more information on how you can develop a unique and razor sharp USP for your business please visit petergianoli.com/usp

A strong USP provides a solid foundation for differentiating your product and giving you a leg up on the competition. These famous USPs have worked well to promote products and services successfully.

Podcast Transcript

A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a unique selling point or slogan that differentiates a product or service from its competitors. A USP may include words such as the "lowest cost," "the highest quality," or "the first-ever," which indicates to customers what your product or service has that your competitors do not.

Using a USP is a great marketing tool to help position and sell your product. Some marketing experts go even further and believe that unless you can pinpoint what makes your business unique in a world of homogeneous competitors, you can't target your sales efforts effectively.

A strong USP provides a solid foundation for differentiating your product and giving you a leg up on the competition. These famous USPs have worked well to promote products and services successfully.

Avis

We're number two. We try harder.

This USP does a fantastic job of turning a drawback into a benefit. For a long time, Avis was the second-largest car rental company, after Hertz. In fact, Avis was struggling just to stay afloat.

As part of a total image makeover, Avis hired the famous ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach to come up with a new ad campaign. The campaign was so successful, Avis' market share went from 11% to 35% in just four years.

Fed Ex

When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.

FedEx no longer uses this slogan, but while it was in effect, it was a perfect example of a compelling slogan. In very few words, FedEx was able to convey the message that it guarantees that it will deliver your package on time. FedEx replaced it with the slogan “The World on Time,” which is vague and doesn't contain a USP.

Mars

The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand.

The slogan for M&M's is an example of how even a rather off-beat USP can be catchy and compelling. Who would think of making a selling point out of the fact that a product doesn't melt if you hold it? Mars did, and it worked very well for them.

For more information on how you can develop a unique and razor sharp USP for your business please visit petergianoli.com/usp

A razor sharp USP sets you apart from your competitors.

It is your point of difference.

It is what do you have to do to have your clients easily talk about you and recommend you to others.

And how can you best describe your business, service, or your offering so that it resonates best with potential clients.

Podcast Details

This podcast is audio extracted from a video I have created on the topic.

To watch the video please visit my website CLICK HERE

If you would like more training on developing your Razor Sharp USP please CLICK HERE

All people are not created equal. That’s a philosophical or religious belief ie. opinion, but 

any doctor can disprove it in minutes. There’s this thing called genetics. LeBron James 

and I was not created equal. But it’s not an important argument, if it can be won. 

Genetics and innate talent impose certain real limitations, but most people stop way 

short of those limits in their own ambition, initiative and attempted achievement. 

People make themselves unequal in all sorts of ways. Financial inequality is very visible. 

Most of it is made by individuals’ choices and behaviours, and is subject to their own direct influence. 

For entrepreneurs it is your job to find and attract people who have the financial ability to buy what you sell at the prices you wish to command, and who have high interest in it and a willingness to buy it. 

In a recent, lengthy article, a professor criticised QANTAS for raising its ticket prices after COVID and the world became safe to travel again.

Of course! Airlines adjust their prices based on the principle of supply and demand, just like any other business should do. When travel demand is high, prices go up. The more people are looking to travel, and airlines needing to manage their limited seats and resources will raise prices. Just like when they have an empty seat and offer bargains, grab them now at low prices.

Change in customer demand and in offerings and prices to match the changes in demand are essential, not a matter of evil-minded elitism. 

The people atop QANTAS are doing their job, as defined above. ARE YOU? 

If you aren’t, and you stay too long not noticing the queue for your services outside your door, your doing so won’t benefit anybody. It’ll just kill you. 

Hence the old axiom: the first, best thing you can do to help poor people is not be one of them. 

Lately, in various places, I’ve been talking a lot about differential customer value. In short, different customers turn out to be profoundly unequal in value, often depending on source, marketing used to attract them; on who they are – intellectually, emotionally, philosophically and, of course, financially; how appropriate they are to the business getting them and vice versa, and so on. 

I have been working on a project where new customers from Instagram at a 7% response rate to Facebook at a 22% response rate, same campaign. 

Over 3 months, the ones brought in at the 7% response rate, thus acquired at much higher cost proved 270% more profitable to own than those acquired cheaply with the 22% response rate. 

If you aren’t analysing your own differential customer value and then using it for backwards engineering, for lists, media, messages, you’re derelict in duty; you just aren’t doing your job.

Welcome to another episode of "Marketing 24-7," where we explore the world of marketing, business and entrepreneurship. I'm your host Peter Gianoli, and today we'll be discussing an important aspect of running a successful business: the power of focus. 

In a world filled with shiny new ideas and trends, it's crucial for entrepreneurs to refuse distractions and stay focused on what truly matters. 

Today, I present to you three essential mandates to live by: count, count constantly, and count cash.

Imagine yourself as a business owner. You have dreams of growth, innovation, and success. Along this journey, you come across countless distractions that divert your attention from what truly matters. It's easy to fall into the trap of chasing after every new idea or trend particularly in marketing, but successful entrepreneurs know how to block out the noise and keep their focus laser-sharp. 

Let's delve into the three mandates that can help you achieve just that.

Mandate number one: count. 

In business, it's not enough to rely on intuition or guesswork. Numbers tell a story, and it is through analysing those numbers that we gain actionable insights into the health and progress of our businesses. 

By counting key metrics such as revenue, expenses, customer acquisition costs, and conversion rates, we gain a clear understanding of what is working and what needs improvement. Counting allows us to make data-driven decisions, identify trends, and adjust our strategies accordingly.

For example, an e-commerce entrepreneur might analyse their conversion rates to identify areas for improvement. By counting and understanding these numbers, they may discover that a specific product page has a low conversion rate. Armed with this insight, they can make data-driven changes, such as optimising the page layout or improving the product description, to increase conversions and drive revenue.

Mandate number two: count constantly. 

Counting once is not enough. Successful entrepreneurs understand the importance of constant monitoring and measurement. By regularly reviewing and analysing our metrics, we can detect potential issues or opportunities early on. 

It's not about being obsessed with the numbers, but rather using them as a compass to guide our decision-making process. Counting constantly allows us to stay proactive, adapt to changes, and stay ahead of the competition.

For instance, imagine a software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup that offers a productivity tool. By constantly counting metrics like user engagement, customer churn, and feature usage, the startup can gain valuable insights into customer behaviour and preferences. If they notice a decline in engagement or a high churn rate, they can dig deeper to understand the underlying reasons. This continuous counting allows them to adapt their product, marketing, or customer service strategies proactively to retain existing customers and attract new ones.

Mandate number three: count cash. 

In the end, cash is the lifeblood of any business. 

While revenue and profits may seem impressive, if we fail to manage our cash flow effectively, we can find ourselves in a tight spot. Cash flow management involves forecasting, monitoring, and controlling the movement of cash in and out of our business. By counting cash, we can make informed financial decisions, ensure sustainability, and seize opportunities that align with our long-term goals. 

For example, a restaurant owner needs to count their cash not just in terms of daily sales but also by closely managing expenses such as inventory, wages, and utilities. By counting their cash and tracking their cash flow regularly, the owner can ensure they have enough funds to cover expenses, pay suppliers on time, and invest in business growth. 

Remember, it's not just about making money; it's about managing it wisely.

So, there you have it—three powerful mandates to live by in order to refuse distraction and stay focused in business. 

Count, count constantly, and count cash. 

By adopting these mandates, we can navigate the ever-changing business landscape with clarity and confidence. 

Remember, it's not about being swayed by every shiny new idea or trend; it's about staying true to our vision and leveraging data-driven insights to drive success.

Hello, fellow marketers and entrepreneurs. Welcome to another episode of "Marketing 24-7" 

Today, we have a very special topic to discuss – the eight greatest words to become a marketing success. So grab a pen and paper because we're about to dive into the world of infotainment and its power to revolutionize your marketing strategy.

Now, we all know that capturing and maintaining the attention of your audience is crucial in marketing. Whether you're a copywriter, a marketer, or an entrepreneur, there are eight powerful words that can transform your game and propel you towards success. These words hold the key to engaging your audience, creating impact, and achieving marketing greatness.

"You've got to keep them from falling asleep." 

These eight words are perhaps the most profitable ones any marketer can ever hear. 

Think about it – from writing compelling copy to engaging with customers, from crafting social media posts to delivering captivating presentations, the goal is to prevent your audience from losing interest or becoming bored. 

You must strive to infuse your content with passion, emotion, and infotainment – a combination of information and entertainment that leaves your audience hungry for more.

Now, let's take a moment to explore the learning curve of infotainment in the context of luxury fashion marketing.

Mastering the art of infotainment is a journey. It's a progression through four stages of competence: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and finally, unconscious competence. 

In the beginning, we may not even be aware of the importance of keeping the audience engaged and entertained. But as we practice and apply the principles of infotainment to every aspect of our marketing, it becomes second nature.

To truly grasp the power of infotainment, let's delve into the world of luxury fashion marketing. 

Imagine a luxury fashion brand that has mastered the art of infotainment. One of their strategies is to create immersive and interactive fashion shows. They incorporate the latest technology, stunning visuals, and engaging storytelling to captivate the audience. Even if the audience may not fully comprehend the intricate details of fashion design, this immersive experience leaves them spellbound and thirsty for more.

Authenticity plays a vital role in infotainment. It's not about being fake or putting on an act. Instead, it's about amplifying your unique personality traits, injecting enthusiasm into your content, and becoming a dramatized version of yourself. 

In the world of luxury fashion, we've seen renowned designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Donatella Versace embrace their distinctive personas to connect with their audience. 

It's about staying true to yourself and highlighting your standout features, injecting passion into your presentations, and creating a captivating persona that resonates with your audience.

Luxury fashion marketers, need to constantly ask themselves, "Does this have even a modicum of a chance of letting them fall asleep?" If the answer is yes, it's time to infuse more emotion, rhetoric, imagery, passion, and storytelling into their content. Same goes for our endeavours - every sentence, word, and visual element should be infused with the power to captivate our audience.

By infusing every aspect of our marketing with infotainment, we can create an experience that is akin to a symphony, a blockbuster movie, or a vibrant cartoon. Our goal is to leave our audience spellbound, eager to engage with our brand, and ready to take action.

As we master the art of infotainment, we will witness a transformation in our marketing results. Our target audience will be captivated, our message will resonate, and our business will thrive.

So, let's embrace the power of infotainment and take our marketing to new heights. 

Whether we're writing captivating product descriptions, creating visually stunning campaigns, or delivering influential brand presentations, let's captivate our audience, leave them spellbound, and unleash our marketing potential.

As we conclude this episode of the "Marketing 24-7 " Podcast -  I want to leave you again with the powerful 8 words. They are in fact a quote from the renowned Academy Award winning American movie and scriptwriter Philip Yordan – 

"You've got to keep them from falling asleep." 

Embrace the power of infotainment, let your passion for luxury fashion shine through, and watch as your marketing efforts soar.

I hope you found these eight words and the concept of infotainment valuable for your marketing endeavors. Remember, infuse your content with passion and captivate your audience at every turn. 

Join me next time as we delve deeper into the strategies and techniques that unlock marketing success. 

Until then, keep your audience engaged and unleash your marketing potential.