The Online Prosperity Experience

The Fears and Anxieties of Your Target Market

Have you ever wondered why a certain product or service isn’t doing so well in your business?

Even though you’re sure that it’s exactly what your target market needs?

It could be that you’re not marketing to their level – and the psychological findings of Abraham Maslow just might have what you need to nail it.

Abraham Maslow was a pioneer psychologist who was a bit of a rebel. While most of his peers studied dysfunctional individuals and behaviours, Maslow did the opposite: he studied healthy, successful, and exemplary people to learn about their personalities and motivations.

1. Why were these people doing well?
2. What motivated them to achieve more?
3. What was the progress of their development, growth and success?

Maslow’s work resulted in a theory of human motivation, known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Represented by a pyramid, the hierarchy had five levels of human needs, from the most basic to the most evolved:

• Physiological,
• Safety,
• Love and Belonging, Esteem, and
• Self-actualization.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs might be decades old, but there’s wisdom in it that you can apply to your marketing today.

It’ll help you better understand your target market, and what they seek, so that you can create a message that really resonates.

Think about the level of your target marketing in the Hierarchy of Needs right now.

1. What needs are they working on fulfilling?
2. Think about the anxieties, fears and concerns those unfulfilled needs create for them.
3. How could you present your product or service as the best solution, both in terms of meeting a need and reducing stress?

You’ll soon find yourself developing a marketing message that hits the target.

You won’t be talking over anyone’s head or encouraging them towards something they don’t need or already have.

You’ll be right where they are, talking to them at their level.

Add Some Maslow to Your Marketing

How much time and effort do you put into boosting your brand’s credibility?

When it comes to your marketing strategy, how much time and effort do you put into boosting your brand’s credibility?

Whether you are a coach, consultant or small business owner, it’s essential to prove your worth to potential customers to build a following.

If you work on improving the credibility of your brand, you’ll be able to generate more leads, boost conversions, and enhance engagement on your website and social media. When people are new to your business, they need something tangible that tells them you’re worth investing in as a business. It’s your duty to lead the way so that, when the time comes, they feel confident taking action and making a purchase.

Brand credibility is one element you can’t afford to skimp out on. Without it, you’ll neglect a huge portion of your target market that wants to love your brand but simply feels they can’t trust it.

Here are a few ways you can boost your brand’s credibility and see a peak in conversions.

Did you know that the human personality is formed of five basic traits?

According to the Big 5 theory, every human being’s personality is a blend of

1. extraversion,
2. openness,
3. conscientiousness,
4. neuroticism, and
5. agreeableness.

(For those who like acronyms, the Big 5 theory is referred to as OCEAN or CANOE.)

And in a recent study in the International Journal of Marketing, your success in reaching customers via brand credibility in your content marketing depends on making sure you play up just two of these traits.

You Don’t Have to Change Your Personality

Your personality is mostly set in stone by this point.

• You’re either easily motivated or you aren’t.
• You’re either extraverted or you’re not.
• You’re neurotic or you’re not.

There’s no point in convincing you to change your personality – not by a long shot.

You choose what you want the world to see.

But knowing what you know now, you might want to make some tweaks so that you can build more credibility into your business brand.

Why aren’t you doing this right now?

I have a question for you:

If you had to start everything over, today, what would you do differently?

I have another question for you:

Why aren’t you doing that now?

I can probably guess the reason: it’s easier to work with what you have than to start your business over from scratch. There’d be so much work to do! You’d have to plan and make decisions and invest money and time… and you’ve already put in so much time and money already that the thought is almost unbearable.

Everything you have now will all go to waste! Scrap everything you worked so hard to build? That’s crazy talk! And what if you did, and then you realised it was all a big mistake? That you made the wrong choice and should’ve stuck with what you had?

Start your business over?! Forget that!

That’s a reasonable line of thinking. It’s probably the line of thinking most would have – I’d probably think the same way. Mind you, if you really think about each of those reasons for not starting your business over, and if you get really honest with yourself, you can see that they’re all kind of bullshit reasons for not entertaining the idea.

But I can understand how the thought of sticking with what you have now, even if it isn’t working that well, would probably seem like a far better idea than starting over.

Indulge me, though.

1. If you’re continually tinkering away at a business that isn’t working as it should, maybe it’s a good idea.
2. If you have a long list of to-dos and changes you’ve always wanted to make, but never seem to get around to it, maybe this is the right choice.
3. If you haven’t made a change in 5 years, maybe now is the time.
4. If you’ve been wishing for months that you could just… well, start over, maybe this is day you do. You could take a month off – or two, or three. You could map out a new and improved version. You could ditch everything, and begin anew.

The question is… would you?

When was the last time you gave your business a trim?

As a coach, consultant or small business owner, you must strive to improve the quality of your product or service. The reason why most people don’t grow is because they do things the old way. They are not willing to learn about the new trends in town–they prefer doing things the old way.

Whether you’re a coach, consultant or an established business owner, don’t get comfortable with the present level you are, in your business. Strive to make improvements from time to time, and you’ll see the way your business will grow.

Without wasting much time, here are some quick tips to guide you on how to improve your business.

There’s nothing quite like experiencing the magic of a hair stylist’s scissors. You’re taken through an entire transformation, going from ratty-looking to refreshed in less than an hour. There’s a whole new you in the mirror – one who looks at least 5 years younger.

You walk out of the salon with a smile. You’ve got a bounce in your step. You feel confident about yourself – and it shows.

That’s a pretty drastic rejuvenation if you think about it. Just a trim can change your entire mood, outlook, and the impression you project on the world. (How many therapists can claim that kind of success rate for each and every client session?)

What if you could have that feeling about your business?

The little things. The small corrections and quick updates and teeny changes we’ve been putting off because we don’t think they’re important in the grand scheme of things.

They’re not detrimental. But taking care of these little details often make a big difference. They’re the regular trims we book with our stylist to take off half an inch. They’re the cufflinks we add to a suit to bring the whole look together.

Prospective clients notice these small details. And when they see that you don’t pay attention to them, it can make them doubt your competence, your ability to take care of their business.

After all, you’re not taking good care of your own.

When the money is under control other pieces of your business can fall into place.

Getting my business finances organised improved my personal finances. When the money stress was off of my shoulders, I felt positive about my business, and it started to grow. It’s all connected.

Coaching and Consulting is a funny kind of game. When business is going well, you can find yourself making more money than you ever have in your life, and the thrill is amazing.

When things aren’t going as well … you might find yourself staring at an empty bank account, wondering where the hell all the money went while feeling rising panic in the pit of your stomach.

If you’ve ever been in that situation (or are in it right now), you’re definitely not alone.

Schools don’t teach effective money management, and they certainly don’t teach it to coaches, consultants and small business owners (arguably the people who need these skills most).

It’s even worse if you’re in the 35-and-up age group – our parents never spoke of money or how to manage it properly, and if we learned anything from them, it was only thanks to keen observation skills… if we had them, and if we even bothered to pay attention to our parents.

I mastered money management skills the hard way. Today, I’d like to share a bit of what I know to help put power back in your hands.

I want you to get past, get through and forever avoid going broke on that feast-and-famine financial cycle coaches, consultants and small business owners are all too familiar with.

Some clients don’t want your help.

They say they do. They come to you for advice and listen to your good suggestions on solving a problem they complain about.

And then they do nothing.

No matter how easy, fast, cheap or effective the solutions you propose might be, some people can’t be convinced to go for it.

They’re comfortable with their problems.

They’re used to their misery.

Better the devil they know, after all.

Change?

Well now. That’s just crazy talk.

It’s much easier for many people to stay stuck sighing about their issues and hesitating on change.

1. “It’s just not the right time…
2. I’m not sure if this would work…
3. it sounds too risky right now… maybe I should just leave things as they are. It’s not so bad.”

Your time, expertise and experience are precious.

They’re worth sharing with those who are ready to put them to good use.

Those who aren’t?

Let ’em be.

You aren’t being cruel.

They’ll come to you… when they’re good and ready to change.

What’s the secret of successful Coaches, Consultants and Small businesses?

That’s the wrong question to ask.

While some coaches, consultants and small businesses enjoy a steady stream of paying clients, many more watch weeks slip by, with crickets chirping in their inbox.

If you’re struggling to get hired by clients on a regular basis, you’d be better off looking for the secrets of less successful freelancers – and making sure any habits you share with them get taken care of, pronto.

Listen to this podcast. It tells you some ways far too many coaches, consultants and small businesses shoot themselves in the foot. And if you’re having trouble getting paying clients, you may be making one of these mistakes without even realising it.

1. Mistake 1: Using passive marketing as a crutch
2. Mistake 2: Not taking ownership of closing the sale
3. Mistake 3: Spending too much time “looking” for clients

After you have a listen, you’ll then be able to make decisions and choose the next actions to get yourself moving in a better direction.

Course correction is part of life, and it’s fairly easy to turn any – or all – of these issues around so that you can start enjoying the sight of more sales coming into your inbox.

Of course, you do have to decide it’s time to start.

Today would be a great day to begin, don’t you think?

You Can Win the Customer-Attention War

When someone comes to a website – yours, mine, or anyone else’s, there’s a shockingly short window in which that visitor makes a decision to stick around or leave.

Some sources put the range at three to five seconds, maximum. Some put it at even less – 1 to 2 seconds, tops.

Attention spans have never been shorter than they are now.

In this crazy war for attention,

• does your website even stand a chance of emerging victorious?
• Does it make visitors pause in their tracks, poke around for a while, and stay to learn more about you?

It can… if you’re able to answer “yes” to 3 critical questions.

Use this website 3-second test on your home page, and see how you score.

1. Is It Instantly Clear What You Do?
2. Is It Instantly Clear What You Offer?
3. Is It Instantly Clear Why You’re Interesting?

You don’t need to be a marketing expert to make a website that captures attention. Visitors don’t need to be dazzled by visual spectacles or impressed by feats of content-marketing superiority.

But they do need is to know, within seconds, whether your website is right for them, offers what they want, and is the kind of place they’d enjoy spending time.

Nail those, and the battle is yours.

Get your business the social proof it needs to earn more customers.

It’s a question that confounds many new and young coaches, consultants, and even big, established businesses these days: “With all the competition and noise out there, how can I gain the attention of new, potential buyers?

• You have a great service.
• You’ve developed a stellar website.
• Even your social media looks sexy.

But new clients these days are also looking for one more thing before making a commitment to spend money on you -- what other people are saying about you or your product.

It’s no secret that online retailers and brands like Amazon are increasingly pushing reviews for the products on their site.

People need to see that others also enjoy that product.

It’s what we call social proof: the idea that buyers are influenced by the decisions and actions of others around them.

Through my marketing agency, I find a lot of small business websites that aren’t leveraging the power of testimonials on their site, and that’s a missed opportunity for them.

One of the first things I advise all my new clients on is gathering social proof to place on their web page.

Here are some of the reasons why they’re so important on your site:

• Testimonials add credibility for the products and services you offer.
• People tend to trust online reviews when making purchases.
• Social proof earns better SEO: Adds more favourable language surrounding your brand online.
• When sourcing opinions from your client base, you show that you care about their experience with your brand, thus strengthening the relationship you have with your clients.

So what do you do if you have NONE of those things, but still want customers to trust you?

Demonstrate an understanding of what buyers and customers experience.

The words Marketing Psychology and the premise of empathy have become quite the buzzwords in business and marketing. 

Especially so since the advent of and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There is widespread consensus that having empathy is a good thing and marketing psychology is evil. 

I am here to argue that, both are a must-have to connect with buyers and customers.

A place to start for most coaches, consultants and small business owners is by having a common definition of empathy and marketing psychology. 

Empathy is at its most basic level, the ability for one to walk in another’s shoes. 

To experience their world from another’s point of view. Essentially, to have a deeper understanding of what another is experiencing.

What Is Marketing Psychology?

To put it simply, marketing psychology (or psychological marketing) is a method of using psychological techniques in your marketing efforts.

Such an approach takes into account the irrational, unconscious decisions customers make to create a more nuanced and effective online campaign.

It’s about finding patterns to make generalised assumptions, but it’s also about personalising customer experiences.

Here are some of the most popular Marketing Psychology Best Practices we discuss:

1. Loss Aversion: This theory says that most people prefer to avoid losing something instead of acquiring it.
2. Scarcity and Urgency Theory: This theory suggests that people tend to place more value on things that are believed to be rare rather than easily accessible.
3. Social Proof: Using social proof can help you increase trust in your products by having other customers validate the value of these products.

So what’s the takeaway? Most importantly, marketing psychology is not a single tactic. There is a number of techniques you can use to elevate your online campaigns. You can still rely on traditional marketing tactics, but you should also adapt to the digital age by adopting marketing strategies deeply rooted in psychology.