Steve Miller's Blog, page 12
September 3, 2018
Should a Target bagger be ashamed of his job?
A small brouhaha started a few days ago when a Target customer snapped a picture of a Target store employee bagging at a check stand. It turned out the bagger had been a fairly prominent actor on a top 1980’s sitcom, so this customer posted it on social media with comments shaming the actor.
Actually, shame on the customer and the media outlets that ran the story. Many of Hollywood’s top actors defended the Target employee, as they should. Acting is a very infrequent job, as many pointed out, and there’s no shame in taking any type of work to help pay the bills. Many also shared their own stories of working for hourly pay while they were struggling to make it as an actor.
I am 100% behind the integrity of this actor. Most of us have a crazy background of jobs held long before we climbed the so-called “success ladder,” me included.
I believe there’s more to the story of having these types of unrelated experiences, far more. I share what the is in this week’s UNCOPYABLE Business episode #108.
Have you signed up for my FREE WEBINAR, “The Secret Ingredient I Left Out of Uncopyable?”
August 27, 2018
Beer Marketing Lessons You Can Use
I recently reluctantly attended a a brewfest in downtown Tacoma, WA. Ugh, so many great IPAs, ales, and stouts, but sometimes I have to suck it up for my clients and BFFs.
My primary mission was to study the local breweries for a new client and look for ideas to separate them from the competition. It’s what I do best! Help clients, not drink beer.
You might be interested in getting a glimpse of how I see competitive situations and how I do get new ideas, so in this week’s video, I’m sharing my thoughts on the brewfest. I promise you’ll get a good idea you can use.
Watch this week’s Uncopyable Business video!
August 23, 2018
The Scam Victims Didn’t Want to End
Have you ever heard about a scam so good that even after it was exposed, the victims didn’t want it to end?
It happened, and there are some Uncopyable Lessons to be learned.
You might be familiar with the story of Don Lowry and his “Angels.” Lowry was busted back in the 80’s, but I only heard the story recently. It was featured on the NPR podcast, The Hidden Brain, hosted by Shankar Vendantam.
(If you’re not familiar with it, The Hidden Brain talks about human behavior in a way that’s pretty darned riveting. I listen regularly to justify guilty pleasures like reading People Magazine and Binge Watching The Crown. And yes, I suppose The Crown could be considered educational.)
The Hidden Brain episode about the Angel Scam is called Lonely Hearts.
You can also read the transcript, here.
The con in question was invented by Don Lowry, a gravelly voiced chain-smoker from Iowa. Lowry, who died in 2014, wrote fake letters to lonely men, posing as various women he called “Angels.”
“The thing that fascinated me about this story is that when the con was finally exposed, many of the victims were heartbroken. They wanted it to go on. They wanted to go keep believing,” says host Vendantam.
Along with being a law-breaking criminal, Lowry was a pretty brilliant marketer. He did some things Uncopyable Marketers can learn from: he found a hungry target market, discovered their pain, and developed an attachment by providing something they desperately wanted. Here are some things Lowry did right, as he was doing wrong:
He defined his Moose. Lowry looked for guys who fit his target market and had an acknowledged need. They were single men with no one to talk to. He targeted men without friends and/or romantic relationships, men who craved attention and companionship. He bought mailing lists of the men who fit his target market.
He offered a solution to their pain. His victims felt alone and lonely. He gave them what they wanted: to feel special and know someone cared about them.
He developed an attachment. The guys got letters, written by attractive women who were concerned about them, encouraged them and made them feel important. They would never drop out of the subscription. They were hooked.
Here’s an excerpt from one of the letters, written to a man named Jesse:
“Dear Jesse, deep down, you know as well as I do that you could be a lot better off than you are if you only had someone on your side, someone who would help you, encourage you, work with you, and stick with you even when things get bad. What I’m talking about, of course, is a true friend. But that kind of person is hard to find today, isn’t it?”
The letters were generic. If the recipients had been looking, there were plenty of red flags. But they weren’t looking.
There was a charge for the service, and the “Angels” would commonly ask for more money. Eventually the con morphed into an even more unlikely scenario – A “Church of Love.” Lowry was eventually caught, but some of his victims were so disappointed they actually testified on his behalf at his trial.
The episode is definitely worth a listen. It demonstrates the power of defining a target market, offering a solution to their pain, and building an attachment.
That’s the power of being Uncopyable.
August 16, 2018
The Importance of Personal Connections
My smokin’ hot wife, Kay, and I had dinner a couple of nights ago with a great client who was in Seattle on business.
We had a great time at one of our favorite restaurants, but the highlight of the evening was the unexpected personal connections we discovered. Actually, we discovered THREE completely different, yet amazing connections.
As I teach in my Amazon #1 best seller, UNCOPYABLE: How to Create an Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition, our big objective is to establish ATTACHMENT with our customers. And one of the best ways to get there is through personal attachment.
Watch this week’s UNCOPYABLE Business video and get more details on how to make those great connections!
August 6, 2018
Do you still own a fax machine? Do your customers?
Last week I spoke in Salt Lake City. Afterwards, an attendee attempted to school me that offline marketing was dead and we should only be using online, digital marketing. He’d learned that from one of the current big-time “gurus.”
Not only is that guru is dead wrong, but apparently he doesn’t really understand what marketing is all about.
Watch this week’s UNCOPYABLE Business and learn why I always say, “There are many roads to the top of the mountain.”
August 1, 2018
Two Great Examples of Uncopyable Marketing
Back again by popular demand, my smokin’ hot wife, Kay, joins me to share two great examples of Uncopyable marketing and branding. I briefly spoke last week about Cook’s Pharmacy, but in this episode, Kay goes deeper into how they combined two uncopyable tactics – creating rock stars and delivering a shock & awe package. In addition, I talk about Happy Tails Canine Adventure Tours use of writing a content-filled ebook as a lead magnet to attract their exact right target market.
Steal these ideas for your business!
July 22, 2018
Update on the 5 Customer Service Mistakes Debacle!
A few weeks ago I shared my terrible customer service experience with Bud Clary Jeep in Auburn, WA.
I have since had my Jeep serviced at a different dealer – Larson Chrysler Jeep in Puyallup, WA. My experience was polar opposite. They were great.
But the Bud Clary Jeep saga continues with their post-service survey!
Watch this week’s Uncopyable Business video and see why Larson Jeep got my two thumbs up and Bud Clary’s follow-up completely falls flat.
July 17, 2018
What advice would you give the International Spy Museum?
Last week I had the special treat of taking a hard hat tour of the new International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This is a very impressive building, visually evoking the famous Trojan Horse story from Greek mythology. (You know I love stories and myths!)
After the tour we had a very interesting discussion and I’d like to ask YOU what your opinion is regarding some of the marketing and branding challenges facing the museum.
Watch this week’s UNCOPYABLE Business video and share your thoughts with me!
July 8, 2018
Can You Get Amazoned? Yes, you can.
How many of us (especially those in the B2B world) thought Amazon could ever be a direct competitor? Not very many, I’d guess.
Now, to “get Amazoned” has become a very real threat!
But, when you think about it, Amazon is just acting like a smart business is supposed to act. Figure out what you are really good at. Find a market that needs that and give it to them.
What is the threat of Amazon to us, really? Why are they succeeding as well as they are? And what can we do to counteract the disruption if it comes into our world?
Watch this week’s Uncopyable Business video and hear Steve’s perspective on fighting “disruptors” by being an “insurgent.”
July 3, 2018
Do You Or Someone You Love Suffer From Leg Cramps?
Leg cramps are not only extremely painful, but since they often happen at night, they cause loss of sleep.
This is a real problem and you’re looking for a solution!
If this really applies to you, then most likely, that’s why you checked out my message. Why did you do that? The answer is because your reticular activating center was on alert. Even subconsciously, this little part of your brain is working 24/7 to find an answer to painful leg cramps. Our brain works very hard to move in the direction of its current dominant thought.
Essentially, I joined the conversation already going on in your mind.
We don’t always know or have impact on when our prospects and customers will be ready to make a buying decision. But we can create anchors and triggers that help be there at that moment of truth.
Join me and my very special guest, my smokin’ hot wife, Kay, on the 100th Episode of UNCOPYABLE Business, and learn more about how you can be on the mind of the customer when the customer is ready to buy.
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