August 17,2021
On most hot summer days, young entrepreneurs-in-the-making set up shop on front lawns and in driveways. Their mission? Rehydrate their local communities with cold cups filled with lemonade. Their marketing tactics include cardboard signs, word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied customers, and yelling to cars passing by at busy intersections. If competitors show up, savvy preteens promote their use of freshly squeezed lemons over powder or using taller cups on hotter days.
Many creative aspects of childhood get lost along the way to becoming adults. Marketing tactics are one of them. The simplicity of these approaches somehow never took hold in millions of companies trying to market their version of a lemonade stand. Thankfully, business owners have John Jantsch to remind them of the simpler approaches to marketing: how sticky marketing drives growth.
I had the pleasure of having John on my Connect the Dots show to talk his work with thousands of businesses over the last 30 years. He’s a best-selling author of several books, including: Duct Tape Marketing, Duct Tape Selling, The Commitment Engine, and The Referral Engine. John’s experience and extensive body of work has made him a trusted expert resource for marketers, executives, salespeople, and entrepreneurs looking to grow their companies.
John’s new book, The Ultimate Marketing Engine, is set to release September 21, 2021. In it, he teaches every reader how to take control of their marketing while creating ridiculously consistent business growth.
Top 3 takeaways from my conversation with John Jantsch
John’s coined phrase, duct-tape marketing, is all about simplicity and a DIY spirit. “Running a small business as an entrepreneur, the fix doesn’t have to always be pretty or expensive, it just has to work.”
Helping his clients understand what it means to live in a time when everything is all about the customer is a big deal for John. His Marketing Hourglass framework debunks the myth that the buyer’s journey is straight-forward. In fact, his new book lays out seven stages for a success strategy roadmap. “I think our job as marketers now is about organizing the behavior that our prospects and customers actually want to go through; that they expect to participate in.”
Meeting customer needs also means learning how they want to interact with what you sell. John gets specific when it comes to technology and automating certain parts of the experience over others. “Technology plays a crucial role in creating a better customer experience. It has to be used the right way so that it doesn’t just become a shield. When organizations start using technology, because they themselves don’t actually want to talk to the customer, it gets in the way. Like the endless phone tree that doesn’t get you to where you want to go when all you want to do is ask somebody a simple question.”
John believes that marketing for small businesses doesn’t have to be as exhausting, overwhelming, and complicated. Through his best-selling books and free training, he gives businesses the edge by helping them build their marketing systems from the ground up.
Take a few minutes and watch our full conversation. Then, sign up for his 6-lesson companion course which includes video training, worksheets, and resources that help you apply each lesson.
