A Big Mistake by Most Businesses!

Next to the Valleyview Ferry
Richmond, Kentucky

I like marketing. Sometimes I think the reason I started some of the businesses that I did was because I really enjoyed marketing and connecting to people.  I learned a lot of things about marketing especially in the area of writing words that will grab a person's attention and then selling a product. I can remember the first time I started reading a book about marketing was quite some time ago, when I picked up a copy of Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson. For some reason, I really enjoyed all of the creative ways that a person could use to sell product, so much so that I actually started a small business and started selling a product that my wife and I made to the military. Then, years ago, I was running an online embroidery business from my basement and I saw an interesting e-book by a man called Dan Kennedy. I remember staying up until two o'clock in the morning to read that book and that is when I became aware of the wonderful world of ad copy writing. Even though I haven't studied it until recently, I have used some of Mr. Kennedy's books to sell some of my wares, especially his magnetic marketing course which is become an industry standard.

A Big Mistake Even I Noticed !!!

I have learned a lot from many of the marketers and ad copywriters out there over the last couple of years

and I have always enjoyed reading their thoughts and ideas on how to market businesses and gather a tribe of people that will follow you and your business in a way that attracts them back to you over and over again.  One of the things that I have learned  is that a business cannot afford to skimp on customer service. Since I read an awful lot about marketing and enjoy it so much, I can't help but notice when businesses do really stupid things. Just recently my wife and I purchased a refrigerator from a well-known vendor. The vendor offered a gift card in the marketing and when my wife and I went to claim the gift card there really wasn't one to claim. Actually, we were told to go to an online website and fill out a form which didn't exist. I actually had to write the CEO of the corporation and let him know in no uncertain terms that his website had absolutely no way to redeem my free gift card, which was just like a rebate. The Corporation made good on the card since I had to go all way to chief executive officer to make sure that I got my card. I won't go into tons of details as to how much muck I had to actually sit through to get these guys to follow up on their offer, but I can tell you that the damage has been done in the minds of my wife and I.

Add This to Your Business for Big Gains!

So, I hope that you can get some real value from reading my blog and that it is not just a lot of rambling and promise making.  If you are a business owner, I can tell you one key piece of advice that seems like many businesses are missing and that is to add the personal touch to your business. I cannot tell you how many times I do business with people and they act like once they are finished with you that is all you are worth to them. Big mistake! The easiest people for you to do business with are people that you have already done business with, especially if they really like you.  I personally cannot believe how many businesses ignore customers that they have already done business with, much less not try to market back to them in some way, shape, or form.

Anyway, stay tuned for more brilliant insights from a guy that's trying to learn how to write ad copy.  God bless!

Mark "Elmo" Ellis