Name Game: How to Target and Achieve Ideal Results

Name Game: How to Target and Achieve Ideal Results

One of the most underrated techniques for attracting virtually any business objective is the combined practice of seeing and naming the desired ideal results.

This simple practice makes the goal or objective tangible, real, and therefore, attainable.

First See It

You may know that Michelangelo never started a sculpture without first “seeing” the finished result within the rough block of stone.

I had a knack for pruning trees and shrubs into more beautiful plants in my previous business because I could see what would be left after pruning out dead, misshapen, and overgrown branches.

Seeing helps you ignore or remove what is unnecessary.

While this may seem like visualization, it’s actually a proven technique for creating a space for new possibilities.

What is it in your business that is eluding you now because you have not taken the time to see it clearly. For many small businesses it is that elusive ideal customer.

Then Name It

When you name something it comes alive in many subtle ways, with the most important being it’s assumption of a uniquely defined identity. That’s the power of naming.

When you set out to accomplish what you cannot accurately see, you miss everything of value that may come along, thereby settling for average results.

When writing my first book I had a clear picture and name of the one ideal reader archetype, the length of the book, and it’s structure. What I did not have was a detailed outline, which it turns out proved to be a huge advantage.

A picture is an ideal result possibility. A outline is a limited path.

Get to Work

When I started writing for that one ideal reader the ideas began to flow; the only challenge was determining within which chapter they belonged.

The paradox is that having a clear picture of would seem to limit the outcome to that vision. In reality, the final result is a more polished or refined version of it. Pictures create space for undiscovered possibilities.

In this digital world there is very little that is set in stone. Nearly everything can (and should) be refined to make it better to keep pace with trends and buyer expectations.

The picture is like a standard you set for yourself and your business, such as when recruiting. Put a face and a name to that position description and watch your hiring standards go up.

You know the expression: You tend to get what you ask for in this world; so, set high standards. See and name the desired outcome (whether it’s a person or thing) so that you can vividly communicate it to your team and your customers.

This desired outcome could be your ideal recruit or customer, the marketing process for attracting both, or even the buyer of your business when you decide to sell ten or twenty years down the road.

Make reality come alive by building the habit to see and name every desired result.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on achieving ideal results? Meet me over on Twitter to take the conversation further.

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business and host of This Old New Business podcast.

He helps mainstream businesses adapt their traditional growth practices to a digital world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedInTwitterFacebook, and Google+

Marketing to the Worldview of Your Customers

Marketing to The Worldview of Your Customers

A worldview is a philosophy or set of values through which people interpret and interact with the world. Do you understand what this is for your ideal customers?

Communities align with businesses and brands that reaffirm their worldview. Tweet this

This is the power of your story.

The Market Shapes Your Story

When you launched your small business, you most likely tested the idea by sharing it with friends who eagerly supported you. In fact, a few of them probably became your first customers.

If your business delivered on its promise, those early customers shared your story with their friends, at least to the extent that they understood it.

What happened over time is their worldview shaped your story to become what it is today. This is a subtle, yet powerful aspect of marketing that many businesses miss.

Most businesses are so busy promoting the features of their latest products that they forget it’s what their customers are saying that matters most. That’s because their friends are listening to them. Having a digital marketing company in Honolulu, Hawaii backing your business with superior SEO can truly improve your revenue.

Learn Which Words Trigger a Response

If you are intentionally listening, the key words that your customers identify with will jump out of the conversation. They are embedded in their stories, and should be in yours too.

Study these words, because they become triggers for attracting others that share their worldview. They reveal what it is about your business that gets and keeps people associated with it. Most important, it gives you a better understanding of who they are as human beings.

  • What they say and do
  • How they think and feel
  • What they see and hear

Hopefully, that last one is your media, provided your media is congruent with the other media they engage with that reaffirms their views.

Therefore, commit to making a list of the media sources they follow. Then have your team subscribe to and get familiar with them.

Get Involved with Customers to Learn

A young couple that was a customer of my landscape business shared something with me that changed how we marketed and operated. They said: “You know what we like about you Jeff? You’re a neatnik.”

The word neatnik is an old-fashioned one you would not expect someone in their twenties to use, so that caught my attention. After translating neatnik to attention to detail, suddenly a lot of things became very clear.

We soon discovered our customers valued the little touches that personalized our company and the people within it. This included picking up the newspaper from the driveway when greeting the customer at the front door, and how our mowing crews neatly rolled up the garden hose instead of just tossing it into the bushes like so many other companies.

What is it about your business that resonates with how your customers see the world? Tweet this

This is what shapes the stories they tell about you and your business? I’ll give you a clue; it’s not quality.

Quality is a meaningless word these days. Reliability, simplicity, consistency, friendliness, and attention to detail are examples of what people talk about.

This is the new marketing. It’s what drives online and offline conversations.

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business – (Wiley)  

He helps mainstream businesses adapt their traditional growth practices to a digital world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedInTwitterFacebook, and Google+.

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