OCTOPUS MARKETING - Create a Community of Opportunity

Yesterday as I sat down to get a haircut, I noticed that for the
first time that I was the only customer in the shop. My barber
anxiously asked, "Are the stores empty where you work?" He told me
that 40% of his business has eroded; half of his customers had moved
away and the others had been laid off.

Reality has hit his small business. Business is off in most sectors.
People are staying home, seeking comfort and familiarity. I hear the
same cry everywhere I go—"We need more customers!"

Small businesses don't have the advertising budgets of large
companies to lure customers back with special deals. And the
government's messages to "go spend more" have the right
intent, but
do not direct customers to the doorsteps. How can small businesses
reach these customers?

STRETCH YOUR TENTACLES!

With some imagination, will power and a technique I call "Octopus
Marketing," small business owners can create new opportunities to
increase sales.

Octopus Marketing is the ability to make one marketing effort produce
multiple effects, increasing returns without increasing effort. By
tapping an Octopus on the head, its tentacles stretch out and reach
in different directions. Business owners can do the same thing. By
leveraging their own value and partnering with other businesses or
organizations, a single marketing event can pay off again and again.

The head of the octopus is any organization or group of business
owners that partners together to reach more customers. Each member
of the organization or business is one of the tentacles. It works
like this:

First break the rules. View other small businesses as partners, not
competition. In these uncertain times, small business owners need to
band together and develop a unique marketing program that will pull
customers to the neighborhood, into stores or onto web pages.

Observe how other merchants, whether they are florists, produce
stands, café owners or optometrists, offer services and goods that
benefit and support the community. All of these products and services
bring comfort and familiarity—which is exactly what customers are
asking for right now!

For example: My barber can join the local bakery, video store, pizza
parlor, coffee shop and florist to develop a "Neighborhood Comfort
Catalog." The catalog simply lists each store and the benefits they
provide (plus discounts on products and services!). Each partner
places the catalog in their respective stores and uses it to refer
business to each other.

Octopus Marketing starts with an effective message. Businesses must
define how they uniquely contribute to the community and translate
that into an effective story. By developing a message based on their
passion, businesses reveal the benefit they offer to themselves and
their customers.

After identifying their own unique benefits, a business owner can
then partner with others and define the main benefit that the
Octopus Network offers to the community. This benefit is what will
move customers to action.

With the message identified they can then discover unique ways to
market each other's businesses or conduct joint promotions. It
can be
as simple as asking customers if they have tried the fresh pizza next
door or passing out coupons that offer discounts on their goods and
services. The result is that reach of their tentacles grows.

To stretch the tentacles of the Octopus even further, businesses can
partner with larger organizations to get the word out. Combine the
community octopus with a neighborhood church, temple or community
organization. These organizations reach a lot of potential customers.

Businesses should continue to tap the Octopus to keep the network
thriving. They can approach the local neighborhood paper to publish
the comfort catalog in a special community page. Or find out if the
local gym or YMCA will distribute it to their members. What about
the Chamber of Commerce, isn't it there to help?

By uniting together, small businesses can strengthen community,
deliver what customers need plus help create opportunity for the
nation's collective future. One small business at a time, we will
build a compassionate nation that spends money on good stuff.

About the Author

Romanus Wolter is known as "The Kick Start Guy." He provides action
steps that close the gap between goals and success. Romanus' new
book 'Kick Start Your Dream Business' provides the inspiration and
information people need to start and grow their dream businesses.
Romanus is a nationally recognized public speaker and consultant.
You can reach him at Romanus@briia.com, www.briia.com, 415-255-2496.

Written By: Romanus Wolter