7 Breakthrough Marketing Strategies that Really Work

Every day our in boxes and junk folders are filled with emails promising big results, like "Rank High in the Search Engines" and "Uncover Your Secret Sales Force," not to mention those fine folks who "Would like to connect" or want "Just 15 minutes of your time." And those are just a few from the past week!

Well, if you want breakthrough marketing results, you can forget all that stuff. And while you're at it, ditch your social media strategy and the overhyped fads du jour, too. They're a waste of time. Don't get me wrong; direct email and Twitter are tools, but they won't deliver breakthrough results. For that, you've got to do it old school.

What's my idea of breakthrough marketing? Strategies that enable small-to-midsized companies to accomplish three things:

• Create buzz and exposure for a new product or service, on a small budget
• Differentiate and gain pricing power against larger, entrenched competitors
• Create leadership perception that's larger than actual market share

And instead of just providing you with the usual teasers that don't have enough meat to be useful, most of the seven strategies include links to full stories. Check them out and let me know if you need more help.

1. Influence the Influencers. Sure, everybody knows that part of your PR strategy is to meet with analysts and pitch to pundits and bloggers. Yawn. I'm talking about making influencing these people your top PR priority. Schmooze them, engage them, build relationships with them, hire them as consultants to help you develop your marketing and positioning, whatever it takes to get in front of them and get them on board telling your story. As the accompanying chart shows, it's the highest leverage for your marketing buck.
2. Product positioning strategy. There are lots of ways to take a product or service to market. Finding the optimum strategy in a highly competitive, global market is called product positioning and it's something of an art. One thing positioning helps you to not do is compete on price, features, and technical specs. Frankly, customers don't really give a crap about your product; they only care about the benefits and value it brings them. These two posts will teach you how to Destroy the Competition With Positioning Strategy and Win with Market Segmentation.
3. Breakthrough PR. Forget trade shows, advertising, even direct marketing - public relations offers far more leverage, if you know what you're doing, that is. Unfortunately, most companies don't have the secret PR sauce and, frankly, the same is true of far too many agencies. Here are 10 Breakthrough PR Techniques From a Master - Lou Hoffman, president and CEO of the Hoffman Agency, a global PR firm based in Silicon Valley and the brains behind many a breakout PR success.
4. Find your unique value proposition. What do you do better than anyone does? What does your company offer that competitors can't match? Why would customers buy one company's product or service as opposed to another's? What is your competitive differentiation? These are all definitions of a critical business concept called "value proposition." If you can't come up with a bullet proof value proposition, then you really need to reconsider your product or service. No, it's not easy, but this 5-Step process, How to Derive a Value Proposition, will help.
5. Own the Event. Most companies pump tons of money into far too many tradeshows where they barely register on anybody's radar screen amidst all the glitz, glitter, and noise. Instead, the way to go is to pick one event - a tradeshow, conference, whatever - and own it or at least make your presence felt by putting all the promotional umph you've got behind that one arrow. Prebrief influential media prior to the event, get partners and customers to showcase your new product or technology, and launch or unveil at the show. If you do it right, you can really leverage your promotional budget and create a bigger-than-life buzz.
6. Tell a credible, compelling Story. If you can tell a credible, compelling story, you can capture the imagination of your audience and, sometimes, an entire industry. It also helps if you can give a convincing, effective presentation. Unfortunately, most of us are born without the storytelling gene. It's too bad, because I've heard speakers that were so inspiring they changed my life. Connecting with an audience, communicating your vision and passion for a subject, is a rare opportunity to excite and motivate your target audience. How to Give a Killer Presentation and Conquering Your Fear of Public Speaking will help; they're among my most popular posts.
7. Create a buzz with grassroots marketing. If you've got a groundbreaking concept, product, or technology, the best way to create a groundswell or buzz is to energize a core group of supporters and turn them into rabid evangelists. That's how companies like Snapple, Harley Davidson, even early-day Apple broke through crowded markets dominated by big players. Especially for Gen-Yers, don't think for a minute that the Internet is the only way to go viral. It's not. There's a good book on the subject but I'm embarrassed to say I can't remember the title; anybody with a tip, please comment. Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore also talks about exploiting a niche, a similar concept.

On the same subject:

• What Constitutes Marketing Aptitude
• How to Be a Great Marketer I -- and II
• Marketing is Dead - Long Live "Real Marketing"