The main goal for your small business’s marketing efforts, particularly when you’re in the start-up phase, is to standout, is to be remembered by your customers or potential customers. You can achieve this uniqueness by finding something your customers or potential customers can identify with, an image that is exclusively yours. Then you deliver that image --- your marketing message --- in a unique and memorable way, that is, in a way that is different from your competitors.
One way you can present your marketing message in a uniquely is to be your own spokesperson. The late Dave Thomas was THE spokesperson for Wendy’s, the burger chain he founded. Today we’re seeing lots of Craig Culver on TV speaking on behalf of his burger chain, Culver’s.
Neither gentleman has the slick voice or polished delivery of a professional announcer. And that’s okay. In fact, it is this lack of polish that gives the businesses they promote uniqueness in the marketplace. In both cases --- Thomas and Culver --- it is their personal enthusiasm for their particular business that comes through, it is what makes their ads noticeable and memorable.
Speaking of enthusiasm, for a really outstanding example of how an “amateur” spokesperson can powerfully get the message across, check out Gary Vaynerchuk’s daily video blog at www.tv.winelibrary.com.
Being your own spokesperson is a particularly effective differentiator for a local business. Think about it: Your competitors can’t use you to promote their business, so using yourself to promote your own business is by definition unique.
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(Dave Ramacitti is the co-founder and chief content developer for Marketing Over Easy, a new website dedicated to helping small businesses be smarter marketers. To receive a free copy of our information-packed special report “58 Free & Low Cost Tricks to Effectively Promote Your New Small Business” visit us at www.marketingovereasy.com. © 2010 by David F. Ramacitti. Excerpted from The All-Important Stuff You Gotta Do First to Effectively Market Your Small Business © 2009 by David F. Ramacitti)