Before I dive into today’s topic (which you’re going to love!), I’m going to take a moment and be a proud father. Last week my twin girls each received awards at college. Amanda received an award for being the top sophomore in her major. Unfortunately her school is 3 hours away and we were not able to attend the ceremony. Jessica however is only 45 minutes away and we got to see her get an award for outstanding leadership. My wife, Stephanie, and I are very proud parents! 

And now, as the stage manager says … on with the show!  

Customer-focused marketing is the last refuge of the small or start-up business owner. This form of marketing, which uses newsletters as its main marketing tool, is a backlash against mass marketing. As a small-business owner, you can give your customers what the big corporations can’t – a real person to connect to and identify with. This is because a newsletter can have a “voice” – the personality you and your company.   

Most corporations can’t offer a customer much more than a big logo, an aloof Web site and a reply card asking for feedback. This type of marketing has gotten incredibly impersonal. 

Customer-focused marketing is an effective strategy for the small-business owner because it resists the big corporations’ tendency to make all customer relationship marketing about embracing the corporate identity. I discuss this and other topics in my book, Newsletter Secrets Revealed – How to Use Newsletters to Make Your Profits Soar. To the readers of this posting – if you would like a copy of my book at a discount, order it within the next 5 days and I’ll take 20% off your purchase. To get your discount, all you have to do is enter the word “bonus” in the coupon window. 

When you write a customer-focused newsletter, it is not about you – it is always about the customer. It is not about, say, a “happy face” logo (in the case of Wal-Mart) but about the needs, desires and wish lists of the customers. Even the way that copy is written for customer newsletters is an important component of this type of marketing.  In my next posting I’ll share some strategies to help you really connect with your customers. Don’t miss it!

I know – it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted to my blog. This has been a very busy two weeks and I have a lot to share with you. Last week No Hassle Newsletters exhibited at the Glazer-Kennedy Marketing and Money Making SuperConference in Nashville. I am honored that No Hassle Newsletters has been named as the preferred vendor for B2B done-for-you newsletters for Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle.  The rest of the conference was also an amazing experience, being together with about 1200 other smart marketers and hearing many great speakers including, Nido Qubein, Gene Simmons of Kiss, and of course my marketing mentors Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer.

On Thursday Doug Huggins, the President and Publisher of an exciting new magazine called BEST (Business Owners & Entrepreneurs Success Tactics) came by my booth to recognize me as one of the magazine’s contributing authors.

I am also honored to have been chosen as one of twenty presenters at the upcoming 2008 SuperConference for Coaches. Twenty superstars from the coaching and marketing world have come together to provide experienced coaches, as well as people considering becoming a coach, with the very latest insights into building a platform for coaching success, and building multiple streams of coaching income. This is an incredible event and best of all, as a speaker, I was able to get a significant discount for all my members who enroll early.  With space being strictly limited, you will want to consider participating in this life changing event. If you have an interest in coaching, take a look at the 2008 SuperConference for Coaches.   

I also wanted to share with you a realization I have every year when I attend an event like the GKIC SuperConference. Meeting and mingling with some very sharp (and a few famous) people is very invigorating. I am reminded of a quote from Jim Rohn, a successful and self-made millionaire:

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” 

Here are a few more pictures from the Super Conference.