Well, it had to happen sometime! Last Saturday (June 14) I turned 50 and to celebrate we threw a big party at our house. The weather was really hot but nice – until about 7:30 pm when it got dark the thunder started rumbling. Talk about clearing out a crowd in a hurry!!   

The only thing about turning 50 that I’ve been thinking about this week is that I still have so much that I want to accomplish, I better get moving!  Instead of gifts I asked for contributions to the American Cancer Society and tomorrow I will take $400 over to their local office – very cool!  

Of course, the best birthday present ever is having all of my kids back home again. It just doesn’t seem to happen enough – but that’s what growing up (and old!) all is about. Here’s a few pictures from the day.

Top left: My older brother, Bob, surprised me by flying in from Indianapolis
Top right: Me and my younger brother, Jeff
Middle left: My friends and fellow entrepreneurs Eric Paul, Jay McGrath, and Mike Capuzzi
Middle right: Me and Chad Groves, one of my oldest friends
Bottom row: Some of the 70 plus people that came to celebrate!

Customer-focused marketing is more inspiring then other types of marketing efforts. It is a personal, upbeat communication, usually in the form of direct-mail flyers or newsletters that make customers feel more optimistic and confident about buying from you. Each communication provides customers with information that is relevant to them and that involves products or services they have bought or are about to buy from you. When a newsletter is written effectively, the customer will never feel as though he or she is receiving just another sales solicitation. Furthermore, the customer will look forward to receiving your next communication in the mail or by email.  

You know you have mastered customer-focused communication when people start writing back to say how much they appreciate your newsletters. Making your newsletters fun and entertaining is also rewarding for you as a businessperson because they are about building relationships rather than simply pushing ideas. Even writing them will become a rewarding experience, as you are writing not to intimidate or impress (as is typical of mass marketing) but with the aim of building friendly relationships.   Remember, 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.

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.