This is the third and final part of “Why You Need A Web Marketing System (WMS)” – a 3 PART EDUCATIONAL SERIES. This installment ends with links to other articles that describe key components of a WMS. It’s titled “A Passion for What You Do, Will Help You Use A Web Marketing System to Get New/Repeat Business At Close to Zero Cost”. (Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here).

A WMS enables a business dramatically reduce marketing expenses, while increasing marketing reach and impact. In this final article, I explain why a business owner NEEDS undiluted PASSION to successfully use a WMS to acquire those benefits.

The key message here is that to get the best results from using a WMS, you must be in a business you thoroughly love!

Many People Fail To Follow Their Passions in Business

The phrase “having a passion for what you do” is one that I first came into contact with as a young manager in Guinness Nigeria Plc. This was in October 1994, when I was recruited along with 11 others as a new set of Graduate Management Trainees.

This happened after a rigorous selection process that ended with a grueling selection board discussion session, involving shortlisted candidates.

I believe strongly, that my exposure to best practice operations in that company, made a tremendous difference to my ability to function as a human being, at the highest levels of performance possible.

And I believe honestly that the culture of striving for excellence perpetually, which was promoted within that organization, helped me to really discover who I was, and to go after anything I want in my life.

Having a passion for what you do, is crucial to your ability to excel. I think a lot of people  fail to get involved in vocations and businesses that they have a passion for. And that explains why some of such people so readily settle for cutting corners, in trying  to achieve their business goals.

When you have a passion for what you do, you will not have a problem continuing to strive, till you achieve your intended business goal. And you will prefer to do so with integrity.

Only a Lack of Passion Will Make You Accept To Give a Bribe to Succeed In Business

Imagine if somebody tells you, as a Fashion Design expert, that you need to grease his palm, to make him submit your designs for consideration by a panel of decision makers.

Maybe they need an official designer for an international event – and you want that exposure.

If you accept to bribe that person, it shows that you don’t know who you are. Don’t start a business you only enjoy doing because of the money. Once the incentive of income disappears, you’ll find it hard to persevere with honesty and integrity.

Without a passion for what you do, you cannot know who you are. A lack of passion will make you willing to accept any conditions given you by others – even if that means cutting corners.

So let me put it the other way around. When you venture into a line of business that you see other people seemingly making big money from, without knowing what fundamentals will help you succeed in it, you set a trap for yourself.

This is because you do not have a passion for it. When things get tough you’ll crack under pressure. And things do get tough: in every area of life, in every line of business, there will always be hard times.

Without passion, you will find it difficult to keep going during hard times, because the inner drive will not be there.

You’ll start looking for quick fixes and short cuts. And that’s when you become crooked. And when you become crooked, your work will likely become crooked, because then it’s no longer about quality, it’s about surviving!

If You Will Struggle To Continually Think Up New/Useful Things to Say to Promote Your Business, Don’t Bother With a WMS

So, when I talk about using a WMS, as a complementary alternative to spending money wastefully, in traditional media like newspapers, TV and radio, especially as a small business person, that’s what I mean.

You’ve got to first of all be passionate about what you do. That way you will not have a problem adopting this alternative method, because this alternative method requires that you have no difficulty whatsoever, continuing to do the necessary things to make it work.

If you’re going to have a problem thinking up new ideas to talk about, in relation to what you offer your potential customers…

If you’re going to have a problem thinking up a new topic to write about, that will be used in promoting your work to potential customers…

…Then don’t bother trying to use a WMS!

Just go back and keep looking for money to pay the newspapers and the TV stations and the radio stations.
Then you sit back and wait for magic to happen. God help you. Hopefully, magic will keep happening. And hopefully, there’ll always be big money for you to spend on it.

Also, hopefully, you’ll also have enough profits to make it worth your while

Final Words – A Web Marketing System Will Keep Your Marketing Going (Even When You Sleep) Till You Succeed

However if you want to be able to beat your chest that you get business on merit, and that the value you deliver is actually what gives you the patronage you are able to show off, then I believe this is the time for you to consider using a WMS.

If you have a passion for what you do. If it’s something you wake up at 8am and are ready to jump into the streets and get started doing it all over again like you did yesterday, last week, last month or last year…

If it’s something that you don’t mind keeping at, even when you’ve not had a meal, since morning, and you’re working on it till 12 midnight and never get tired…

If it’s something that you never get bored with…

…then you can use a WMS to succeed in your business marketing.

This is because it is your passion that will help you make your WMS give you the results you want i.e. MORE sales leads or potential customers!

What you have just read is final part of a 3 part series titled “Why You Need A Web Marketing System (WMS)”.

Part 1 of 3: Why You Need To Change The Way You Find Buyers for Your Products/Services

Part 2 of 3: Understanding How (Routine/Repeated) Use of Paid TV, Radio & Print Media Short Changes YOU

Part 3 of 3: Why You Need a Web Marketing System (WMS) – Part 3 of 3

GET HELP TO SET UP YOUR WMS

There is a lot more you need to know. This series is available as a keynote speech, a half-day or full-day workshop – or request for audio/video version.

You can also contact me if you would like me to send you a report that breaks down what a WMS comprises, and how to get started with yours within the next 24 hours. E-mail tayo at tksola dot com with “Re: Why You Need A Web Marketing System” as the subject.

Further Reading: Components of a Web Marketing System (WMS)

The articles listed below describe key components of a Web Marketing System that I always recommend that my clients adopt for use. Read them and apply what you learn to started with yours.

1. Potential Benefits of Promoting Your Business Online Via Articles, Newsletter & Facebook Marketing

2. You Cannot Beat Competitors If You Keep Doing The SAME Things They Do!

If you need help or ideas at any stage, consider taking up an email or phone consultation with me. Or signup for a one month coaching session. Fill and submit this form, using “Re: WMS” as “Subject”

This is part 2 of a 3 PART EDUCATIONAL SERIES. This installment is titled “Understanding How (Routine/Repeated) Use of Paid TV, Radio & Print Media Short Changes YOU ”. (Click here to read Part 1). If you run a business in Africa, the ideas offered in this series can help you. Any 21st century African business that depends more on paid traditional TV, Radio and print media for business promotion, is wasting money. Indeed, if you’re not using the ideas on offer here to find new clients and customers, YOU ARE LOSING PROFITS. I elaborate below…

Invite Me To Speak: If you’re reading this after 31st March 2013, I would have begun travelling slowly across West Africa as a Location Independent Entrepreneur. If you’re in West Africa click here to invite me to speak to your members or group on this topic.

In this 2nd part, I use a real life example or analogy to illustrate how the typical traditional media organization asks business owners to pay to share their expertise. This is an arrangement that benefits the media house, but rarely helps the small/medium businesses.

A Real-World Relevant Analogy

Consider this. A typical newspaper outfit. They come to you and tell you: Oh Look, We’re doing this special thing. We’re going to feature your company in our newspaper. We give you half a page,  one page and you get to give us a little speech or talk about something you do, or share your expertise in our medium, and potentially you have the opportunity of getting read by millions of our wonderful readers all over.

And so you ask them: Right, if I do this, what’s in it for me?

And they say: Oh, you’re going to get read by so many people and they’re going to call you. And all of that.

You ask them: And I’m going be the one that supplies the content?

And they say: Yes of course, you put in your content, basically anything you want. If you want an editorial, we’ll let you do that. And so on.

Then you say: Well, that’s nice. That sounds good. When do we get started then?

And they say: Oh, there’s one thing: you’ve got to pay.

That stops you dead in your tracks.

You ask: Oh, I thought I was going to share my ideas and expertise. And I thought that would be in exchange for exposure through your medium?

They quickly reply: Well you see, everybody else pays to use our medium. This is the way it works. We’ve got to charge you because that’s really the marketing space or slot we have.

So you ask: Okay exactly how much are we talking about here?

They reply: From N200,000 (i.e. $1,500).

You say: What? That much – even though I’m offering my expertise?

But your friend – maybe he is more familiar with these things – tells you: Oh yes, that’s the way it’s done really. You see it’s a national newspaper, and you’re going to get a lot of exposure.

So, You Agree. And You Pay.

And they put this beautiful write-up you’ve done in the Monday edition (Monday being the day that maybe a lot of people like to look at real estate, and you are a real estate expert. So they tell you it’s going to get by a lot of people who are passionate about real estate).

Problem number 1:

On Monday, the paper comes out, and it’s about 150 pages thick. And your write-up? Yeah it’s in the real estate section alright. The challenge is that the average reader on a Monday is busy, and probably won’t have enough time to flip long enough to find that page – except he knew about it ahead of time, and was looking forward to it.

Problem number 2:

By the end of that day – I would say 10pm, some would say 12 midnight. The point is, by the next morning, the Tuesday edition is out: Your N200,000 would be gone!

The truth is more often than not, you’ll probably get a handful of phone calls or emails – if at all you get any responses to your ads that is.

It doesn’t make any sense!

What I’ve found out is that apart from a few leads which mostly fizzle out eventually, all you end up with are bragging rights that you had the means to place an ad in that kind of medium. But your target audience more often than not could not care less, if it does not add value to them!

If you’re a big company, there’s a budget for it, and you do have the cash flow to cope with it – probably because of your size, you get a lot of customers. And so, maybe it won’t matter much, you won’t feel the pinch and the returns would be tangible.

But if you’re a small, medium or micro business owner, the last thing you want to do is give that kind of money to advertising or marketing in a medium that has a shelf life of 24 hours! That’s just too volatile.

I say this from years of personal experience struggling and falling flat on my face for years, actively exploring cost-effective ways to get high impact long term marketing exposure, to the right people that are interested in my products and services.

Instead, You Need To Think Smart!

$1,500 can do a lot of things for you for a much longer period of time, and you’d be able to measure the returns. And those returns more often than not would pay for the money you spend in marketing in that way.

I have just done this analysis to help you put in perspective, the way you spend your money on traditional advertising or marketing media in your local market.

You want to give yourself an opportunity to reach out to as many people as possible, so as to find those who would be willing to pay the kind of money you want for your quality products and services.

I’m placing deliberate emphasis on quality because I’m assuming that the person reading this now is the kind of person that is not involved in selling anything that is substandard…or low quality…or cheap.

In order to benefit from the ideas I offer here, you’ve got to be somebody that has, on offer, products and services that command respect, and that appeal to people who are discerning in their tastes, and in their preferences.

If you’re not someone like that, you’ll not be able to use the ideas I offer here. But if you are someone like that that, then what I’m saying I’m sure will make sense to you. For every naira you spend, you must seek to extract at least an equivalent return in terms of marketing reach and impact – marketing mileage you achieve.

There is a Better Way to Do It

The channels of radio, TV, newspapers, flyers, bulk SMS and all that, can work in conjunction with, and can be complemented, by this other method that I’m talking about.

I cal it the use of a Web Marketing System. I will explain it in detail in my next article. This article you’ve just read was written to demonstrate, in practical terms, how the current and more familiar marketing and advertising media cannot really help you to cost-effectively achieve the kind of reach and impact you need in an economy where money is not as available as it used to be.

People are getting more reluctant to spend and need more reasons to do so, therefore making it more difficult for the man who wants to sell products and services to find customers. Therefore, everyone needs to be smarter.  The WMS enables you to be smarter in spending your money, and smarter in getting returns, tangible returns, that add to your ability to make sales. That’s what a WMS does for you.

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What you have just read is part 2 of a 3 part series titled “Why You Need A Web Marketing System (WMS)”.

Part 3 follows tomorrow (I’ve decided to dispense with the plan to publish according to the weekly schedule, so readers can find all 3 parts close together).

Part 1 of 3: Why You Need To Change The Way You Find Buyers for Your Products/Services

Part 2 of 3: Understanding How (Routine/Repeated) Use of Paid TV, Radio & Print Media Short Changes YOU

 

Part 3 of 3: Why You Need a Web Marketing System (WMS) – Part 3 of 3

GET HELP TO SET UP YOUR WMS

There is a lot more you need to know. This series is available as a keynote speech, a half-day or full-day workshop – or request for audio/video version. You can also contact me if you would like me to send you a report that breaks down what a WMS comprises, and how to get started with yours within the next 24 hours. E-mail tayo at tksola dot com with “Re: Why You Need A Web Marketing System” as the subject.