Want to get some FREE publicity? Take a stand for something. Draw your line in the sand and make it known on which side you stand. The press loves stories like that.

Want to get some Word-of-Mouth publicity? Take a stand for something. Be adamant about what you will, and sometimes more importantly, what you won’t do. Customers love to share that kind of information.

Want to grow your brand faster and get better known? Take a stand for something. Share your strong point of view with the world, knowing that some will hate it and some will love it, and soon you will be known for it.

I know what you’re thinking right now. The weasel or lizard in your brain is saying, but won’t I alienate some of my customers? 

Yes, you will. The stronger your stand, the more you will alienate part of the potential customer base. But the same is true of those you ignite. The more powerful your stance, the more you fan the flames of passion in those who share your point of view, and the more loyal they become.

I know another thing you’re thinking right now. I can’t afford to anger any customers. I need them all.

Hate to burst your bubble but you don’t have them all. At best you have one in ten. More likely you have one in twenty – five percent of your market. Nineteen people have decided not to shop with you. Why? Either because they already know you or they don’t already know you. Those are the only two reasons. Well, there is a third reason, kinda. They think they know you.

When you take a stand you eliminate all doubt as to who you are. You may convert a few people who thought they knew you. More likely, though, you’ll get a better chance at converting the large percentage of customers who don’t know you.

How? Through the media, through word-of-mouth, through building a reputation.

Don’t be wishy washy. Be yourself, be yourself openly, be yourself all the way. Pretty soon you will own your corner of the market.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Don’t know really who you are (in a business sense)? Follow the directions on this worksheet. It will help.