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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Top Galleries: January 13, 2007 Credibility matters Anthony Hernandez Archives Saturday December 2nd Saturday December 9th Saturday December 16th Saturday December 30th Saturday January 6th Saturday January 13th Saturday January 20th The road to profitability is paved with credibility. So says world renowned marketing guru Jay Conrad Levinson and you would be wise to heed those words. You wouldn't dream of buying something from someone with no idea what they were selling nor should you ask that of your customers. Forget price and selection: When it comes to making the sale, the #1 reason your customers will make the ultimate leap of commercial faith by handing over their money is because they are confident- in you, your business, and your products and services. I believe that there are three levels of credibility. Having an intimate knowledge of your products, services, industry, competitors, and customers is the first and most important level. If you are not an absolute expert with your own goods and services then you're already sunk because the secret of your ignorance cannot be preserved forever. Business owners in this category face the increasingly complex task of preserving an illusion, which at best requires sleight of hand and at worst outright fraud. This puts a huge crack in the foundation of integrity that should lie at the base of all businesses. The second level of credibility is the ability to communicate your expertise effortlessly while tailoring your presentation to your audience. For example, you'll probably have very different conversations with your vendors, employees, and customers. Neither your vendors nor your customers need to know the entire behind the scenes workings at your business. For the most part, marketing exists at this second level. You may be the best in the world at what you and offer but no one will ever know unless you deliver clear, cogent, cohesive, and uniform messaging. A business that lacks clear design standards for color, font, language, branding, positioning, etc. across its marketing collateral is a prime example of what I'm talking about. I'm not saying you need to be polished to the point of slickness. In fact, going that far may well backfire on you. I am saying that you need to devise a solid long-term strategy for communicating your expertise with specific goals in mind, and then ensure that everything you say and do contributes to that strategy and its goals. This sounds like a tall order, and it is. But it's also the way to wring every last drop of return from your efforts. The third and final level of credibility comes when people outside your normal business dealings recognize you as an expert at what you do. If you develop and communicate your expertise clearly enough, you may even earn the ultimate level of recognition as "the" expert. This is when the general public knows that you are the person with the best available knowledge of your chosen profession. Achieving this degree of recognition goes beyond traditional marketing and into the realm of public relations and advising other professionals in your field. Relatively few people even attempt to become recognized experts, meaning that you should have a fairly ample opportunity to make yourself known should you choose to do so. By "public relations," I am not talking about the standard press releases and announcements that have to do just with your business. I'm talking about articles, talks, books, seminars, etc. about your chosen profession without directly being all about you. Even better, the mere fact that you wrote an article, published a book, gave a talk, etc. will say far more about you than will any amount of blowing your own horn. Having just said- and meant- that, I'm going to break my own rule to provide a relevant example. My own marketing could certainly revolve around ads that tout my marketing and small business expertise and offer coaching and consulting services. These ads would cost a lot over time and would have a limited effect at best because they would be all about me talking about myself. Instead, my marketing aims to prove my expertise by regularly offering information of value to my target audiences while never coming right out and saying "hire me!" Except, of course, when I'm providing specific examples. I'll be talking more about how to build credibility in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, I urge you to think about ways in which you can prove your expertise to the world and, specifically, about how you can do so by giving things of real value. Devote a percentage of your marketing efforts to becoming recognized as an expert and your efforts may well pay off beyond your wildest dreams. Remember that the three layers of credibility go together like the floors, wall, and roof of a building. You cannot hope to build credibility without true expertise, nor can you truly succeed at getting recognition without very clearly defined and exquisitely crafted messages. Learn how ancient survival instincts guide everything you do and how to use those instincts to your advantage. My new book "The Enlightened Savage: Using Primal Instincts for Personal and Business Success" is available from www.theenlightenedsavage.com or your favorite bookseller. My new book, Guerrilla Marketing Success Secrets, is in the final stages of pre-publication and will be available soon. Anthony Hernandez is a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Association Business Coach with over 20 years of business and marketing experience. He lives in Ashland. Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising: Debt Help Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Debt Relief Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Del.icio.us