by Cidnee Stephen

Marketing to a prospect is like dating, especially if your prospect is a ”trysumer.”

For those of you who are experiencing marital bliss let me remind you of this age-old, sometimes confusing, but always entertaining ritual.

Back in the caveman days dating was easy.  The caveman hit the cavewoman over the head and dragged her home – a behaviour that still exists today in the form of annoying telemarketers who won’t take no for an answer, or people who corner you at a business function, and try to shove their business down your throat.

Luckily we have evolved and the dating ritual has become less painful, but - let’s face it – more expensive!  Now more time and yes, more money has to be invested before a date (or prospect) is going to become involved with you (or your business).

The Trysumer – “Freed from the shackles of convention and scarcity, immune to most advertising, and enjoying full access to information, reviews, and navigation, experienced consumers are trying out new appliances, new services, new flavors, new authors, new destinations, new artists, new outfits, new relationships, new *anything* with post mass-market gusto.” - Trendwatching.com

Spurred by an abundance of product, the internet, a higher demand for solid products and a general cynicism of name brands, TRYSUMERS are transient, experienced consumers who are becoming more daring in how and what they consume.

Where lack of choice and distribution channels in the past made it simpler to market and sell to prospects, today small business owners need to EARN the trust and credibility of this new breed of consumer by allowing them to TRY before they BUY.

Nike Trial Vans toured the UK/Ireland, France, Italy and Spain, stocking 1,000 of pairs of shoes. It was a free trial, no strings attached. To deliver on the crucial element of TRYVERTISING, total relevance of placement, the vans popped up in places where people actually ran. From athletic events to well-known running spots.

The Cons
Just like modern day dating – adding a trial step to your marketing system will extend the amount of time the sale takes and cost you more monetarily.

The Pros
Assuming your product or service satisfies the needs of your target audience, they will choose to buy from you rather than from your “caveman” competitor.

TRYvertising or introducing yourself and your products by letting people experience and try them out first is quickly becoming the new form of advertising.  This can take the form of a free sample or free workshop, a LITE version of a bigger product, or a 30 day trial.

Taking It Up A Notch

Strategic Product Placement

Ritz Carlton Hotels and Mercedes Benz teamed up to offer the hotel guests free use of their Mercedes CLS500.  Dozens of guests chose to buy the car based on their experience.

Similar success has happened by placing health and beauty products in boutique hotels.  Can you offer sample products or services at locations such as ski resorts, universities, festivals, spas, gyms, charity auctions, golf tournament, restaurants, etc?

Consider posting products on trial sites like thefreesite.com.

Professional Service Based?

Offer a free workshop, article or consultation as a gift to a strategic alliance.  They can give it away.  Last year at a 2-day conference, we offered to help members of an association to create their online directory listing.

Create articles and whitepapers and distribute online to sites like ezinearticles.com.

About the Author…
Cidnee Stephen is the owner of Strategies for Success – a marketing company that focuses on the needs of budget minded small businesses and professional services.  She has helped hundreds of small businesses get out of their peak and valley ruts to finally achieve that next vital level of success.  Cidnee is also a sought after speaker, writer and blogger on marketing topics that affect small businesses and B2B service based operations.  Subscribe for Free to her bi-weekly marketing tips for small businesses and also receive a special report on the 7 Steps of Marketing Success.

I don’t mean to get carried away with the title of this post, but since reading John Maxwell’s book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, I’m convinced that one of the key success factors to being a successful business owner is becoming a better leader.

Here’s the good news – becoming a better leader is a learned behavior, just like most other skills we learn.

So, what exactly is this thing we call leadership? What does it look like?

According to John Maxwell “leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less”. Leadership may come in all shapes and sizes, but it only comes from influence and that can’t be mandated by a title, position or knowledge. It must be earned. The only thing a title can buy is a little time – either to increase your level of influence with others or to undermine it.

I believe leadership is misunderstood. Many people mistakenly believe that by being a business owner or entrepreneur, you are automatically a leader. Nothing, in my opinion can be further from the truth. To be truly successful, a business owner needs to develop (and continue to develop) the necessary skills to not only influence the people in their organization, but their prospects and customers.

So what are some of the key elements of effective leadership?

Here’s a quick method to access what factors you rely upon to persuade people to follow you. For the following factors listed below, rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10. (1 means it’s not a factor while a 10 means you rely on it continually)

Now, try to determine ways to better utilize the factors with low scores.

Joe Costantino is a Duct Tape Marketing Coach located in Boston, Massachusetts. You can visit his website at www.businessmarketingsuccess.com.