Sex Sells! .and 9 other immutable rules of marketing

The good news is, you have a great product to sell. The bad newsis, no one will ever buy that product. How can I be so sure?Because customers don't buy products-they buy solutionsto problems. And that's the whole secret behind marketing.Marketing is nothing more than understanding what a customerreally, really wants-and then showing them how you'llprovide it. Marketing is about learning what makes people tick.It's having the common sense to know that kids like ice creamon hot days and that holiday shopping is a hassle-and thenusing those shiny nuggets of data to fill a need. Marketing meanscreating brochures, a Web site and products that make people say"That's exactly what I want!" It's about findingcustomers' hot buttons-their real desires-and thenpressing them to make the sale.

That kind of marketing is what makes a colored sugar-watercalled Coca-Cola one of the best-selling liquids on the planet.It's what makes us all eager to know Victoria's Secret.Because from corporate giants to two guys in a garage, effectivemarketing is what separates business success from entrepreneurialpurgatory. Marketing isn't just about products-it'sabout the people who buy them.

But old mindsets stop most entrepreneurs from grabbing marketingsuccess. It's time to forget fancy pie charts and MadisonAvenue budgets. According to mega-selling marketing guru Jay ConradLevinson, marketing has gone guerrilla. It's a street fight towin customers-by finding clever, convenient, appealing waysto fill their needs.

In that spirit, we set out to find 10 key marketing strategiesfor your start-up. Our answers came from the unlikely combinationof a pair of Internet gurus, a management consultant and a brainyPlayboy centerfold-each one an expert at knowingexactly what customers want. Mind you, the techniques we discoveredaren't exactly your father's marketing plan. Buttoday's businesses aren't your father's, either.

Get to Know Your Customers

1. Discover Customer's Needs
Think backwards. Johnny said, "Here's a great product Ican sell." But his business bombed. Janey said, "What agreat customer-what can I sell her?" Now she's rich.If you want start-up gold, then shift your entrepreneurial thinkinginto reverse. Stop searching for "a business to start".Don't hunt for "a product to sell." Instead, startlooking for customers. Understand what they need. Then build yourbusiness around them. Bingo! You're a market-drivenentrepreneur.

Right now, in the margin, write down one kind of customer youcan reach, such as "boat owners." Then list things thatcustomer might need, like fishing gear and trailer hitches.You'll find a business with guaranteed customers-sincethat's where you started. Want to move forward? Then startthinking backwards.

2. Know Your Customers
Get personal. "Smart, young professional with a hectic careerand lots of friends; hates moonlight strolls but loves whitewaterrafting; seeks a simple life plus excitement . . . " An adfrom the personals? Actually, that's the customer profilewe'd use to start a new e-zine aimed at young, urban women. Themoral? Know your customer. You can answer it all-from theproduct, to the price, to the color of the box-by knowingwhat your customer wants.

Kaila Colbin, 26, and Ken LaVan, 31, take that approach fortheir Fort Lauderdale, Florida, company thoughtSourceInc., which offers lively educational books and videos like"The Real People's Guide to the Internet." From itsempathetic Website to fun skits in its videos, thoughtSource just screams"I'm tailor-made to help nervous Net-newbies becomehang-10 Web surfers."

How well do you know your customer? Does he read Field &Stream or Hot Rod? Is she into crossword puzzles orheavy metal? Where do they vacation? What's her day like? Quickexercise: Write "personal bios" for your typicalcustomers. Then drop your business into their lives. Make it fitand make it sell.

Solving Problems & Pressing Buttons

3. Find Their Problems
A good product is like aspirin. Why? Because it helps the customerget rid of a headache. That's what marketing consultant RajKhera of Khera Communications Inc. tells his clients. In otherwords, great marketing is about discovering your customers'problems and then solving them. "He hates installationmanuals"-your on-screen prompts cure that."She's not sure about that lipstickshade"-offer a money-back guarantee. "They needinfo fast"-let them reach you on the Web.

To discover and solve your customers' headaches, tryoffering free advice. Promote a "complimentary designservice" at your remodeling business. Offer a"party-planning hotline" at your catering firm. Run a"reader's help desk" at your bookstore. Then sitback, and let your customers tell you what they'll buy . . .and buy and buy.

4. Press the Hot Buttons
How did interactive game entrepreneur Gillian Bonner, 34, get herLos Angeles start-up, Black Dragon Inc., noticed by top players inher mostly-male industry? She posed for Playboy."I'll be your centerfold," she told Hefner, "ifyou'll market my firm." (Talk about getting exposure!) Butthat's nothing new. When this former model, hardware/softwaredeveloper and Miss April 1996 meets with her design team to createcutting-edge CD-ROM/DVD fantasy adventures like the hot-selling"Riana Rouge," she asks one magic question: "Howwill this product make our customers feel more attractive, hip orgood about themselves?"

It's about understanding "hot buttons"-thebasic motivations that drive customers' buying decisions. Andit's not just curvy playmates. Even if you're selling sumppumps, this information is crucial to the sale. What areyour customers' hot buttons? Buying fine quality? Showthat your handmade desks last a lifetime. Protecting theirchildren? Highlight that about your security system. Use the hotbuttons to get hot sales.

5. Listen to Them
Habla customer. thoughtSource's Colbin used to be aglobal sales rep, so she speaks more languages than the UN. But herbest linguistic feat is speaking her customer's language,focusing on their needs and listening to their concerns.

Can you speak "customer"? Take this pop quiz:

My business goals comefrom:

I sell productsthat

Just "b" smart, and listen to your customer.

Using Your Noggin

6. Get Market Intelligence
Without it, your business is a collective idiot, trying to sellrefrigerators at the South Pole. Pour through your competitors'catalogs to spot what you can do better. Become an"anthropologist" in the shopping mall, observing how,when and why people buy. Peek into the future at yourindustry's trade shows. Remember, the only person who can finda successful business entirely inside himself is a sword-swallower.For the rest of us, marketing is an outside game. So get out, andget smart.

7. Market for Free
Advertise your new business nationwide at no charge. Get paid tosell your services. Sound impossible? Watch this. LaVan turnedthoughtSource's training videos into live seminars. Communitygroups pay the team to present their programs, and attendees buythe packages. And Colbin and LaVan get free focus groups tobeta-test their wares. Can a class or demo boost your biz exposure?Or how about getting radio time, TV spots and full-page newspaperspreads-all at no charge? Simple. Turn your business intonews. Make what you do interesting to the media. Find a trend andgrab on. "Too many kids are overweight"-our healthclub offers a K-12 program. "Buildings can make yousick"-better call our cleaning service. "Latinmusic is hot"-so why not sample our authentic salsas?Want your business to get ahead? Then get a headline.

8. Sell the Benefits
Sell sizzle. It's not the snowboard; it's the fun we'llhave in Aspen. It's not the dress; it's how greatyou'll look at the party. People don't buy products; theybuy the positive anticipation of using them. It's not thesteak-it's the sizzle.

Unfortunately, most start-ups try to sell features (such asdurable construction or extra insulation) when they should beselling benefits (it won't break; it keeps you warmer).

Khera uses this simple exercise with his clients to carvethrough the steak and release the sizzle: Fold one sheet of paper.On the left, list every feature of your product (for instance,surgical steel blades). On the right, turn every feature into abenefit (gives you a smooth shave). Left side, "product."Right side, "marketing." Do the right thing. Sell thesizzle.

Fulfilling Needs

9. Get in Their Heads
"Psychographic experts" are people who get insidecustomers' heads to discover why they buy. Their take? Everypurchase is really about filling basic human needs, such as:

• Success (that leather briefcase)

• Excitement (premium sports channel with the latest"hardcore" activities)

• Security (auto insurance)

• Belonging (that "members only" jacket)

What are your customers' secret desires? How do they want tosee themselves? Clean-cut? High-tech? What makes them feelimportant? Beautiful things? The highest-quality products? Goodmarketing is about tapping into those feelings. Right there in theaisle, show that customer you'll make her kids smarter (yourinstructional software), keep his home warmer (your fatwoodkindling) or deliver their summer fun (your wet and wild pooltoys). Make it happen while they're reading the box. Take themwhere they want to go.

10. Sell Sex
When thoughtSource premiered a book concerning sex calledSociety and the Net, it attracted a media storm. Surprise!It was all praise, because Colbin and LaVan gave the topic awholesome twist: how to keep kids away from porn, Web sites forgood relationships, Net facts about Viagra. A positivestory-and a PR goldmine.

On her Web-based forum, "Virtually Gillian," forPlayboy's Digital Culture (www.playboy.com), Bonner explores high-techtopics, from new operating systems to the Web revolution, and makesthem accessible and sexy. For Bonner, sex sells because it'sreally just a way of talking about what's exciting and whatmakes people feel good about themselves. The moral? Every producthas a sexy side-from that dental floss bikini that says"Look at me!" to the baby-sitting service that lets momand dad finally spend some time together. Find the sexy side ofyour product, because sex always sells.

That's 10 use-anywhere marketing strategies for yourstart-up success. And here's an easy mnemonic to keep the wholegame plan fresh in your mind. Just remember that marketing is thebusiness equivalent of putting on your underwear: It's what youneed to do, first thing, every day, in your new firm.

Nick D'Alto is director of IEG, a nonprofit firm thathelps people create new, sexy businesses and start new careers.E-mail him at ND2020@aol.com.

Contact Sources

• Black Dragon Inc., www.blackdragon.com

• Khera Communications Inc., www.morebusiness.com