On Friday, Howard Stern made his last jokes about bodily functions and strippers over the “public” radio airwaves, ending a nearly 20-year tear as the nation’s leading morning-drive emperor. Starting Jan. 9, Stern will broadcast via Sirius Satellite Radio.
Love him or hate him, small-business owners can learn from some of the tactics the self-proclaimed King of All Media has used to create a veritable empire of raving fans who consume every word, product and affiliate he endorses.
“Howard Stern has a lot to teach the small business in the way of marketing themselves. He undeniably has left an indelible mark on a huge marketplace,” say Jimmy Vee and Travis Miller, owners of Scend Advertising and coauthors of “Gravitational Marketing: The 10 Tall Tales of Traditional Marketing.” “Small businesses should strive to achieve a similar thing in their own market.”
Vee and Miller reveal three tactics Stern uses effectively that small-business owners can “rip off and use to grow their business”:
- Don’t try to appeal to everyone.
The institution of broadcasting is not unlike the institution of traditional marketing. Stern uses an “against the grain” approach, a contrarian position to gain attention from people and the media. Small-business owners should strive to take a polar position as well. Trying to be all things to all people and to please everyone will actually garner them less attention and fewer customers. If they are afraid they will offend someone with their personal styles, they run a high risk that they will be no one’s first choice. Stern understands that it takes some people to hate him to gain a sector who love him. - Uphold a certain image and standard whether it’s good for business or not.
Because small-business owners typically operate on limited capital and trickling cash flows, they take any business that comes along, even if it conflicts with their better judgment. Pain-in-the-butt customers who do not fit a business’s profile of an ideal customer hurt a small business more than they help. Many times a few bad clients can make the work environment less productive and the business less profitable. - Be flexible and quick.
Although many small-business owners have the ability to be flexible, their thinking and egos make them unable to adapt and change in order to achieve the success they desire.
Vee and Miller have a special report on their Website explaining more about using “Stern-style” tactics to market and grow small businesses.
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