THERE'S A CUSTOMER BORN EVERY MINUTE
Joe Vitale
Publisher: Wiley

Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) was an American showman best known for his circus and museum. He is credited with a quote that he never made: "There's a sucker born every minute."

Drawing inspiration from that line and Barnum, here is Joe Vitale's book titled There's a Customer Born Every Minute, in revised and updated form, from Wiley (www.wiley.com) . But why Barnum? Because he is the greatest marketer of all time, asserts Vitale.

The book explores Barnum's `10 rings of power' for turning any business into a money machine. One of these rings is about audacious ways to capture people's attention, even if it meant ploughing a field using elephants! Barnum ploughed his 6-acre field at least sixty times thus, to satisfy the abundant publicity the exercise generated.

A chapter titled `The Shakespeare of Advertising's Rules for Jumbo Success' lays down 17 rules, including one on weaving into your sentences `free magic words' such as: "Announcing, astonishing, at last, exciting, exclusive, fantastic, fascinating ... breakthrough, introducing, new, and how-to."

Another rule is to tell people the benefits, not the features. Why so? Because a feature generally describes a product, while benefit is what the product does for the customer. Therefore, "Don't tell people how great you make your products; tell them how great your products will make them."

From the 1855 edition of Barnum's autobiography, Vitale cites ten rules for success in business, which include these: select the kind of business that suits your natural inclinations and temperament; never promise to do a thing without performing it with the most rigid promptness; and whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.

Do not hide your light under a bushel, counsels Barnum. Meaning, advertise. "Some say they cannot afford to advertise; they mistake - they cannot afford not to advertise ... Put on the appearance of business, and generally the reality will follow," he assures.

Here is an analogy to drive home the point: "The farmer plants his seed, and while he is sleeping, his corn and potatoes are growing. So with advertising. While you are sleeping, or eating, or conversing with one set of customers, your advertisement is being read by hundreds and thousands of persons who never saw you, nor heard of your business, and never would, had it not been for your advertisement appearing in the newspapers."

You don't have to go after the world all by yourself, advises Vitale, in a section on alliances and cross-promotions. "A lawyer, a doctor, and an accountant teamed up and presented a speech entitled, `When You Hit 35: Know Your Money, Know Your Health, Know Your Rights.' This event attracted more prospects and helped all three businesses grow faster," he narrates.

To create successful cross-promotions, ask yourself three questions, says the author. "Who are my potential customers? Who else wants to reach these same people? How can we reach our potential customers more effectively?"

A chapter on `attention' declares that the world's oldest advertising formula is AIDA, short for attention, interest, desire, action. "Your ads must first get attention, then create interest in your product, then develop a desire for it, and finally request that the reader takes some action to buy it," urges Vitale.

Be clever and creative, he exhorts. "The idea is to arrest public attention long enough for it to notice your business. After all, the public is a parade walking past you. Unless you get them to turn their heads and look at you, they will simply walk on by."

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

D. Murali

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