Duct Tape Marketing

You probably have a system for most things in your business – accounting, sales, HR, email – but you probably don’t have a system for marketing. Many businesses approach marketing in a “we’ll try this and see if it works” manner. And, predictably, it doesn’t work the way you want ... so you lost money and time.

When we started Leading Results, we heard this issue over and over, so joining forces with Duct Tape Marketing was a logical decision.

The Duct Tape Marketing system was born from a failure to serve the business clients drawn to John Jantsch’s agency in the late 90s. He found it challenging to help smaller businesses using the traditional advertising agency model because the businesses couldn’t afford image advertising, creative briefs, and research teams to form their marketing strategies.

The missing ingredient was in Michael Gerber’s brilliant business book, The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. Through the E-Myth, Gerber introduced the idea of a duplicable business system. The Duct Tape Marketing system and the network of consultants certified in the methodology are the outcomes of over twenty-five years of work in the real-world business marketing laboratory.

Today, Leading Results’ relationship with the Duct Tape Marketing network of over 100 marketing consultant provides our clients with strategic leverage. This collaborative network allows our team, and therefore our clients, to benefit from others’ experiences with different technologies, strategies, tactics, and markets.

Our team follows seven key principles in developing the marketing strategy for our clients, and the Duct Tape Marketing system forms the basis of each principle.

1. Narrow your focus -You cannot be all things to all people. Narrow your focus to distinguish your business from others and focus on your ideal customer.
2. Find and communicate your core difference - Prospects need a way to differentiate your business from others – if you don’t give them a compelling reason to choose you, they’ll opt for the lowest price option.
3. Package your business - It’s the beginning-to-end experience with your business that builds trust, so pay attention to what every element of your business is communicating – it says what you care about before you ever open your mouth.
4. Create marketing materials that educate - No one likes to be sold – your marketing materials, including your online presence, must focus on teaching your difference and allowing the prospect to sell themselves. This is the core of effective content marketing.

5. Have a balanced approach to marketing - Create awareness and educate from different angles – inbound marketing, traditional outbound marketing, referrals, public relations, etc.

6. Harness technology - Integrate technology into your marketing and sales. Software and (very soon) artificial intelligence must be part of your marketing plan.

7. Live by a calendar - The best way to move your marketing forward is to create a calendar and schedule marketing activities every day. We maintain a rolling 90-day calendar, so we’re always on the same page.