Client Grand Homes CEO Stephen Brooks on the steps the company took to survive a down economy and difficult housing market. www.grandhomes.com

Masters of Aikido, Judo and TaiJiQuan all leverage the inertia, strength and mass of their opponent to win the match – and small business can do it, too.

How?

By hyper-focusing on the client to build a brand that actually competes with major national brands. As a small business owner, you can over-deliver the tailored, neighborhood-specific, home-town features of your product or service that the big boys across the street cannot offer. That kind of specialty stands out! That helps develop a powerful local brand.
National chains cannot hope to know your customer as well as you do! So leverage that ‘disadvantage’ against the powerhouse national company!

Sorta like Pace Picante Sauce advertising that the competition came from “New York City”!
Yikes!

Yes we all know that Pace is owned by the Campbell Soup Company, and they don’t exactly fit the “small business” label, but even leveraging even a perceived strategic advantage is powerful stuff.
…and of course Texans want to buy their salsa from people in Texas who ‘know salsa,’ right?

My point is, big national companies rarely get to know customers by name, sponsor local high school athletic teams, send store managers to speak at local Rotary clubs, or give their store managers the authority to speak to local media without approval from the “corporate headquarters”.

But you can.

We followed that approach with one of our clients. A small independent pharmacy with no real advertising budget or media footprint. And right across the street – fierce competition from one of the “big boys”!

It’s Texas Star Pharmacy in Plano, Texas.

The owners – Mike and Donna Barsky – wanted to build their brand and expand their client base despite the proximity of a major national chain pharmacy nearby. How did they do it?

By leveraging the opponent’s ponderous weight as a tool! Senior pharmacist Donna Barsky is a marvelous speaker and writer. So she wrote articles and gave educational talks to local civic groups.
With decades of pharmacy experience, she was able to explain complex medical topics to local newspaper and TV reporters, and offer media interviews on health issues at the ‘drop of a hat’ – with no big bureaucracy to navigate for approval.

During flu season, they offered low-cost vaccinations at a local church.

We taught them how to start blogging, podcasting and developing content for YouTube. (She was a natural!)

They offered home delivery, one-on-one counseling for drug compatibility, longer hours, competitive pricing – and every customer got a hug!
Yes, that’s right. Donna’s a hugger!

How could the pharmacy giant possibly compete?

Over the course of the last year, Donna Barsky has been covered by local or national media at least 60 TIMES! And business has grown about 30%! And now they’re opening a new location!
This stuff really works.

A hyper-local focus. Listening to the client and putting their needs first. Becoming a resource for local media. And developing content for yourself (articles, videos, podcasts).

So borrow a page from the Judo Master and make your ‘strategic disadvantage’ into a powerful weapon.

Why?
The powerful pipes of Ted Williams, homeless radio announcer who’s become the year’s first YouTube rockstar of 2011.

In the unlikely event you haven’t heard, Mr. Williams was homeless earlier this week, hawking handouts on a Columbus highway. A self-confessed substance abuser and absentee dad, he had all but given up on his former career behind the microphone. That’s when a Columbus Dispatch videographer, on a whim, shot a clip of Williams using his golden baritone.

“When you’re listening to nothing but the best of oldies, you’re listening to Magic 98.9!”

The video went up on the Columbus dispatch website, then Youtube, and then PR “lightening” struck – as the short video drew millions of views. Viral pixie dust. It’s competely unpredictable. But amazing when it happens. Soon the Dispatch newsroom was fielding phonecalls for Williams, which led to local interviews, then a spot on the Today Show this week, then the offer from Kraft foods to provide the voice-over for the company’s iconic macaroni and cheese products tonight on ESPN.

Here’s a preview of the spot:

Kraft Mac & Cheese Ad w/ Ted Wilson Voice-Over

The company already had a mammoth publicity campaign surrounding it’s ‘Huddle to Fight Hunger’, an outreach to provide 20 million meals or more to a hunger relief organization. But this swift move has quickly dwarfed the rest of the positive pub in free mentions alone. (Was anyone planing to TiVo the Fight Hungar Bowl? Heck, had anyone even HEARD of the Fight Hunger Bowl – before Williams made media magic happen?) Kraft comes across as a company that cares, that is engaged in public discourse, that wants to do more than talk, and that is nimble and smart enough to do the right thing on short notice. Plus… every recent mention of Kraft is completely free of charge. What CMO wouldn’t be pumped over such a coup?
Williams recorded four TV spots – some of which will be seen during the Golden Globes next Sunday on NBC.

Kraft Brand Manager Noelle O

April 15, 2010
Judge Debra Lehrmann First to Use New Smart Phone App
By Deepika Mala, TMCnet Contributor

Judge Debra Lehrmann, Texas Supreme Court Candidate, has become the first political candidate to use a new smart phone application made for the GOP by distributing a video message.

BlackBerry and iPhone (News – Alert) users can avail her campaign video at no cost on BigRight TV, an interactive mobile app for conservative content. Timely video content is distributed by BigRight TV. Also it offers the viewers the ability to respond to calls to action.

“YouTube (News – Alert) has helped us reach a new audience of interested voters,” said Judge Lehrmann, a candidate for Place 3 on the Texas Supreme Court, “given the rapid growth of mobile devices, we think this new forum will allow us to explain the importance of judicial experience to Texans from Lubbock to Laredo.”
The strong judicial record and experience of Judge Lehrmann, has earned her the endorsements of conservative organizations and media outlets alike, faces former Dripping Springs lawmaker Rick Green in the only statewide Republican runoff race on Tuesday, April 13.

Lehrmann’s high-definition video clips were produced by Brady Media Group, a Dallas-based publicity agency. In addition, BMG also launched her YouTube channel, doubled the campaign’s Facebook (News – Alert) fan base, and developed a new email marketing campaign.

“Regardless of your political affiliation, Obama changed the face of political campaigns,” BMG CEO Jeff Brady, says. “No politician can afford to ignore social media anymore.”
In related news, Toktumi (News – Alert) has announced that its popular Line 2 iPhone app is available on Apple

1) Keep your emails short and simple
2) Use ALL forms of media
3) Give them “take aways”

Fresh Strawberries. The secret ingredient to Emeril Lagasse’s favorite gazpacho soup!

Make it Automatic! It’s the simple, secret technique to grow wealth developed by best-selling author David Bach.

Why are these celebrities GIVING AWAY their secrets? Won’t it dilute their brands? Won’t everybody else be able to duplicate what they do best? Won’t it break the magic spell? No, no and no.

These experts are sharing their secrets for one reason only – to build their brands. And it works. They are generally regarded as thought leaders, visionary experts and sources of knowledge by their fans and followers. Each of them has built an empire around a name brand (their name, specifically) associated with their personal expertise, passion and teaching style.

You should do the same.

What special knowledge do you have that could help your customers / clients / partners / members / buyers / donors or contributors?
What problems are they trying to solve? What questions are they asking? What is it you know – and know very well – that you could share with the world?

If you have a secret – one that works for you and that will work for everyone else – and you’re willing to share it, you will attract an audience. They will want to learn from you. And once you’ve convinced them that the information you provide is valuable, they will come back for more. And suddenly you have a following. And voila! you have begun the sales cycle. Why? Because everyone wants to do business with an expert. We all want to learn from the people who have established themselves as visionary thought leaders in the industry, right?

So what’s your secret sauce?