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Jan 21 2009
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Simplify

There is a somewhat famous Albert Einstein quote that goes: “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

I think the application of that thinking to marketing, and more specifically marketing messages, is crucial, now more than ever. Confusion breeds caution and caution breeds no sale. No matter how complex your solutions are you must find a way to communicate them in very simple terms – terms that make it very easy for the prospect to jump directly to results.

There are two very important paths that one must develop in an effort to simplify their business and brand promise – message and process.

Your core message should be simple, clear, consistent, and buzzable. One of my favorite examples of this strategy is a St. Louis entrepreneur by the name of Scott Ginsberg – Scott, or Hello My Name Is Scott as some know him, has done the same simple, clear, and buzzable thing for 3000 + days and it is his business. (Go find out for yourself!)

Your process should be simple, clear, consistent and visual. By process I mean, generically, how someone gets the results they are after through your product, service, or engagement. For some, it may be an actual mappable set of steps that makes explanation of “how you work” a simple affair. For others, a diagram of success might help tell the story. (Two books on this subject you might check out – The Back of the Napkin – Dan Roam and slide:ology – Nancy Duarte.)

Here’s the diagram I use to demonstrate the components of a Duct Tape Marketing system and marketing plan. I keep working on it trying to get it down to one or two words, but not simpler.

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  • http://Ninja-Nerd.com Daiv Russell

    John,

    As usual, great advice. Small business owners have a tendency to complicate what they think needs to be done in order to market their busines.

    I’m a little torn over the placement of “Educate” in the list, though… not that it shouldn’t be done, but that may be is comes after being found and should include the education of one’s customer base in communicating the core message and helping them understand the value proposition.

    Just my 2c

    - Daiv http://Twitter.com/DaivRawks

  • http://www.refocusingtechnology.com/ Jeremy Lattimore

    John,

    Another great post. We must be on the same wavelength of late. I just wrote a blog post about the same idea from a little different viewpoint.

    Simplicity in the 2009!

    Great post and thank you for the insight!

    Jeremy
    Refocusing Technology

  • http://www.drewschiller.com Drew Schiller

    Simplicity is something that I think we all struggle with at times, so thanks for the reminder, John. When I work with my clients on brand communication, this is one of the most difficult concepts for me to help them grasp (ironic, since it should be so simple!). Scott Ginsberg is an excellent example of someone who delivers a clear, effective, and simple message!

  • http://businesscoaching.typepad.com Paul Simister

    John
    Thanks for publishing your Duct Tape diagram which has given me food for thought for both my Eight Pillars of Business Prosperity and Hidden Profit approaches.

  • http://www.righteousmarketing.com Robert

    Spell Check – “Confusion breads caution and caution breads no sale.” should read “Confusion breeds caution and caution breeds no sale.”

  • John Jantsch

    @Robert – doh! – spell check is no help here, but I guess it wasn’t talking about baking now was I? Thanks

  • John Jantsch

    @Daiv – no doubt educate continues after being found but it’s the key to building trust before the sale, so education must infuse your marketing materials first.

  • John Jantsch

    @Paul – you bet – let’s get the profit unhidden, shall we?

  • http://www.business901.com Joe Dager

    I love the diagram and the ability to simplify the Duct Tape Marketing process as a result. I am a huge fan of Nancy Duarte, never understood why Garr outsold hers.

    Good resource for this subject is Bill Jensen who wrote several books on the subject, most notable “Simplicity”
    I like the Simplicity Survival Handbook best.

  • John Jantsch

    @Joe – thanks I will check out the Bill Jensen stuff. See maybe you made me buy a book for a change!

  • http://barjdcommunications.com JudyAnn Lorenz

    I connected with Scott — Hello! My Name is —

    I really enjoy him, would follow him any day!

  • http://barjdcommunications.com JudyAnn Lorenz

    My apologies’ I’m really not trying to fill your comments quota. I connected with Scott — Hello My Name is at Triibes.

    My opinion of enjoying his way of thinking remains the same.

  • http://www.wealthresourcesgroup.com/neal-talk Neal Frankle

    Great post John. I loved your book and the clear and concise diagram above helps solidify it. Thanks!

  • John Jantsch

    @Neal – hey thanks Neal – don’t tell my publisher that I was able condense 304 pages to 1!

  • http://www.nametagtv.com HELLO, my name is Scott

    Hey guys! I’m a little late in the discussion, but here are my two cents on simplicity:

    1. If a question seems or sounds too simple, that’s exactly why you should ask it.

    2. Customers crave simplicity.

    3. If you can’t describe your product eight words or less, it’s not simple enough.

    4. If you can’t explain your idea on the back of a business card, it’s not simple enough.

    5. If you can’t explain your idea to a five year old, it’s not simple enough.

    6. Simple can always BECOME complex, but not the other way around.

    Great thread John!

    REMEMBER: Simplicity IS sophistication.

  • http://www.irunabiz.com Jeff Spiller

    Amen! We tend to overcomplicate things these days for various reasons– we are lazy, to make ourselves look more important, to deflect blame, because we don’t understand something, or because we don’t understand what someone else wants. All of which are unflattering.

  • http://www.pilothousecomm.com Sue Carlson

    I have to agree-especially true when selling technolgoy to small business owners-they just want it to work- to do what you say it will and often don’t care or want to know the how of it. As my sales manager often tells them “it’s PFM”

  • John Jantsch

    @Jeff – I do agree that it’s a lot more work to simplify, not so sure it’s laziness as it’s just harder.

    I love the Mark Twain quote – “I would have written a shorter letter if I would have had more time.”

  • http://atniz.com Atniz

    I wanted to introduce my SEO service recently and I’m going to apply all these steps.

  • http://www.relenta.com Dmitri Eroshenko, Relenta

    Thanks for the overview of the Duct Tape Marketing system @John. Heard a lot about it but haven’t had a chance to read yet (have half a dozen books in my reading backlog).

    May I recommend a fantastic book “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” by Chip and Dan Heath:

    http://adjix.com/2ikf

    The ideas that stick are:

    Simple. Unexpected. Concrete. Credible. Emotional. A story.

    A fantastic book that…well, sticks in your mind :)

    It’s a must read when form

  • John Jantsch

    @Dmitri – thanks – yes, I am familiar with Made to Stick, where do you think they got the idea to put duct tape on the cover of their book? I interviewed Chip Heath on the Duct Tape Marketing podcast when the book came out.

  • http://www.ychange.com Small Business Marketing

    Perhaps a different way to look at this is: we need to show a customer how to attain value from our product or service as quickly and as easily as possible.

  • http://www.seoresults.co.za/pages/seo-tips/ SEO Tips South Africa

    The old KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle sure continues to make solid sense, and should be one of the pillars of a solid and successful marketing strategy. Great post John, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

  • http://www.more-for-small-business.com Kris Bovay

    I like the structure of the duct tape marketing system example. And yes it is simple, and very clear.

  • http://www.unfair.com.au Dan Hamilton

    Brilliant message John! I just read a great book called ‘Storyselling for Financial Advisors’ which has some interesting points which are valid for any kind of marketing.

    Namely, that the easiest and simplest way to sell anything to anyone is using stories, metaphors and analogies in order to get the point across quickly and communicate with the part of the brain that makes the buying decision.

  • http://www.buysafemedia.com Ekaterina

    Great point about creating simple and consistent marketing messaging, John. And in the process of “connecting with your ideal customers,” we as marketers should look for audited media outlets, both print and online. Using audited media is the only way to be sure that the right people are getting the right messages. We’ve recently been working with http://www.buysafemedia.com and they have some valuable insights about the importance of placing ads in audited media and how it affects the return on investment.