313 - Taking bikinis off the stage of Miss Universe NZ was the key to fixing this toxic business
Nigel Godfrey - raconteur and owner of the rights to Miss Universe New Zealand has taken a toxic business that had a globally recognised brand and turned it around. It has been described as the greatest turn around of any territory in the last 25 years and he's done it all in under 3 years.
We also discuss how as a culture we don't celebrate entrepreneurs enough. We go crazy over sports and hold them up as role models and we don't do that for business owners and entrepreneurs but we should.
In this fireside chat we talk about:
- How to fix a toxic business
- Why entrepreneurs should be celebrated
- How to attract sponsorship when you have little to offer
- The power of Facebook to attract sponsors and build a brand
- The bigger picture - how Miss Universe has become rewarding for Nigel and the contestants
Plus I have another testimonial for my book The Boomerang Effect and I crowdsource a listener question:
What’s the greatest tip you have seen for a ‘hair on fire’ emergency business such as an emergency plumber or electrician?
Here are some of my tips:
- Cover your car in fridge magnets and park it somewhere where there’s high foot traffic
- Place a sticker somewhere obvious on the appliance
I’ve gone and crowdsourced the answers (Facebook):
- John Hawes: Simple, fast, beautiful, responsive website.
- Lee Young: Hold fun and interactive sessions at schools around electrical safety the kids then go home and tell Mum & Dad about this crazy sparky guy who showed them how electricity works and why it’s dangerous.
- Hunter Leonard: If it's a hair on fire emergency business, you gotta wonder whose hair on fire emergency well-handled would gain the most publicity. Do you fix the Kardashians bathroom sink that's clogged with all that black hair colour, or Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's toilet on the election tour bus (no hair in that! what goes on in that tour bus?!). I'd opt for fixing a famous person or famous bloggers drain and then getting them to tell their world about it!
- Brendan McNally: Get clear on your keywords then create landing pages for each one blocked drains, burst hot water service etc. Don't forget to have some quality ‘helpful’ content on your main site around after hours emergencies, around each specific emergency call out, i.e. How to reset the Safety switch; or How to turn off your mains water.
EPISODE TIMELINE
00:30 Welcome & overview
02:33 Today’s guest introduction - Nigel Godfrey of Miss Universe New Zealand
03:42 Interview with Nigel Godfrey - Part 1
16:18 Insights in to Netregistry & Designcrowd.com
18:25 Interview with Nigel Godfrey - Part 2
41:23 My top 3 attention grabbers from my chat with Nigel Godfrey
43:00 Motivational marketing quote of the week
46:16 Listener question
49:19 Wrap-up and insights in to next week’s guests
EPISODE SPONSORS (PLEASE SUPPORT THEM)
Netregistry listener offer – Get your online marketing sorted. Websites from $79 / month.
Designcrowd.com - Save up to $100 on your first design.
The world's #1 custom design marketplace - beautifully simple & cheap. We love cheap!
RESOURCES & LINKS MENTIONED
Episode 262 with Rand Fishkin on SEO for small businesses
Buy Timbo’s new marketing book The Boomerang Effect
MY TOP 3 MARKETING ATTENTION GRABBERS FROM THIS EPISODE
- We need to celebrate entrepreneurs, the way we celebrate athletes and socialites. Let’s lose the tall poppy rubbish and start to place the people who create extraordinary businesses on pedestals. It’s certainly what I try to do with this show.
- If you find yourself with a toxic business where things aren’t coming together then pull out the whiteboard and mind map all the different parts of the business. Make hard decisions around what or who to keep and let go of.
- You can’t please everyone. If you try to then you’ll mean nothing to no one. Pick a niche and chase after it. They’ll love you, even if no one else does!
INSPIRATIONAL MARKETING QUOTE
In ~1920, self?help author Robert Collier once said …
“Tell him what to do. Tell him to put his name on the enclosed card, stamp and mail it. Or pin his check or dollar bill to this letter and return it in the enclosed envelope.”
What's the lesson?
People need to be told what to do.
Be sure to have a clear call to action (CTA) on every piece of marketing you create. Look at eBay’s ‘Add To Cart’ button ? you can’t miss it. The big guys have spent millions researching the heck out of consumer behaviour so you don’t have to. Just observe and copy what works for your business.
Ask yourself ... ‘what do you want someone to do having read, watched, or listened to a piece of your marketing?’
The obvious answer is to buy from you ... but buyer behaviour isn’t that simple, there may be a few steps in between your marketing and a purchase.
So consider these other calls to action:
? Register their interest
? Give you their contact details g. Email, phone
? Share it via social media
? Attend an event
OVER TO YOU …
What was your biggest marketing learning or ah-ha moment from this episode?
Leave your comment below.
My guest and I respond to each and every comment.
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