Make THE HUGE promise! Develop your brand in just “4 hours” with the help of these marketer’s insights!

Monday: MicroBusiness and Marketing Marvels FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Some of the most inspiring stories come from the underdogs of society. This week I want to bring you a tale of a boy who grew up in the midst of poor health conditions and a rough area, but made himself into one of the most prominent marketers in today’s age. Who was this boy? None other than… Tim Ferriss, an American entrepreneur, investor, author, and lifestyle guru! Keep reading to know Ferriss’ observations in the market led him to create a book based on his experiences as a businessman. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

THE HUGE promise! Develop your brand in just “4 hours” with the help of these marketer’s insights! Tim Ferriss: Entrepreneur, Investor, Author, and Lifestyle Guru Modern marketing genius Tim Ferriss developed an interest for self-improvement after experiencing poor health throughout his childhood years. After graduating from St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, he matriculated at Princeton University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian Studies. Once Ferriss stepped out of Princeton, he had his first job in the sales department of a data storage company. In the early 2000s, Ferriss founded some companies such as BrainQUICKEN and BodyQUICK. During this time, he also discovered his talent for writing, which gave birth to the book, “The 4-Hour Workweek.” While writing this book, Ferriss reevaluated his thoughts on productivity and realized that “Not everything that is meaningful can be measured.” According to what Ferriss wrote in the book, people love to consume huge, hyped up promises despite the fact that they’re “insanely unrealistic.” Think about it in your own situation: Achieving or accomplishing something in just 4 hours is really appealing! Examples… “Join the ‘new rich’ by working only 4 hours a week!” “Attain the perfect body in just 4 hours!” “Anything can be yours in 4 hours if you do this tip!” See? These things are quite impossible to achieve in just 4 hours, but a lot of people still fall into these traps! But… Here’s good news: Even if you work 40 or 60 hours a week, you can still get twice as much work done! Ferriss said that you can promise the stars and still make people happy if you can help them hit the moon. Other books written by Ferriss include: The 4-Hour Body (2010) The 4-Hour Chef (2012) Tools of Titans (2016) Tribe of Mentors (2017) Here are 3 branding rules applied by Ferriss in his experiences as an entrepreneur and marketer: Owning a category in the industry he’s in. Ferriss isn’t much of a fan of branding-centric strategies. In fact, his philosophy is instead of fixating his attention on unclear, vague, or ill-defined branding, he should just think of how he can “own a category” in the minds of his target market. Why? It’s because he believes these people can act as his strongest marketing force! That’s why Ferriss stated that if he cannot be number 1 or number 2 in an existing category, he should just find and create his own category. Not making a product for “everyone.” “If everyone is your market, then no one is your market.” Ferriss knew the value of having a specific target market for his business, especially with the first versions of his offerings. According to him, it’s better to have 1,000 people who love his brand than 100,000 who think his business is just kind of cool. He said, “‘Great’ to 1,000 edge-case nerds beats ‘good’ to 100,000 of anything else, every time.” In a social-sharing-driven world, Ferriss said it’s more ideal to cultivate the intense few instead of the lukewarm many. Not focusing too much on branding. One reason why Ferriss isn’t much of a fan of branding is because he believes it is just a side effect of consistent association. “Don’t put the cart before the horse.” Ferriss made it part of his habits to think constantly about over-delivering one or two benefits to his customers. This is because he’s seen that in putting good business first, good brand will follow. Just like Ferriss, you can make that HUGE promise to your customers and clients! Try to read his “The 4-Hour Workweek” book to learn more about his insights into business and marketing. When you take these branding rules seriously just as much as Ferriss did, you’ll also be able to make your own figurative 4-hour accomplishments in your independent business or career goals! Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn.     Stay tuned for next Monday’s MicroBusiness Marvels! Learn more about David Ogilvy and the importance of testing on next week’s MicroBusiness and Marketing Marvels!