I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
—Maya Angelou
Having grown up in the Space Age, I loved watching the movie Hidden Figures. Based on the nonfiction book of the same title by author Margot Lee Shetterly, the story reveals the dramatic and vital role African American women played in supporting NASA’s space program and its successful efforts during the 1960s. Basically, these women, known as “computers in skirts,” worked as mathematicians and engineers alongside the more visible white males attempting to lead the program. Without these fiercely determined women, however, it’s likely the space program as we know it would never have existed!
In the film, we see Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer portraying Dorothy Vaughan, the first black supervisor at NASA. Working when segregation was still enforced, Vaughan demanded that her title reflect the actual supervisory work she was already doing. Captivated by the premise of her character’s struggle, Spencer at first thought the story was fiction. “And then when I realized it wasn’t fiction,” she said in an interview, “it was even more imperative to be a part of the story. They were highly educated and they were moms and they were dreamers and they had fierce natures. And so there was so much about who they were that wasn’t lost on me” (http://www.npr.org/2016/12/16/505569187/hidden-figures-no-more-meet -the-black-women-who-helped-send-america-to-space).
These women were not satisfied with accepting the status quo and remaining at home in the kitchen or working in the socially acceptable roles dictated by segregation. They knew they were just as capable and intelligent, if not smarter, than any of their colleagues. They wanted to exercise their gifts and fulfill the God-given potential they had to participate in something that would change history forever.
In other words, these women were definitely entrepreneurs!
Entrepreneurial Evolution
These strong, driven women were part of an entrepreneurial evolution that had started decades earlier with the Wright brothers and other pioneers of flight and that culminated with Apollo 11 successfully fulfilling its mission on July 20, 1969. I remember as a boy watching Walter Cronkite on the evening news proclaim that we had landed on the moon and that two of the astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, had actually walked on the moon’s surface and planted our Stars and Stripes there to signal our triumph in being the first nation to accomplish such an astounding feat.
What had once been fodder for imaginative tales of science fiction about spaceships and little green men became a reality that fulfilled the promise of early pioneers of flight such as the Wright brothers. You see, Apollo 11’s launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the moon went through Kitty Hawk! If the Wright brothers had never invented a flying machine that, controlled by a pilot, could take off and sustain flight, who knows when or even if we would ever have made it into outer space and onto the moon.
While it might have been tempting to be satisfied with flying planes from continent to continent, entrepreneurial visionaries kept pushing the boundaries of known science until they reached new heights. Today those boundaries continue to be stretched as commercial space flights are becoming reality. Private companies such as Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and Blue Origin have been pursuing commercial human spaceflight for the past two decades. At the time I’m writing this, they, along with several other corporate ventures, continue to develop programs that will transport members of the public into the cosmos (http://www.space.com/24249-commercial -space-travel-blasts-off-2014.html).
Can you imagine it? In our lifetime, we may be shuttling into space for our next vacation! But when such a possibility becomes as commonplace as Uber, it will have been because of a relentless determination to excel beyond expectations. It will have been because passionate entrepreneurs refused to settle for “good enough” and instead became the best. And for entrepreneurs trying to take their businesses to the next level, the best rocket fuel I know is to intensify your marketing efforts.
Marketing makes the magic that can transform your airplane into a rocket ship!
Missional Marketing
While we’ve touched on the vital importance of marketing already, I believe effective marketing is so paramount to the ultimate success of your business that I now want to expand how you think about it. While you may understand its importance for launching your business, I fear too many new entrepreneurs underestimate the significance marketing has in sustaining flight and reaching their destination. Learning to market effectively is an ongoing educational process and requires keen attention to cultural trends, exact timing, and customer relations.
Marketing is inherent to the process of being a successful entrepreneur. I fear many small business owners consider marketing a burdensome, necessary chore they must do to keep their business running, much like filling out tax forms or taking the trash out. But the best marketing is organic and integrated into who you are, what you’re selling, why you’re selling it, and who you’re trying to reach. The best marketing efforts become synonymous with your brand even as they extend, enhance, and enforce it.
At the risk of being immodest or overestimating my own brand, I’ll use myself as an example. When you picked up this book, chances are good that you had heard of me before you saw my name on the cover. Perhaps you have seen me on television or heard me preach when you visited The Potter’s House. Maybe you recognized me from a conference you attended or from one of the many corporate events at which I speak. You might have read some of my other books, listened to music I produced, or seen my name rolling in the credits of a movie you watched.
Whatever it may have been, you likely had certain associations and preconceived notions of who T. D. Jakes is and what he’s all about. These elements shaped how you perceive a product, like this book, with my name on it. More importantly, these factors also influence what you expect to receive from reading a book I’ve written on this topic. My publishers call this a book’s “reader benefit” or “felt need”—basically, the benefits and payoff you will receive from a particular book.
If you didn’t know that I’m an entrepreneur in addition to being a pastor, then you might wonder what I might possibly know about starting a new business and why it would apply to you. But at this stage of my career, I suspect most people who know me realize that I’m interested in a variety of topics in many diverse media, which leads me to keep a number of entrepreneurial irons in the fire.
While I have never set out to brand myself singularly as an entrepreneur, that umbrella covers my many interests and ventures quite well. In fact, I would caution you against being too narrow with your brand identity and marketing efforts because you want to leave room for growth and expansion—possibly in areas that may not occur to you when starting out. Instead, consider finding a way to incorporate your mission into your marketing.
Early on in my career, I realized that everything I do—from ministry to music to movies and beyond—revolves around my desire to inform, inspire, and entertain. I believe lives can be changed and transformed through those three relational pillars so I have built my ministry, my conferences, my books—everything I do—around making sure they all reflect enlightening information, innovative inspiration, and exceptional entertainment.
Burn Your Bushel
One of the stories that has most influenced my approach to branding and marketing occurs in Scripture. One day while I was reading the Bible, it occurred to me that Jesus preached one of his longest messages to five thousand men, not to mention wives, children, and other family members, but not one word in the text tells us what he said! The entire focus is on what he did:
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14:19–21)
Talk about one big picnic! Think about it—he took one boy’s lunch of bread and fish and turned it into more than enough to feed thousands of hungry people. It seems so striking to me that we don’t know what he taught or preached on specifically that day, but we do know what he served for lunch! His impact was in the miracle and that became his message. He had no Internet, radio, television, or even a flyer. But when he fed the five thousand, the message of the Messiah went everywhere. Thousands of people left there that evening talking about Jesus and what he had done for less than the price of a Happy Meal!
I suspect this miracle occurred relatively early in Jesus’ public ministry. He obviously had a reputation because earlier in this passage (Matt. 14:13–14) we’re told he tried to slip away and have some downtime. But crowds followed him and he had compassion on them and ended up healing the sick and injured. So between healing them and feeding them, word was out about who he was and what he could do.
No longer was his candle hiding under a bushel! What do I mean by that? Referring to the way we are to share our faith with those around us by what we do and say, Jesus later explained, “Neither do men light a candle and hide it under a bushel!” In other words, if we have the light we shouldn’t hide it where no one can see it. I suspect there wasn’t that much talk about Jesus or his ministry, not on a large scale at least, before he fed the five thousand.
As audacious as it might sound, I believe this miracle of marketing succeeded in spreading the Good News Jesus came to bring better than anything else he could have done. No longer was he just the carpenter’s son from Nazareth—he was the all-powerful, grace-bearing, miracle-performing Son of God! Now that’s getting the word out!
A Beautiful Strategy
As entrepreneurs, we must also find the best way to burn through the bushel that prevents our customers from seeing our candle. You must dispel the secrecy that threatens the success of your business and get the word out about who you are and what you have to offer. Otherwise, no matter how talented you may be or how incredible your product, service, or cause it’s all for nothing because no one knows about it.
What good is it to be smart enough to write a book that no one reads? Or to start a real estate firm that potential customers can’t locate? Or a catering service that hungry event planners don’t know exists?
No matter what you’re trying to do, if your product can’t find its audience or your audience can’t find your product, your business loses. It isn’t enough to have a noble cause or an amazing product if you can’t burn the bushel that separates you from your intended audience.
Hash tags, niche marketing, and doing analytics on the audience you are trying to reach is critical. You can spend a ton on advertising, but if it doesn’t reach your demo you just wasted that money. It’s like selling swimwear to a station that advertises in Anchorage! And who wants to advertise birth control in an AARP magazine? Knowing who your audience is and where to reach them helps you target limited dollars to a select group.
You have to find a way to create an impression with the right people—potential customers and others who may be interested or can help get your word out. And you don’t need to spend a lot of money to hit your bull’s-eye. In fact, with creative thinking and a strategic approach, sharply focused marketing can also save you a ton of money.
For example, several years ago when we were marketing Jumping the Broom, a dramedy that I produced with Sony Pictures, they went high with limited dollars to TV and radio while I chose a different strategy and began targeting beauty shops. Since we had a predominantly black cast, I focused our impact on a strategic, concentrated audience.
I knew that women in our community use the beauty shop as their country club so I planned accordingly. The local beauty parlor is where all the neighborhood gossip spreads and the community news gets discussed. So we made Jumping the Broom aprons for beauticians and stylists and gave them as gifts at our early screenings. The buzz went crazy with a specific audience!
Brand Aid
Once you’ve launched your business and are trying to soar to the next level, it’s a good idea to revisit your branding and marketing strategy. Why fix something that’s not broken? Because the branding and marketing strategy that got you in the air is not necessarily going to keep you there or fuel your ascent into higher altitudes of success. Use what you’ve learned so far to refresh your messaging and make it more personal, more accurate, more “you.” And use what you’ve learned about your customers to find them and engage them with laser-like precision.
Revisit the basics of your marketing message and force yourself to come up with new answers. Your brand image should reflect your company’s message—after takeoff is yours still aligned? Or is there a gap that needs closing between the conceptual and the tangible? What is it specifically that you want to convey to your market about your business? What is the story that you want to tell? What is it that you want potential customers and clients to know about you and your company? What is that you want them to believe about you? What values do you want to communicate to customers? These questions can provide you with a marketing checkup exam to make sure that your new venture remains healthy and continues to grow beyond your launch.
Now that you have established a foundation for your brand, it’s time to build on it. If it’s shaky and needs reinforcement, then add the necessary support pieces to make your message and mission clear and memorable. While you will likely have chosen a name for your business at this stage, make sure that it truly fits your product and target audience. For instance, I once met a young woman who had just opened a day spa and named it after herself: Lapastii Ater Soror. Although the meaning behind the name—“beautiful black sister”—was wonderful and the way she pronounced it was lovely, she quickly realized it was a barrier to her business. Consequently, a few months after opening, she made the wise decision to change the name of her spa to Oasis.
I’m not sure why the young lady chose to name her business after herself initially, perhaps because it was convenient or expedient, but I know it didn’t fit any of the criteria for a good business name. It wasn’t easy to pronounce, wasn’t easy to spell, and definitely wasn’t easy to remember! It didn’t communicate the specific kind of business nor did it deliver any kind of resonant, emotional message. I think it’s safe to say that unless she was fortunate enough to have several celebrities talking about her spa and teaching the general public how to say that name, her new business would have continued to struggle.
To help you determine if your name and brand are having the impact you want, ask repeat customers and others you know well for honest feedback. The young lady who changed the name of her spa finally realized it wasn’t working when a customer jokingly suggested she change the spa’s name to something others could pronounce.
Remember: your messaging begins with the name of your business.
Tame the Name Game
If your original name isn’t working or can be sharpened to clarify your message and brand identity, then change it before more time passes. Brainstorm new ideas and then revisit your original list of names and ideas for what to call your business. I understand your reticence to change your company’s name after you’ve already launched it, but if it’s not catching hold and connecting with customers, it’s better to make a change now while your business is still alive than to wish you had made the change when it’s too late.
Reflect on the names of businesses you like and focus on what in particular you like. Are they clever and involve wordplay, such as a shoe shop called Heart and Sole? Do they pique your curiosity with an appeal to something unique or exotic, such as a travel boutique called Bon Voyage? Maybe it’s pure simplicity and clarity that you like, something we see in Brown Girls Books, the name of a small independent publisher started by two African American women.
Having the right name for your business is one of the most important steps for growth and shouldn’t be taken lightly. This name represents you in the public sphere, and much like Jesus feeding the five thousand, you want impact that will not only capture what you’re offering to the public but a name that will deliver your message and if possible your values. You’re not just naming a business; you’re establishing your brand.
When providing branding consultation services to entrepreneurs about business names, a consultant of a major branding company says he first asks clients, “Do you want your company’s name to fit in or to stand out?” The answer seems obvious, right? What business owner wouldn’t want her company to stand out? Sometimes, however, this consultant cautions, new businesses entering certain industries—insurance, elder care, financial planning—might need a more conservative, “serious”-sounding name. A name that’s wildly original in certain fields might not be taken seriously by prospective clients in other, more conservative arenas.
For the majority of new businesses, however, your name as well as your brand should be distinct, standing out from your competitors. You want it to be clear and concise but also to have an element of surprise that reinforces your products or services. Depending on your field of business, a personal touch may work best. Whatever you choose, keep in mind that the more your name says, the less you will have to say and the less you will have to educate about your business. Use your business’s name to fuel your marketing flight for the long haul, not just the short connection!
Mixing Rocket Fuel
Once you’re confident you’ve got the right name for your business, then use it as a catalyst to create combustible fuel for your marketing momentum. Make sure your name makes sense with your logo, even if it’s something as simple as the name of your business in a certain font and color. Your company’s name and logo should be a central part of everything you do—from your business card, your storefront design, your interior décor, your website, and social media, to your advertising and promotional materials. Pay attention to these details because this is part of the message you want to convey to your customers: that you know what you’re doing and can handle all the details involved in serving them and providing an excellent experience.
Once you have your company name and logo, use them in new and creative ways to ignite your rocket boosters and deliver your company’s message. Like the name, your message should be simple, memorable, and distinct from your competition’s message. If your company and your message remain aligned, then over time the two become virtually synonymous. Just consider a few examples:
Allstate Insurance: You’re in Good Hands
McDonald’s: I’m Lovin’ It
Nike: Just Do It
Kentucky Fried Chicken: Finger Lickin’ Good
Burger King: Have It Your Way
eBay: Buy it. Sell it. Love it.
BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine
What do each of these pairs have in common? They all convey a memorable message embedded in the name of the business or organization. Probably by the fourth or fifth time you read or heard the message, you could repeat it yourself. These messages are not only easy to remember, they also tell us something about the company. You have only a few seconds to impress the customer and get your message across. So make it simple, but something that will stand out. If you rely on “Sherry’s Shoes: In Business Since 2000” or “Clyde’s Car Detailing: Your Local Specialists,” then you’re wasting a huge and vitally important opportunity!
Once you’ve aligned your name brand and message, then use this combination like the powerful rocket fuel it can be. Use it on your promotional materials, use it in your advertising, on your business card, your giveaway items such as calendars and key chains—and most definitely have it on your website and social media pages! It’s important once you have your message that you continue to use it as you reinforce your brand. Working hard to massage your message into the memory of everyone you encounter will soon create a contagious combustion of public awareness.
Just Be-Cause
Once you have realigned all of your key pieces, then it’s time to get creative and strategic in using them in synchronous ways. Most people use flyers, ad buys in radio or on TV, online banners, and Facebook comments. These messages usually tell the consumer what they have, but often fail at sharing why they should buy it. Strategic marketing isn’t just about the “what” you have but also the “why.” As entrepreneurial guru Seth Godin explains, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.”
What story are you telling with your marketing and messaging? Is this the best narrative to bring in new customers and to sustain the business you already have? What role does the customer have in your story? How can you engage customers actively?
Consider the experience you want to give people when they encounter your marketing and its messaging. How do you want them to feel? What felt-need do you want to spark inside them so that they will be drawn to what you’re offering? Again, never forget that you’re solving a problem for them in some meaningful way, whether it’s by providing convenience, efficiency, quality, reliability, or some other combination of desirable feelings.
Never underestimate the power of fun to get your message out. Not so long ago the ALS Association garnered national attention by creating a brilliant gimmick that had everyone from kindergartners to Kardashians wanting to participate. The Ice Bucket Challenge swept the country and was everywhere, on TV and in the news and all over social media—and it didn’t cost a dime! Their cause attracted support from people their budget could never have afforded, but because it was cause-driven marketing, many celebrities, athletes, and performers gladly participated and then posted, linked, and wrote about their experience.
Purpose-driven marketing is critical, particularly for nonprofit organizations. Just consider how breast cancer awareness has become synonymous with one color. And as a result, the Susan G. Komen Foundation has gotten big burly NFL football players to wear pink pants, caps, and gloves throughout the entire month of October! The foundation has been masterful in using cause-driven marketing. They understand that people like to get behind a worthy cause and back it as ambassadors spreading a message of awareness and support.
You don’t have to be a nonprofit to utilize purpose-driven marketing. If you’re committed to helping and enriching the lives of people in your community, you will automatically attract positive buzz about your business. I remember when I was growing up, it was often something as simple as having local businesses purchase uniforms for the kids’ sports teams. Don’t underestimate the impact of several dozen kids wearing the name of your business on their backs for months at a time! Professional sports teams know this trick as well and usually accept bids from corporate sponsors to name their stadiums.
Also, look for opportunities where you can support causes that naturally or logically relate to the kind of business you have. Maybe your baby boutique can sponsor a local marathon that promotes weight loss and wellness for new moms. Or your car repair shop might partner with Uber or another car service and offer free transportation on weekend nights in concentrated areas with lots of bars and clubs. It could simply be speaking at your local Toastmasters or civic club and providing tips for other small business owners and entrepreneurs.
Your cause-driven marketing effort might involve donating a certain amount of your products and services as part of the freebies given at fund-raisers or other cause-driven events. In return, you get your name listed and often prominently displayed at the event as well as allow potential new customers to sample your offerings. These opportunities can help expose your business to new sectors of your community, ones that you normally might not be able to reach.
Shrewd entrepreneurial marketers know it isn’t enough to simply be good at something—if you get behind a cause, it can ignite a viral wildfire!
Who You Know
Never forget that marketing relies on relationships, not only with your customers but also with strategic partners who can help multiply your marketing efforts. My mother used to say success is not just about what you know—it’s also about who you know! She understood that your entire network of relationships can be engaged to help you extend your brand and spread your message.
This kind of marketing might be as creative and relational as getting a rapper to wear your designer shoes. You might not have direct access to such celebrities or public figures, but someone in your network might be able to help you get their attention. This type of marketing franchises the influence of others to propel your product.
And nowadays you don’t even need an introduction to contact most influential people. Using social media, you have direct access. I just read recently that some high school students contacted a famous NFL quarterback because their teacher, a huge fan of this player’s team, said that if this player contacted her directly, the kids wouldn’t have to take their final exam. Sure enough, the students went online and the football star responded to their request, contacted their teacher, and the teacher canceled their exam!
Sometimes you don’t need a celebrity endorser to get your message out there. Instead, you need what Malcolm Gladwell calls “connectors” and “mavens” in his contemporary classic book The Tipping Point. According to him, connectors love networking, making introductions, and providing relational glue among the many people they know and encounter. These are the people you know who seem to know everyone else! Because they’re often extroverted and gregarious, these connectors enjoy helping you meet other influential people.
Mavens differ from connectors, according to Gladwell, in that mavens provide information about various products, services, and businesses. These are your friends who love to go shopping with you because they know what’s on sale at which stores. They naturally like to compare various businesses and find the ones with the best deals, the best products, and the best customer service. A maven who likes you and your company will naturally be directing more business your way.
Whatever you want to call them, people who know how to maximize their online presence are often invaluable marketing resources. In our global online community, simply having a strong online following can land you a role in a movie, a record deal, or a job as a news correspondent. You can launch a career as a singer, makeup artist, interior decorator, or model based on cultivating a large online fan base.
Because you never know who might be watching! You might have forgotten, but pop superstar Justin Bieber was discovered by Usher from a YouTube posting. This was also how the hip-hop artist known as Soulja Boy made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2010 with his hit “Crank That.” With a huge online fan base on MySpace and YouTube, this young artist from Chicago caught the eye of hip-hop producer Mr. Collipark, who signed him to Interscope Records. He reportedly earned more than $7 million that year, making him one of the highest-paid hip-hop artists of his generation (https://monetizepros .com/features/25-celebrities-who-got-rich-famous-on-youtube/).
Or consider how Whitney White has accumulated an incredible online presence since posting a profile video on her Naptural85 channel to commemorate going with a natural hairstyle. That initial video led to features on styling, best practices, and tutorials for other women interested in pursuing a similar look. Today she has more than a million followers thanks to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (https://www.youtube.com/user/Naptural85/about).
I learned the value of leveraging online platforms firsthand. When I was doing my talk show, one of the things my producers and I discussed in choosing a guest often included how many YouTube hits they got or how many Facebook friends they had. We understood that when these guests posted their visit on the show or mentioned appearing in my movie, we gained additional viewers or ticket sales we wouldn’t normally have gotten. These influential online personalities helped us burn the bushel without adding to the budget!
As we conclude our exploration of the kinds of marketing that can take you to the next level, I hope you have been inspired to try new approaches and to initiate creative strategies. Just remember, great marketing doesn’t depend on how much money you spend—it relies on consistent value in your messaging. Great marketing provides potential customers with an experience that establishes a relationship with you and your business. From that relationship, trust is born, which in turn leads to increased revenue for you.
Ultimately, the best marketing methods always return maximum exposure for minimum cost!