The 1% marketing solution:

There is an interesting article by James Clear at www.jamesclear.com

Here’s the start of James’ article?

This coach improved every tiny thing by 1 percent and here’s what happened?

In 2010, Dave Brailsford faced a tough job.

No British cyclist had ever won the Tour de France, but as the new General Manager and Performance Director for Team Sky (Great Britain’s professional cycling team), that’s what Brailsford was asked to do.

His approach was simple.

Brailsford believed in a concept that he explained as the 1% margin for improvement in everything you do.?

His belief was that if you improved every area related to cycling by just 1 percent, then those small gains would add up to remarkable improvement.

They started by optimizing the things you might expect: the nutrition of riders, their weekly training program, the ergonomics of the bike seat, and the weight of the tires.

But Brailsford and his team didn’t stop there.

They searched for 1 percent improvements in tiny areas that were overlooked by almost everyone else: discovering the pillow that offered the best sleep and taking it with them to hotels, testing for the most effective type of massage gel, and teaching riders the best way to wash their hands to avoid infection. They searched for 1 percent improvements everywhere.

Brailsford believed that if they could successfully execute this strategy, then Team Sky would be in a position to win the Tour de France in five years’ time. He was wrong. They won it in three years.

In 2012, Team Sky rider Sir Bradley Wiggins became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France. That same year, Brailsford coached the British cycling team at the 2012 Olympic Games and dominated the competition by winning 70 percent of the gold medals available.

In 2013, Team Sky repeated their feat by winning the Tour de France again, this time with rider Chris Froome.

Many have referred to the British cycling feats in the Olympics and the Tour de France over the past 10 years as the most successful run in modern cycling history.

James’s article went on to explain how looking for consistent 1% improvements could have a profound impact on many parts of your life.

The same 1% improvement concept could easily be applied to marketing. So what we look for are dozens of different opportunities to make a 1 % improvement in our various marketing activities.

For some people, this could mean they talk to one happy client a month on the phone. And ask this person what they like the product or service they purchased and why they would highly recommend it. Then put this positive feedback on their website.

You will now have 12 new positive testimonials a year and that will improve your testimonials by at least 1%. You could easily improve your quotes and proposals by at least 1%. Just include 2-3 glowing testimonials from delighted customers with every quote or proposal you give to potential new clients.

You could easily improve the way your existing clients remember you by at least 1%.

Just send ten clients this week a short handwritten note in the mail saying that you appreciate their business and wish them a positive year ahead.

You could easily improve your sales presentations by 1%. Just ask one extra question when talking to potential customers.

This could be something as simple as? why is that important to you??

Now a 1% improvement in one part of marketing is quite simple to do.

And when you make dozens of tiny improvements like this the increases in your overall results can be spectacular.

Today’s quote: “To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions.” – Stephen R. Covey