How to Deliver a Powerful Marketing Message & Attract More of Your Ideal Clients with Nicki Chang-Powless

Kathi: Hi everyone. As promised, I'm with Nicki Chang-Powless, and we're going to talk about marketing and all the things you can do on a budget to grow your business and make more money. So, hi Nicki.

Nicki: Hi Kathi, how are you?

Kathi: Good, it's so good to see you. I have been following you for so long, and I'm excited to have you on the show, because I know that everybody out here listening needs to know more about marketing, and especially how to do it on a budget, because times are a little bit tricky right now. We want to make more money, and we want to spend less money to make more money.

Nicki: Absolutely, absolutely.

Kathi: Now, marketing is really tricky, and I know a lot of people have spent lots of money on marketing, and they've come up to me and said, "Marketing doesn't work. Why is it so hard?"

Nicki: Exactly. I felt that way.

Kathi: I think everybody's felt that way at some time, after you throw some money down the drain and you're like, "I thought I was doing everything right." But let's just start at the beginning. Tell us how you started. How did you get into being such a marketing maven?

Nicki: How I started being a marketing maven? Actually, it started when I was in corporate. I did spend over 22 years in the corporate world, and my very first job outside of university was in sales. They hired me to be a salesperson, and from there, a lot of the positions that I've had in corporate have incorporated a lot of sales and marketing, but I also have a lot of business experience in the various departments. When I left corporate, I literally retired. I said, "Nope, this is it." And then one of my colleagues came up to me and said, "Nicki, I got laid off, and I want to take the severance package and start a business. I know exactly what I want to do, but I have no clue how to start a business. And you've got all this business experience. Will you help me?" And my exact words to him were, "Sure, why not? I have nothing better to do with my time." And I am not kidding. And then a couple of months later, somebody else came up to me and said, "Nicki, I've had this business for a couple of years now, and I'm not attracting the type of clients that I really want to work with. You've got all the sales experience. Will you help me?" And that's when I stood back, and it was like the heavens parted and the angels started singing. That's when I recognized that the corporate business knowledge that I have, especially on the sales and marketing side, is not common knowledge among small business owners. So I work exclusively with small business owners, a lot of solopreneurs, on identifying what they need to change in their marketing. That's the area that I specialize in right now.

Kathi: Ooh, that's a good story. Back by popular demand, Nicki's now helping entrepreneurs.

Nicki: Yes, yes. And you know what? I'll share with you. When I started my own business, after I left corporate, I was thinking, "I've got all this knowledge. I got it. I know what I'm doing." So one of the things I decided to do was create a website. Created the website, put the open-for-business sign up. And I was thinking, if I build it, they will come. Guess what happened? No, they didn't come. So I'm sitting here going, "What in the heck is going on?" Then I decided, "Okay, I know what I'm doing in sales and marketing." So I decided I was going to hire a company that did digital ads to get me clicks to the website. They would get eyeballs on my website. And I did that. $2,000 later, I'm like, "Nobody's called."

Kathi: Yeah, I was waiting for you to say that.

Nicki: Have you experienced this before?

Kathi: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Nicki: And I'm sitting here going, "Okay, what am I doing wrong?" That's when I recognized that when it comes to marketing, there are some critical elements, foundational elements, that a lot of people were missing. Including myself. I went back to the basics. But that's when I recognized that there are some incredible marketing companies out there. They know what they're doing. But a lot of them don't specialize in the area that I specialize in, which is the client attraction side. How do you make it attractive for people to want to work with you? That was the key. And so people started asking me, "What's wrong with my marketing? What do I need to change for it to work better?" So you can get a better return on investment. That's what people are looking for. When I interviewed people, they said, "I want a better return. If I'm going to spend money, I want to be able to get something back for it."

Kathi: Right. I at least wanted it to break even. Just let me break even and I'm happy. Just don't make me go down into the red.

If I build it, they will come. Guess what happened? No, they didn't come.

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Nicki: Well, okay. I'm going to share with you the two main factors that will make you or break you in marketing. You ready for that?

Kathi: Yay! Okay. I'm putting on my seat belt.

Nicki: Number one, it's choosing the right marketing activity to get in front of your audience. To tell you the truth, there are a lot of different ways that you can market yourself. You could go to networking events, you can write a blog, you could publish a book, you could do a podcast. There's a ton of different ways. The question is, are you choosing the one that is best for you at this point in time? It's not a one-size-fits-all. It's about understanding where you're at in the journey, understanding who your target audience is, and choosing the right method. And it can change. You could have your perfect target market, but then times change and they're looking at things differently, in different modes. The economy changes, or, to tell you the truth, the biggest change most people had was COVID.

Kathi: Of course.

Nicki: The whole entire world changed. When it comes to small business owners: how do I adapt to this change? So just because something worked for you before doesn't necessarily mean it's going to work for you now. So one of the reasons is to be able to choose the right marketing message for where you're at at this given point in time. And it's also knowing that what works for that person may not work for you. Have you ever heard people say, "I used Facebook ads and I got incredible results"?

Kathi: Yeah. Yeah.

Nicki: And then you hear somebody else say, "I tried it and it was a great big goose egg."

Kathi: Yeah.

Nicki: Okay. So it's a matter of identifying which is the right activity for you. That was number one. Are you ready for number two?

Kathi: Yes.

Nicki: The second factor that plays a critical role in your success with marketing, to get the best return on your investment, is delivering a powerful marketing message.

Kathi: Yes.

Nicki: A lot of people think they know what is happening and think they know what their message is. And they come to me and they go, "Well, why aren't people engaging or reaching out to me?" One of my clients had spent money on an SEO company to get clicks to the website. He says, "Nicki, what's wrong with my website?" And I went on to their website, and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, this is a beautiful website." It was classy, it was elegant. It told me what he did, but it didn't tell me what he could do for me.

Kathi: That's a big one right there.

Nicki: Why I should pick up the phone and call him. That's probably the number one reason why a lot of people struggle with marketing: they think they know what their message is, but their message isn't making that connection with their audience.

It told me what he did, but it didn't tell me what he could do for me.

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Kathi: Okay, we've got to repeat this. So listen to this, guys. This is huge. You go to your website and you think, "Oh, this is what I do. Blah blah blah. I'm so great. This is what I do. These are my services." But you're missing… say it, Nicki.

Nicki: You're missing an engaging message for them to take action.

Kathi: And what's in it for them, right? What's in it for them, and why should they click now?

Nicki: Absolutely. Now, that's what I call having clarity on your product brand. And I will share with your listeners what the product brand is, because this is a critical element of the marketing message. Your product brand is exactly who your target audience is, what you do to solve their problem, how you stand out in front of all the other people offering similar services, and how you position yourself as the expert in your field. It's how you articulate the value that you bring to engage people to want to invest in your services and work with you. And lastly, how do you lead them to the next steps of your sales and marketing cycle?

Kathi: That's the kicker right there for me: okay, let's get them down the road. Get them down the road. But I wanted to backtrack. A lot of people don't feel like they have value. A lot of people don't feel that they're experts, but they are, because the very fact that they're doing business means that they know a little bit more about their topic than everybody else, which in turn makes them an expert.

Nicki: Absolutely.

Kathi: So I'm sure you've had these people that are like, "Well, I don't know what makes me good." What would you tell them?

Nicki: I actually take them through a process. I take them through a process that not only uncovers what their strengths are, because that's only one piece of the puzzle. The other part of the process is listening to your target audience to see and understand what words they're using to articulate their challenges. When your target audience is experiencing something that is challenging, or they're frustrated with something, they will take action. I'll give you an example. I could say I want to lose weight. I want to lose weight. I want to lose weight. But am I taking action on it? I can say that till the cows come home. What will trigger me to take action is when there's a compelling reason. And one of my challenges or frustrations is I went to my closet and none of my clothes fit. Now I'm ready to do something. It's about understanding who your target audience is and what's going to motivate them to take action. That is one of the key elements of a powerful message.

Kathi: I love that. It's like the pain has to be more than the cost of the remedy. I can't afford to buy a whole new wardrobe, so I'm going to have to do something, because I have to be on stage and I don't fit in those pants anymore. So let's hire a trainer.

Nicki: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or hire somebody to help you through that.

Kathi: Absolutely. Or, I have to say, hire a personal stylist that can put you in the perfect clothes. Just saying. Anyhow, these are such good points. I love the website guy, because you can have the most beautiful website in the world, and I agree that if your message is off, it doesn't really quite work. And it's something that I've struggled with for a while: what do they want? What do they want to download from me? What do they want to get from me that's going to help them and give them benefit? I know you go through a process on that. But how would you expand on that, or tell me a story about someone else you worked with who was having the challenge of their marketing just falling flat.

Nicki: Okay. Like I said, it all stems from the marketing message. If the marketing message isn't working, it doesn't matter which marketing activities you do. It doesn't matter how much networking you're doing, or how much time you're speaking in front of people, or how many podcasts you're interviewed on. If your message isn't clear and compelling, that'll make the difference in the world. So your question was, how do I know what to offer or what to put in there?

Kathi: Sure. Yeah.

Nicki: Very simple formula. Listen to what your target audience is saying, because they have the answers. I had one client who decided she was going to create a lead magnet. She says, "Nicki, I'm going to create a lead magnet on this." And I'm like, "Well, well, well, time out, time out, time out." And she goes, "What?" And I said, "I want you to take the topic of your lead magnet and come up with four more topics that you think your target audience will want. Then take those five topics and put them into a poll in our community," because we have a community where we help each other on marketing projects. I said, "Put those five topics in and take a vote, and ask people which one they would download." She came back to me later and said, "Nicki, thank you so much." And I said, "What did I do?" She said that poll saved her a ton of time, because people didn't want to download what she was working on. They were more interested in this other topic.

Listen to what your target audience is saying, because they have the answers.

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Kathi: Love it. So now she's working on the other topic. Feedback, feedback. You have an amazing community. Do you want to tell the listeners out there about what you have going on there?

Nicki: Absolutely. Actually, before we talk about the community, I want to talk about the marketing message a little bit more, okay?

Kathi: Sure. Absolutely.

Nicki: The key to a really good marketing message: there are two parts to it. When it comes to marketing, it's part science and part art. The science is, okay, my website or my 60-second intro has to have these elements. So fill in the blank, and that will give you the baseline. That's the science part. The art part is: what you've created, is it going to make a connection with your audience? I'll give you an example. Let's make a birthday cake. Kathi, we're going to make a birthday cake, okay?

Kathi: All right.

Nicki: I'm going to start off by baking the cake itself. The cake is your marketing message. Now, Kathi, let me ask you this. Would you agree with me that how I decorate the cake for a toddler is very different than how I would decorate the cake for my mother?

Kathi: Absolutely.

Nicki: Okay. But the cake itself is still the same. The inside of the cake is the same. It's the same thing with our marketing message. We have our marketing message, but the words that we choose to articulate the message will determine whether we make a connection with the audience or not. I'll give you an example. You've heard the term elevator pitch?

Kathi: Of course.

Nicki: Okay. Now, Kathi, I work with a bunch of heart-centered entrepreneurs. We work from home. Unless you live in a condo, we don't have elevators. So would you agree with me that the term elevator pitch is kind of corporate-y? It's got a corporate connotation to it.

Kathi: Absolutely, for sure. I never thought about that, either.

Nicki: So I refer to it as the 60-second intro. It's exactly the same thing, but the words that I use to articulate it are completely different. And I'll share another situation with you. One of my clients was a digital marketing person, so marketing is her jam. She said to me, "Nicki, I need to come up with a new name for my program." I said, "Okay." So we came up with five names. And again, I told her, "Let's do a poll with the community." And I will come back to the community in a bit. I said, "Let's put it into the community," and she came back to me and she goes, "Oh." She said, "Nicki, they all picked this one title. There wasn't even a second choice." And I said, "What's wrong?" She said, "I hate the name." It was the one name she hated the most. Then I looked at her and I said, "Okay, are we selling this program to yourself or to these other individuals?" And she's like, "Ah, you're right." We did fine-tune and tweak one word so she could live with the name. But in the end, it's about getting feedback, and this is the art part. The science part, we came up with the name. But because art is so subjective, the question is, in our marketing material, whether it's our website, our flyer, a poster you're going to put on the bulletin board, or a social media post to promote an event: is it landing with the right people and getting the reaction that you want? That's what our community is about. We're all working on marketing projects, and we're getting feedback along the way.

Are we selling this program to yourself or to these other individuals?

Kathi: It's critical, because you hear the words that they like as well. You hear the words that they're using for their pain.

Nicki: Absolutely. Now, here's the interesting thing. One of my clients really badly wanted to attend this one networking event, and she said, "Nicki, they told me I had to have a business card." She didn't have a business card, and she says, "I have to send it to the printers by this date so I can get the business card in time for the meeting." I said, "Okay, when's the date?" She says, "I have two days to build this business card." And I said, "Oh, okay. Let's use the group." Because we have that WhatsApp group to get feedback. She's like, "Okay, here's one version of the front, here's another version of the front. Do you guys like the pink, or do you like the blue?" And people just kept answering, because she told the group, "I have two days to get this done." At the end of the two days, she wrote me a testimonial. She says, "I don't think I could have gotten this done without the support of the group." As she was working along, she would post it and go, "Does this work? Does this work?" Anything from font, to what title she should put on her business card, to what she should put on there, to the design, to everything. We were all there to support her. That's what the community is about. That's the community that I've built to support people on creating marketing content and getting feedback along the way. It's a very powerful group, and what I love about it is that the people in there are genuinely helping each other out.

Kathi: Right. And it's important. Sometimes as solopreneurs and small business owners, we feel like we're an island. We feel like we're all isolated, and we don't have anybody to ask these very important questions or to get answers from, and no one to really listen to us. So I love what you're doing. I've always applauded watching you out there in the big world, making your way and making a huge difference for people. That's why I wanted to have you on the podcast, quite honestly: because you have heart, you know what you're talking about, and you have the support system built in for those who want to follow.

Nicki: And Kathi, to tell you the truth, I hear the story way too often: I've spent so much money on marketing and it's not getting the results. It breaks my heart when I hear that. But there is one thing that I do want to share with the listeners. These marketing companies are very good at what they do, whether they specialize in Facebook ads or getting clicks to your website. Many of them do not specialize in determining the strategy that you should use. They know their stuff really well, but they're not looking at the whole picture. And also, a lot of them are not experts in helping the individual understand what their product brand is and how to articulate it in a message that will get people to reach out to them and say, "Tell me more. I want to hear more." It's that discovery call. How do we get more of those?

Kathi: That's what marketing's about: getting on more discovery calls.

Nicki: That's correctamundo. Yes, yes, yes.

Kathi: And it's true. They're all good at what they do, but like you say, they're very linear and they're very niched. You call them and say, "I want to run Facebook ads." They're like, "Sure, we'll run Facebook ads." They won't know whether that's what you should be doing. They're just going to be doing it.

Nicki: Yes. In fact, I have had quite a few clients that have engaged marketing companies, but they work with me to create the strategy, and they've all come back and said, "Why is my marketing company not telling me this?" And I said, "That's because your marketing company implements the strategy. They're not helping you design the whole big picture to help elevate your company, your brand. They are doing their jobs."

Kathi: And they're just niched in. That's the whole thing right there. Unless you get a giant agency that's not niched in and is going to do what you're doing, but then it's like bazillions of dollars. Who can afford that when you're a very small business? And even as a corporation, I think a lot of it just goes flying out the window easily.

Nicki: And I'll have to admit, the world of marketing can be extremely confusing.

Kathi: Yeah, absolutely.

Nicki: It can be confusing to understand what next steps we should take, and what the different ways are that we can market our business. And what's more important, and people don't understand this until they've had a conversation with me: I would say for over 75% of my clients, the reason their marketing isn't working is the messaging. Once you have that message clear and concise, and people are leaning in at the 60-second intro at a networking event, your world will change.

Kathi: Yeah, I love that. It's amazing. And you're so good at it. That's a great backstory, that you thought you were retiring.

Nicki: I know. I know. I guess everybody has a different definition of retirement. My husband goes, "Why do you keep doing this?" And I said, "Because I know I'm making a difference."

Kathi: Yeah, and you definitely are.

Nicki: And I'm doing it to help people, whereas working for another company is a very different story.

Kathi: So the question that I always like to ask is, if you had advice for your 18-year-old self, Nicki, what would you tell her at this point in your life?

Nicki: Ooh. I think what I would tell her is you can't do it all by yourself. You need to be open to feedback, because you're not always right. Getting different perspectives on what you're doing will help you improve and grow much faster, because my 18-year-old self thought I knew everything.

Kathi: Of course. Of course.

Nicki: I know this. Mom and Dad don't know anything. But if I were to go back to my 18-year-old self: it's not about your ego. It's about listening to what people want, and that will make a difference in how you do things. And it's about growth, growth in your business, growth in your personal development. Growth requires feedback. It is not criticism. It is feedback.

Growth requires feedback. It is not criticism. It is feedback.

Kathi: Yeah. I love feedback. And I always tell people, you cannot hurt my feelings. Just tell me what you think. You can say it's terrible and I won't get offended. I'll say, "Well, why?"

Nicki: Exactly.

Kathi: Why do you think it is? I'm open and receptive to hearing that, because it could be in their mind, or it could just be in general. But I agree, we're not an island. We need feedback from people. And I never thought about that. You're the first person who said that you're not alone, that you need people, when I asked that question. And it's very, very true. At 18, we think we don't need anybody, for sure.

Nicki: Yeah, and that's one of the reasons why I built my business on community. First of all, I listened to what my clients were challenged with, and what they were saying is they were sick and tired of learning. They needed help putting it together.

Kathi: Yeah, doing the doing part of it.

Nicki: Exactly. So a lot of the work that I do, some of it is one-on-one, but some of it is also group, where you're getting group feedback and moving forward together, and you're learning from each other. One of the things that we do when we meet in a group is ask for the opinions of other people on whatever we're building. I'm always the last one to comment when it comes to giving feedback on, let's say, a design or something. And the reason I'm the last one to comment is because I want my clients to learn to think like a marketing person. I want them to give the feedback. And it's amazing, because one client will say, "Oh, have you thought about this?" And I'm sitting here in the back going, "Yay, she's listening." I'm the voice in her head going, "You have to look for this." Because the smarter they are, the more they learn what to look out for, the better their content becomes on their own.

Kathi: Right. And how powerful the group is, too.

Nicki: Absolutely. So me being the last one, I usually share my thoughts that were missed by the group.

Kathi: It's a good strategy. You don't want to influence what they're going to say anyhow. You want to hear how they're doing out there.

Nicki: Exactly. And the more they hear it, or the more they practice giving the feedback, the stronger they become.

Kathi: Yeah, absolutely. So, okay, now can we talk about your group?

Nicki: Oh, yeah, that is the group. What do you want to know about the group?

Kathi: Well, if people are interested, what do they do? How do they find you, and how does the group work? And I know we also have a free download, so we're going to talk about that as well.

Nicki: Yes, yes. In terms of the group, they can connect with me. The best and easiest way to connect with me is to either send me a text or a WhatsApp message to 403-771-9998. So that's 403-771-9998, and we'll get on a call just to identify what some of your biggest challenges and frustrations are, to see if this group is a good fit for you. So that's how they can get hold of me. Now, my gift, because one of the biggest questions that people have is, "Nicki, what are the best ways to reach out to my audience?" The gift is Seven Highly Effective Ways to Grow Your Audience of Highly Engaged Buyers. I'm sharing seven of the most effective ways that businesses use to be able to reach and grow that audience. And that link will be in there somewhere.

Kathi: It'll be in the show notes. It'll be in the show notes, and we'll also put the phone number in the show notes as well. So if you're online listening to this, you'll see it in the show notes. If you see it, read it.

Nicki: Sounds good. Sounds good.

Kathi: Put the link in there. Well, I really appreciate your time. You're a wealth of knowledge, and I just love who you are. I've been following you for so long, and I really appreciate you being on the show. I know that everybody who's listening has learned a lot. So keep your ears open, you guys. Listen to what people are saying out there, run it past your colleagues, and if you want more really pro advice, reach out to Nicki, give her a text and check it out. And definitely download the download.

Nicki: Sounds good. Thank you very much, Kathi, for inviting me.

Kathi: Sure. Until next week, guys, we will see you then. Signing off for now. Stay organized and energized, and market, market, market the right way, of course. Bye, Nicki.

Nicki: Thanks.