I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage, “Practice what you preach,” which means walk the talk and do what you say. But, what about the opposite? Do you “Preach what you practice?” In other words, do you proclaim the value that you regularly provide for clients, customers, and donors?
“Preach what you practice” is my marketing adage for telling people about the results you create for others. The purpose of marketing is to let the world know about your value so that they feel attracted to your products and services. Your marketing will be ineffective if you don’t “preach” about your results.
For example, I recently met with my website guru, Eddy Pareja, at Sangfroid Web Design. He knows more about WordPress that anyone I’ve met. Plus, he’s developed successful tactics to help businesses improve their search engine rankings on Google. During our meeting, Eddy mentioned that he had helped a client secure first-page search results for over 20 different keyword phrases. That’s a great result, which allows Eddy to “preach what he practices” by marketing that success in several ways, such as:
- Create a client case study on his website detailing the accomplishment.
- Email the case study to other clients and prospects to build interest and credibility.
- Write an article about the success on his blog and email newsletter.
- Mention his success in conversation to clients and prospects (like he did with me).
- Use his case study in a presentation at conferences, trade shows, or webinars.
People will not know about the success you create for others unless you proclaim it. No one else will sing your praises. If you don’t toot your own horn, there will be no music. Marketing isn’t about just practicing what you preach. More importantly, it’s about preaching what you practice. Can I get an “Amen!”?
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