7 Great Lies of Network Marketing #4 – We Have The Best Product Ever!

Have you ever heard these expressions being uttered by either your up-line or a network marketer that’s trying to recruit you into his/her business?

The product sells itself!

Nothing else on the market can even compare to this!

We have the most lucrative compensation plan in the industry!

Our leadership team is unbeatable!

As Ann Sieg’s mentioned in her 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing e-book, far too often, too much emphasis is being put on the wrong things – your product, your company compensation plans and your company leadership team. Eventhough they are important, there is one aspect of the Network Marketing business that has not been paid too much attention to, but is highly critical to your success as a Network Marketer. It’s called…MARKETING.

A superb product without the backing of superb marketing means nothing as nobody will know about your product existence. On the other hand, a so so product with the backing of superb marketing means success for your business.A so so product without the backing of superb marketing means disaster for your business as nobody will know and care about your product existence.

Let’s take a look at this example.

I’m sure that everyone’s familiar with Apple Ipod. Is it safe to say that Ipod is one of the most expensive MP 3 players (other than Zune from Microsoft)? If that’s the case, why is it in the #1 position in the top MP3 players list by the PC World? In fact if you look at the MP3 player in the #2 position, its got 2 extra features that Ipod does not have: voice recording and FM tuner. Then, why is Ipod #1? Could this be contributed to excellent marketing campaign? Let’s learn from it!

Jeff Weisbein of BestTechie.net written a very informative case study on Ipod’s ever increasing stronghold in the MP3 players industry. In his article “The iPod Success: Thank The Marketing Department” he wrote:

October 23rd 2001 – a day that revolutionized the digital music world, Apple computer now known as Apple Inc. released their first MP3 Player, the iPod. So what exactly did Apple do with the iPod that was so revolutionary? Well, the marketing techniques and tactics they used are what made it so successful. “While everyone else was making an MP3 player that was better/cheaper/faster, Apple was making electronic jewelry that also played MP3’s. Never focusing on price, they brought to market more value, more style, and new ways of interacting with digital media.” says David Taber a marketing consultant who then goes on to explain that strategy really does matter. Apple knew what they were doing when they designed the iPod; they made it work better on the Mac than on a PC a or obvious reasons – to get people to buy more Apple computers, both iPod and Mac sales benefited from this strategy.

I repeat: While everyone else was making an MP3 player that was better/cheaper/faster, Apple was making electronic jewelry that also played MP3’s. Never focusing on price, they brought to market more value, more style, and new ways of interacting with digital media.

Electronic Jewelry, More Value, More Style, New Ways of interacting with digital media. These are the Ipod’s Unique Selling Propositions that they have been doing an excellent job in communicating them to their prospective customers through a rigorous marketing campaign that’s broadcasted over several marketing channels like cell phone vendors, rock bands, radio broadcasters, Myspace, and Facebook, to name a few.

In the case of your Network Marketing business, what is your Unique Selling Proposition that makes your prospects wanting to buy your product and join your business rather than joining the next opportunities they see online? Remember, every network marketer on the planet will say that his/her product is the best and it will sell itself! His/her company compensation plans are the most lucrative! His/her company team leadership is the most unbeatable!

It’s really up to you to decide if you want to be just one of the many who are doing and saying the same thing OR if you actually want to be different? Sometimes being different is not always a bad thing If you choose the latter, how are you, as an independent business owner, going to make your products and business opportunity standing out among those other marketers?

Learn from the Ipod marketing case study…there’s a lot to take away there! Okay…I give you a hint…one word…VALUE! If you want to stand out, offer as much value as possible to your prospects. After all, you don’t want to be like Wally who’s drowned in the sea of people shown in the picture below right? More about VALUE later!

Till Later,

Tagged as: 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing, Ann Sieg, Attraction Marketing, Renegade Network Marketing, Renegade University