Flamingoes can walk, fly and swim. They choose the method which best suits their current requirement; they adapt to their need at the time. A small business owner should be equally adaptable. I have realised this for myself in the last few days, while I have been privileged to receive input from the public speaking coach Aly Harrold.
I have realised that public speaking is more relevant to marketing than I first thought and am happy to broaden the definition of marketing beyond the narrow strict one: ”process whereby business identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer needs profitably” and instead, consider Seth Godin’s definition of marketing, which is that “marketing is about telling stories.”
If you have a story to tell, public speaking is a great way to give it airtime. Here’s why:
• Authenticity – nothing beats the directness of hearing and seeing an individual telling you their story
• Networking – when you’re in a room with others listening to a speaker it is natural and effortless to make connections with those who have a shared interest. Useful contacts can be made easily while you’re listening or speaking in a group
• Podcasting – and Live-streaming are both useful methods for packaging a story, or knowledge they both require strong public speaking skills
• Sound – I have a client whose business is music. If she takes her story out to talk about it in public arena she will be able to illustrate it audibly by playing a recording of her music
• Thriftiness – telling your story has the benefit that it will often be possible to do so without incurring any cost
• Targeting – it will be possible to identify key groups to whom you’d like to tell your story and make arrangements to address them in person
Flexibility and adaptability is closely linked to the process of satisfying your customers’ needs so that you can sell them what they actually want to buy, rather than solely providing the product which you have on offer. Public speaking allows you to adapt your story to suit your audience.
If you would like to discuss imaginative and thrifty ways to promote your business please contact me by [email protected] or, via my website www.lisabeaumontmarketing.co.uk