I want to talk about one of my favorite, things…publicity stunts.

You probably remember that famous Super Bowl when Janet Jackson exposed her breast. Like President Bush, I’d dozed off during the game and I don’t have TIVO. What’s funny to me, is you’d think she and the nitwits at MTV/CBS had invented something. Lady Godiva rode stark naked through town on a horse.

Bill Veck sent a midget into bat. Joe Cossman had a train carload of potatoes delivered to the street outside ‘The Tonight Show’, when he was on with Carson, to promote his Spud Gun. These stunts are as old as, well, Lady Godiva. Nothing new here.

Raleigh Pinskey’s orchestrated some of these, and writes about them – along with other strategies – in the book I recommend, 101 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS.

It’s worth noting, it’s best if the stunt’s designed so it doesn’t backfire. But even the Janet wardrobe malfunction’s impact is, I assure you, judged behind the scenes in ratio: how many did it offend, and how much did it cost in everything from FCC fines to irate advertisers vs. how much did it make in selling CD’s, creating ratings for her next appearance, and so on. It certainly did dominate the news and national conversation, didn’t it?

A sluggish business, just like a sluggish career, can get a boost from a stunt. You may choose to stop short of baring some portion of your anatomy on TV. But you may very well want to consider what you might want to do, as a publicity stunt or “big” marketing gimmick, to grab a lot of attention and create a lot of conversation with you or your business as the subject.

The “contest” used by Bill Phillips for EAS, by Joe Polish for his coaching program, a gimmick that serves this purpose.

The Phoenix insurance agent who rents out a popular bar every St. Pat’s Day, adds a giant tent covering the whole parking lot, invites all his clients and everyone they want to bring to his party, ties up traffic and makes the local news, a stunt that serves this purpose.

Yanik Silver’s birthday-bash seminar, along these lines. You might even figure out something “contained” within your own universe of past and present customers, that never “goes public”, but whips up a lot of excitement amongst the base.

I had the absolute pleasure of spending the day yesterday with Jennifer Bodensiek, President of Junior Achievement of Central Maryland.

For those of you who don’t know what Junior Achievement (or “JA” as they call it) is, JA is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.

A large percentage of the kids who are touched by the JA program come from low income families.  In most instances the education they receive from JA about financial literacy and workforce readiness may be the only instruction they have on these most crucial life skills.

Jennifer took me on a tour of “BizTown”, which I have to say is probably one of the COOLEST things I have ever seen.  “BizTown” is a hands on learning environment that allows elementary school students to learn the relationship between what they learn in school and their successful participation in a worldwide economy.

The kids spend about 13 hours in the classroom preparing for their day at “BizTown” by interviewing for jobs, learning about banking, and understanding many of the other real world functions that adults experience from day-to-day.

When the kids arrive at “BizTown” they enter this simulated community and are overwhelmed with excitement.

The businesses in BizTown are sponsored by local businesses.  For instance, Best Buy houses a mini store and turns the kids into members of the “Geek Squad” who sell time playing “guitar hero” to the members of the “BizTown” community, Bank of America sponsors a mini bank where the kids come to deposit their pay checks and take out loans to run their businesses, and Papa Johns (where the kids are treated to a pizza lunch and also snacks provided by Frito Lay) is one of the towns hot spots.  The kids even need to buy insurance, pay taxes, and run their errands during their lunch hour.  Welcome to the real world!

At the OUTRAGEOUS Academy and Workshop, Glazer-Kennedy donated $100,000 to Junior Achievement from the proceeds of Bill Glazer’s book “OUTRAGEOUS Advertising That’s Outrageously Successful”.

To find out more about Junior Achievement and how you can get involved in your area go to http://www.ja.org

My previous post covered a specific type of word-of-mouth advertising that I call “testimonial marketing” and I gave you specific examples how entrepreneurs use if effectively. Now I want to talk to you about application of this strategy.

In fact, there are two specific applications of this idea I’d suggest you think about.

Number one geographic target marketing and number two customer category target marketing. Let’s use a print shop as an example of both types of testimonial marketing.

A print shop happens to have two architect firms as loyal regular, satisfied customers. Here would be the astute extension marketing strategy; prepare a mailing to all the other architect firms in the area showing and telling that we have these architects as satisfied customers.

The mailing might include pictures of those architects. Comments from them and a list of the types of work being done for them. That would be target marketing by customer type. One architect leads to another. Sales trainer, Joel Beck, teaches sales people about this process and about referrals with this analogy. How do ducks go to water? One behind the other.

Now let’s say our print shop also has several loyal, regular, satisfied customers with stores and offices in the same complex, say the 5th Street Center.  An astute marketing strategy would be to contact all the other tenants of the 5th Street Center and show and tell about the satisfied customers that we have there. Your prospective customers and clients can best judge you and can be motivated to judge you by the customers you already have.

Most businesses use this third party influence factor far less and far less effectively than they could and should. I urge you to constantly look for ways that you can utilize the influence of your present customers to attract additional customers.

An extension of this to personal selling, by the way, is that stories sell, facts only tell. If you’re involved in person to person or group selling situations you’ll improve your closing effectiveness by telling more third party stories.

Which is more effective: my telling you that 97,483 businesses have purchased my Magnetic Marketing System, which is a fact, or telling you a true story about Bob Smith in Boston who was in the same business as you are who bought the System and doubled his business in 90 days by implementing four of the strategies I teach in my Magnetic Marketing System ?

Most people will be moved more by the story than the fact. Stories sell, facts tell. This is just one more argument, incidentally, in favor of valuing your customer and staying close to the customer. By knowing your customers you gain stories and testimonials that are useful in selling successfully to others.

Stimulating word-of-mouth advertising, stimulating referrals and using testimonials effectively are exciting and effective marketing strategies. In most cases you have opportunities to use these strategies with very small costs compared to most other marketing methods.

I personally know of many businesses in many different fields that have affected dynamic, dramatic increases in sales using these strategies. One of the big dangers in attracting new business is spending so much in the pursuit that you win the game and still lose money.

What I call lazy passive advertising and marketing like running billboards and running ads is expensive. It’s important to balance the necessary but expensive advertising you do with much lower cost, active marketing using these strategies.

There is even one more virtue to attracting new business from referrals and the use of testimonials. The referred customer is most likely to become a source of more referrals. He got there as a result of a referral so he’s already been conditioned to refer. The client who’s motivated to do business with you as a result of others testimonials is most likely to give you a testimonial letter or comment you can use. The more you use these strategies the more profitable your business will be.

Our “Early Bird” discount has been doubled for those with super speed.  This is our most super early registration offer ever!!!  Knock $1000.00 off the admission until Dec. 31^st or until the first 593 respond.

The 2009 Info-SUMMIT^SM sold out with a waitlist of 73 members who never got in.  Don’t Miss the boat for the SuperConference^SM.

This year’s SuperConference^SM features:

Dan Kennedy – The Professor of Harsh Reality teaching how to “Suck More Money Out of The Marketplace then You’ve Ever, Ever Seen Before with NEW Magnetic Marketing Strategies for the New Economy”

Bill Glazer – The “King of OUTRAGEOUS Advertising” and Author of four-time BestSeller Book “Outrageous Advertising that’s Outrageously Successful” teaching his NEW Outrageous Advertising Methods and Instant Business Boosters.

Joan Rivers – World Famous Comedienne, Celebrity Entrepreneur, Winner of “The Celebrity Apprentice,” and Host of “How’d You Get So Rich?”

Harry S. Dent – the most reliable, successful, & celebrated economic & business trend forecaster teaching “What You Must Know to Survive and Thrive in the Emerging New Economy.”

Lee Milteer – Our Own Peak Performers Coach teaching “How to Achieve More Work Productivity Without More Work Hours.”

Russell Brunson – an internet genius who built a company with revenues of $250,000 a week from just $20, teaching his “NO GEEK-SPEAK” and NO B.S. Online Marketing Strategy to Making Money Online.

Click this link to get all the details and learn how to save $1000.00 off the registration fee. http://dankennedy.com/go/blogfriends

Last week at the 2009 Glazer-Kennedy Info-SUMMIT, I had the pleasure of interviewing successful entrepreneurs Mike Capuzzi, Donna Krech, and Ari Galper.  Each of these entrepreneurs shares with me their secrets of achieving success in their niche/market and how they have maintained success in the recession.  Watch the videos below for a glimpse into the mind of these powerful business people.

Mike Capuzzi

Mike Capuzzi is the inventor of CopyDoodles and the Glazer-Kennedy Independent Business Advisor in Philadelphia, PA.  Visit him on the web at http://www.copydoodles.com.

Donna Krech

Donna Krech, also known as “the hope giver”, is a fitness, life success, and motivation expert.  Visit Donna Krech on the web at http://www.donnakrech.com, http://www.thinandhealthy.com, or http://www.weightlossbusinessnetwork.com.

Ari Galper

Ari Galper is the creator of Unlock The Game™, a new sales mindset that overturns the notion of selling as we know it today, and ChatWise®, a truth-based sales methodology that uses live chat to create trust with online visitors.  You can visit him on the web at http://www.unlockthegame.com or http://www.chatwise.com.

Mara Glazer, daughter of Outrageous Marketing Guru, Bill Glazer, is the Facebook Face of Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle™.  She takes her fans, followers, and friends on a behind-the-scenes look inside the Insider’s Circle.  Follow her on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/maraglazergkic or on twitter@maraglazergkic (http://www.twitter.com/maraglazergkic).