7 Marketing Secrets Lady Gaga Can Teach You for FREE

“I’m your biggest fan, I’ll follow you until you love me
Papa, paparazzi
Baby, there’s no other superstar, you know that I’ll be
Your papa, paparazzi”

In today’s challenging business environment, customers demand more from the products and services they buy—they want what they want, when and how they want it.  And if they do not get it from you, they can and will obtain it from one of your competitors. Therefore, creating raving fans—customers who love what you do and are willing to follow, listen and respond to your call(s) to action —can give you a significant strategic advantage and improve your bottom line.

Now some of you may be wondering “what does Lady GaGa have to do with best business and branding tactics?”  She’s never attended business school nor does she have a history of entrepreneurship.  While it is easy to question her outlandish costumes, her repetitive child-like lyrics, and her over-the-top media stunts, it is hard to ignore her obvious musical talent and her ability to be at the right place at the right time with the right tune.  Whether you love or hate her (and 99% of you are definitely in one camp or another), it is difficult to ignore the tremendous achievements of this branding genius.

Less than 18 months ago, she was virtually unknown – and today she has two platinum selling albums and is the envy of artists that have been in the business for decades.

How did she do it? 

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Rhondalynn Korolak, Author of "Financial Foreplay®" and "On The Shoulders of Giants

Bottled water is one of the most profitable drink products in the world, selling for 3000 to 9000 times what most of us pay for the perfectly safe, inexpensive liquid that comes out of our tap at home.

To put this in context, paying $2.40-3.90 for a 750ml bottle of water is equivalent to:

• $10,000 for a tuna sandwich at your local cafe or
• A bill from your water company this month for $3000/tonne of water (as opposed to the going rate of $1.2/tonne)

According to the Australasian Bottled Water Institute, Australians consume over 250 million litres a year at a price of $385 million.  We have been systematically brainwashed by the beverage industry to believe that our tap water is somehow unsafe or insufficient – look around and you will see that there are now hundreds of brands competing for your attention with clever marketing campaigns designed to scare, seduce and mislead us to part with our hard earned money.

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Rhondalynn Korolak, Author of "Financial Foreplay®" and "On The Shoulders of Giants

If you’re a small-mid size business owner and struggling to make your operation both profitable and cash flow positive, don’t beat yourself up too much!  Even some of the largest corporations in this country are getting it wrong and stuffing up every day.  Take the CBA for example – one of the largest banks in Australia recently announced a $6 billion profit for 2009-10.  To put this in context, this equates to around a 17 per cent return on investors’ funds, which is impressive indeed in these tough economic times.

Too bad the CBA is technically bankrupt – meaning they don’t have enough liquid assets to cover the debt as it is coming due.

But how can this be, you might ask?  The answer is simpler than you might think and it applies to ALL companies (big and small) – Profit is pointless and cash flow is KING!  More businesses in Australia go under every year due to lack of cash flow than any other single reason.  No business, even financial institutions which are afforded many governmental protections and safeguards, are exempt from this basic law of the economic jungle.

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Rhondalynn Korolak, Author of "Financial Foreplay®" and "On The Shoulders of Giants

If you’re a small-mid size business owner and struggling to make your operation both profitable and cash flow positive, don’t beat yourself up too much!  Even some of the largest corporations in this country are getting it wrong and stuffing up every day.  Take the CBA for example – one of the largest banks in Australia recently announced a $6 billion profit for 2009-10.  To put this in context, this equates to around a 17 per cent return on investors’ funds, which is impressive indeed in these tough economic times.

Too bad the CBA is technically bankrupt – meaning they don’t have enough liquid assets to cover the debt as it is coming due.

But how can this be, you might ask?  The answer is simpler than you might think and it applies to ALL companies (big and small) – Profit is pointless and cash flow is KING!  More businesses in Australia go under every year due to lack of cash flow than any other single reason.  No business, even financial institutions which are afforded many governmental protections and safeguards, are exempt from this basic law of the economic jungle.

Read More

Rhondalynn Korolak, Author of "Financial Foreplay®"

Nevertheless, you plough on and, despite being in the dark about the score, you feel positive that eventually the umpire will declare you the winner. You are so confident that you can’t help but relax just a little. You start enjoying the party like atmosphere. 

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