The Apprentice: 5 Lessons in Marketing

Donald Trump's hit reality show, The Apprentice is a godsend for marketers around the world.

Why?

Because all of the tasks that the prospective apprentice's go through each week and each season involves some sort of marketing skills. So, the Apprentice is a great media channel to show how important marketing is in everyday business and especially if you want to be successful in business.

So, here are some fundamental lessons that we can all learn from the Apprentice:

Lesson 1: Give the client what they want.

In the first season of the show, the Girls team came up with a risque and provocative ad campaign compared to the Men's team which came up with something safe and conservative.

The Girls team's advertising campaign won because they followed a fundamental rule of marketing: ask the client what they want and deliver it to them.

The best way to get your client(s) to buy what you have to offer is to give them what they want. The men's team lost simply because they "guessed" what the client was looking for instead of spending the time to meet and ask questions of the client and deliver what the client wanted.

Lesson 2: Sell and market what you know; and sell a product and service that you can truly stand behind

In another task, the two teams had to choose an artist and help sell that artist's artwork.

The winning team kept it simple and chose an artist who's work they liked. The losing team chose an artist who's work was rather controversial and which they didn't understand themselves.

Ultimately, because the losing team didn't have any clue what the artwork was about and because they didn't even like the work themselves, they couldn't effectively sell it.

If you have no confidence in your product or if you don't understand your product, you will have a tough time selling it to other people if you can't even sell yourself on the product. Customers can sense that you don't have any confidence in your product, once they sense that you may as well pack it in.

Lesson 3: Find different ways to create new revenue streams from your existing business

In the "Rickshaw task", the winning team knew that they could not solely rely on revenue streams simply from offering rides in a rickshaw.

They diversified and made optimum use of their assets to create multiple revenue streams by also selling advertising space on the rickshaw. The revenue generated from selling the advertising space was what sealed the win.

This way you mitigate your risks if one revenue stream is suddenly negatively affected you don't go broke.

Lesson 4: Price it right

In the 2nd season, the guys team won the QVC task because of price. The women lost simply because they overpriced. In another example, the men lost in the fashion design task again, because their pricing was simply out of whack with what the buyers were looking for.

Price too low and you lose. Price too high and you lose. No one can give you a simple formula for getting the right price for your product or service so it's up to you test and choose the optimal price for your product or service.

Lesson 5: 80/20 Pareto Principle

Going back to the rickshaw task, how did the winning team manage to sell advertising in such a short period of time? They went straight to the businesses they already had relationships with.

You have a higher chance of generating sales if you concentrate on selling and marketing and generating more revenue out of the clients and prospects you already have existing relationships with. The 80/20 Pareto principle.

So, no matter what you think of Donald Trump and reality shows, there are lots of lessons to be learned from reality tv.

Copyright © 2004. Ethan Hathaway.

Wayne Po, is the Founder and Marketing Consultant of Ethan Hathaway (http://www.ethanhathaway.com): A virtual consultancy that helps small to medium sized B2B businesses increase their revenues through effective marketing communications.

Your Company Need More Marketing? Or Just Better Marketing?

Many sales problems can be solved by improved marketing. Selling... Read More

Discover the Winning Marketing Strategy Secrets of Donald Trump Apprentice Wanna-bes

The highly entertaining Donald Trump's search for an apprentice turned... Read More

The Information Publishers Secret Resource Guide To Blow Customers Away!

Have you ever heard the saying, "Give and you shall... Read More

7 Cheap & Easy Ways To Get Prospects

Here are some quick techniques you can put into place... Read More

Small Business Bonzai Marketing

Do you own a small business? Do you wish to... Read More

Everything Youve Ever Learned About Marketing Is Wrong

Everything you've ever learned about marketing and advertising is WRONG.... Read More

Direct Marketing ? Brand Identity Guru Tips

If your company doesn't have a direct marketing program in... Read More

Fundraising Renewal Letters: Four Goals to Strive For With Each One You Write

In the fundraising profession, appeal letters that you mail to... Read More

Assumption Based Marketing Vs. Fact Based Marketing

One of the most common mistakes in marketing is making... Read More

The Name Game

Pop quiz! If you have to say goodbye to your... Read More

The 7 Commandments of Marketing

Marketing is the key to success with any business, online... Read More

How to Start a Big Mail Service

A BIG MAIL SHOULD CONTAIN:At least three to four Mail... Read More

The Bare-Bones Basics Of Multi-Level Marketing

Multi-level marketing is the biggest growth industry in the 1980's.... Read More

Marketing Messages: Your 10 Most Important Business Principles

As a self-employed professional, you have two basic strategies for... Read More

Target Market - 3 Big Reasons You Need To Know Yours

Rule Number One when writing marketing materials is "Know Your... Read More

How Can I Break Into Cliques?

Have you ever gone to a networking function and seen... Read More

Small Business Marketing Tip ? Putting the Customer First.

I am a great believer in the keeping to the... Read More

Principles of Marketing 101

Marketing results should be measured in only one way ?... Read More

Integrity and Marketing - Finding the Right Balance

When marketing themselves to leads and prospects there are five... Read More

Marketing Ideas Without Action Will Get You Nowhere!

Marketing Ideas Without Action Get You NowhereYou want to grow... Read More

The Advantage and Consequences of New Economy Marketing

Some of the research that has been done today gives... Read More

Viral Marketing with a Powerful Twist

What would you do with 500, 1000 or more additional... Read More

Your Elevator Speech ? Have You Updated Yours Recently?

Do you have an elevator speech? Does it get people's... Read More

Get More Clients From Networking - Follow The Rules Of Dating!

If you're a business owner, you probably spend quite a... Read More

Identifying, Creating and Using Your USP?

What's your USP? Don't know, or worse still, you've never... Read More