The success multiplier effect

At the beginning of my marketing carer, I was introduced to a marketing tactic known (back then) as the success multiplier effect. It’s spectacularly powerful and there are several ways you can benefit from it.

Here’s how it works.

The core idea is extremely simple. If you want a business that grows quickly, design it so that when someone uses your services, they get more value from it if their contacts also use your services.

This was how Facebook grew. Early users asked their friends and family to join, so they could connect. It’s how every hit TV show becomes a hit. The first viewers tell their friends about it, so they can chat about the show with them or share in-jokes, which only fellow viewers would understand, etc.

But what if you already have a business and it doesn’t have the success multiplier effect built in? After all, the vast majority of business owners are in this position. Including me!

One option is to retrofit a success multiplier effect to your business. Retrofitting is tricky and takes creativity, but it’s possible.

However, there’s an easier and extremely popular alternative. It’s also the option I chose.

The success multiplier effect for your business

A second option is to add it to your marketing, rather than your service.

An example of this is the email version of my blog. Someone within a company will subscribe. Then, they forward one of my emails to some of their colleagues, because it’s about an idea the company is interested in. It’s easier for them to get their colleagues on board with an idea I shared, if they’re able to read it too. A subset of those who had the email forward to them will subscribe and do the same. Rinse repeat. This is how I attracted many of my largest clients.

In short, you can bake the success multiplier effect into a new product or service. You can retrofit it to an existing product or service. And you can do as I do, and create marketing with the success multiplier effect built in.

Whichever route you choose, if you get it right the impact it can have on your results is amazing.

Jim Connolly is a marketing mentor and consultant. He specialises in helping small businesses but his clients have also included some of the world's largest companies. Jim runs Jim’s Marketing Blog, where this post was first published.