marketing

We live in our own reality. Each of us has this one area we dwell in, and to us it's reality. End of discussion.

Everyone trying to sell to you should want to understand that reality, or a reality similar to yours, so they can position their products and services in a way that makes you want to buy them. They should understand you are bright enough to make solid decisions. Should. Key word there, should.

That's not always the case.

To quote Drucker (from The Essential Drucker):

Manufacturers are wont to talk of the "irrational customer." But there are no "irrational customers." As an old saying has it, There are only lazy manufacturers. The customer has to be assumed to be rational. His or her reality, however, is usually quite different from that of the manufacturer.

This is the difference between success and failure, or success and market dominance. It's what takes an organization to the level they are trying to achieve.

Understand who you are targeting.Read more

I want you to know that most people’s initial mistake in making a pitch and a first connection has an easy fix.

The mistake? It’s best if I give an example. Let’s say you approach or call someone who would be a top-notch prospect for what you’re trying to do. You tell them who you are, what you do, and why it’s such a great thing. They shrug at you, or ignore you, or tell you “not interested.”

They turned you down. It makes no sense at first, because if you were like them, trying to get your magic waffles in front of people who worship filling each square full of syrup, you’d jump at this opportunity. Where did things go wrong?

You needed to start a conversation.Read more

I started reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five over the weekend, and the cover baffles me.

To be specific, it’s the tagline across the top. It reads, “Best selling author of Timequake” in white capital letters. I’m no Vonnegut buff, so I had to look up Timequake to see it was his last novel. At this point I flip open the cover of Slaughterhouse to see the list of other Vonnegut novels and realize there’s no Timequake. What? I then look at the title atop the page, which states it’s a list of Vonnegut books published by Dell. Timequake was not published by Dell.Read more

Think about the last time you splurged a little on something you had no intention of buying. Especially if you looked back afterwards and wished you hadn't done that, even if it was the teeniest tiniest doubt.

What made you do it?

Let me rephrase that: what were you feeling when you made that purchase?

We have a wide range of emotions, and they're far more powerful than our logical minds. Think about your logical decisions for a moment. How many of them were to fill an emotional need?

Trust me, the answer is more than "a few." The answer is "all of them."

Take buying clothing, for example. We need clothing, yet there are so many choices. Why buy a certain pair of jeans? People don't buy jeans because they fit well, it's because of how someone feels wearing a pair of jeans that fit well. Heck, buying jeans in itself is an emotional decision. Maybe you don't want to feel bad after destroying nicer pants so you buy jeans; maybe you like the comfortable feeling which washes over you wearing jeans.Read more

Tell me what you think when I post this name:

Rush Limbaugh

Talk about a controversial figure. Forget that he has rabid fans and harsh opponents, because Rush is far more than that. He has people who cannot stand him yet agree with his views, and people who love his personality yet disagree with him on so many levels.

His willingness to stand for what he believes in is what has brought him his success. He is has the most-listened to radio show in the USA. He released a pair of #1 best-selling books in the 90's. It's the kind of success so many dream about.

It also stands in his way of some things in life.

Rush was dropped from a group of investors looking to buy the St. Louis Rams NFL franchise. On the surface it makes little sense. Limbaugh was a minority investor, not the leader of the group, and would not have much power over the Rams.Read more

Have you ever thought about your personal brand?

This has been the first 8 months of my blog's purpose. To figure out who my writing self is and what he likes to discuss. I've bounced enough ideas around to get a feel for what I can bring to the table and what I should keep tucked away. In the end, the writing I set out to do is not the writing I am going to continue to do.

Because I need to write about what I do and think about, not what I envision myself as.

That's what branding strikes me as. It's a reflection, it's a photograph. Don't worry, you can still clean up nice and tell the photographer to get your good side. Give yourself credit where credit is due. Embellishments are bad and noticeable, like a bad photoshopped picture. Remember these rules, because you're not marketing to customers, you're marketing to people, and some of them are brighter than you think.

So many people focus on the branding side of things, as if drawing people in is the most important thing in the world. In the end, what you offer is what keeps someone around. Branding is just projecting the best you have to offer. The key here: you need to offer something worth branding!Read more

Lydia asked a great question about handing out ice cream cones:

“Now if someone gave me an empty cone, I would assume they were going to offer a way to fill it.
I've heard of the term ‘bait and switch.’ Is this tactic of empty promises still a bait and switch or is it the customer's fault for assuming?”

We’re conditioned to think if we’re given an ice cream cone by someone they have a way of getting ice cream. The person giving us the cone KNOWS this. If they don’t have a way to get you ice cream then it’s a bait and switch. Which freakin’ stinks. Now you’re mad at that person, mad at that company, and will probably go write a blog post about it (or at least tweet your frustration).

Now let’s say they hand you an ice cream cone and they tell you they have some great flavors. You go try a few out and don’t like any of them. Hey, no hard feelings. They just didn’t have what you were looking for. Huge difference.Read more

Have you ever stopped in your tracks when you saw something you just couldn’t believe?

When that happens, the power of the unexpected has crashed down upon your consciousness. You have to stop to register what’s going on. Maybe you’ll keep on like nothing happened; and maybe you’ll check it out a little more if it continues to keep your interest.

This is where most failed marketing positioning gets it wrong.

If you’re talking about the same things everyone else is talking about, you’re part of the background noise. Think about someone poking you in the same spot over and over. It gets your attention, and it’s annoying. It’s not going to help the person poking you get what they want.

Let’s say you like ice cream, and they handed you an empty ice cream cone. Now you’re intrigued. The outlook for getting some ice cream just got a whole lot sunnier.Read more

You got their attention and the interview. Here are two things an interviewer wants to know:

1) You can do everything the position requires, and more.

2) You like to work hard and get things done fast.

If you cannot meet both of those requirements, you need to ace #2. You will open more doors for yourself in life if you work a little longer, a little smarter, and a little faster than everyone else around you. Why? Most people clock in, get stuff done, clock out. The good ones are not worried about the clock, get more done, and want results. The best don’t care about a clock, get everything done, and get results.Read more

How many advertisements did you ignore today?

How many moments of genius did you witness today?

I have good news and more good news. The first bit of good news is this: there's no point in counting how many millions of dollars marketers wasted "targeting" you with advertisements, because they're not trying to speak with you. They're throwing things at you. Do you like having things thrown at you? I don't.Read more