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When it Comes
to Marketing Your Business, Think -
Jimmy Durante
Famed entertainer Jimmy Durante created some of the most
memorable lines that were ever spoken on television and film.
He ended his popular television show with his now famous, "Good
Night Mrs. Calabash, where ever you are." But another oft
quoted line that Jimmy used when ever he found himself over his
head in some kind of trouble was, "I’m surrounded by assassins!"
It always brought a laugh.
If
you think about it, as a business person, sales professional or
even accountant, your company, product or service is in-fact,
surrounded by assassins - that you call the competition.
Not a day goes by that somebody isn't trying to steal your
customers and business away from you. You know, just like you
are trying to do to them. And don’t kid yourself, even the
most loyal and ardent customer will stray if the offer is good
enough. You are never safe and only a complete moron
thinks that their customers will never look elsewhere. Why
shouldn’t they? You do! You and members of your
family look for the best deal, the best quality at the best
price and the best service rendered whenever you shop. And
when you find someplace where you are comfortable and treats you
right, you generally tend to stay with that business.
Right? Of course, we all do.
So
do your customers. But first you have to get them in the
door. Only once they become a customer can you then spoil
them with great service and good pricing. So after you
think Jimmy Durante, then think - ‘Street Fighter.’
Unlike a professional prize fighter who is highly skilled in
both throwing devastating punches and bobbing and weaving to
keep from getting hit himself, the street fighter tries to
overwhelm his opponent, by throwing as many punches from as many
different angles as he can, as quickly as he can.
Think of it this way. Your customer has already developed
some pretty good defense mechanisms against the enormous daily
barrage of daily advertising and commercial messages that are
thrown at them from almost every corner of their life.
They get it from the TV, radio, billboards, newspaper,
magazines, t-shirts, business cards, coffee mugs, internet and
hundreds more places everyday. Believe it or not the
average adult is subjected to over 17,000 advertising images
everyday of their lives. Anyone would have to be a little
defensive from that deluge.
But as a marketer, business owner or sales person yourself, you
need to find a way to break through and get your message to the
consciousness of the consumer. How do you do that?
By street fighting!
Like a street fighter who throws punches from every angle, who
tries to overwhelm his opponent, the marketer must throw appeal
after appeal, trying to break through that wall or protection
that the customer has built up. Advertising images, press
releases, sampling product, free give-a-ways, discount coupons,
sales promotions and just about anything else you can think of
that puts your name in the consumers mind. One punch just will
not do it, unless it is a very very big punch to begin with.
And most of us can not afford the big punch.
Think of the professional fighter who goes down in the 12th
round of a fight. It’s not a huge punch that put him down,
it was the constant pummeling and punishment of 12 rounds of
fighting that did it. One punch may have been the final
blow, but that punch had been delivered a dozen times in the
previous 12 rounds without putting him on the canvas. But
after 12 rounds, it just took one more good direct hit to finish
the fight.
So
it is with your potential customer. The customer responds to
persistent outreach. In over thirty years of marketing, I
can not tell you how many people I have heard say things like:
"I
have heard those ads for years and finally decided to try it."
"I
have wanted to try that for a long time, finally did it."
"I’ve heard about this, but never thought it was this good."
"Wish I had done this a long time ago.’
The good marketer never lets up. He or she is always in
the game, always pitching in some fashion or another, putting
their messages, ads, and samples in front of the customer.
The good marketing dominates the customer’s consciousness.
Chaz Allen
Visit Chaz at:
www.assignmentforsucess.com |
