Crying and Dating – a Marketing Primer

Marketers are like every other group, trying to use buzzwords to make themselves sound important and knowledgeable. Using words that other people don't understand must mean that you know what you're talking about, right? As Daddy used to say, "hogwash!"

Most of marketing is common sense. At its core it's about communicating what you have to offer in a way that makes other people want it and reinforces your value – whether that's in a product, a service, or your own personal expertise.

Everybody is a marketer, though, not just business marketers! A couple of real world examples of how everyday people market:

Anyone who's ever been on a date knows they should dress nicely, be charming and interesting, and be on their best behavior. That's marketing.

A child trying to convince his parent that he needs this toy or that game is marketing heavily. One thing kids learn how to create very early on is "urgency." Sometimes it's through persuasive talk, but if all else fails they can always pull out the crying card (a tactic not recommended in business).

Seriously, though, one of the things that we try hard to do is help our clients understand that marketing isn't rocket science, nor is it about tricking people into buying something they don't want or need. It's about presenting your product or service in a way that communicates effectively with a customer who is a good match for you. It's about helping people understand that you have a solution to their problem – whether that problem is what to eat or which realtor to use.

Like dating, if you present yourself as something you're not the relationship won't last. You can't be everything to everybody so don't even try. Make your product as attractive as possible to the keepers you would love to get and forget about the rest.

If you're serious about turning your marketing around in 2014, you may want to follow our blog series, "14 marketing tips to help small businesses make & keep New Year's resolutions." Each week we discuss one of the tips more fully.

To date we've covered "Co-marketing: pack hunting vs lone wolf" and "Find your strengths to dominate your market." If you subscribe to the blog it will be easy to catch future posts (click the "Subscribe to Blog" link in the black bar at the top of this page).

Here's to a great 2014, and to making marketing an extension of your regular business practices!