Marketing and advertising advice for owner-operated businesses
Freedom isn’t free. Creative isn’t either. You pay for what you eat, it’s only fair people who feed your brain should be paid too. Please invest three minutes and 50 seconds to understand why the writers are striking. Supporting them is the socially responsible thing to do.
Learn more by going to the source: United Hollywood.
Lifespan marks the difference between opinion and wisdom. What is peddled at timeless wisdom is frequently short-lived opinion. Brilliance like, “the internet will never replace yellow pages,” is nearly as laughable as the line taken against broadcasting baseball; owners feared no one would come if they could watch or listen to it at home for free.
Video on the web is seen as that kind of threat today by legacy media operators because they see it as “a zero sum game.” When, in fact, quite the opposite is true: we’re more likely to visit a television show once we’ve seen a clip or two online according to Freakonomics in the New York Times.
Authenticity is the currency of marketing today: be real or, don’t bother.
When I was a pup, growing up in radio, Larry King was lord of the talk universe; doing interviews with little or no prep, asking the questions we would ask. It worked when King was dialed into what was going on around him. That was then…
Time has marched on and Larry has become increasingly out of touch. What once came across as sincere curiosity is now seen as inauthentic faking. Today’s increasingly connected consumer can spot a fake just like Jerry Seinfeld does here:
The days of faking it are dead. Authenticity requires homework; know to whom you’re talking. Cut this corner and it’s only a matter of time till you appear as out of touch as Larry King.
[Originally published 7 November 2007]
It’s true if you think so. Tattoo this inside your eyelids: even if they’re wrong,
what your customer thinks is true–to them. And, that makes it a stubborn fact for you too.
Want to know what they’re thinking? And why? Ask someone who knows: call a media rep or two and invite their research department for a visit. Ask them about your city. Open your mind to the possibilities that your view of the map may not match your customers’ territory (it probably doesn’t). Dig past the obvious age/education/income stuff. Get down to buying patterns. Where are they playing? What sub-divisions are growing? What’s the most popular vehicle in your town? What’s the internet usage? What percentage of people speak English at home? Spanish?
Rice University Professor Stephen Klineberg has been tracking Houston’s changing landscape for 26 years. In his annual report, he describes this once oil-centric city, which flaunted lack of regulation like a medal of honor, as growingly focused on ecological accountability and shifting social concerns. For instance, a bastion of white Republicans, Harris county is now slightly more Democrat and becoming decidedly Hispanic; Anglo Houstonians are expected to slip below the majority line in the next census.
His full report is available online by clicking here.
You live on one side of the counter; customers only visit the other. Seeking to persuade before gaining understanding is shooting in the dark. Persuasion demands understanding to create a pattern of predictable conversion. Next time you don’t understand where a customer is coming from, consider they could soon be going somewhere else.
[Originally published 15 June 2007]
