Metaphors and Marketing

I'm tired of expending my energy on people that are not 100% sold.  For now, I'll target the low hanging fruit.

Every organization I've ever worked for calls "easy" opportunities the low hanging fruit.

If you're a very tall person, does that mean you can reach higher than most on opportunities?

Metaphors have helped us understand technical sounding terms and form our own perceptions.  I love this because each marketer has their own spin on common marketing vocabulary.  You even have companies that have completely created terms that we all utilize.

Unicorn

One of the terms I particularly love is "Unicorn."   I didn't know what a Unicorn in marketing was until about this summer.  A unicorn was originally thought as a start up company whose value had exceeded $1BN dollars.  The term has now spilled into marketing for the very few that can do it all.  A do it all marketer that uses both their left and right side of the brain is a unicorn.

Creative+Technology+Writer+Salesperson= Marketing unicorn.

Metaphors have an ability to make us pause in question.  They are great to disrupt conversations. Debates, arguments, opinions, are all psychological dances we have with each other.  A metaphor creates a logical distraction used in a powerful way.

Marketing rant

The following writings  compile of marketing opinions expressed solely by me.  If you agree, then you are pretty awesome.

I love seeing cheesy commercials late at night that highlight why customers should buy something.

"Buy _____ you need this to save the day."
"Be the hero and WIN for your business."

These bold claims are becoming less and less receptive for customers.  Marketing data scientists swear by data to make decisions and it's not as easy anymore.

On the other hand, if you don't have the data, then you just carry an opinion.

My opinion: Customers don't know what they want.  They can't communicate it and half the time what they need, makes them very uncomfortable.  The unknown is a scary beast that brings out the true character in people.

Enter Maslow's hierarchy of needs.  - I'm still working on 3..in no particular order.

How do you market to people that don't have a need or know what they want-without sounding like a salesperson.

How does a salesperson sound anyway?  If a person asks another person to marry them, aren't they sorta selling their vision to that person.

If I believe my service is the best in town and I offer that service to numerous companies, am I cheating?

The relationship between the customer and I ends in polygamy while we prefer they remain monogamous.

Mom didn't raise a cheater-I love hard.

Love your customers opinions--It means they care enough to write a thought about your service/product.  I believe that's the most positive thing a company can do on Social media.

Don't flag customers for bad experiences.  Figure out why they are upset and let them vent.

For people who LOVE to complain. There's a site that allows you to do just that.

Rant over....

Personality volume

"Can you tone it down a little bit?"

We may have important figures we look up to and emulate but it doesn't take away from the fact that we all are individuals that carry varying volumes to our personality.  Each of us has an invisible  remote button that turns the volume of our personality up or down.

When I say personality, I mean: the set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving that makes a person different from other people.  You are who you are but not always who you are with situations.

Sounds confusing? Looks confusing too.

I remember a former co-worker who had become a new hire at a previous job.  Initially, he was really quiet and reserved.  In a sales office, it's no holds barred to what people will say or do and this kid said not one word.  Fast forward to his first happy hour with the team.

volume up +2 

He came out of his shell.  He began to crack jokes and loosen up a little bit.  It's funny how we subconsciously adjust our personality traits to the company we are around.  I do this to an extent. Because we are so unique, there's an underlying fear people will not accept us.  This former co-worker also happened to be gay.  Fast forward a month later and our sales team decided to do a Friday night bar outing.  He really came out of his shell even talking about his relationships.

volume up +3

While alcohol can calm most people down, he just simply began to turn the volume up of his personality.  It turns out, he loved attention and thrived where he could be the focal point in all conversations.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel came in our office and it was  probably one of the cooler experiences we had.   Some people shook his hand and even shared office jokes with him. This co-worker did not say one word. Nada. Zilch.

volume down -5

He knew when to dial his personality up or down.  He adjusted to different situations and held back who he truly was at times.  Everyone does this and it's not necessarily a bad thing.  We all want acceptance and as long as "tact" and professionalism are valued, people will continue to hold that remote and adjust the volume.

Now Playing- "Turn it down"

I've been Rocky Balboa

These posts are always dangerous because while there's an obvious biased view, there's usually "selling" of a product going on.

I'm not telling you to go out and watch any of the Rocky movies, but there is a lesson to follow each movie.  Rocky was more than just a fictional Italian fighter that becomes famous.  He represents the true underdog.  Someone who was doubted constantly throughout their lives and yet still, viewed the world in a positive manner.  The parallels to rocky movie and real life are very much relatable.

Rocky was a late bloomer

Rocky was not some young boxer with loads of potential.  He was a 30 year old slightly moving out of his prime boxer.  In marketing and sales, you are not only combating yourself, but the young people that had a head start learning new technologies and up to date information.  As you age gracefully, you have to always be learning and realize you can "peak" at the right time.  You have to maintain the enthusiasm of what you do.  

Parallel's-  I spent a lot of time dedicating my attention to music.  I officially came into the marketing world at 26.  It was tough when there were people 3-4 years younger that were doing things I didn't quite grasp yet.  I had to understand that I didn't peak yet and not talk in past tense.  At any point, we all can be a late bloomer that realizes their purpose and passion.

Rocky was not afraid to lose

Rocky went into every fight understanding he could lose or be severely hurt.  Rocky was humble and a lot of it had to do with people not expecting much from him.  When you get older, it becomes tougher to "fail."  Failing at an older age has repercussions that are different than age 22.  

Parallel's-  I've certainly failed at quite a few things.  There's a good and bad to being self aware.  The good is you understand your limitations and ability.  The bad is you can hold yourself back.  I've been victim to being comfortable in my own skin.  Any kind of marketing campaign has a chance to "fail." I learned you have to take the chances.

Rocky had a passion

His passion is boxing.  Rocky's passion allowed him to apply it to several facets of his life.  When he experienced financial hardship, he applied boxing principles that helped his attitude.  If you have a passion, it means you stand for something.  If you fall, you get back up and keep moving forward.

Parallel's-  Passion for marketing and music has helped my sanity.  When times are rough, my passions prevent me from doing the "wrong" things.  

Arguing with myself

I've been gone for a little while but I'm back.

The more responsibility you are given, the more you have to manage your time better. When it comes to applying this, I've been off and on the wagon.



I keep forgetting what off and on means within context- Anyway, back to the my post.

It's been over a week and the holidays have been a pleasant distraction for me.  Still, there were days I could have written a post.  I honestly didn't know what to write.  I could write about marketing principles but there are about 200 articles daily saying the same damn thing.  You know, the articles that are copied from everyone alla crib notes so other marketers can get their writing quota done.

I probably didn't make too many friends with that response.  Am I feeling snarky? No, just thinking how I could change the marketing world.

You know what inspires me?  People who think and force me to change my stubborn views.  When I come across great writers, I don't see them as competition. I see them as people that will make me better and more flexible.

"Study from the greats and become greater." -Michael Jackson

Who out there can I study from?  Am I even someone you can study from?  These are questions I ask myself monthly.   There's an internal struggle I have with myself on my blog and direction.  Moving forward, I will be incorporating some original visuals to stand out from the rest.  I will also become more organized and separate the helpful articles from the opinionated professional rants ( like this one.)



Now playing- "Having an argument with myself"