In my last blog post, 3 Ways to Cheat at Marketing, I pointed out that many small business owners and working professionals who are not necessarily marketing enthusiasts are, nevertheless, in roles that require that they complete marketing tactics. While many of these same individuals aren’t interested, necessarily, in cracking open a 3” textbook on marketing or branding, they’re still interested in marketing results.
They need marketing results and want to focus their efforts on tactics that actually produce marketing ROI. With the economy seeming to bounce back, they want great marketing ideas for 2013. They need to know enough about marketing and its best practices not just to play the game, but also which marketing rules they can break.
They want marketing “Cliff Notes” at least, or better, shortcuts like the first three ways to cheat at marketing, from my previous post:
- Don’t talk about your business, products or services online or off
- Shamelessly steal search engine traffic
- Surprise people in the bathroom
In today’s post, I’m going to start out by demonstrating not just one but two of the new marketing cheats – great marketing ideas for 2013 – that I’m going to share with you.
Marketing Cheat #4: Milk it.
Every once in a while we are blessed with a great idea or a great program that really hits the mark with our customers, readers and target market. That moment of brilliance leads to brilliant marketing results.
But instead of fully developing that new program, we seek out the high of the brilliant moment instead. Don’t try to out-brilliant your good idea, milk it. Don’t take something that your customers like and have become accustomed to working with or conforming to or participating in away. Let it play out until your customers don’t want it any more.
Marketing Cheat #5: Split it up.
So when you have that brilliant idea, program, incentive, reward – whatever it is – find a way to extend its marketing power by splitting it up.
You don’t have to go too far in the way-back machine to remember the stampede at Burger King for the next 35 cent Beanie Baby release. Or while not as consumer-crazed in nature, Star Wars glasses and other pop culture-related give aways. Swavorski’s annual Christmas ornament design.
And the list goes on.
And if you do want more proof, from nearly its earliest days, print newspapers ran series within its pages in order to keep their readers buying the next edition.
If you have a good idea (like writing a blog article about a list of marketing cheats, or a free-with-purchase or a weekly, monthly or annual series product) for a program that can draw readers or customers from among your target audience, split it up so that it can become a series that keeps people coming back.
Marketing Cheat #6: Be a marketing streaker.
The title of marketing cheat number six may even be what got you to open up this email, and it goes to make the point.
You can’t not look at the streaker.
When you’re at a sporting event and someone takes it upon themselves to strip completely down to their birthday suit and then proceeds to run across the field or the court, you can’t not look at the streaker. Everything on the field of play comes to a grinding halt and everyone’s attention – whether they’re trying to catch the individual or simply waiting for the game to resume – everyone’s attention becomes riveted on the streaker.
To get the attention of your audience in this day and age of complete marketing clutter saturation – when consumers on average are exposed to 3,000 marketing messages a day – you have to do something to get their attention.
You need to be a marketing streaker.
You must craft subject lines and attention getters that are provocative and engaging, that immediately intrigue members of your target audience to want to know more about your business or the product or service you want them to buy. That goes not just for blog posts and email subject lines, but for the attention getters that you use in your direct mailing postcards, flyers and letters, signs that you post inside and outside of your business, ads that you place and more.
Do you want people chasing after your business? Become a marketing streaker. Give people good reasons to want to come back to your business to find out what’s next. And milk your good ideas for as long as they will produce before you feel the need to go back to the brilliant idea well.
More marketing cheats to come, and this topic is likely to become the theme for the 2013 Small Business Marketing Calendar.
If you do want more marketing shortcuts and you aren’t afraid of one inch books, check out 365 Days of Marketing. It’s definitely not a marketing textbook. It is full of shortcuts and pre-brainstormed marketing ideas to help you attract, engage, motivate and retain clients. To help you get the kind of employee culture you’ve dreamed of. To help you take advantage of appreciation days and to more effectively reach out to your ideal client types.
Related articles
