A recent question over at MarketingProfs asked for advice on marketing gurus. Before I could wade in and give my humble two cents’ worth, several people offered their thoughts and the name they gave in several instances … was mine!
Now believe me, no one’s more stunned by this than I am. In fact, I’d go as far as to say I’m not worthy. But here’s the thing: my hard work over the last year is now beginning to pay off.
All those promises of “get rich quick” well, if they were all true we’d ALL be millionaires. The truth is that success takes time. Many, many thanks to those generous souls that were kind enough to mention me as being their guru. I’m honoured. Thank you.
Two Kinds of Buyers
A five-minute podcast on two very different kinds of buyers, one you want, and one you can probably do without. I’ll leave you to figure out which one’s which, but please, leave a comment and let me know if you’d like to hear more opinions like this.
Driving home one Friday afternoon a few years ago I passed the local liquor store on my way to the supermarket. People were coming and going with six packs of beer and bottles of wine but on this particular evening, there was something different about the outside of the store because there on the sidewalk, the liquor store had acquired a competitor.
On a hand written sign set up on a card table on which fluttered a gingham table cloth were the words “LAMANADE AND SNAKES” and yes, the spelling there is intentional because that’s exactly what the sign said—typos and all.
It was a warm day. People were thirsty. Where do adults go when they are thirsty? They go to the liquor store. And the owner of this lemonade stand, who must have been all of 6 years old, had set up shop right where there was a hungry (or in this case, a thirsty) crowd.
Under the watchful eye of mom, this little entrepreneur was doing a lively (if a little sweaty) trade. Business was brisk. She’d gone where her buyers were. And as amusing as this might sound, it’s a tactic that too few adult business owners put into practice.
Know this people: the best way to get rich is to find a starving crowd and to give them what they want.
Here in the USA, today is Memorial Day, the day when we remember and give thanks to the men and women of the armed forces who have served their country in some way—some of whom paid the ultimate price.
It’s also the half way point for the year. Tomorrow is June 1st (how did that happen so quickly?). Over the next three to six months, how will you mark this day as being memorable for you and your customers? Where will you position your lemonade stand?
Here’s a story from a few years ago, but it connects to every day events in a surprising number of ways. Here’s the skinny.
About eight years ago I was called to the front desk of the place I used to work at because a customer was not at ALL happy with the wording on a specific point of sale display.
The display in question had come in from an outside firm and I’d had no control over the text. But, because the display was on my turf, it was my responsibility and this particular customer was not at all happy. [Read more ...]
