Listen, childhood immunizations is WAY TOO HOT of a topic for me to cover — even here. lol… So, let’s keep it a bit less hostile and talk about PET vaccinations. Deal?
I’m learning so much from Veterinarian extraordinaire Dr. Cathy (author of the book Dinner Pawsible) about holistic care for your pets. When doing my own research, I realized that some vets just vaccinate annually — regardless — never first testing your pet to see if they may still already be immune to such vaccinations.
As a pet owner, this issue of immunity (and over-vaccination) matters to me. As a business owner, immunity ALSO matters to me… and here’s why it should matter to you:
Your potential customers and clients have grown IMMUNE to much of what falls under the umbrella of traditional marketing. They’ve grown immune to certain “buzz words” in your specific industry… certain advertising mediums and specific messages. So, you have to KNOW — specifically … for your customers and in your industry — what they’ve developed immunity to. This way, you don’t waste time and money on marketing that gets IGNORED.
Listen. Marketing is getting tougher BECAUSE of this immunity. Our market is –now, more than ever before — prone to tune our pitches out — so long as they LOOK like pitches. (Hey… if it looks like a pitch, sounds like a pitch… probably a pitch!) Consider this: A recent poll by Yankelvich Partners revealed that almost 70% (that’s a WHOPPING majority!) of people would be interested in — get this —
products or services that would help them AVOID marketing pitches.
Whoa! Not good, right???
I’ve always encouraged my Stretch Marketing Clinic attendees to EMBRACE the fact that their prospects are not sitting around WAITING for their ad or proposal or offer to come into their lives. Bottom line: You MUST grab their attention, capture their imagination, and then deliver a solution… but NOW you must do all of this WHILE going under their “pitch to be avoided” radar. (And, make no mistake: This radar system is FINELY HONED.)
So, what’s a business owner to do?
1. Find out what your market is most likely immune to already. This can be buzz words, free offers, a specific guarantee or promise, or even a method of delivery. How do you find out what they’re immune to? LOOK around you. What are they being bombarded with — in terms of marketing messages — from your competitors? That’s the best place to start. LOOK at what your competitors are doing, and — well — in the words of Earl Nightingale, DO THE OPPOSITE. Do ONLY this… and you’ll already be way ahead of the game.
Remember: 4 out of 5 of them will fail…
If they’re all doing similar things, and you’re not…
well — you’ll be the one to survive and thrive!
2. Force yourself to STOP chasing clients. I grew up on what was officially considered a “farmette.” If I’ve learned anything about “nature” from the animals on our small little farmette, it’s this: The only reason you’d chase something is if it is RUNNING FROM YOU. So, chasing clients is NOT a position I’m willing to be in… AND, the research shows that they don’t like to be “pitched.”
BUT– you have a product or service that solves a problem for them. So — lead with that. Talk, write, blog, facebook about the common problem your product or service solves. Use this content as BAIT. Let your clients come to you with questions, concerns and curiosity. Consider this: 70% of people would PAY to avoid being approached with your pitch. BUT they ARE searching for an answer to this problem or issue or opportunity.. so let them search and find YOU.
3. Your market is NOT immune to personal stories — when authentic and unrehearsed. So, use this. I’m not just talking about using testimonials… but encourage your clients to talk about how they found you and what you did for them. Give them a forum to do so. Invite them to share their story through a patient story or guest blog post. Give raving fans a chance to speak at your next event, or provide a way for them to share your practice with their friends or neighbors. Be creative.
There’s only ONE TRULY DEADLY SIN in marketing… and that is being boring… being the “same”. You can be forgiven of almost anything else. BUT — fit in with the crowd of other businesses your market is ignoring — and you’ll soon be forced to join the other casualties on today’s business battlefield.
