Friday, October 21
Marketing: Fix the System vs. Solve a Problem
There are two kinds of marketing - there's the revolutionary type and the evolutionary type. The revolution = Fix the System. The system is broken; we need an overhaul; it's not working; in Shakespeare's terms, the line would be "Ring the alarum bell!" (Macbeth, Act 2, Scene iii) [Sorry, I was a Drama major in college!]
This type of marketing is OK if you're big - think about some great examples of this type of marketing:
The '1984' Super Bowl commercial that put Apple computer and the Macintosh on the map
The launch of Saturn - A different kind of car company
Ben & Jerry's - a socially conscious ice cream company with a triple bottom line
But you know what? For a small consulting firm, ad agency, architecture firm, this is a hard row to hoe.
You know what's MUCH easier to sell? The heck with the system - just fix a PROBLEM. People have problems all day long. They're much less engaged in fixing the "system" - after all, that's somebody else's problem, isn't it?
This puts a whole new spin on the old adage, "Think globally, act locally." Maybe in terms of your marketing it should be "Deliver revolution tomorrow, sell evolution today."
This type of marketing is OK if you're big - think about some great examples of this type of marketing:
The '1984' Super Bowl commercial that put Apple computer and the Macintosh on the map
The launch of Saturn - A different kind of car company
Ben & Jerry's - a socially conscious ice cream company with a triple bottom line
But you know what? For a small consulting firm, ad agency, architecture firm, this is a hard row to hoe.
You know what's MUCH easier to sell? The heck with the system - just fix a PROBLEM. People have problems all day long. They're much less engaged in fixing the "system" - after all, that's somebody else's problem, isn't it?
This puts a whole new spin on the old adage, "Think globally, act locally." Maybe in terms of your marketing it should be "Deliver revolution tomorrow, sell evolution today."
