Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your
contribution is not tax-deductible.)
PayPal Acct: 
Feedback: 
Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):
| [ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, [4], 5, 6 ] |
| Subject: Going All the Way to the World Series | |
|
Author: Dennis S. Vogel |
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 20:09:49 03/22/10 Mon In reply to: Dennis S. Vogel 's message, "Super Bowl Commercials Going the Way of the Dodo" on 22:46:23 03/21/10 Sun In “Super Bowl Commercials Going the Way of the Dodo” (http://www.voy.com/31049/1250.html), I wrote what not to do. My goal in this follow-up is helping you learn what you should do. OK, I admit it; I still have issues of Inc magazine from 1991, which I haven’t read yet. I recently finished the August 1991 issue. That’s good for because there’s an Inc article most business owners need. The New You Developing brand identity to distinguish your product or service. By William R. 'Max' Carey Jr. http://www.inc.com/magazine/19910801/4778.html “People accuse me of being a fanatic about wanting every small, growing company to develop a brand identity. And it's true; I am. That's because I went broke as a commodity company, a company that didn't try to distinguish itself from all the other companies in our market. I remember the three questions I used to be asked that gave me the chance to declare my generic intentions.” Max started the article like an admission in a support group meeting. If thinking like Max requires joining a support group, I’d be in it too. Instead, business owners who don’t think like us should be in a support group because they need all the support they can get. Max seemed to tie together what I’ve learn from Jack Trout & Al Ries, plus Jay Abraham & Rob Frankel. When you couple this article with all you’ve been (should be) learning from me, you can set your business on a solid foundation. Without a solid foundation, buildings crumble. Businesses crumble too when they’re based/founded on false assumptions. Even a solid business can eventually crumble if it isn’t maintained well. Let’s work to keep your business strong. The only major problem with Max’s article is the by-line, because I wish I would’ve written it. Reality isn’t like the movie “Field of Dreams” If you build it, “he” or “they” won’t automatically come. If you build it correctly, they’ll have solid reasons to come & buy form you. According to IMDB.com (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097351/plotsummary),” Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice in his corn field tell him, "If you build it, he will come." He interprets this message as an instruction to build a baseball field on his farm, upon which appear the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series.” Though it’s corny, it may make a good script for a movie, but you should write your script based on reality. If you don’t, you won’t have a ghost of a chance. You’ll be banned from the game of business for throwing (intentionally losing) the game. Doing less than you can/should to succeed = intentionally losing. You're far better off keeping your crop planted instead of tearing up a fertile field. How many baseball fans would look for a stadium & baseball game in a corn field? Taking competitors by surprise is OK as long as you don’t make it harder for consumers to buy from you. Successfully marketing a stadium like that would be far more expensive because it isn’t where baseball fans (consumers) would expect to find it. Successful marketing entails a good balance between what consumers expect & what they’ve never imagined. Like movie characters vanishing among the cornstalks in the outfield, your money will be lost also when you don’t make your business as solid as it should be. You can be outstanding in your field when your reality closely matches the realities of those you want as customers. You can still be a world champion even if you don’t hit a home run. Be sure you get on base. Run when you should. Stop when you should. Grand slams & home runs are great, but games are usually won incrementally with base hits & runs batted in (RBIs) resulting from base hits. It’s successfully doing the fundamentals that matters most in getting to the World Series. Without the fundamentals, advanced techniques would work consistently enough to create success. Strategically invite customers instead of thinking they’ll come. People forget. If you let people forget about you, will you have a successful business? Forget about it! Dennis S. Vogel marketing consultant independent contractor Two Rivers WI Your money will vanish if you hope for what’s impossible. To increase your profits, you should invest in real marketing. That's what I'm providing. If you waste your money, you may not get another chance to make a sale. Be sure you sell every time you send your offers. http://www.voy.com/31049/ http://www.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
|
Forum timezone: GMT-6 VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB: Before posting please read our privacy policy. VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems. Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved. |