Coupons as an Online Marketing Strategy
Coupons are experiencing an explosion in popularity—among consumers and marketers alike. For the former, the attraction is clear: coupons are a quick and simple way to save money; if they are available, there is no reason not to put them to use. For the latter, it can be a little more complicated. Coupons offer a juicy incentive for new customers, but coupon-based promotion campaigns can be risky business. Here are some of the elements to take into consideration in order to decide if this sort of strategy is the right choice for your website:
Finding a Target Audience and a Product to Promote
- Online coupons should be tailored for new, potential buyers: Generally, the objective of any marketing campaign based on coupons is to attract new customers. In the case of online marketing, the idea is to up the website’s conversion rate—in other words, to turn visitors into actual buyers. Therefore, promotions should be put in place where casual viewers will readily find them. On the other hand, too many people making use of coupons can seriously dent profits.
- The established customer base should not be using online coupons: From a marketing standpoint, it’s a bad thing if proven buyers are finding and using the coupons meant to bring in new patrons. These are the people who would likely buy a given item even without that 50% discount. So—somewhat paradoxically—online coupons work best when they are advertised in such a way that only new buyers find them. There are a few ways to avoid a loss scenario and insure that a couponing campaign reaches the right people:
- Offer a discount on a very specific, niche product—this way, the buyers using the coupons will be customers with a legitimate interest in the item, not just all-consuming bargain hunters.
- Use coupons to get rid of excess inventory—items that are beginning to serve only as a drain on resources are always great candidates for discounts
Methods of Distribution
Once you know what you’re discounting and who you want using the coupons, you can figure out a strategy for distributing them:
- Major players: Vendors like LivingSocial, Google Offers, and Groupon are devoted to the circulation of coupons. However, relying on these third-party players can be risky—once you’ve made a coupon available to a vendor, you lose control of how many customers ultimately end up discovering and redeeming it.
- Video couponing: Video ads are safer than third-party vendors because they allow you the freedom to disable sent-out coupons after reaching a goal without having to take down the ad and lose the associated boost in visibility.
- Social media: The brand new Facebook Deals presents yet another avenue for a couponing campaign. The benefits of advertising through Facebook are already well-known to marketers: a massive base of potential customers who are already categorized by their likes and interests is something of an advertisement dream come true. Only time will reveal the true effectiveness of Facebook Deals as a coupon distributor, but for now it looks very promising.
Coupons can seriously boost business for a small company, but it’s important to remember that a poorly thought-out campaign can end in disaster. If you decide that coupons are the way to go for your own business, always plan your marketing strategy very carefully. Make sure you have a complete understanding of your current model, where your profits are coming from, etc. Avoid distributing coupons for proven sellers; focus on new products or less popular items. And give it some thought: is promoting your company and gaining new patrons worth the potential loss in profits? Plan ahead, maintain control, and you’ll be on the road to success. Good luck!
Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Certified Knowledge. If you would like to write for Certified Knowledge, please let us know.
Coupons as an Online Marketing Strategy is a post from: Certified Knowledge
Glenn Livingston Arrested for Drinking
It’s 100% true…
Glenn Livingston was arrested for drinking on January 4th, 2012, and you can see his mugshot here.
It’s pretty scary what you can learn using Google Alerts!
Like most marketers, I have routine alerts out on my name, and for just a moment when I saw this come through I wondered if perhaps I’d been out on a bender I’d forgotten last week (even though I haven’t had a drink in 20+ years… not ’cause I’m an alcoholic–I detest that term–just because I find life more interesting and satisfactory without screwing with my mental state)
I also learned, of course, about the myriad of people stealing my products (we pursue them legally now), and a few things about yet ANOTHER Glenn Livingston who’s a pastor in Illinois up to some interesting things from time to time.
But none of these rather mundane results from Google Alerts come anywhere close to the REAL power of this FREE utility…
(Even though tracking your namesakes’ activities can from time to time generate an attention getting headline)
Because most marketers have absolutely NO idea how to use it…
The REAL way to leverage Google Alerts is to first know with crystal clarity EXACTLY what keyword defines your ideal prospect, plus a very small set of related keywords which surround it. Taken together these become your “archery target”… the small space which defines EXACTLY WHO YOU WANT TO BE on the internet, and allows you to more or less ignore everything else.
Once you’ve done that, you can combine Google Alerts with Google Reader Feeds (and some anti-RSS-spam code) to automatically collect pretty much EVERYTHING that happens on the internet that’s relevant to you…
And stop getting distracted by everything else…
Which is the ONLY way to build a hyper-responsive marketing system in my humble opinion.
Have any of you found effective-yet-novel uses for Google Alerts we should know about?
Tell me, I’d like to know!
Dr. G 
PS – I’m considering organizing my network and resources to build a “performance-pay-based-conversion boosting-done-for-you” service. Curious if that’s of interest to any of my readers today
6 Years Slugging it Out & Supremely Frustrated
Got this courageous if depressing blog comment from a guy named Olivier:
Perry: The more i listen to you, the more i feel im screwed and have no chance of ever making it and maintaining my place in a market.
And I always felt i didnt have super value(expertise) to share in any market.
So as a result, should i just give up on the idea of making it online? If im no expert in any market, i dont have a competitive advantage no?
These may seem like basic questions, but believe it or not theyre coming from someone who has tried to make it online for 6 years, and has been through tons of the big guru programs (good and bad)
Oliver
Oliver,
This is a GREAT question. So many layers behind it, too. I’m going to make this question the subject of my next Renaissance Club newsletter which will get mailed out in about 2 weeks.
Short answer:
If you don’t really know what you’re talking about, then God forbid that you should ever become an info marketer. The last thing planet earth needs is another self-proclaimed expert delivering candy-coated advice who is following people who are following people who are lost and doesn’t actually know jack ****.
The reason Google appears to hate so many info marketers is that 75% of them are lame-ass posers. And everybody knows it.
If you don’t have super value to share, then let yourself off the hook. <<Big sigh of relief>> Don’t try. Find someone who does and share THEIR value.
The world has way too many people offering mediocre products and services which have no real justification for their existence. Why clutter the marketplace with more noise and junk?
There are millions of unbelievably good products, inventions, widgets, ideas, books, courses; and bona fide experts who are too modest, too shy, or too uneducated about marketing, etc. to do a good job for themselves. Find one of the good guys and help them.
Lots more could be said about this, much more useful advice on what to actually go out and do. I’ll go deeper in the January Perry Marshall Marketing Letter which goes out snail-mail.
And remember this: In the land of the blind, the man with one eye gets to be king. Many markets are populated by unsophisticated, uneducated marketers. A lot of “turn key” programs and systems that are popular among marketers are aimed at incredibly competitive markets populated by ninjas.
Most markets are a lot easier than that. Pick a battle you can win.
Weird Psychological Marketing Fact #1
I thought I’d end 2011 with a series of contrarian psychological marketing insights. After all, what good’s being a marketing shrink if you don’t get to talk about it, right?
Seriously though, there are a few things I think marketers casually banty about as if they were psychological fact which really bother me… And there are others which tell only HALF the story.
So let’s start there with…
UNUSUAL PSYCHOLOGICAL MARKETING FACT #1: “Impulse Isn’t Everything”
Impulse isn’t everything.
Yes, it’s true you’ve gotta appeal to the Lizard Brain with greed, lust, envy, jealousy, etc in order to induce action on your offer. (Which is one of the reasons I’m fond of saying “try to appeal to the lizard brain without seeming like a lizard”)
But the other half of the story is, this only produces TRIAL BUT NOT NECESSARILY REPEAT…
Satisfying the lizard brain is only PART of what we need in this world…
As sappy as it sounds, the other half is help mastering our environments, our relationships, our place in society, and life as a whole.
Don’t get me wrong, you won’t get ANYWHERE trying to sell people self-actualization, self-improvement, or simple self-mastery solutions unless you can link them to the lizard brain…
It’s just that lizard brain satisfaction is a necessary but not sufficient condition for REPEAT purchase and customer loyalty.
So it’s not enough to sell luster and shine if you’re selling shampoo…
Or even to sell the emotional end benefit (I feel attractive)…
To really take the market you need to sell the aspirational character… how your product is going to MAKE YOUR PROSPECT INTO THE PERSON THEY WANT TO BE…
Think L’Oreal “Because You’re Worth It”: when a woman buys L’Oreal, she’s not just trying to look sexy, she’s supporting a character trait which translates to self-care across a wide variety of life areas… she’ll also more likely invest in vitamins, a gym membership, life insurance, a spa, etc
Or think Gillette “The Best a Man Can Get”: a guy’s not just buying Gillette razors to get the cleanest shave possible, or to attract a desired mate… he’s partaking of the best the world has to offer alpha males, and this informs WHO he wants to be across market categories
Or Intel “Intel Inside”: when you buy Intel, you’re not just getting a high speed processor, you’re committing (whether you know it or not) to recognizing, developing, and leveraging the value of intelligence across many areas of your life…
Or Kodak “Share the Moments, Share the Life”: when you buy Kodak, you’re not just getting sharp pictures, or even crystallizing memories… you’re committing to family and community as a value you want to demonstrate as a person… it enhances your sense of participation in life with others, and re-affirms your desire to build more of these relationships as part of WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON…
See what I mean?
These brands engender MASSIVE REPEAT PURCHASE and loyalty because they’ve managed to integrate themselves with the user’s aspirational self image!
What you should be asking yourself now is, WHAT KIND OF PERSON DOES YOUR PROSPECT BECOME when they purchase your product or service? Is your advertising set up to support this message?
Onward and Upward in 2012,
Dr. G
PS – When you join Hyper Responsive Marketing Secrets you affirm yourself as a person who gets enormous leverage for their time and consistently “organizes and executes around priorities” because you know HALF your profits are driven by only ONE in 2,000 visitors. This radical paradigm shift not only transforms your business, but syncs with your commitment to apply the 80/20 rule throughout your life to achieve maximum results with minimum time. Join now
PPS – Keep your eyes glued to your inbox for “weird psychological marketing fact #2″, coming soon.
Kids Playing with Needles, Tiananmen Square & Raging Capitalism
Ever see the famous 1989 picture of the student in China standing off against four tanks? That’s Beijing’s Tiananmen square. We went there yesterday. It’s vast, big enough for literally a million people.
The 1989 incident is just one of many reasons for the “Great Firewall of China,” the massive content filter manned by the Chinese government.
Subscriber Liz Parrish posted this on my blog the other day:
“I was in Guilin for 3 days in the fall of 1989. Tiananmen Square happened in June, I was in Guilin in October.
“In the gift shop of the hotel, they had said booklet telling the “real” story of what happened at Tiananmen Square, how the outsiders had incited the peaceful students to protest, etc. I nearly bought it but couldn’t quite bring myself to hand money to the Chinese government after what had happened.”
Hey baby, that ain’t nothin’ compared to the worship of Chairman Mao. His statues are everywhere and his face is on the money. Despite the fact that this guy was, uh, one bad hombre.
To a person, people here have admiration for Chairman Mao. They wear Mao hats and t-shirts and speak of him with reverence.
Who can appreciate the power of . . . persuasion . . . more than marketers?
Special offer, inspired by my China trip: I’m doing a one-time only seminar in Macao, Asia’s Gambling Capital. This seminar is called “Marketing Secrets of Chairman Mao.” It’s $49,000.00. Non-refundable. It will be staffed by a special “compliance crew” who will physically demonstrate these marketing secrets to you, until you accept their truth. Please email propaganda@perrymarshall.com if you’d like to receive pre-registration materials. ***Comes with special bonus: My new book “Josef Stalin, friend of children and puppy dogs.”
Lest you think today’s message is a bash China session, though, I’d like to show you the other side of the coin. I’ve been quite impressed with China this week.
First of all, yes, China is officially a “Communist country” but make no mistake, it’s the world capital of capitalism. It’s no welfare state, let me tell ya. It’s the most Darwinian place on earth. If it makes money, somebody’s doing it in China.
I was in China in ’04 and several things have dramatically changed since then:
1) We visited the “Drum Tower” in Beijing the other day. Looked over the city. I suddenly noticed the absence of . . . SMOKESTACKS. The last time I was in China, I would have seen twelve of ‘em. If not 20. All belching filth into the sky. In every city you can think of. This time in Beijing, I saw one from the Drum Tower. Just one.
Wow.
Why is that?
It’s the Olympics in 2008. Man did they clean that place up to get ready for it. It might have bankrupted the Greeks but it left China much cleaner. Oh, and yesterday, the day we left Beijing, the sky was as clear as it is in Chicago. Well, almost. It wasn’t smoggy like the day we arrived.
Years ago my buddy Tom Hoobyar predicted: “The Chinese will perfect environmental remediation and then sell it to the world.” Wouldn’t be surprised if he turns out to be right.
2) I visited a lake, near the “Hutong” historic neighborhood. It didn’t stink! It was lovely. In the past, when you walked past a lake or river, it smelled foul. No more.
3) No litter. In 2004 litter was everywhere. Now it’s gone. Streets are clean.
4) No plastic bags. China used to have these paper thin plastic bags that would blow around and get stuck in everything. Awful. The government banned them. Now you don’t see ‘em anymore.
5) They’re cracking down on piracy. No more pirated CD’s on every street corner.
6) Last time I was in China, EVERYONE smoked, especially the men. Cigarette butts everywhere. Not this time. Not many people smoking and hardly any butts.
I cannot imagine the US doing a 180 on that many fundamental issues in 7 years. It’s probably impossible in a democracy. But when the Chinese government decides to change direction, baby, they lay down the law.
I had a friend whose grandmother lived in Pittsburgh in the 50′s and when he would visit, the place was filthy from steel mills. If you hung white sheets on a clothesline in the back yard, they’d be gray when you brought them in. That was from the soot.
Pittsburgh cleaned up; I hope you know it’s not like that anymore.
China is cleaning up too.
China is growing like crazy. Growing countries have growing pains. You can’t go anywhere without seeing a huge construction crane in the distance. Or maybe 5 of them. They have a rapidly growing middle class. They have way more cars than before, and they’re nicer cars.
So anyway, yeah – we went to Tiananmen square where my boys played hackeysack. Saw a Kung Foo show, which was absolutely amazing. And got rickshaw rides in the Hutong with a really great tour guide who spoke great English. My 11 year old “The Artist” pummeled him with questions about Chinese characters.
You can see some of Laura’s pics at
http://compassionmama.blogspot.com/2011/11/beijing-day-3-hutong-and-tiananmen.html
Yesterday we flew from Beijing to Kunming to Lijiang. That’s sort of like flying from Philadelphia to Denver to Aspen Colorado. But our flight was delayed a few hours and we only had 45 minutes to make a connection.
This wouldn’t have been a problem except that they couldn’t check our bags through so we had to go pick up our bags and re-check them.
A super-helpful woman from the airline took pity on us and moved us to the front of every line. We made it with 3 minutes to spare.
It’s hard to describe how much China has changed in the last 11 years, since the first time I was here. Back then, white people were something of an anomaly. When Bryan first moved here in ’00, people would yell at him as he walked down the street:
HELLO HELLO MARIAH CARY MICHAEL JORDAN! HELLO HELLO!
When I visited, most of the cars were these pitiful little tin cans, or else trucks that looked like tractors, or these big blue diesel monstrosities.
Now you see Toyotas and Buicks and an occasional Mercedes.
Prices here have doubled or tripled in the last 10 years. What used to be a smash buy is now merely a nice bargain. And expensive stuff is the same here as it is in the US. At top rated hotels, a cup of coffee costs 5 bucks – it used to cost 50 cents.
It still costs 50 cents or a buck at the cafe down the street. But the difference is peoples’ willingness and ability to pay. The distance between top and bottom here is huge. The top goes up and up. As Jay Abraham likes to say, “How high is up?”
OK, one last tidbit before I go – and I promise to post some awesome pictures in the next day or two.
Where I am right now in Yunnan, there’s this bizarre fad, which is giving kids IV’s. As in, feeding kids intravenously just for the fun of it. Once in awhile you actually see someone walking down the street next to their kid with an IV. Today I saw an IV store, they sell the supplies. Just like a pharmacy.
It’s not cuz the kids need it. It’s because they think it’s good for ‘em. Sort of like vitamins or something.
Hideous but true.
I wonder what WE do that THEY think is totally insane?
More to come soon-
Perry
Learn How Google +1 Affects AdWords with John Lee
Google has been making strides in social; and so far there’s only one of these changes that has affected ads – the +1 button.
This button has many marketers confused about who can see a +1 button next to their ads, if they can remove the button, how it will affect CTR and Quality Score, etc.
There’s an answer to all these questions: the next Marketing Nirvana show.
My guest will be John Lee, the Director of Client Services at Clix Marketing who has really dug into this button and how it will affect you.
You can also follow John on Twitter at @John_A_Lee.
In the show we will discuss:
- What is the +1 Button
- What does it do
- If you can opt out
- Quality Score & CTR impacts
- And much more…
The next show will air on November 7th at 12 EST / 9 PST on WebmasterRadio.FM.
You can also subscribe to the show at iTunes or listed to the archives at Webmaster Radio’s Marketing Nirvana Page.
If you missed either of the last two few shows, you should check them out at iTunes or Webmaster Radio.
- Search Query Data with Chad Summerhill
- Devising Killer Facebook Ads with Marty Weintraub
- Quality Score in High Resolution with Craig Danuloff
- And of course, many others…
I hope you enjoy the show.
Learn How Google +1 Affects AdWords with John Lee is a post from: Certified Knowledge
Willpower for Marketers
I was listening to a scientific review of all the psychological research
on willpower today and learned a few reasonably surprising things I
think we marketers should take note of:
1) It’s not a yes/no thing, but more like “gas in the tank”
2) Willpower is 100% proportional to your blood sugar.
If you spike and dip, you not only lose willpower regarding
food, but regarding everything else you’re working on. It
doesn’t matter how determined or “strong willed” you
try to force yourself to be… if you let your blood sugar
dip too low, all bets are off. (This was the biggest and
most consistent finding)
3) Mental work depletes the gas in the tank… especially
the work of making difficult mental decisions.
4) You can improve your ability to retain willpower longer
(your “fuel efficiency” if you will) by working on odd habits.
For example, teaching yourself to always eat with your left
hand (if you’re a righty) improves your willpower for workouts,
financial discipline, food, etc.
5) Choose ONE major willpower goal at a time. For example,
never try to lose weight while you’re also trying to totally
revamp your work or sleep habits. Studies show this actually
results in regression.
6) Thinking of lofty concepts like God, the meaning of life,
and who you want to be in the world seriously increases willpower,
whereas focussing on the mundane seriously decreases it.
(E.g. focus on WHY rather than HOW)
7) Women struggle with willpower during PMS because they
let their blood sugar drop. Their reproductive needs require
an extra 120 calories a day at that time of month, but they
rarely let themselves have it, so they get really moody instead.
(I wish I knew this 20 years ago!)
Name of the book is “Willpower Rediscovered” and the author
is Roy Baumeister. It’s written in the same style as Cialdini’s
“Influence” book (thorough research review followed by summary
of principles discovered)
IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKETERS
a) Decide on your single most important marketing goal and singlemindedly
focus on it to the exclusion of everything else. Of course you can have other
goals in the background, but don’t focus too much energy on them.
(In retrospect, EVERYTHING of significance I’ve ever accomplished
was during a period of single minded focus like this)
b) Find some easy to change, totally unrelated habit to integrate.
Maybe doing 3 pushups as soon as you roll out of bed. Or brushing
your hair before bed. Or brushing your teeth with the opposite hand.
(ANYTHING – as long as it’s ultra easy and signals a consistent change
in controlled behavior)
c) Snack on healthy protein throughout the day. (Raw seeds, lean
animal protein, etc). Don’t let your blood sugar spike or dip… your
BANK ACCOUNT depends on it at least as much as your health does.
d) When you’ve got a long day of particularly difficult problems and
decisions to make, emphasize #3 even more. Otherwise, you’ll wind
up leaning towards overly safe status-quo type of decisions which
don’t produce progress.
e) When you set a single minded marketing goal, take the time to think
about WHY you’re setting it. Don’t be content with “features” like
money, fame, etc. Think about loftier BENEFITS such as THE
PERSON you will be when it is achieved… how will it change your
contribution to the world? Your family? Community?
Food for thought…
G
www.HyperResponsiveMarketingSecrets.com
PS – The only thing I took issue with was their understanding
of the 12 step programs. They reviewed research which showed
they were equally effective to all other forms of treatment, and
concluded that means they should be taken seriously. But they
neglected to mention that NO treatment for addiction works
much better than doing NOTHING at all, and some make
the problem worse.
Proof Hiding Disease
Do you or a loved one suffer from Proof Hiding Disease?
Proof Hiding Disease (PHD) is a tragic illness which spreads from marketer to marketer faster than a stud rooster in a chicken coup…
You know what I mean…
PHD is that disease which makes you say “I think I’ll bury my accomplishments on my About page, because that’s where nice, proper people with good breeding put them. We can’t be bothering the prospect with good reasons they should trust me… it’s just not polite”
(As opposed to plastering it all over the page and near every claim… like I do on www.HyperResponsiveMarketingSecrets.com for example )
PHD is that creepy feeling that makes you forget to screenshot your Facebook or Twitter account when someone says something cool about you or your product…
It’s that sick feeling in your gut which prevents you from organizing your publicity mentions…
Or talking about your successes…
Or implementing a testimonial gathering system…
Or shooting that product demonstration…
Or holding a free seminar just so you can get people raving about your product or service ON VIDEO.
Yes, Proof Hiding Disease is very real indeed, and it’s costing our economy millions.
Go. YES YOU. Right now!…
Dig through your site for hidden proof and move it front and center to back up your claims. It’s probably the #1 thing you can do to bump your conversion this month…
And if you’re like most marketers I’ve met, I’ll bet my left testicle you’ve got some powerful proof, sitting buried somewhere polite people wouldn’t think to look.
Come back here and tell me what you did OK?
Dr. G
PS – One of the things which drove my success more than any other was gathering any and all proof about ME over the years, even if it seemed irrelevant and I had NO idea how I was going to use it.
For example, I did a lot of surveys back in the late 80s and early 90s about weird and diverse topics like “Who calls 900#s?”, “Are fat people happier?”, “Do smokers have trouble eating cheese?”, “what’s your money personality?”, etc. Whenever I’d get any press (sometimes they were feature stories, but lots of times they were just one liners), I’d xerox it for my files and add “his work has been covered in ____” to my CV. Before I knew it I looked like a giant, and I could say so on any project I was working on. And people stopped asking for references on the large projects… all because I got me cured of that pesky proof hiding disease.
GO! YOU! Now! :-)
Attend the Top 11 AdWords Mistakes Webinar Next Tuesday
Updated: Doh! It’s on Tuesday, 9/13/11
Next Wednesday, 9/14/11, I will be conducting a free webinar on the top 11 AdWords Mistakes as part of my Market Motive PPC class.
What I find top mistakes lists are useful for are learning what you don’t know so that you can focus on the areas where you can improve your PPC campaigns.
I often talk to advanced marketers who are unaware of modified broad match or aren’t using the display network properly. The webinar will be geared to all experience levels.
This workshop will cover the top 11 mistakes in about half an hour; and then we’ll leave plenty of time open for Q&A afterwards.
You can register for the webinar here.
I hope to see you there.
Attend the Top 11 AdWords Mistakes Webinar Next Tuesday is a post from: Certified Knowledge
Elephant Dreams, Cockroach Problems, and Marketing Success
Elephants, marketing projects, and small business successes have a LOT more in common than you might think… First and foremost, ELEPHANTS LOOK A LOT SMALLER FROM A DISTANCE:
When you look at an elephant way off yonder you get a fuzzy, warm feeling in your heart, your mind starts imagining how nice it might be to own one as a pet, you start dreaming about how different your life would be with that warm hearted, brilliant mammal gracing your days, and you become literally delighted about how easy it’s going to be to get him on board, feed him, and keep him happy…
You figure any and all problems associated with your beloved new fantasy “elephant in the distance” can’t possibly be bigger than cockroaches, and surely you’ll crush them with a single step (or rely on your new pet to do it for you).
But the problem is, when you actually adopt an elephant, and get to see what he looks like up close you realize…
That sucker is gigantic, mean, and hungry!
(And get ready to MOVE OVER in your bed and have plenty of sleepless nights, because you know where a 5,000 pound elephant sleeps? Anywhere he wants to!)
It’s the same thing with marketing projects and small businesses in general.
There’s something about the entrepreneurial nature which draws us to them, thinking they’re these ultra cuddly, playful, easy to manage bundles of small little joy which are going to enrich our lives…
When in reality if you REALLY want to raise and keep any worthwhile elephant, it’s probably going to overtake your life for a year or two until you’ve got it tamed (and then it can be wonderful).
In fact, all the successful entrepreneurs and marketers I know seem to embrace and accept this fact.
Sure, in every market there are probably only six real things you need to know in order to stand out from the crowd with a point of difference benefit. That makes it sound EASY… But which six are they? How much research is it going to take to not only figure that out, but to MAKE THOSE SIX POINTS A PART OF WHO YOU ARE… so that you naturally and effortlessly convey them in everything you say and do, and infuse them with passion in all your marketing materials.
Sure, all you really need to do to dominate a market is get in the game and stay in the game until you win it, continually testing and tracking and tweaking your way up the “beat my control” ladder to success…
But it’s EASY to talk about testing…
It’s HARD to do it!
Because testing requires traffic, and traffic requires either time or money. So in reality every single market test you do consumes resources. And once you ARE profitable in the market, every time you divert a percentage of your traffic to a NEW, untested approach, you’re risking that profit at minimum for the duration of the test. (Every marketer is familiar with the phenomenon of getting steady increases with tests early in the game, then reaching a point of diminishing returns where 9 out of 10 tests don’t beat the control… those tests are expensive… WORTH IT, if you manage them correctly, of course, but expensive nonetheless)
Moreover, just like you’ve gotta do research to figure out the six main ideas in every market, you’ve also got to do research to find HIGH LIKELIHOOD PROFITABLE TESTING INPUTS. (As an aside, most people think they’re testing different inputs when in reality they’re just testing versions of the same approach… you’ve got to test radically different and distinct inputs to maximize your testing gains)
OK, I think you get the idea.
What’s the solution?
First of all, remember the premise… most elephants worth raising are big and mean, even though they look small and cuddly in the distance.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is, they look that way to your competitors too… but now you know it and they don’t.
So you can spend the requisite amount of time choosing the RIGHT elephant to adopt, and allocate the right amount of time and resources when you do…
If you do this, you’ll not only be disproportionately less likely than your competition to quit or run out of resources, but you’ll be disproportionately more even keeled and ready to handle the size of the problems and adversity likely to face you when tackling any truly worthwhile project.
On a more practical level, knowing the rule of distant elephants means you’re more careful about choosing your market, and researching it carefully once you have before you start spending money on marketing.
There’s nothing wrong with adopting an elephant if you know what you’re getting yourself into. And the truth is, I can’t think of anything worthwhile in my life I’ve ever accomplished which didn’t have a few elephants involved.
Onwards and Upwards,
Dr. G
Choose Profitable Markets | Research Them Carefully
PS – This post inspired by a blog article by Uri Geller.
