The Perils of Showtime

The bottom line here is your business bottom line.
You want your prospects to remember your product
and why they want it. How many of us can
remember a commercial or an ad because of the
song or the imagery, and not what was being sold?

I broke this rule gloriously just a year ago. In an
effort to make the most of a conference in Orlando,
I put my mom's cinnamon roll recipe into a logic
model to demonstrate how activities lead to results.
I had the logic model printed on a 4 x 6 card which
touted the importance of why measurement matters.

I was staying with my cousin in Cocoa Beach and
so got up early and baked a batch on 2 different
mornings and handed out samples (results) to
participants at the conference. The card had a web
address where you could access the recipe and
the planning tools for free. (A few of you remember, eh?)
The rest of you can still access them here

One of the things that I learned is that I may be
remembered more for cinnamon than for the guy
to call when you need to know how to plan for,
and measure, results.

Given the chance, your readers, viewers, and
prospects will remember the showtime glitter
and not the marketing idea.

Clearly, you still need to capture attention and
arouse interest. You need to be noticed. What you
want to avoid is having your cleverness or the
entertainment get in the way of your desired response.
You need sales, not applause. They need information,
not entertainment.

Your job is to provide that information while creating
a desire to buy what you sell.

Once you have their attention, stress your benefits,
your uniqueness, your desirability. Craft your
message so that it is aimed at one person at a time
rather than a throng waiting to be entertained.
Ask for action. Tell them what action to take.

Create marketing that causes people to say
"I want that product!" rather than "I liked
that commercial."

(c) 2005 Guerrilla Marketing Golden Rules e-zine

Steve Brewster
Business & Personal Coach
403.283.5706
steve@brewsterconsulting.com