Once upon a time… a few years ago… I met a brilliant writer with the initials CW, who taught me about something she called “The Curse of Knowledge.”
If you’re not sure what the the Curse of Knowledge is, then it will be my extreme pleasure to share it with you, as it was once shared with me.
My friend CW explained it to me thus…
So I woke up this morning with another one of my “thoughts for the day”…
A few weeks ago, I shared an actionable tip that worked for one of my clients. If you were able to avail yourself of it, then that’s great… you’re welcome.
If not… well, not every idea works for everyone, no matter how great the idea (maybe the next one will suit you better?)
But this time around I’m dropping more of a philosophical postulation (whoa, there’s a couple of big words. I’m pretty sure I used them correctly?)
Anyway, this time I’m going to rant for a moment about something that’s near and dear to my heart, but gets disregarded too easily by many other marketers.
I’ll try to keep it short and sweet, because I understand that reading the ramblings of a madman is not for everyone.
And after you read my thoughts, feel free to agree with me (because I’m brilliant)… or add your own thoughts to the conversation (because you’re brilliant)… or lay down an alternate truth of your own (because you think I’m full of crap).
Whatever you decide to do, I’m sure it’ll be the right decision for you.
So that’s enough of an introduction. Here’s what I was thinking when I woke up this morning.
After 20 years in advertising…
I was browsing a couple online marketing forums the other day, and a number of threads jumped out at me.
They were all asking similar questions, like…
“Why aren’t people signing up for my email list? I’m giving away free stuff (a free report, free ebook, free sample, etc.) Doesn’t everybody want free stuff?”
Well, most experienced marketers already know the answer to this question.
But, for anyone (and everyone) who’s asking this type of question, let me answer it for you right now…
“Running a business without advertising and marketing is like winking in the dark; you know what you’re doing, but nobody else can see you.”
If you’ve been in business for any length of time, then you already know; there’s only 3 main ways you’re going to “stay in business”…
1) Increase your number of customers.
2) Increase the size (or dollar amount) of each sale.
3) Increase the frequency of repeat customers.
It’s not rocket science… it’s simple math!
– When you do 1 of these, your sales will go up.
– When you do 2 of these, your sales will multiply even more.
– When you do all 3, your sales, and profits, will expand geometrically.
Of course, there’s other ways to increase your bottom line, like cutting waste and streamlining efficiency.
But without customers, you don’t have a business; and nothing else is going to make a difference.
Unfortunately, here’s where most business owners go wrong…
There was a thread the other day, on one of the marketing forums I belong to, that touched upon a point of morality and ethics in marketing.
One of the members was called out for blatantly lying to, and deceiving his market, in order to promote himself as being a master marketer.
That member shot back, and basically told his detractors “The best marketers adjust the facts, so get off your high horses and start living in the real world!”
He then went on to justify his claim, demanding that he could “honestly” say he produced tens of millions of dollars for past clients, because he once worked for a company that did so.
And even though he wasn’t personally responsible for those transactions, he wasn’t lying. He was simple “adapting the truth” to fit his own needs.
Now, I don’t know how you feel about his justification; But to me, with that type of logic, a cashier at Walmart could say they’re a front line financial expert, managing an entire sector, at a multi billion dollar company.
To me, it sounds deceptive… what do you think?
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