Need A Shrewd Marketing Idea That Will Explode Your Sales?
Guaranteed that you will never feel cringy about selling anymore
A not-so-unique flaw in human nature may be why many a marketing idea fails in its execution. This is why good businesses, often and unfairly, don’t prosper.
It could be the reason YOU find it difficult to grow your business.
The world needs more good people who are successful, but the opposite is often true. Decent business folk with talent fail to make an impact. Unethical people whose work may be mediocre are likely to do better.
If it sounds unfair that’s because it is.
I saw the unfairness in the corporate sector as a fresh young face out of college. My superior was a kind guy and a team player. He was unassuming but good at his job. His only problem was he wore his unassuming nature like a badge of honor. He couldn’t make a sale, i.e. he couldn’t sell himself to his bosses. He would tell me often “Zarine, our work will speak for itself.” He got fired.
Because people are very much alike in every situation what doesn’t work for corporate employees does not work for business folk.
Countless decent businesses with good products fail to make an impact every day because they are reluctant to come up with a marketing idea.
If you think “I run a business to make stuff. I don’t sell. My products/services will speak for themselves.” you are probably grappling with this flaw too. You don’t market your business enough which means you are more likely to fail. Those who aren’t half as good as you are likely to make it only because they like to talk about themselves and what they do.
Why are you reluctant to come up with a marketing idea?
You know your business will not sell itself but you like to hold onto the belief that if you are a good person who works hard at what you do you will magically find customers. The alternative is too scary to face- sell or perish.
But face the alternative you must. You need to make that sale.
This is what happened to my friend who became a fresh-faced business owner a while back.
It gets me every time I think about it.
He started a baking business and baked healthy bread & pizzas from his kitchen at home. Finding customers was his problem. Which was strange because he was a reputable and well-liked member of society. You would think he knows a lot of people who could be potential buyers. And he does know people. But he just cannot sell to them. He distributes his baked goods for free because ‘she’s a good friend’ or ‘he helped me with my son’s school admission. How can I ask him to pay?’
My friend knows he is already helping people with his product because it’s a healthy version of popular food. Not asking them to pay will do nothing to help them further. If anything, it may stop them from consuming his baked goods since they may feel awkward receiving freebies.
No surprise how that went. My friend had to shut shop pretty soon.
Feeling cringy to make a sale is not a problem unique to my friend.
Selling for our business makes some of us feel like we are selling our souls.
The truth is this.
Marketing seems difficult because you focus on the ‘what-ifs’. You think — What if I seem insincere? What if I get rejected? What if people think of me as a money-grabbing soul-sucking businessperson? What if I lose friends in the process of making a sale?
Here is a solution that will help you walk your way into your customer’s heart and feel good in the process.
You can grow your business with a marketing idea that makes you enthusiastic about selling.
Stand for something bigger than yourself — a cause, a point of view that can change the world.
Associate your business with the cause.
“Cause marketing” works because people don’t want to pay to help business people make profits, but they can’t say NO when you ask them to help those in need.
The truth is that customer loyalty is a fickle thing. We like to talk like it exists but it doesn’t. Granted, your favorite customers might feel a tad ill at ease if your product were to be pulled off the shelves tomorrow or if you stop your services, but they will find an alternative soon enough.
On the other hand, if you touch human lives, by trying to elevate suffering; that universal human condition that all of us fall prey to, you make a difference.
Here are some ways you can use “cause marketing” to make a sale
-Your product can directly benefit the cause; if you make running shoes you can provide your shoes to charities that fund deserving runners. Their success stories can be your marketing idea.
-Your business can lend its services to a relevant cause. Johnson Tiles, a popular tile maker in India has a high recall value. Why? They had partnered with the NGO Enable India to build red ramps in public spaces across India. Red ramps are designed to be more visible to those with visual impairments.
-You can talk about a social issue in your marketing. Dove does this beautifully by showing in its ad campaigns that it stands for “real beauty.”
-Your sales proceeds can fund the cause. Patagonia, an American brand known for sportswear and outdoor clothing is vocal on environmental issues. Their famous mission statement is “We’re in business to save our home planet.” Patagonia donates 1% of its sales to environmental organizations, campaigns to stop new fossil fuel projects in the US, and urges the US government to protect water and land for Native American tribes.
-Your marketing idea can be building your product/service around a value you hold dear. Lush, the face and body care brand stands for animal rights. So, its products are 100% vegetarian and they don’t use animals for testing.
How do you build and market your business around a social cause?
What are your core values?
These are the deepest principles that make you- you.
You can explore social causes based on these values and build your marketing story around these causes. With a cause marketing idea, you never again need to think ‘what if.’
A cause marketing idea works best when you gather a tribe of those who feel strongly about what you stand for. You can ignite with your marketing and advertising.
Piss people off if you must. Polarize them.
And of course, you may change the world in the process because in the end business and marketing are about real people.
