No one likes to be pestered. Yet, when it comes to marketing, it seems some people still think they can pester their way to success. This post is about a different way to do business. It’s based on one of the most powerful ideas in commerce and I strongly recommend you take a few minutes to read this post in full.
Pestering their way to the bottom
Over the weekend, I received more than 100 emails from people I don’t know, all asking me to do something for them. Most want me to blog about their latest product or tell you how great their blog is. They send me spam email, because I have a well known blog and they think that means it’s OK. In 100% of the emails, where I have checked the link, the stuff they are pushing is uninspiring, at best.
It seems they have not figured out yet that if their product was worth talking about, they wouldn’t need to spam me or anyone else.
Here are a few examples that came to mind immediately.
An alternative approach
- I recently bought a Lenovo Ultrabook and was so impressed with it, that I told the 11,000 people who connect with me on Google+ and the 6,000 who follow me on Twitter. The quality of the product was worth talking about, so I did exactly that. I wasn’t asked to. I just did it because I am like you: I talk about the things that impress the pants off me.
- I received such amazing customer service from Dell computers, that I was compelled to blog about it. Again, I have no connection with Dell, other than being a customer. The service was so good, I had to share my experience.
- I saw a Facebook update, where Peter Bestel shared a video of his 14 year old daughter, Zoe Bestel singing. Zoe wrote, sang and played on a beautiful track called “Into the Night” and I must have shared that link dozens of times. Why? Because it’s fantastic. You can see Zoe’s video in a moment!
- A couple of weeks ago, I had an amazing caramel latte at a place in Gainsbrough, Lincolnshire called Creme and it was so good I photographed the cup and sent it to everyone on G+ and Twitter, with my recommendation. Again, the recommendation was totally unasked for. Like all those in this list, it was earned. It was remarkable, so I remarked on it.
Do great work and put it where people will see it
If Bob puts his work out there, where his clients and future clients can see it and they value it enough, they will share it with everyone. As in the above examples, this works whether it’s a multinational company, an independent coffee shop or a 14 year old girl with an amazing gift. Seth Godin makes the point beautifully, in this post about Kevin Kelly’s 1000 true Fans. I suggest you read Seth’s post.
Now, what does Bob do if he has a product or service that he’s always pushing and when people see it, it fails to inspire them? I believe he has 2 options:
- He can try and pester his way to success. It may mean cold calling hundreds of people or spamming hundreds of thousands of people to make a sale, but he will make some sales. He will successfully piss off a huge number of people in order to make a sale, but Bob may feel OK with that. This approach will work for a while, until he gets added to enough spam lists and nuisance caller lists, that it’s not effective to push people any more. This pestering approach is extremely common, as your spam folder will confirm.
- Bob can develop something that is of such genuine value, that people will want to share it. I call this doing work that matters. As I wrote yesterday on Creative Thinking Hub, this requires a lot more thought than pushing something that’s average, but it’s where the value is. It’s also a far more enjoyable way to develop a business.
‘Average’ isn’t good enough to motivate people to tell your story
Life is too short and people are too informed, for us to waste our time offering a service or product, which people are underwhelmed by. Those interested in being better than average and attracting the best clients, doing work that matters, rest assured I am here to help you with this blog. To those of you committed to being better than average and attracting the best clients, doing work that matters, get in touch. Make it happen.
Finally: Here’s Zoe!
Before I wrap this up, I have to share the following video of Zoe Bestel with you. If you can’t see the video below for any reason, you can watch it here.