Thursday, October 8, 2009

Marketing - Duck or Hen?




When a duck lays an egg, she will start to cover and bury the egg. The hen, on the other hand, will scream every time she lays an egg. No wonder why we eat so many of the hen’s eggs!

The most wonderful product, service, idea or concept may never meet its expectations simply because of marketing. I’m a firm believer that ‘shouting like a hen’ is the way to conduct your business. Not to say that you need to be loud and cause a scene, but it is essential that people around you (your captive market) is aware of what you have to offer. Get out and talk about it.

Some people believe that just having a website will mean transactions, however, there is a lot going on to generate the traffic through various mediums. I’m sure your website is wonderful, but if you’re the only one seeing it, the website is not doing its job.

The screaming hen may ruffle some feathers and she may not always receive the response she gets, however, that negative response pales in comparison to the lack of attention (if any) that the duck will receive. Nothing will ever have 100% response. A good example are the largest viewed television events in North America. Let’s look at the Super Bowl and the Oscars; not even 50% of the population tunes in to watch, however, they carry the highest ticket price per second for advertising because of how many people watch. Don’t forget, it still doesn’t reach every household or person.

Be willing to make an impression, to every one! Negative feedback is still feedback, and we require this to cater our approach. The masses are there waiting for your product, service, idea or concept to embrace. Let’s not forget that a small fraction of the population is all that’s needed for success.

Not everyone drinks coffee, but Starbucks has built an empire. Other companies live in the same product/service category, but they still stand out and are growing. You don’t necessarily need to be unique. Their story is in sync with this marketing concept. The original founders were happy with their shop in Seattle, but Howard Schultz saw a bigger picture because he believed the coffee was that good. His marketing research lead him to open store after store without having a huge marketing or advertising budget. A lot can happen when you step out, with a smart work ethic, focused on hitting your goals.

Without franchising (until very recently) the Starbucks’ empire grew to the point of some stores being less than a block from each other. Establish your vision and strive for it until, like Howard Schultz and Starbucks, you have your product very accessible to your target market.

Remember: When a duck lays an egg, she will start to cover and bury the egg. The hen, on the other hand, will scream every time she lays an egg. No wonder why we eat so many of the hen’s eggs!

Strive for success... be the hen.


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