If you've been anywhere around the Internet in the past five years or so, you would have heard about the internet equivalent to word-of-mouth advertising: viral marketing. Lots of people love the idea of word-of-mouth and viral marketing because it doesn't require a lot of work. Just ask people to talk about you, right? Wrong. Word-of-mouth …
What Is “Cream of Tartar??”
I was in the grocery store the other day, standing near the customer service counter. A woman in her late 30s came up to the counter and asked, "Where can I find Cream of Tartar? My son needs it for a science project." The customer service person (who was in her early 20s) looked lost. She didn't know what Cream of Tartar was either. I piped up …
The Tiny Shoes Story (and Why You Need to Know It)
I heard a good metaphor many years ago that I want to share with you. It's all about the clear distinction between using the "info guru" marketing technique of sharing free content -- and having little shoes shaken out of your head. Read on: == Let's assume that for the last 20 years you've bought your shoes at your local shoe store. Let's say …
Hummer: Restore Your Manhood
Marketing gurus tell us that people buy for emotional reasons, then find facts to support their decision. I saw a great commercial on TV last night which can clearly show you how to market to people's emotions. The scene opens with two men at a checkout counter in a supermarket. The first man is buying "good for you" food, like tofu. He looks …
Never a Diva
A few years ago on NPR radio's "Fresh Air" program, they did a tribute to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, the famous mezzo-soprano who died that week at age 52 after a long illness. Lloyd Schwartz said of her, "She went from triumph to triumph, yet never became a Diva, never lost her sense of purpose, or her sense of humor about herself." In the …
All Marketers Are Liars (the book)
I just got finished reading Seth Godin's "All Marketers Are Liars." The crux of the book is that to effectively market your service or product, it's not enough to list the benefits, you have to tell a story to an audience who is ready to listen to and connect to the story. For instance, the "story" at WholeFoods Supermarkets is that the experience …