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Oh Crap Marketing!
Posted by Michael Cage on Friday, May 28, 2004I have to admit "Oh Crap Marketing" is a source of endless curiosity and entertainment for me. I know you want to know what IT is, and I'll get to it, after a little background...
I'm working with a retail bricks-and-mortar store in Kentucky.
The thing about working with small retailers is that because most of them are so horrifically inept at marketing, just a few small tweaks and changes can completely change the business in a short time. Their problem quickly shifts from one of business volume to one of "how do I keep up with the business volume." This is good for the client, of course, even if I occasionally get bored with the basic marketing stuff.
Anyway, that's not the point of this post...
What is?
It never fails that when I work with a new client, within 30 days we shake up the existing system of other owners of the same type of business. Badly. Like a 7 year old who just ate a full meal getting on an upside down roller coaster kinda shake-up. These people are so used to their apathetic "do-nothing" attitude, that when one of "their own" breaks out, they get...
SCARED!
In fact, having been around for a few of these sessions, they usually say something like, "Oh S%$#."
Hence, "Oh Crap Marketing."
In the latest example, the competing stores actually started complaining to a common manufacturer that what my client was doing wasn't fair because it'd take away all their business. "All their business" might be an exageration. After all, I'm sure some family buys from the other place. But I will say the plan I've put in place is explicitly designed to make the competitive store sell out or get out in less than 18 months.
So, here's a tip to everyone reading this... no matter what your business is...
Don't wait for the other guy to do something that makes you say, OH CRAP. Get off your rear and do something to make them say it.
Reactive marketing sucks, proactive marketing builds empires.
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Great post! I just found your blog via Scoble, subscribing now.
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