A Little Less Oedipus and a Little More Caligula
I kid you not. She said all this immediately and without hesitation. She instinctively understands the nature of marketing because she is connected day in and day out with the real world and real people. In 20 seconds she covered principles we go to seminars to drill into our heads:
• Called me by name: people pay attention when you personalize something in a way that says “I care.”
• Too much out there: getting your message across is harder and harder every day with the glut of marketing hitting every one.
• Word of mouth: the best way to get new customers is to get your current customers evangelizing.
That got me thinking. What else is there to learn from this noodle shop? I looked at my Snapple bottle cap with its factoid. You’re right, Mr. Snapple Bottle, sometimes it’s so much better to use marketing space to strengthen your brand image as opposed to offering another worthless “chance to win.” I stared down into my hot Thai noodle broth. That’s true, Ms. Udon Noodle, sometimes when things are too spicy and in your face, it prevents you from sticking around and experiencing the whole thing. And, yes, Mr. Empty Notepad, this would be a great topic for that column that is due and you are struggling with narrowing down a topic.
All this from simply having a conversation without motive and looking around and asking what I can learn from the world about me.
I’ve always been a big believer in not getting too incestuous within the online world. After all, my career started out as a reporter for a print newspaper and I owned my own publishing company. And, I still try to read the paper (yes, the print version) from cover to cover every day. Sometimes my colleagues scoff or are amazed. But, you’d be surprised by the articles of interest you can find in the local section that you would never be able to discover online.
So, tonight when you are on the freeway, or walking home, or in the subway, take a deep breath, look up and consume the offline world around you. You’d be surprised what you find. Don’t force it. It’s like those crazy 3-D posters in the malls, sometimes you just have to let things blur to see more clearly.
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