My heart goes out to my many brothers-in-arms who are bestowed the task of stimulating the buying spirit of an increasingly discriminating customer, particularly in a global market that seems to be getting as thin as the air atop Pikes Peak. Many of the Earths satellite-based service providers appear content to sit on the side lines while withholding plans of expansion until calmer economic waters canvas the land."
As opportunities go, the proverbial elephants are in short supply, and most of those that still roam the parched plains of economic anemia do so clad in coats of olive drab and desert tan. Pursuing hunters are increasingly forced to set their sights on smaller game as logos can be sustained even with the trappings of rabbits and squirrels if you can find and kill enough of them.
Unfortunately, the woods are filled with hunters, each pitting his tactical cunning against the other. Like a crouching predatory cat, a watchful bird of prey or prowling ferret (yes its true, even cute little ferrets are formidable hunters and can become quite vicious when provoked I know because I got attacked by one once) they lie in wait hoping to ambush the unsuspecting RFQ.
Few would argue the importance of keeping the market appraised of the benefits one is certain to enjoy after the procurement and subsequent use of a particular brands products or services. But delivery of the message can only be accomplished after securing the attention of the targeted audience. This is often more difficult than it sounds. After all, theres a limit to the level of interest one can incite with monthly ads containing silhouettes of products splashed across boringly unimaginative backdrops.
How do we ensure that our message is packed with sufficient firepower to catch the eye of even the most attention-deficient customer enduring the daily barrage of repetitive media? Just hitting the target is not enough. Our message must be clearly distinguishable from the rest.
But while one hand will be grasping the mug containing his caffeine-based beverage of choice, the other will be perched firmly on the delete button. We have but a matter of seconds before the neural pathways of his cerebral cortex instruct his index finger to hit the button that ultimately sends our message swirling into the cyber-septic tank.
To all of my fellow marketers, I say leave the box, push the envelope, experiment but keep your hands off the mermaid I found her first!
Image credits
Marvo
Paradise Datacom