As I wrote this introduction last night, the wind was howling as sleet and snow was coming down for the Blizzard of 2011.
Ever hear the expression, "Selling Ice to Eskimos"? Yesterday I tried selling unassembled snowmen on Craigslist.
Read this from Seth Godin:
When was the last time you bought a tie?
My guess is not lately.
When you first got a fancy job, you had a tie shortage, and thus attention was paid to ties. You bought "enough for now." Then you solved the tie problem and moved on.
When you first bought an iPhone, you had an app shortage, so attention was paid to apps. You bought "enough for now." Then you moved on.
Music might be an exception (buying a new stereo doesn't often lead to a new music binge). But in general, some external event occurs that creates a fissure, an opportunity, a problem. We search, we buy, we're done.
The challenge, then, is to develop products that match what the market is looking for, and more important, to overtly and aggressively seek out the people in that situation and ignore the rest. Which is precisely what most marketers large and small are not doing right now.
RELATED: Many marketers I know have a great idea for a product or service that will target a segment of the market that doesn't know to look for the great idea. For example, you might want to sell a better, easier to use hatchet for women. The problem is that women, long accustomed to never being able to find an axe that they're comfortable with, have given up looking, perhaps several generations ago.
Alerting a market segment that isn't looking is a thousand times harder than activating a segment that just can't wait for your arrival. Since it's your choice, since the segment is up to you, why not pick one that is itching for you to show up?
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