Why?

Well, in my experience people who claim to think or work “outside the box” do so because they either do not know enough to work within the box is or don’t understand how the bits in the box are supposed to fit together.

It’s become a euphemism for:

I don’t really know what I’m doing
or
I can’t articulate what sets me apart from the competition

I’m sorry if you were the first one to coin the phrase, but the wrong people got hold of it and redefined its meaning.

thomas valaitis marketing outside the box

So it’s nothing new to use a celebrity to shift your schwag, but headlines like this amaze me.

Do we really think that the millionaire entertainers/entrepreneurs Redknaps book a package deal with Thomas Cook?

Do you honestly believe that Davina McCall kneels over a bath and colours her own hair with bottle dye?

Do minor celebs throw luxury feasts centered around Iceland’s aesthetically remastered ballast centric platters?

I think not. I’m sure we all think not. But we still absorb this information and process it in such a way that makes us more inclined to buy stuff.

We give people permission to overtly talk absolute rubbish to us, because at some conscious level we want to be told what to do, and eat, and wear (like the Rolling Stones song).

It might as well be your product I guess?

thomas valaitis marketing celebrities, endorsement

There is almost certainly a gap in any established market for somebody who does something amazing or makes something amazing.

There aren’t many gaps left in most established markets for somebody who does something average or makes something average.

That’s bad news for most of the businesses I seem to encounter.

Great news for you I hope!

thomas valaitis marketing, success strategies gap in the market

none of these words should include:

• clip-art
• word processing software
• my daughter* is studying art
• generic
• complicated
• comic sans
• template
• free
• I can turn my hand to anything

*insert family member here

thomas valaitis marketing

One of the great things about the Internet is freedom of speech, coupled with  lack of regulation.

One of the problems with the internet is freedom of speech, coupled with lack of regulation.

How many times do you see the following:

“we are the UKs number one….xyz”

“we are the leading supplier of….xyz”

If you advertise on TV, or if you use paid search engine advertising, you’re going to have to validate these claims; but nobody can stop you writing any old rubbish on your site.

So should you do it?

No.

But what if your competition are all claiming to be number one, or some other unfounded superlative?

Well, I think we are becoming immune to the garbage people write about themselves, much like we stopped getting excited about offers of free money from imprisoned former Nigerian bank owners. Hollow websites and skimpy results are pretty transparent.

So what’s the alternative to claiming to be the greatest?

Working towards being the greatest! Sure it’s not as easy as writing it on a web page, but it’s an infinitely better long term strategy.

Other people will then start proclaiming you to be the greatest or leading (xyz)! These claims are worth 50* times more than your own (*made up number).

thomas valaitis marketing

Reading and understanding this post is significantly more likely to enhance your reputation very quickly.

That’s a pretty weasely statement right? It doesn’t really mean anything, there aren’t any time scales or real guarantees and it’s claims are pretty hard to quantify.

New business owners very regularly seem to feel the need to lie weasel to people about their product, service, delivery, reputation, experience etc.

Maybe it’s a misconception about what marketing is…or maybe it’s a napoleon complex. Either way, it operates on the basis that people are stupid.

People aren’t stupid. (OK, some are stupid…but it’s still important not to weasel).

Here are some examples of weaseling:

“we have over 25 years experience between us” (50 people with 6 months experience?)

“we have worked with XYZ PLC” (in previous companies providing unrelated services)

“only £5.99″ (per month, plus vat, set-up fee not included, 3 months initial offer rate only)

“we trade worldwide” (I once sold xyz to somebody in Hong Kong on ebay)

“up to 50% off”

Don’t weasel…or I wont buy from you. If you need to lie about your offer, change your offer.

thomas valaitis marketing, reputation

Customer “How spicy is the thai red curry”

Waitress “I don’t know”

Customer “Will I end up sweating and crying if I eat it”

Waitress “I’ve never had it”

Maybe generations have contributed to the recipe, maybe there are a variety of options to customise the spicyness, maybe if you actually gave a damn you could tell me a story about the curry to make the dish exciting.

If you spend millions (or less) of pounds developing a product / service, should you spend minimum wage on the bit the customer gets to see?

thomas valaitis marketing, reputation, staff

How much does a good sales person cost, and how much would a good product/service developer cost?

You only need good sales people if you are selling things people don’t really want or need.

thomas valaitis marketing, success strategies product development, sales

We all spend a little (or a lot) more on certain items (thankfully these differ) to make ourselves feel good.

Some people may buy a Rolex, or maybe a Mont Blanc, or an Aston Martin, or Tropicana, or Starbucks, or fine dining, or business class travel, or a fancy push bike…you get the idea.

Essentially we all know that we could buy a watch or pen or car or juice or coffee or food or a seat or a bike for less, but in some instance we choose not to. We say to ourselves, “This item (or service) matters to me, it will bring me joy (or pride) and I am worth it.”

Why can’t your product or service bring people joy instead of savings? People prefer joy to savings if you can make what you are selling matter to them.

People prefer savings if what you are selling is crap.

thomas valaitis marketing, success strategies happyness, joy, perception, value

I’m not a big fan of cricket, but having recently signed up to receive a Sky HD box I found some of their marketing quite amusing.

Currently running on TV is an ad suggesting you sign up to SKY HD with the promise of incredible detail and clarity to deepen your enjoyment of this years Ashes series.

Having signed up myself, I now know the current wait time for their HD box is 3 months…coinciding nicely with the end of the Ashes.

I only know this because I signed up. You only get to know what you’re buying into once you have bought it. If you give a full toss about the Ashes, you may be slightly disappointed.

Rule 1: Get the signature

Rule 2: Somebody elses problem.

thomas valaitis marketing, reputation ashes, sky hd