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So we’ve all been in this situation before. Whether it’s out at a bar, in the doctor’s waiting room, or even at a business networking event, we’ve all ran into that person that won’t shut up. You meet them, say hello, ask them a question, and then it’s off to the races. In the next 10 minutes you learn everything you need to know about them including almost everything you didn’t want to know about them. They may even be a nice person that is somewhat interesting, but after 10 minutes straight you realize they are only interested in talking about themselves and you’re searching desperately for a way to get out of the conversation. You finally escape and all you can think is, “What a waste of 10 minutes”, but perhaps we should thank this person because they’ve just provided a great example for us to learn from.

When you are promoting your business, whether it be in person or through a direct advertising effort (print ad, video, web, etc.), you want to be able to categorize your efforts as attraction marketing. The goal should be to create enough interest with your target audience for them to take the next step towards doing business with you. The strongest indicator of interest from your audience are questions. Do they want to know more?

Like that random person at the bar, it can be easy to get carried away talking about yourself and your business, especially if you’re a passionate business owner who loves what you do. However, be attentive to your audience. Are they asking questions or are they looking for the nearest exit sign (or the email trash can, the stop button on the video, or the next page in the magazine)?

Instead of telling them anything and everything about your business, keep your efforts brief and focused. Engage them, ask them questions, and give them one or two unique ways that your business can help them. If they ask questions, pick up the phone, or write you an email, you’ve done your job. Remember, attraction marketing is all about creating interest. If you’re not creating interest, analyze your efforts and see if you are becoming that random person at the bar.

Sustainability.

That’s a word I’ve been hearing a lot of. Recently I’ve heard it in the context of venture capital start-ups, government tax policies, and health habits, but as always my mind started drifting to how sustainability relates to video marketing.

Certainly for any long term business goal success comes from sustainability. There have always been big fads and get rich schemes, but now they are no longer snake oil salesmen riding into town on horseback. They are brand new products and services, that with the right amount of money can be marketed just as well or even better than the trusted products and services we already use. One only needs to browse the internet for 30 seconds to know what I am talking about.

Many of these products and services will quickly fade away, but not without grabbing a good share of the market before being replaced by the next big thing. So if there is always going to be a certain market share occupied by this group, how can you grab and keep the attention of your customer base?

Authenticity.

After the snake oil salesman hopped back on his horse and was off to the next unsuspecting town, it probably didn’t take long (unfortunately it likely took some longer than others) for the hype to wear off and the townspeople to re-appreciate the local, trustworthy vendor. In between snake oil visits, it was top priority for the local vender to take that time and continue to slowly build authentic relationships with the townspeople. However good he was at accomplishing this would directly effect how much of his market he would temporarily lose when the next salesman came riding through town.

Unfortunately, the local vendor had a few advantages over us today, which is why his principles are even more important now. He probably had less local competition, scarce national competition, and no global competition, all things we face daily. This dilemma however, has also created new opportunities and new tools for us to utilize.

As we use these new tools such as video marketing, social networking, emailing, and texting, it is important for us to not get sucked into the gimmicky world of snake oil. Step back and make a conscious effort to center your marketing efforts around the authenticity of your lasting relationships.

Authenticity = Sustainability.

I’ve met a lot of people lately who are attending seminars for social media marketing and email marketing. When they arrive they are hesitant to join in with these “new” marketing methods. Being unfamiliar with them they are naturally a little skeptical and the first question they ask is, “Why should I do this?”.

There are several reasons why, but today I’ll just cover one: Market Familiarity.

Now I’m not sure if Market Familiarity is an actual term (if not maybe Donald Trump can help me trademark it and it can become the new “You’re Fired!”), but let me provide an example from my life and then I’ll elaborate:

Back when I was in high school I would visit my cousins a lot and they would always play this weird music in the car. It wasn’t my style and because it was new and unfamiliar I hated it. We had music that we all liked, but they never played it anymore. I would try to switch out the CDs, but they would only play this one band I had never heard of before, the Dave Matthews Band, and it drove me nuts. This continued for some time.

Fast forward a few months later and I’m in the car with my best friend and this familiar tune comes on the radio. He immediately perked up and said “I love this song” and turned it up. I recognized the tune and instantly decided that I liked it, too. 20 seconds into the song I realized it’s the Dave Matthews Band, the band that I hated! However, because the tune was now familiar having been exposed to it several times from several sources and because I also gained a second recommendation from a trusted source, I was suddenly open to liking the music.

Fast forward a few weeks later and I bought the album my cousins had been playing and listened to it exclusively for the first 4.5 months of having my driver’s license.

Since then, the Dave Matthews Band has gotten their fair share of sales from me: CDs, Posters, Concert Tickets, Fan Club Membership, etc. All of this revenue that they probably wouldn’t have received otherwise had I not been exposed to their music from several outlets and received recommendations from several sources. And this is where Market Familiarity ties into everything.

While creating a Facebook page, starting a blog, or creating an email marketing campaign might not send your sales through the roof the second you click your mouse, it will set up your company to gain long term exposure in front of an unlimited audience. At little or no cost you can have all of these marketing sources in place and with the interactivity offered, someone like me can be exposed to something new, read feedback from several sources, and become a fan (or customer, client, employee, volunteer, etc.).

So don’t shy away from new marketing methods.  Be confident in who you are and what you do and realize that there are people out there who would love your product or service, they’re just not familiar with it. Actively give them the opportunity to get familiar and you’ll be surprised with the results.

And if I’m riding in your car, please please please don’t play country music.