Cramping Your Marketing Style

by Will Rotondi

When was the last time you flew the friendly skies?

Do you recall the feeling of your seat, particularly in relation to those around it?  (And we’re talking back in economy, not about the luxury experience of the first-class riders, thank you.)

For years, people have argued that airline seats are too small.  Recently, flights have been diverted due to unruly passenger conduct sparked over reclined seatbacks.  “We are fighting each other,” says Prof. Kathleen Robinette, “but the seats are not designed right.”

This demonstrates a simple truth:  there’s a fine line between quantity and quality.

Do you increase the number of customers served on one trip, or redesign the experience they had while on it?

Let’s consider this in your marketing approach.  Depending on your company’s offering, and depending on the size of your marketplace, you may find that your outreach becomes more of a standardized template than a personal touch.  You want to provide a quality service to your prospects, and you want to reach as many as you can with the hopes of a good return, but the very act of mass-blasting with the same information has the potential to deter them from ever being interested in your product.

Consider all of the email lists you may be on, and how often companies send out weekly or daily reminders about specials, events and other related material that you typically gloss over.

Consider telemarketing in the days before cell phones, and the old joke that if the phone rang around dinnertime, it was likely from one of them asking to pitch their product.

If it’s just another face, just another uncomfortable reclining seat, is it really a service you’d consider again in the future? – or, is it just more of the same that you could get anywhere?

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