Marketing Lessons from Grandad: Lesson #1. You Can’t Win If…

You can’t win if you don’t play!  That’s what Grandad would say as he licked the stamp to place on his entry to the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.  His odds of winning? One in a million.  But his odds of winning if he didn’t enter? Zero.  You can try, and you might fail.  But if you fail to try, haven’t you failed by default?

That lesson applies to a world of other situations, including marketing; perhaps especially to marketing.  There are an endless number of advertising and marketing tactics out there, opportunities to connect with those interested in what you have to offer, and your competition is taking part.  Are you?  Sometimes it feels like a one in a million chance of “winning”, but if you’re not out there at all, what are the odds an individual will choose you over the competition?  You don’t have to try it all, but don’t be afraid to do something just because you can’t do everything.

And what about your current customers, clients, members, or subscribers?  You know the competition is in the game, doing everything they can to woo and win them away from you.  Are you playing to win the continued loyalty of those already on your team, or do you take that loyalty for granted?  Those individuals are just that – unique individuals that already picked you, your service, your company.  You’ve won the first round with them, but the game isn’t over.  They can be your strongest supporters, loudest evangelists, and most loyal customers…unless you think the game ended when they picked you.

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