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Marketing Lessons Learned from the Dating World
I have this theory that
marketing and dating are the exact same thing.
Now, as a single guy (by
which I mean, "not married") I've been on my share of dates.
And as a marketing guy,
I've seen my share of unique ways to spread the word about ideas,
products and websites.
Not it's time to merge the
two and see what's been learned:
1) I was once introduced to
a girl named Karen by a mutual friend. She and I clicked right away. We
discussed sushi. She said she "always wanted to try it." I made a
mental note. The following week I found out where she worked and
stopped by her office with a little card, the front of which which had a
picture of a box of California Rolls. On the inside I simply wrote,
"Sushi?" and left my businsss card. I handed it to the receptionist. By
the time I returned home, there was an email from Karen. She was
ecstatic. We went out the next night, then dated for a few months.
LESSON LEARNED: unexpected
+ unique = unforgettable.
2) I'm big on gifts.
Nothing fancy, just something cute to start the first date off on the
right foot. More importantly, something unique. Not flowers, candy or a
mixed tape. Something memorable. Now, I'd been talking to this
particular girl for a few weeks. I knew that she loved (more than
anything in the world) her soaps. One Life to Live, Days of Our Lives,
all that stuff. So, I stopped by Walgreens to pick her up a copy of
Soap Digest. I wrapped it up and had it waiting on the seat of my
car when she stepped in. She almost cried when she opened it and told
everyone she knew about it.
LESSON LEARNED: listen to
and remember your target market's needs, then give them what they want.
WOW them on the first try, and they'll tell everyone.
3) I'll never forget my
first night in Portland. I'd just moved in, didn't know a soul, and
wanted to meet people ASAP. My neighbor and I went to a local Karaoke
Bar. We noticed a table of cute girls in the front. He said he didn't
feel like talking to them. I said I would do it. So, when one of the
girls from the table went up to the bar, I approached her and asked what
her friend's name was sitting next to her. "Tammy, her name is Tammy.
Are you going to sing to her?" she asked. "You're damn right." I put in
a request for "My Girl," and ended up serenading Tammy in front of the
entire bar. I was down on one knee, substituting "Tammy" for "My Girl,"
in the chorus. By the end of the night, I'd made friends with the whole
table. Now, I didn't actually end up dating any of them, but we're still
friends to this day!
LESSON LEARNED: gutsy wins
the day.
4) Dating customers
probably isn't a good idea. But when this sassy redhead came into my
store to buy a couch, I had to at least try. So, when I packed
her order for delivery, I "accidentally" forget to include her pillow.
Two days later she called the store not upset, but in this sort of
playful, flirtatious, "I'm pretending to be mad, so what are you going
to do about it?" way. I explained to Amber that I'd overnight her pillow
right away. Attached to the pillow was a note from me that said, "I'm
really sorry about the mess up. I'd be happy to make it up to you by
taking you out to dinner." We got together the next week and had a
blast. Of course, this would have worked out a lot better if she wasn't
dating a player for the LA Kings. Woops.
LESSON LEARNED: recoveries
from a messed up sale often come out better than your original plan.
5) After a long night of
striking out with every girl we approached, my friend Aaron decided to
call it quits. "No, we're not giving up. Come on, let's try something
else," I said. We went onto the floor all by ourselves and started
dancing like complete idiots who didn't have a care in the world. (And
at this point, we really didn't.) Before we knew it, girls were actually
coming up to US and saying hello. A few hours later we ended up at a 24
hour diner on an impromtu double date. One of the girls is still a good
friend of mine today!
LESSONS LEARNED: don't
sell, enable people to buy; don't market, position yourself
LET ME ASK YA THIS...
What marketing lessons have you learned from dating?
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© 2006 All Rights Reserved.
Scott Ginsberg, aka
"The Nametag Guy," is the author of three books and a professional
speaker who helps people maximize approachability, become
unforgettable and make a name for themselves. To book Scott for your
next association meeting, conference or corporate event, contact
Front Porch Productions at 314/256-1800 or email
scott@hellomynameisscott.com |
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