The Most Powerful And Effective Marketing Strategy Ever Created?

Scenario A. Imagine that you have a laptop computer you would like to sell. You make up some attractive flyers to help you sell your computer. You enter an auditorium. There are 1000 people in the auditorium. You walk through the crowd and hand a flyer to each of the 1000 people in the auditorium. What are the chances you might sell that computer today? Well, it's possible - maybe. Perhaps, out of 1000 people, somebody MIGHT be interested in buying a laptop computer today. Maybe.

Scenario B. You have a laptop computer you would like to sell. You make up some attractive flyers to help you sell your computer. But this time you enter a stadium. In this stadium there are 100 times as many people as were in that auditorium - 100,000 people. And every person in this stadium, before entering, made a decision: 'I am going to find and buy a laptop computer today!'

Which scenario would offer a better chance that you might sell your computer?

In Scenario A, there is a small number of people and perhaps some interested buyers.

In Scenario B, you would likely not get more than a few steps before someone bought that computer. Frankly, you would likely want to have many more computers on hand to sell, as that entire crowd has previously demonstrated an interest in what you have to sell. Here you have a huge number of people, ALL interested in your product.

Push Marketing - Are You Chasing The Buyer? If you are using social media, advertising, media pitches, unsolicited email blasts and other forms of outbound marketing strategies, you are engaging in push marketing - demonstrated in Scenario A. This 'old school', yell, tell and sell approach usually takes a very long time, a lot of effort and a good deal of luck to experience success. You are chasing buyers, hoping to find those who might want to buy, pushing a message in the face of everyone you encounter. The days of the interruptive, intrusive, outbound advertising style message are gone. They do not produce good results in an Internet marketing environment.

Pull Marketing - Meeting Large Numbers Of Interested Buyers If you instead use pull marketing strategies, you are squarely in Scenario B. Pull marketing strategies have existed for many years. Pull marketing puts you in front of huge numbers of people, most of whom have already expressed interest in your product or service. Pull strategies are, beyond any doubt, much more efficient in regards to getting your message in front of potentially huge numbers of potential buyers - people who have already made or are in the process of making a buying decision. There is no 'yell, tell or sell' necessary. If you can get in front of them, your chances of being successful increase exponentially.

One Example
I work with a number of childrens book authors. Most have social media followers. Of course they naturally attempt to market their work to these fans or followers. The success rate for those who push their books on their social media followers is nearly always very low, as there are just a few people in the group who might be interested - maybe - perhaps - someday.

Meanwhile, last month (Apr 2012), 550,000 people searched 'children's book' or some derivative on Google alone (this does not include Amazon, Bing and all the others of course). This group is actively seeking information on these types of books.

So which makes more sense - to push the work on a few people who may or may not be interested, or to use pull strategies to get that work in front of huge numbers of people, all of whom have demonstrated their interest by the very search term they used? The answer is obvious. It's simple common sense.

Nevertheless it is a fact that many individuals, companies and organizations still insist upon using these outdated push strategies and do not achieve a high level of success in this environment.

The Key Concept? - People Do Not Like To Be Sold

Spam filters. TIVO. Popup blockers. Adblockers. All these technologies (and many more) demonstrate the dislike we have for intrusive, interruptive sales messages. Studies show that a very high percentage of those who can skip sales messages - do skip those sales messages.

How Do YOU React When You Receive A Sales Message? If you are like most people, you probably don't like them. You reject them. You delete them. You never pass them along to your friends. If you are sending sales messages, people will react to your message in the same way. The days of the 'sales pitch' are gone. Nobody likes to be sold - but everyone loves to find what they seek.

If you are using social media or advertising to 'yell, tell and sell' in an Internet marketing environment, your success will be very limited. Push strategies (interruption strategies) do not allow for the numbers needed to create real success. They are intrusive. Most will be rejected and the success rate will likely be low. Pull strategies (attraction strategies) engage potential buyers in meaningful ways. These buyers have already expressed an interest in what you have.

Individuals Who Say 'I Hate Marketing'-- Are Usually Those Who Are Not Successful At Marketing

Individuals who concentrate on push marketing strategies generally experience a great deal of frustration and failure, A lot of time and effort is wasted - a lot of money may be spent for a very small return. They must constantly chase new buyers. They must 'yell, tell and sell'. The conversion rates are low. The impression they make can be very negative. Pushing is selling. Who would NOT hate that?

People who are successful at marketing using pull strategies love marketing, as the need to engage in manipulative, interruptive and intrusive methods is avoided. There is no need to chase buyers. The expenses are much lower and the conversion rates are potentially much higher. The impression is positive. And this puts them in front of those who have already made a buying decision. Who would NOT love that?

Push marketing (outbound) is a 'hit or miss' approach that involves playing a game of numbers, investing a lot of time and money and ultimately must rely on a great deal of luck. Pull marketing (inbound) involves a strategic approach and planning to get that message in front of interested buyers and will usually produce far better results for less time and money.

Ask yourself - which of these two strategies makes more sense?

Learn how you can incorporate these strategies into your marketing plan today. Fill out the form below.

The Free Publicity Focus Group specializes in targeted, directed, strategic inbound marketing and publicity plans. Our no cost, no obligation analysis can help you determine which of these inbound strategies, tools and techniques will produce results for you. 

CREATE A MARKETING AND PUBLICITY PLAN THAT WILL PRODUCE RESULTS Nothing is more important in today's Internet environment than creating an effective Internet marketing and publicity plan. You can get your work in front of that worldwide audience and begin to see real results starting today.  Begin to improve your results by implementing no-nonsense, working solutions to your marketing challenges. The no-cost, no obligation Marketing And Publicity Strategy Analysis is the first step toward creating a successful Internet marketing and publicity plan that can produce the results you desire.

Stategic Planning For: * Internet Publicity * Creating Effective Websites * Blogging To Create Sales * Social Media Strategies * Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn * Search Engine Optimization * Audio/Video Marketing * Teleseminars/Webinars * Email Marketing * Radio & Television and much more - in one all-inclusive, step-by-step strategic marketing approach