Canadian,Marketing,Stinks,The, marketing Canadian Marketing Stinks
Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t
The Financial Post had an interesting article recently that talked about the brand image of countries.Canada ranked 3rd. The UK 1st, Germany 2nd and Iran last.Im not going to go in to the details of the article (if youre interested you can find it in the Saturday Sept. 22, 2007 issue) what I do want to do is explore the underlying problem with Brand Canada.That is the majority of Canadian marketing stinks.Before you fire me off an email and declare me a traitor let me explain why this is the case.In short were too nice. Is that possible, you ask? Is there such a thing as being too nice?When it comes to marketing, you bet. Author Andrea Mandel-Campbell hits the mark when writing Canadians are not aggressive enough.Somewhere along the way Canadians were taught that being aggressive is plain rude and wrong. Well, in some situations it definitely is and Im not recommending you walk around making demands right, left and center until you get what you want even if you dont deserve it.While I agree with Mandel-Campbells notion of Canadians being too nice in business I think the choice of vocabulary is off.What most Canadian marketing lacks isnt aggression its persistence.When it comes to getting your customers attention and having them take action persistence is the key that unlocks all doors.The article goes on to give a great example: Most Canadian marketers will call on their prospect once or twice (and if they are told No will give up), American marketers will call again and again until they get what they want.And its not just with calls but with direct mail, advertisements and other marketing communications.Does the American approach seem too aggressive? Some will surely say, YES.But in business if the wrong approach works it becomes the right approach the money-making and profitable approach. Hey, as long as it is ethical who can argue with that?So what should Canadians do to achieve the same results to stay competitive yet feel comfortable being persistent? The answer is value.If what you have to offer provides value to your prospect or customer if they would benefit from what you have to offer then it is your right, no, your duty, to make sure your prospect fully understands what you are offering them and why they should care.Each and every one of your marketing messages needs to communicate what makes your product unique and how your prospect will value from it.If your case is strong and youre confident that your product is packed with value then dont give up after one or two communications. It can take up to 7 or 8 communications before you turn a prospect into a customer.Its sad to see Canadian marketers giving up, packing it in, and proclaiming failure after only a couple of tries.Your marketing doesnt need to be a hyped up pitch and it really shouldnt be. No one wants to read that, right?Use your marketing to educate and provide value and your prospects and customers wont find it offensive and aggressive...they will invite it and come to trust it.So while they may not by from you right away they will see you as an authority (through your constant communication) and when they become ready to buy youll be at the top of their list.Regardless of what you are doing and regardless of your industry dont give up. Be persistent, educate and provide value.It not only is the right approach - it works!To your success,Michael Zipursky
Canadian,Marketing,Stinks,The,