This post is a follow up to my recent tweet about The Law of the Mind.
The law of the mind follows from the law of perception. If marketing is a battle of perception, not product, then the mind takes precedence over the marketplace.
For example IBM wasn’t first in the marketplace with the mainframe computer … Remington Rand was first with the Univac. But thanks to massive marketing efforts, IBM got into the mind first and won the computer battle early for mainframe computers.
Many entrepreneurs are tripped up by this law. Someone has an idea or concept they believe will revolutionize an industry however the problem is getting the idea or concept in the prospect’s mind.
The conventional solution is to throw money at marketing your product but this is not the way to do it. There is more money wasted in marketing than any other human activity … you can’t change a mind once a mind is made up.
This principle accounts for the mystery of the well-formed opinion that can almost instantly appear in a person’s mind. One day you have never heard of a person. The next day a person is famous … remember Susan Boyle singing “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent in April 2009 … they have gone viral. And, the “overnight sensation” is not an unusual phenomenon.
So what does one do? … well, you don’t just throw money at marketing your product.
You define your marketing and sales funnel. You launch your product, you get some buzz, and you monitor & test the reaction.
If the product is not obtaining traction, don’t throw money at more marketing but make a minor change to your offering, or your marketing campaign, and do a soft re-launch of your product and again, monitor and test the reaction.
Use tracking and web analytics software tools to determine if your product is getting 1st in the mind of your customers. If your product is not top of mind with your customer, make another change, do another soft re-launch, monitor, track, and measure again. Iterate through this activity until your product is 1st in the mind of your customers.
Let me conclude with another example … when the personal computer industry started, the Altair 8800 was first in the marketplace and competing products were introduced a short while later like the Commodore Pet, the Apple II, and the Radio Shack TRS-80.
Despite being 1st to market, the Altair 8800 is gone and the only surviving computer company of this group is Apple with an entire new line of products like the MacPro, MacBook, iPod, iPhone, iTunes and more … why did this happen? The other companies and products had a difficult name to remember and Apple became 1st in the mind of their target market.
Many Internet Marketing entrepreneurs are following a concept called “Split Testing” and using Web Analytics tools to measure the mindshare their product obtains in the marketplace. They must ensure their brand, You Inc and their product, is 1st in the mind of their customers … MLM Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products.
You can find out more about Internet Marketing and home-based businesses by reading updates that will be posted at my blog over the next few weeks.
As a former engineer with General Dynamics and management consultant at Deloitte … I am on a mission to empower individuals by increasing their financial literacy, improve their ability for personal sustainability, and contribute to the program that has a goal of creating 100 Millionaires by 2012.
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When not traveling for business or pleasure, Mike operates his own Internet Marketing company and consulting firm from his home in the mountains of Colorado.
In closing, if you are a reluctant entrepreneur, a business owner, employed in an 8-5 job, or recently retired, yet still wanting to be plugged-in to the next wave of economic prosperity, you can join me in pursuing the lifestyle you want to live by following this aspenIbiz link.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
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Small Business owners are largely forgotten. Thats why I only focus on them. I have experience several members of my family file bankruptcy due to small business failures. I also I suffered through 2 destroyed businesses due to failure however, in my failings I have learned some of the secrets to success. (Who can say they know it all?)
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about small business owners is that they are not afraid to take huge risks and lay it all on the line. But, I agree they do need a lot of help with their marketing. I think having them go the social media and email route is not only the least expensive but its also the most effective. Thanks for the stats!
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