The Law of Singularity – Only One Move Produces Sustainable Results

Many marketing people see success as the sum total of a lot of small efforts beautifully executed. They think they can pick and choose from a number of different strategies and still be successful as long as they put enough effort into the program. They seem to think that the best way to grow is the puppy approach - get into everything.

If they're not with the leader, they often end up trying to do the same as the leader but they try to be a little better or try a little harder. However, trying harder is not the secret of marketing success.

Whether you try hard or try easy, the differences are marginal. Furthermore the bigger the company, the more the law of averages wipes out any real advantage of a trying-harder approach.

History teaches that the only thing that works in marketing is the single, bold stroke. Furthermore, in any given situation there is only one move that will produce substantial results.

Successful generals study the battleground and look for that one bold stroke that is least expected by the enemy. Finding one is difficult. Finding more than one is usually impossible.

Military strategist and author B. H. Liddell Hart calls this bold stroke "the line of least expectation." The Allied invasion came at Normandy, a place whose tide and rocky shore the Germans felt would be an unlikely choice for a landing of any scale.

So it is in marketing. Most often there is only one place where a competitor is vulnerable. And that place should be the focus of the entire invading force.

What works in marketing is the same as what works in the military; the unexpected.

Hannibal came over the Alps, a route deemed impossible to scale. Hitler came around the Maginot Line and sent his panzer divisions through the Ardennes, terrain the French generals thought impossible to traverse with tanks. (As a matter of fact, he did it twice - once in the Battle of France and again in the Battle of the Bulge.)

The automobile industry is an interesting case in point. In recent years there have been only two strong moves made against GM. Both were flanking moves around the GM Maginot Line. The Japanese came at the low end with small cars like Toyota, Datsun, and Honda. The Germans came at the high end with super-premium cars like Mercedes and BMW.

With the success of Japanese and German flanking attacks, General Motors was under pressure to commit resources in an attempt to shore up the bottom and the top of its lines.

GM made the fateful decision to build many of its midrange cars using the same body style. Suddenly, no one could tell a Chevrolet from a Pontiac, Oldsmobile, or a Buick. They all locked alike. Its’ look-alike cars weakened General Motors in the middle as Ford broke through with the Sable. And then the Japanese jumped in with Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti. General Motors, weak across the board, spun into bankruptcy during 2008 after the start of the Global Financial Crisis.

To find that singular idea or concept, marketing managers have to know what's happening in the marketplace. They have to be down at the frontline in the mud of the battle. They have to know what's working and what isn't. They have to be involved.

Because of the high cost of mistakes, management can't afford to delegate important marketing decisions. That's what happened at General Motors.

When the financial people took over, the marketing programs collapsed. Their interest was in the numbers, not the brands. The irony is that the numbers went south, along with the brands.

It's hard to find that single move if you're hanging around headquarters and not involved in the process.

Marketing is a battle of ideas. If you are to succeed, you must have a single successful move to describe your value and deliver sustainable results. Without one, you had better have a low price; a very low price.

It takes a while but many Internet Marketing entrepreneurs learn the Law of Singularity. They learn to identify their target market and focus on a single successful move to promoting products that will appeal and add value to their target market.

To accomplish this, they use various methods, tools, and follow a traffic formula to build relationships with their leads and customers. They build websites that create trust. They collect name and email addresses using an Optin form on a Landing Page. They use email systems with both auto-responders and broadcast capabilities in order to send messages to their leads and customers. These email messages frequently send information, provide knowledge, and occasionally promote an offering. Many Internet Marketing entrepreneurs learn that leads and customers do not like to be sold to however they will browse and shop. Over an extended period of time, skilled Internet Marketers are able to use hypnotic writing skills, in their marketing campaigns, to get leads and customers to take the action they want. This is how they learn to identify a target market, stay focused, and add value to their target market. They learn to leverage the equity in their list and be successful in the world that includes the Law of Singularity.

It looks easy but marketing is not a game for amateurs. Marketing is not a battle of products. It is all about the strategy you use to benefit from the Law of Singularity where only one move produces sustainable results.

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.

Finally, a great book to read is "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Ries & Trout. It is the source of some of the material provided in this article.

In closing, be sure to meet me at my website, WhoIsMikeFarrell, learn some tips about being No 1 on Google at aspenIbiz My Go-To-Market Partners, and learn how to be savvy with your money like the insiders at aspenIbiz The Conspiracy For Your Money Blog.