On Marketing and Political Assassinations

By Sarah Warren, MBA

Note: The following blog is a sneak peak of an article to be published in the upcoming Chamber Connection (January 2010), the monthly newsletter of the Ruston Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.

A recurring discussion we’ve had with clients lately relates to using marketing messaging that speaks to the prospect about the prospect.

Often companies talk only about themselves, which feels right because we are all naturally inclined to talk about ourselves, pointing out why we’re cheaper, faster, better. Therein lies the problem, though, because prospects are also naturally inclined to think of themselves first. Hence the need to speak to prospects using WIIFM messaging; that is “What’s in it for me?” with the “me” being the prospect, not the company.

Interestingly, on the heels of these discussions I happened to catch a National Public Radio (NPR) report about a Secret Service study into what motivates individuals to attempt political assassinations.

In a piece entitled “Fame Through Assassination: A Secret Service Study” NPR reporter Alix Spiegel shared that in the mid-1980s, following numerous attempts to assassinate President Reagan and then Vice President George H.W. Bush, Secret Service leadership commissioned a study to look into the behaviors of assassins and would-be assassins.

Surprisingly, the study found that in most cases assassinations—or attempted assassinations—of political figures were almost never based on political motives.

Secret Service psychologist and co-author of the study, Robert Fein said, “It was very, very rare for the primary motive to be political, though there were a number of attackers who appeared to clothe their motives with some political rhetoric.”

Instead, most of the assassins “simply felt invisible,” and made their attempts for the purpose of being “somebody.” Political targets were chosen because of their notoriety, because people would notice when a politician dies and the person responsible would become instantly famous, or at least infamous.

And what of the targets? Study authors went on to say that political targets were preferred to celebrities because the assassins could craft a story involving politically-driven motivation, thereby making themselves out to be not such bad people, at least in their own minds.

Again, the idea is that the assassins would be depressed or otherwise upset individuals who, having made the decision to attempt an assassination to gain notoriety and fame, used political causes to construct a motive justifying their actions.

Ok, so not that this study is directly relevant to marketing, but it does help to underscore that if people can be driven to murder because of a WIIFM mentality, then they will most definitely be driven to choose their bleach, bank or bagels on the basis of what they stand to personally get out of it.

That’s not to say that there aren’t aspects about a company that are useful to a prospect when making a purchase decision; the trick is putting those details in terms of “you” and not “me.” The goal of WIIFM messaging is to put everything said about your business in terms of how it will benefit the prospect. If your business is cheaper, the prospect will save money. If your business is faster, the prospect will save time. If your offering is better performing, the prospect will have a better experience.

So, instead of saying you’re cheaper, faster and better, tell the prospect that they stand to save money and time and have a better experience with your product. A nuance in language, yes, but a critical one indeed.

The other interesting aspect of the assassin study that could be applicable to consumer behavior is the idea that the assassins constructed their motive after making the decision to act.

For prospects this could indicate that in some instances the purpose to buy is identified after the intent to buy has been established. This would certainly be evident in the case of non-essential, impulse buys, especially expensive ones. For example, an iPhone isn’t the only phone out there, but its bells and whistles are hard for some people to resist. I’m sure there have been some instances where an iPhone was so desired that the prospect sold themselves that the product would do all sorts of wonderful things that other options couldn’t provide. Key phrase: sold themselves.

To recap the lesson herein, marketing messaging must be put in terms of “you” (the prospect). But the goal, the cherry on top, if you will, is to have messaging so compelling, so irresistible, that prospects sell themselves on the purchase.

Sarah co-owns Emogen Marketing Group, a full service marketing firm in Ruston, LA, and can be reached at sarah@emogenmarketing.com.

A New Year’s Challenge

By Sarah Warren, MBA

Note: The following article was previously published in Chamber Connection (December 2010), the monthly newsletter of the Ruston Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.

It’s mid-December as I write this month’s Chamber article, and, because the year is quickly coming to a close, I have been reflecting much lately on the events and relationships we (that is, my husband and business-partner, Brian, and I) have encountered in 2010.

Though there have been up and down moments through it all, the year can be summed up in a single word… amazing! In our (hectic) personal life, we welcomed our second daughter in late 2009, and mid-year discovered we’ll soon also welcome our first son. Then on the professional side, our business has grown to a point where “positive net income” is no longer some fanciful, fictional notion. It’s not a large number at this point, mind you, but at least it’s black!

One of the greatest blessings that came with increased cash flow and financial stability in our business this year was the ability to provide more pro-bono work to a few local non-profits, recognizing that much of the burden of “community improvement” lies with non-profits.

So, for this month’s article I digress a bit from the assignment of providing marketing “how tos,” and instead provide a little spotlight (or marketing, if you will) for a few of the organizations that we’ve been fortunate to work with this year.

Having had nieces and a nephew participate in their programs and having had the opportunity to discuss fundraising on and off with the staff, we have long been fans of Boys and Girls Clubs (BGC) of North Central Louisiana. So we jumped at the opportunity for Brian to become a board member earlier this year, allowing us to upgrade our casual advice into hands-on assistance.

As a white, middle-class kid, I never even knew dropping out of school was an option. I was raised that you get good grades (or else!), graduate high school and then go to college. Period. The only choice I had was what I would major in, but that was a wide open choice. I genuinely had the opportunity to be anything I wanted to be when I grew up.

But that’s not the case for most BGC kids. For many, their days are consumed with making it through that day. Forget college. Forget high school graduation. They are thinking about whether or not they’ll have electricity and food at home tonight.

BGC gives kids a safe place to go after school and provides support like tutoring and mentoring. More significantly, BGC encourages kids—who will one day be among the adults in our community—and guides them along the path to becoming positive, gainful members of society. I literally cannot stress enough how strongly I believe that BGC is at the forefront of directing the very course of these kids’ lives.

The work of Life Choices of North Central Louisiana, a crisis pregnancy center here in Ruston, also falls along those lines.

Having had babies on the brain for the better part of the year, I collaborated with several friends last spring to host a baby shower (i.e. diaper fundraiser) for Life Choices, an organization I previously knew little about. Following that event, I decided to become more involved and agreed to help with some other fundraising activities. Along the way, I was amazed to learn that nearly half of the babies born in Lincoln parish are to unwed mothers and that almost 14% are born to teenage mothers.

As a mom myself, I can only imagine how unlikely it is to be a “normal” teenager following a pregnancy. And the likelihood that a young mother would have the energy and drive to go to college or pursue a career is just as doubtful. It’s so easy for a young woman in this situation to fall into (or remain in) a life of poverty, and statistics show that a child born into poverty is not likely to rise out of it.

Life Choices is there for these girls and women to provide much needed compassion, information and support during the scariness and challenges presented by an unplanned pregnancy.

The points of compassion and support bring me to the third and final organization I’ll mention, Share International (SI) , which is an evangelical missionary group reaching out to the Turkana people of Kenya, Africa. SI’s Director, Sammy Murimi, just so happens to live in Ruston and attends Christ Community Church, my church home.

Just yesterday I was editing content for SI’s end of the year newsletter and had to double check with Sammy to be sure I was reading an article correctly. In it he had written that since roughly 2006, through all the various programs that SI operates, 18,831 people have given their lives to Christ… 18,831 people in about four years! Following Sammy’s confirmation, my next step was to look up the population of Ruston… which I learned to be just barely over 20,000.

At that point, I sat back in my chair and marveled that SI, an organization that most people in Ruston have probably never heard of, could have such an astonishing impact. What’s even more amazing is that SI grew from a simple (ha! simple!) inspiration that hit Sammy and his wife Mary, Kenyan nationals themselves, to follow the verse, “share the gospel… (and) our very lives (1 Thessalonians 2:8).”

The stories and missions of these organizations—and others like them here in Ruston—are so inspiring and encouraging to me. And they are proof that we, both as individuals and as a community, can make an impact so monumental that it could literally change the world as we know it.

And with that, I challenge my peers in the Ruston business community to resolve this New Year to adopt an organization, a church, a school, a family or even a single, individual person and see if we can’t make the world—or Ruston at the very least—a better place in 2011.

Sarah co-owns Emogen Marketing Group, a full service marketing firm in Ruston, LA and can be reached at sarah@emogenmarketing.com. You can learn more about the organizations mentioned above by visiting bgcncl.org, lifechoicesncla.org and shareint.net.

The Cheapest Form of Advertising

By Sarah Warren, MBA

Note: The following article was originally published in Chamber Connection (November 2010), the monthly newsletter of the Ruston Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.

People often ask, “What’s the cheapest way for me to promote my business?” And my tongue in cheek response is that they should print a deck of business cards, put on their best walking shoes and then hand out those babies door to door.

Sure it’s cheap, but effective? Not necessarily.

The problem lies in using the word “cheap.” Instead, the correct question is, “What is the most cost effective way for me to promote my business?” But for that question there is no single answer applicable to every business.

I really hate to answer “it depends” to any question I’m asked, but in terms of marketing there just isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. What sells Italian loafers probably isn’t going to sell specialty medical services or takeout pizza.

For some, the most cost effective method may in reality be handing out business cards. For others the best tactic might require spending $100 each on qualified prospects.

To determine the best approach for your business, first determine your goal.

Do you need to sign on 5 clients or 5,000? If you only need to sign on 5 new clients, you should probably take a direct marketing approach. If, however, you need to recruit 5,000 new customers, then you’re probably looking at a broader, mass approach.

The approach is somewhat determined by establishing your estimated response and conversion-rates. A response rate is simply the percentage of people who will respond to your promotion, and the conversion-rate is how many respondents you convert to customers.

So, working backwards, let’s say you have a goal of gaining 5 clients. You think you can convert half of the people you meet with, so you’ll need to meet with 10 clients. And from prior experience you think that you can get 20% of people to respond to your promotional efforts, so you’ll ultimately need to reach out to 50 prospects.

Another factor to consider is how valuable a client is to you. Continuing our example, let’s assume those 5 clients can make you $100,000 (i.e. $20,000 each), so it may be worth spending $1,000 each to sign them up as clients. Carry out the math and that would translate into spending $100 each for your 50 initial prospects.

The next step is to brainstorm what you could do for $100 a person that would (1) put you in front of the 50 most likely prospects and (2) give you maximum exposure. That might look like a by-invitation-only luncheon, an ad in a niche publication, a multi-piece direct mail campaign or a fancy promotional gift.

Mass media, conversely, costs much less per impression and provides thousands of impressions, making it better suited to a company with broader appeal, say for example, a fast food company. The major downside for mass media is that the exposure time is typically very brief, so a higher frequency is necessary to be sure the message gets through loud and clear.

My best advice to small business owners is to be thoughtful but also creative when trying to push marketing dollars to their limit. Cheapest isn’t always best.

Sarah Warren is the co-owner of Emogen Marketing Group, a full service marketing firm in Ruston, LA and can be reached at sarah@emogenmarketing.com.