Big Game Hunting Marketing Ethics (2)

Fur Free is a Marketing Option

My father was a hunter.

In a family of five sons, it was inevitable that I would become a hunter too, and I did.

As a family, we would learn how to track, kill, skin and eat what we had hunted.

When I began my journey in the brand marketing arena, I found myself with other hunters; advertising executives and marketing creatives all focused on tracking and capturing their next campaign.

It was worrying to watch as they gave more concern for capturing the next campaign than the campaign itself or how the campaign suited the business in the long term.

Many smaller businesses became extinct due to over advertising and marketing that gave very little return on their investments or delivered enquiries that were impossible for them to manage (the wrong target markets).

Things had to change and as we saw the bubble burst at the turn of the century and a financial crisis less than a decade later, clients became frightened, they went into hiding or died along the way.

A new method evolves. A FUR Free Method of Marketing.

The new method needs to be FREE of:

False Advertising

Using up all client resources

Ripping people off

The FUR Free method attracts prospects with value, great communication and only states promises you can deliver. There are now ways to track and monitor our customers; catch and release programs if you will. Ways to engage prospects, not just once, but slowly over time. Technology now allows for more touch points. More opportunities to build value or opportunities to piss people off. So consider how you're communicating. How are you building a relationship?

Little promises kept that build trust and loyalty. Creating an understand of client needs and wants rather than simply selling trendy catch phrases like; SEO and SEM, EDMs and other XYZs. Delivering value that grows the business pie rather than stealing what scraps are available right now.

The new name of the game is sustainability, the new game is FUR Free Marketing.

For many businesses, this will seem like a lot of work. "You mean we need to speak to our customers more regularly?" For others, taming the market may take time. Sometimes you'll even get bitten. Not all customers are those you'd want for life. So when you develop a FUR Free Marketing method, identifying the ideal customers you want for a lifetime of business will form a strong core to your marketing activities.

Sustainability won't happen overnight. A consistent approach to changing business habits can take time.

In the long run, when you are successful, you'll have created a marketing method that will become part of doing business; a method that will sustain you in tough times as well as good. You'll be spending more time with those that appreciate your work, pay what you're worth and will count you as a partner, rather than as a supplier to their whims.

Change is never easy, but it is the one great constant we all need to manage. Sustainability is a huge change agent across most areas of our life and it's a consideration worth exploring in your marketing and sales departments; because when it comes to sustainability in business practice, over-hunting may soon see the extinction of the hunters themselves.

Are you Ready?

If you're ready to get serious about your marketing models, we're ready to get you started. Design is not just a visual option. We can help you design your marketing process with a dedicated workshop at your workplace.