Daily Archives: April 9, 2014

The Marketing Commons

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I wrote a biz/dev letter to a software company owner last week explaining what a pain in the ass RFPs are for most companies. My suggestion was to extend his product in such a way that it replaces RFPs.  Pent up demand in marketing is a great thing.

As big data engulfs us, there’s a mad rush toward replication and standards that save time. So in K12 education we have Common Core. In college applications we have the Common Application. In business the RFP. But as were search for common, what becomes of the uncommon? I fear it is often lost.

I sat through an online phone demo yesterday for an amazing platform product, conducted by a really smart tele-sales guy. A brit. He didn’t fall into that trap of repeating my name ad nauseam, but you could tell he was scripted. He even made fun of the script to be a bit uncommon.

In the marketing field, there are lots of tool makers trying to streamline selling. To make selling common. The reason the ad business is stronger than ever is because of the hunt for the common. The best ad shops are repelled by the word.  Sadly, uncommon by itself doesn’t always sell. Uncommon with a purpose — with a brand strategy — does. 

That’s why when I sell brand ideas in the C-suite, decision maker invariably buy, but with a pang of discomfort. (Do we have to use that one word?)  That’s when I know I’ve got them. Uncommon.

Peace.