We’re at the start of the Lunar (Chinese) New Year (19 February is the first day of the new year). The “Year Of The Horse” has just ended…
…but in the West there’s some confusion over what this New Year should be called. Some say it’s the “Year Of The Sheep”. Others, “The Year Of The Goat”…and there’s a case for the “Year Of The Ram”.
The uncertainty (at least in Western minds) arises because the word for the eighth animal in the Chinese zodiac’s 12-year cycle of creatures, yang in Mandarin, does not make the distinction found in English between goats and sheep and other members of the Caprinae subfamily. Without elaboration, yang might mean any such hoofed animal that eats grass and bleats.
The Chinese themselves don’t seem too concerned, being quite clear in their own minds what animal we’re talking about.
Whether it’s sheep, goats or rams we’re talking about they do share some characteristics. They are herd animals that tend to move together. They do what those around them are doing and follow the crowd.
Now, there are times when following the crowd is the right thing to do. Way back in our history, part of our instinctive survival mechanism was to pay close attention to what was going on around us and if the rest of our tribe or herd was moving off someplace, it made sense to follow them. That’s because there was usually a very good reason based on cold, hard reality for that particular action.
Fast forward to today…
…and following what works is still a good idea. In the world of personal development, people like Tony Robbins talk about modelling success. You’ve probably heard the expression “Success leaves clues”. One of the fastest ways to achieve something is to find someone who has already done what you want to do and follow what they did.
And the same applies to modern day marketing and advertising…provided…
…you can find the right person to follow.
And that’s where the problem comes in…
…because much of what makes up the conventional, mainstream marketing and advertising “wisdom” is completely wrong! Or at least, not appropriate and practical for the great majority of small and medium-sized businesses.
You see, mainstream marketing practice and doctrine, as promoted at business schools and business academia, is meant for BIG business, companies that have the resources to be able to afford what are, frankly, expensive and inefficient marketing strategies.
PLUS…there’s a dark, ugly secret about big companies and marketing.
Dan Kennedy puts it this way in his book No B.S. Direct Marketing
“Most ‘ordinary’ businesses advertise and market like much bigger brand-name companies, so they spend (waste) lots of money on image, brand, and presence. But copycatting these big brand-name companies is like a rabbit behaving like the lion. It makes no sense. The big companies have all sorts of reasons for the way they advertise and market that have nothing to do with getting a customer or making a sale!”
I would add that in most big companies, provided a minimum level of performance is achieved, that’s often good enough. On the other hand if you’re a business owner, you will probably want to achieve more…maximum results if possible.
And the way to do that is…
“…find successful businesses with similar agendas to copycat. Those are direct marketers.”
The core, fundamental principles of direct (or direct response) marketing…
1. Spend $1.00 on marketing, get back $2.00 or $20.00 fast, that can be accurately tracked to the $1.00 spent.
2. Do NOT spend $1.00 that does not directly and quickly bring back $2.00 or $20.00
Substitute for ‘$’ the currency in which you want to make money (even get rich) 🙂
And a great introduction to the ideas of direct response marketing can be found in my book…
So, don’t mindlessly follow the marketing crowd. Set your own course for success, based on tested principles that are right for you. That way, you’ll be on the path to a successful and prosperous year…
…whether it’s the “Year Of The Sheep”, “Year of The Goat” or the “Year Of The Ram”.
As my Chinese friends would say…
“Gong Hei Fat Choi!”