Even with all the new tools, technology and analytics available today, marketing your business can be difficult. Some argue it’s a science while others believe marketing is an art. Seth Godin thinks it’s both and I agree with him. The secret sauce is mixing improvisation with calculus to significantly improve your marketing investment.
This brings me to my Uncle Gene. When I was ten years old, he took my cousins, brother and me fishing in the Poconos. We spent the day at a lake but the fish were not biting, much to our disappointment. So my uncle did what every awesome uncle would do; he took us to a nearby hatchery and unsurprisingly we all caught several fish.
While fishing at the hatchery was “technically” not permitted (of course I did not know this as a kid), the experience certainly reinforces the notion that as a marketer, you need to seek out opportunities that yield high probability conversions, whichever way they are measured (leads, phone calls, downloads, free trials, click-throughs, etc.).
There are no shortage of marketing “hatcheries” to consider, ranging from advertising, events, social media, direct mail, product reviews and countless other channels and vehicles. It’s up to you to think like Uncle Gene and find the best place to strategically fish – placing your message in front of the right audience to educate, inform and influence them.