Marketing's True Spirit is You

By John McGory

Dale Carnegie wrote one of the first and greatest self help books.  The 1936 classic, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” sold millions of copies.  Here is an article dedicated to Mr. Carnegie’s philosophy.    

Do me a favor by answering this question.  Are you happy to be alive?

Hopefully everyone said yes.  Now jot down or think about why you are happy.  Who are the people or what are the things that make your life enjoyable?  Do you think others have similar reasons for their happiness? 

You have just created the seeds for your next great marketing idea.   You are on to something big.  Here are a few examples:

Let’s say you are an attorney and you are happy for your beautiful home and family.  There are many potential legal clients who are happy for those same reasons.  Do you think emphasizing your firm’s desire to help people protect their home and family would resonate with these potential clients?

Or you are the head of a large non-profit organization and are glad to have a job helping people.  Reaching out to others who also want to help could be your way of increasing volunteers and fundraising.  The United Way’s Live United campaign is an excellent example of this in action.

A third person may be a city official who enjoys making their city a better place to live.  Helping like-minded citizens find ways to improve their home town is a wonderful place to start.

Many of you are already practicing these strategies.  You are winning people over to your way of thinking by trying to see things from the client’s point of view.  You are sympathetic to their ideas and desires.

Now people may think this is corny advice, that social media and the Internet do not have a place in a 1930s way of thinking. And they may be right.

But people want noble causes to be central to their lives.  These include social concerns, personal traits and spiritual beliefs.  Many potential clients feel the same way.  Letting them understand that you feel as they do is a powerful first step in making a friend.

Many favorite marketing campaigns strike a chord by appealing to a noble cause.  Three of the most-famous campaigns and the emotion they evoke include: Old Spice’s Smell Like a Man (strong, cool and independent), Just Do It (active and winning) and You Deserve a Break Today (hard working and dependable).

Think about the noble causes in your life.  What makes you proud to be alive? Think about it then put it into action.

I challenge you to reach out to your potential clients by using one noble cause in your life as the central theme in a new marketing campaign.  Create a video or series of Facebook posts/tweets to highlight that you have the same noble cause as your potential new clients.  Your marketing effort's true spirit is you. I guarantee you will make new friends and influence people.

John McGory is a partner at Webface, www.web-face-solutions.com  Webface can help you tap your true spirit through content marketing including videos, blogs, social media and marketing materials.