Does YOUR Marketing Strategy SUCK?

Yesterday, I g0t an e-mail from a local credit card processing provider that has been trying to convince me to switch from using Square over to them.

I made it very clear to them about a month ago that I was happy with Square and I was not looking to switch.

This most recent e-mail said: “…. I am really surprised to hear that you are happy with Square, as we have many customers who have issues and complaints about their service.”

That line alone made me angry first, and then I rolled my eyes with a fair degree of disgust shortly after.

I couldn’t help but wonder – do these people realize how badly they hurt themselves by being so aggressive and in ALL the wrong ways?

Today, I went to a networking meeting, where a bunch of different professionals introduced themselves, bragged for a few minutes about how good they are at what they do, and started handing out business cards to each other, shamelessly asking for referrals.

I am pretty sure that all those cards ended up in a trash can shortly after that meeting was over.

As I left the meeting and walked home, I noticed a giant billboard sign: “Injured in a car accident? Call us for justice and compensation” with a large picture of a greasy looking lawyer, who looked like he belonged in “Carlito’s Way”.

As I got home, I had a voice message from a dentist on my voicemail reminding me that I am due for teeth cleaning.

This is the fourth reminder over the past 2 months.

When I got home, I also found a postcard from my dentist reminding me that it’s time to get my teeth cleaned.

This is the second postcard this month.

This card was stacked in my mail along with two home-loan refinancing offers, and a bunch of “pre-approved” credit card applications.

I thought that by now, it has become very clear in the world of commerce that being too pushy when it comes to marketing simply doesn’t work, and actually has the opposite effect – annoying people and making them look the other way.

The more sophisticated your target clients are, the more likely you are to turn them off by being too eager to sell or too eager to convince them to buy from you rather than from someone else.

The few excellent doctors, lawyers and accountants that I know personally do NOT advertise aggressively at all.

You are NOT going to find their name by googling “the best lawyer/doctor/accountant in San Francisco”.

Their websites do not have “Come to us” buttons all over them and flash videos about how they are the best in their industry.

Instead, they are quite conservative and simple.

Those professionals’ exceptional service, attention to their clients, and great results speak for themselves, and these are their main channels of promoting their business.

I am obviously well aware of this FACT.

That’s why my ways of promoting my very own material are so mild and subtle.

I have a section on my website dedicated to books, but I don’t spend a BUNCH of time or space on my website on praising how great my books are.

I let my readers discuss or talk about my books.

I don’t post a bunch of (fake) testimonials, and I certainly don’t include a link to my books in every blog posting, like so many others would do and actually do.

I succeed at attracting people to my material through my thought-provoking and economical writing that everyone has access to for free.

If you find what I write to be interesting, entertaining or BOTH, even if you disagree with half of what I say or find my views to be way too extreme…

You will still be very curious to read my books, because you know that at least 20% of what you would find in these books will be the kind of honesty that you can’t find anywhere else…

And no one else out there will have the balls to put it on the paper, even if they thought EXACTLY the same way.

The message to all of us is clear and simple: it’s much better to impress your target audience with your skills and knowledge, and wait for them to come up to you and say:

“Thank you. Can I have your card?”

Rather than shove your business card in their face as soon as you meet them.