Sushi, Serendipity and The Simpsons
On this sunny Friday afternoon, I have been tasked to fill in for or usual bloggers who are currently on holiday. If you’re an Agent blog regular, you know this is no easy feat. So because it’s Friday and because, let’s face it, I am a little out of practice, I’d just like to leave you with a few Friday musings.
Hara hachi bu. It’s the Japanese phrase that literally means “eat until you are 80 percent full.”—an excellent idea to remember for dieting and in business. When you are selling a client on your service, bear this in mind. Present the numbers, sell yourself and let them decide. If you use any visual aids, keep them clean, simple and straightforward.
“We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” -Hillaire Belloc
Most people surfing the web are not traveling from site to site with clear goals in mind, but wandering from place to place. If you want to snag the wanderer’s attention or cause them to serendipitously stumble upon your company or agency, place yourself in front of them…with a web site.
But like so many distracted drifters, web wanderers are easily sidetracked, which is why you may have noticed certain insurance web sites glitzing things up, with interactive micro sites and social networks dedicated to motor heads and their rides.
Take a minute to check out your own site. Does it include an outdated glamour shot of yours truly? Does it take five scrolls to reach the bottom? Are you efficiently directing consumers through your sales funnel?
Simpsons fan? Even if you answered no, what could be more fun than checking out the 7-elevens turned Kwik-E-Marts popping up across the country to promote the Simpsons movie. A co-worker brought us some of Homer’s favorite donuts from the store in downtown Denver—nothing beats pink frosted donuts with sprinkles at 8:00 a.m. You can also pick up KrustyO’s and Blue v\Vanilla Squishees--some other Simpsons faves.
An amazing and surely expensive marketing effort, this build-up for the highly-anticipated Simpsons movie is one in a slew of corporate Hollywood’s stunts to get into movie goers good graces. Last year's Snakes on a Plane, which started as something of a joke, garnered much fan frenzy due to the viral marketing campaign waged by New Line Cinema--a recording of Samuel L. Jackson would call up your friends and berate them for not seeing the movie yet.
Although you don’t have the resources of a billion-dollar movie studio, it doesn’t mean you can’t think up innovative ways to get your prospects excited about what you do. Grab their attention with bold signage, a contest or local event.
Comments
You're performing a major public service by calling attention to the "outdated glamor shot." :)
Great post!
Posted by: Jeb | July 9, 2007 02:41 PM