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| Corn is Profit! |
Most of my career in business leadership has been located in small marketplaces. I am absolutely clear why some small marketplaces resist certain methods of business marketing. New and creative ideas are often times resisted. Amazing enough, it is rarely the consumer who does the resisting. Resistance usually comes from the leadership of the business models. As a result, I say, "Don't Poo Poo Programs that are Planned for Profit."
Small markets are just as informed today as larger markets. The world of technology has brought the two cultures so close to each other that many times smaller markets are much more informed of the "what's happening" scene than the larger markets. Smaller markets have less commute travel time to eat up their entertainment and exposure clock. This additional time allows them to be able to find more technology that provides worldly exposure of current media programming. It is the media programs that provide the current marketing exposure to the audience in small market regions. Those customers are very well informed. They are also very much 'in-tune' to the advanced media attention used in current marketing attempts. Unique, advanced and creative methods of marketing are already implanted into their motions of daily life. The customer in smaller regions is fully prepared to accept new marketing methods of operations. As a small market region operator, do not catch yourself Poo Pooing new marketing ideas. Done correctly, they will work just fine in your areas.
It may be time for your operation to take on the 5 P's. Leaders in small markets may actually believe they are different. They are not. They may have different cultural aspects that are more prevalent in smaller regions than the ones practiced in larger regions, but as far as exposure techniques are concerned, the timing is the same. Technology no longer has a generation of delay. It is instant. As a result, current and advanced marketing techniques are instant. As a matter of fact, I live in a small market and I see every new and current method of marketing technique available today. I have wireless Internet, digital cameras, extremely fast email, satellite, cable and hundreds of choices in television programming. I listen every day to one of my favorite Christian radio stations located in a state 1500 miles away from my home, clearly. Yesterday they performed an 'on-site' live promotion 2500 miles away from my home, 1000 miles away from their base radio station. People living in the smaller markets no longer live in the pucker brush with regards to media exposure. Marketing is absolutely current.
If you are a small business owner and refuse to employ current marketing techniques in your business model because you are way out in some small community, think again. Regarding consumer exposure, your customer is very current. You do not need to bring them 'up-to-speed' or 'break-them-in-gently' like you would have had to do 15 years ago. They are way ahead of you today.
Quit practicing old marketing techniques. They are aging your currency. Old marketing techniques have become a thing of the past. For the sake of your business survival and for the sake of increasing profits, get up to speed on the techniques you are using to market your business model. Do not Poo Poo new methods.
I listened to a small conversation between two farmers the other day and one of the teenage children of one of them came by the retail store where we were and picked up a key from her dad. The conversation shifted gears immediately. Words and phrases I have never heard from those farmers recently came out of their mouths. It was an interesting observation. I heard the dad, a throw-back styled farmer, say this, "Make sure you text your Mom to let her know you will be picking the boys up after school today. Don't forget!" "I'll swing by and get the new monitor at Darren's shop later today and have it wired to go before you guys get home." As the young teenager left the store with her key he reminded her again, "Don't forget to text Mom!"
This small community has 360 people in its population. It is located over 100 miles away from a major metropolitan region. This farmer uses a GPS electronic system on his combine to help him accurately harvest his wheat when it is ready. Darren is the local owner of a computer shop that repairs, sells and manages all of the technology systems in this small community. For goodness sakes, quit trying to market yesterday's techniques. They are dead. I once heard a bright and wealthy business owner say this about old methods, "When your horse is dead, dismount."
Move on. Begin to develop a more creative and advanced series of marketing techniques for your business model. Your customers are way ahead of you. You may need to catch up. You may not be using the most current language and concepts of marketing ideas. You may need to speed up a little bit.
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| Corn is Plastic...Did You Know That? |
As I was going to say, yesterday a group of motorcycle riders came by the country farm store to look around as they were traveling these old back roads for the day. They come from the metro areas over 100 miles away. Most of them are cordial and friendly. Some poke fun at the country folks and how we live.
Several of them in this bike group waited outside while a well-matched uniformed female rider came into the store to ask us a question. I was behind the sales counter with two other employee clerks. The store was full and busy. She waited her turn to approach the counter. She had on a matching set of riding pants, coat, gloves and carried the matching helmet under her arm. Her sunglasses were on top of her head like popular people wear them and they were trimmed in gray and orange like her outfit. We had on Wranglers, company t-shirts with our logo on front and all sported under our dirt rimmed personal baseball caps. I am sure we were a sight to see! I could see her BMW motorcycles parked outside with every other rider matching each other with their bikes looking much like their clothing...including the plastic saddle bags shinning in the sun. I strategically looked right past the farmer next in line to address the young lady in the jumpsuit and perfect shades. The farmer owns three Harley Davidson Motorcycles one of which is an old classic chain-pull shifter with the real original leather saddle bags. His bikes could pass as National Treasures. All three of his bikes likely cost more than her condo, which he tows to national shows with his 'paid-for' motor home, but she does not know that. He is dirt-filthy from working on his combine in his shop, preparing for the up-coming harvest. He is part of her sight-seeing tour. She has made that point very clear. Actually, it was kind of rude how she was treating everyone. We often become part of the city-folks looky-lew entertainment as they travel out to the country. It is a common occurrence during the summer months.
I do not come from this small little town of 360 people. As I said earlier, I am an implant. I recognized what the young lady motorcycle rider was 'sent' in to do. The 'locals' were part of their entertainment. She was the 'scout' sent in to increase the fun. I asked her, "What can we do for you?" She stepped up with a sheepish approach. Here is what she said, "We are not from here (as if that was news to us, like we are too stupid to tell) but we were all noticing the reader board out in the front of your parking lot and wondered what it meant?" She then tells us what it says as if we do not remember what we wrote. She says, "It says, 'Bees, Flies And Masks, What Fun!' Everyone outside wants to know what that means?" The whole set of clerks and local customers become completely silent. You could hear a pin drop. She turned red with embarrassment. She no longer matched her gray and orange suit. I paused, reached over to a small counter display and landed it on the counter, with some seriousness in my setting, first a can of fly spray...then I reached over and grabbed the next display item...a can of Hornet and Wasp spray, placed it on the counter in front of the fly spray and finally, I grabbed the cheap face mask from its display spot and flipped it to her as she caught it. Then I said, "Bees, flies and masks...most of us just sit around each evening on our porches and entertain ourselves shooting these varmints out of the sky. It's quite a sight, bring your cameras. We wear the masks to help us maintain our 25% below the cancer rate averages you guys fail to honor. Anymore questions?" The group of them were peering directly at the front door waiting for her return. She knew she was put on the spot. She was brighter now than when she first came in. She paused, too. She then said, "I am sorry...that was wrong." The old-time farmer said, "No kidding." She left with some new ideas about marketing techniques, I am sure.
Your small market customers are well informed. Speed up the techniques you are employing to promote the business activities you provide. You no longer need to Poo Poo Programs that are Planned for Profit. For goodness sakes, do not scare potential customers away from your business like I do. Be a lot more nicer to them. However, I can assure you I gained huge grounds with the farmer standing next to me. I do not think he believes I am an outsider anymore.
She will never know how much he knows about motorcycles. He spotted one of the BMW's in the parking lot outside and began to tell us all about what a good machine it was. We was far more interested in their bikes than their bad attitudes. I believe he would have spent some time with them out in the parking lot discussing bikes with them. They missed a golden opportunity to learn something. It might have become one of their most favorite parts of any trip. He would have taken them into his shop and described how he does what he does so they can eat scones with their lattes. He would have said it that way, too, but he would not have meant it in a rude way.
Regardless of where we come from, regardless of where we live, regardless of who we are...marketing exposure is current. You might want to speed your methods up. Make sure they are current.
Until next time...
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