February 01, 2007
Accentuate the negative, eliminate the positive
We, in marketing, tend to live in a very Pollyanna existence. Walking around in our rose-colored-glasses. Constantly amazed by how great we are. How great our products are. How great our company is. How great we are to be imparting this knowledge to our customers. And finally, how lucky those customers are to even subsist in the same universe as we.Blah.
Alas and alack, this sticky sweet realm of positivity can get old. So sometimes, for the sake of our sanity and our creativity, it's important that we take some time to accentuate the negative and eliminate the positive.
I know where you're going. Where do all marketers go when they want to get negative? Competitive analysis. (Paul "Scrivs" Scrivens, CEO of 9rules, has a great post on this entitled "What don't they do well?")
I mean, those idiots over there don't know what they're doing, right? Their product is bad. Their customers are confused. Their execs don't know what they're doing. And their brand is completely in the toilet.
Silly competition.
You know what? The idiots over here don't know what we're doing either.
So, why not take that negative microscope and turn it upon yourself? Get really negative about your company and your products. Get mean. Treat yourself like your competitor.
Why is our brand in the toilet? Where are there gaps? Where have we made mistakes? Where are our weaknesses? Why does everything we say sound both trite and officious at the same time? What would it take to make a customer walk away? What don't we do well? Why do we suck?
Better yet, expand that realm of negativity and ask your customers why you suck.
You'll be surprised at how refreshing it is.
How much do I suck? Tell me.
Labels: competition, marketing, negative
Accentuate the negative, eliminate the positive
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