To underdeliver or overdeliver, that is the question
One way to think about running a successful business is to figure out what the least you can do is, and do that. That’s actually what they spent most of my time at business school teaching me.
No sense putting more on that pizza, sending more staff to that event, answering the phone in fewer rings… what’s the point? No sense being kind, looking people in the eye, being open or welcoming or grateful. Doing the least acceptable amount is the way to maximize short term profit.
Of course, there’s a different strategy, a crazy alternative that seems to work: do the most you can do instead of the least.
Radically overdeliver.
Turns out that this is a cheap and effective marketing technique.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “If you are a student of marketing and you live in the land of the folically challenged, then Seth Godin may be closest thing to your own Personal Jesus.” Seth has a remarkable skill of seeing how things are changing in the world from a marketing perspective and putting them in an easy to understand business perspective. Seth blogs daily @ sethgodin.com (do yourself a favor if you haven’t already and click here to subscribe).
I love how Seth calls overdelivering in his post a crazy alternative. In today’s climate you need to stand out or perish. You need to answer two important questions:
1. What makes you different?
2. Is that differentiator a signature element?
Creating that small unexpected extra of marketing lagniappe can go a long way to increasing retention, promoting loyalty and generating positive word of mouth. Investing your marketing budget in current customers is the lowest hanging fruit in marketing. Focusing solely on prospects in the purchase funnel and neglecting the customer experience is a recipe for disaster.
Where is the lagniappe in your marketing?
The PURPLE GOLDFISH PROJECT – Click here to see over 200+ examples of marketing lagniappe. Over 100 brands have been submitted to the list. Which ones have made the cut???
