What Do You Attract?
This past weekend we headed up to Austin from Houston. Along the way we encountered vistas of the famed Texas Bluebonnets. The views were indeed awesome! We also had to avoid a plethora of parked cars along the highway shoulder. It seems that many, many (did I mention "many") people who, seeing these fields, hillocks and pastures of bluebonnets felt compelled to stop and pose with each other and their families and their dogs/cats for pictures. They were standing or sitting or lying down in the flowers. They were pointing and waving and smiling. Some were sneezing and coughing and their eyes were watering and itching because of the allergies, but hey, who cares? These are BLUEBONNETS for crying out loud, and you don't get to see them but once a year! What an attraction these wildflowers have over us! If only we could monetize this somehow!
So that brings up the question, "What Do You Attract?" Or better yet, what is it about your business that attracts customers to you? Is your product or service what attracts people to do business with you? Is it your wonderful compelling marketing approach? Is it that you have pictures of bluebonnets on your web site?
Let's look at this for a minute. What makes the bluebonnets attractive? Well, they involve scarcity because they only bloom once a year. They are different from other flowers because they are …uh…blue. And look like bonnets. And they exist almost extensively only in the wild. And they are mostly unique to Texas. Does your business have characteristics similar to these? Are you providing a product or service that is unique and that people are looking for? Is your marketing different from the everyday corporate stuff you see other businesses use – for example, do you foster relationships with your customers instead of treating them as just faceless people? Do you promote once-a-year events or pricing? Do you give VALUE? What do you do to make your business stand out? What will make people pull over and park on the side of the road to check out what you've got?
How can you make your business ATTRACTIVE and not just the same old same old? Step back a bit and take a good look at your business and your business goals from an outside perspective. Start thinking outside the box. Brainstorm with other people for ideas. Take surveys. In short, if you were the guy or girl on the street, what would compel you to do business with you? What would make ME want to see what you're offering and make me want to buy it?
These are questions you should be constantly asking yourself. Everybody and their brother is trying to sell something. We're inundated with all the advertising every day in every way. If you don't want to get lost in the crowd, you need to come up with ideas to make potential customers see you and hear you and more importantly, WANT WHAT YOU'VE GOT!
As for me, I'm taking an antihistamine for my runny nose. Thank God the bluebonnets only come out once a year!
To your business success!
