I find it interesting how, as a marketer, I’m so averse to advertisements. Maybe that’s because so many advertisements feel like bribes. Bribes are gifts, monetary or otherwise, given to someone in order to persuade them to make favorable and biased decisions for gain. Sound familiar? Truth be known, bribery goes beyond seeking business gains. That new toy may have ended your kids temper tantrum, and maybe in elementary school that candy bar got Ed Hansen to help you with your math homework, but marketers, it’s time to grow up.

Hey You. Want some Candy?

Yeah, it sounds a bit creepy, doesn’t it? Stated simply, bribery is a one-sided calculation which most often leaves a bad taste in your customer’s mouth. Much of marketing is built on the premise that the seller thinks they know what you want, and they’re interested in securing that exchange. At its heart, bribery is a push strategy, meaning marketers have pushed their agenda onto somebody else, often not knowing or even caring about the customer’s true motivation. You most certainly know how this feels as that consumer…perhaps it’s that persistent mortgage broker ad on your work commute threatening mortgage rates will “NEVER be this low again.” Or a promise of “fame and popularity” from a razor offering a closer shave.

Let’s Get Magnetic

Here’s what I propose as a marketing tool to replace bribery: Magnetism. A magnetic attraction—a 2-way process—changes the marketing equation from “push” to a “pull strategy.” Magnetism is strongest when the attracted elements are closest to each other. A magnetic approach to marketing requires two things: 1) that you understand your target audience, and 2) that you get your product and your people close to that audience.

You’ve likely heard of right-time marketing—it’s a marketing principle that revolves around the customer buying cycle, encouraging marketers to look for triggers in buyer behaviors that tell you when they’re “biting.” Despite the influence that marketers have, it’s difficult for the best of us to have much of an impact on the customer’s pace in the buying cycle. Your marketing talents, time and resources are much better spent at seeing those magnetic moments when the timing is right. And, once you’ve got the right combination and the fish are biting, that same bait still not work so well the next time. But that’s a lesson for another blog. [get these images rotating or stacked with this above paragraph [targa_www/wp/wp-content-uploads/PICT2012.jpg, PICT2012.jpg, PICT2012.jpg]. And maybe add a “Caption” such as: {This is me fishing in June 2015 in VanCouver, Canada with my brother and dad. They kept this lake so well stocked that we could reel in Rainbow Trout with any bait and just about any time of day. On day 3 I wanted more casting practice and less catch-release practice, so I tied my fly on backwards to avoid hooking them.}

Dangling the German Carrot – A Case Study

Let’s say that you marketed a product that relied on a channel of resellers to sell your data storage products. Let’s say we offer your distributors generous rebates for units sold. Your promotional campaign might lead out with something like “Resellers, sell 10 units, pocket $100!” This scenario is very similar to how things played out with a Germany-based tech client of mine. Let’s assume that the results of your campaign are unimpressive (as they were with my client’s campaign,) so let’s up the bribe to “Sell 10 units, pocket $200.” I would bet that your result would amount to more units sold. Das ist gut, ja? An interesting thing will happen, however…sales of higher-capacity units will show a steady decline, and the social media chatter will shift toward price points and away from your brand value of convenient storage and quick access to secure data. Bottom line: You could suddenly find yourself acquiring the wrong kind of customer.

I’m not challenging the idea of a rebate program, but through some quick surveys among our client’s distributors we discovered that the true outcome that worldwide customers were looking for was a “secure data with room to grow” solution. By incentivizing “more sold units,” the 3rd party reps were pushing a solution with little magnetic attraction because the campaign did not focus on the value that was important to customers. Targa Media helped to formulate a new program to reward resellers based on “gigabytes sold.” This approach gave value to the full product line, thereby aligning the resellers to tune into the best solution for the customers and a more genuine desired outcome.

Marketers, be more attractive by being a value magnet. Attract customers based on what they want, not what you want. Take the time to research your customers’ behaviors, what makes them tick, what keeps them sticking around. And be agile enough to anticipate their evolving interests and opinions.