Politicians do it all the time. Think about the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in the last few presidential campaigns on smear tactics. What a waste. The polls show that it really turns people off - yet our "highly intelligent" leaders can't avoid doing it. What if a candidate took a couple hundred million dollars out of his "war chest" and instead went out and built some houses for needy families, sponsored a roving art exhibit, put on free concerts? You know, do stuff that makes people feel good. Maybe someday.
In sales and marketing going negative can really backfire in a lot of ways. I am reminded of a magazine publisher here in Boston that always goes on the record with negative snipes at his competition. He comes of as a jerk - and he's losing serious market share.
There's a few interesting behavioral phenomena at work here. First, the human brain doesn't process negatives very well. If I say to you, for the next 30 seconds don't think of a blue apple, what's the first thing you think of? I'll bet it's a blue apple. When you tell customers not to do business with a competitor, at some level they are already imagining themselves doing just that. You're building brain equity for your competition.
There's an association that happens as well. Remember that people are association machines. Studies have shown that if I speak to you highly about somebody's competence, you'll tend to believe that I am also competent.
Sssshhhhhh - this is one of my networking secrets. I have a bunch of professionals (like my attorney) that I frequently refer to. Every opportunity I get, I praise how great they are. When people hear me say good things, they associate some of that goodness with me. Try it sometime and let me know how it works for you. Remember, people do business with companies that make them feel good.
When you go negative you also run the risk of sounding petty. When you have to define yourself in terms of your competition, the communication will lack confidence. Negative campaigns sound childish. A better strategy is to work on your value proposition. If it's strong enough, you won't have to reference your competition.
My value proposition: Give me an hour of your time and I'll give you 3-4 ideas that could double your profits.
I say nothing about my competition, I simply communicate clearly and specifically what I'm going to give my clients. The advantage of marketing this way is that you'll come across confident and strong. If the person is genuinely interested in the value you provide, then your job is almost done.
Turn your competitors into friends. I was at a networking group meeting recently and I happened to sit down next to a small business marketing consultant. I could have looked for ways to sabotage him, but that would be silly. I shook his hand and said, "I want to learn more about what you do and look for ways we could work together". We have had several productive phone conversations, and are meeting soon to hammer out some joint ventures.
An unsuccessful mindset is that there are limited customers and limited money out there, so if your competitor gets a customer then you lose that money. If you hold that belief, you will always be chasing money instead of allowing abundance to come to you. Money is just a concept, and there are 6 billion people in the world. There's room for everybody to be successful.
J D Moore - Marketing Comet
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