Tag: advertising

The thing about misunderstandings

FabrizioLeave a comment

What you say is going to be misunderstood.

There’s really not much to say, it’s just the nature of communication. You deliver a message from your own position, with your own understanding, and the other person interprets all of that from their own position, with a different understanding. This happens inevitably, no matter how close the speaker and the listener are. It’s not your fault. It’s not their fault. It’s just how it is.

The only thing you can do about it is to repeat the message over and over again.

Of course, you will become boring after while, people will start telling you they have already heard that, some will make fun of you, others will just stop listening and move on.

But it really is the only thing you can do about misunderstandings.

Just be careful that the message you choose to repeat is really the one that matters to your purpose.

One plus one does not equal sale

FabrizioLeave a comment

In the past four years, I have only replied to four cold outreach from sales or business development reps.

In two cases, I already knew the company. Their brand was so popular in my circle that I was just seeking an opportunity to work with them. When the sales reps reached out, I was sold already. I booked a meeting, and from there on it was just a matter of how.

In one case, the sales rep really put work and effort at personalising the outreach. I did exchange some emails with them, and the whole thing turned into a deal with another side of the organisation a few months later.

In one case, there was an offer for a €125 Amazon voucher to attend a demo. I did reply, the thing got too complex, and since I had absolutely no interest in the tool they were selling, I gave up easily and with a smile on my face.

I can’t say how many others I have gotten, but they all went to the trash bin or ended up accompanying some pungent posts on social media.

And yet, there is people that still believe that one plus one equals sale.

Not how people work

Fabrizio1 Comment

Subject: Such Interesting Mentorship Programmes

Body: Hi Fabrizio, came across your LinkedIn profile and wow you have participated in such interesting internship programmes. I’m just checking to see if you are the person responsible for lead generation. If you aren’t the right person to speak with, can you forward me on to someone more appropriate?

I guess the assumption here is that personalisation is easy. That to establish a relationship it is sufficient to point at some trivial thing, such as the colour of your hair, or the fact we both have two eyes and one mouth. That after quickly exchanging some pleasantries, it is ok to not only go straight to business, but also to ask for further introductions. That the receiver of a cold outreach is nothing but a necessary evil to surmount in the name of the business goal.

Of course, that’s not how it works. Because that is not how people work.

Right there

FabrizioLeave a comment

The internet is full of messages that try to get someone’s attention to direct it somewhere else.

Banners that link to a landing page.

Welcome emails that link to three video tutorials.

Social media posts that refer to a comment that links to a blog article.

CTA buttons that link to a short form that links to a longer form that links to a privacy policy.

It is tiring, frustrating, and there is a huge opportunity to actually deliver the value you have to deliver right where your audience’s attention is.

The ocean of sameness

FabrizioLeave a comment

Messaging is the equivalent of defining. And when you define something you put a limit to it.

If I say tree, everybody understands what I am talking about, but at the same time everybody will have their own image of a tree in their mind.

If I say birch, fewer people will understand what I am talking about, but those who do will have a clear image in their mind.

If I say betula pendula, most people will not understand what I am talking about, but the very few who do will have a very powerful image in their mind, and a very strong connection with me.

Messaging is ineffective for many products because the limit is pushed further and further and further again, until the message itself loses any power to define what the product actually is. And for the fear of losing opportunities and market shares, all you end up selling is trees. Just like anybody else.

If your work involves some messaging, remember that your goal is to limit, not to expand. You can have different messages for different people and for different channels, but each one of them needs to be limited in order to resonate and actually mean something.

The alternative is drowning in an ocean of sameness.