Who would have thought that what bothered me most in my corporate career will one day become the catalyst for my message on my entrepreneurial journey. In the beginning the road seemed a bit foggy but as I dug deeper into the rabbit hole, the veil lifted and things got crystal clear.
The other day I was listening to an interview by Mark Moss with Mike Dillard on Odysee about building cash flow, mental edge and crypto cycle timing. I used to follow Mike Dillard’s work a decade ago as he was one of the early promoters of online marketing products and a highly successful Internet Marketer. However, as time went by I lost track of him only to find out that he went through some real hardships regarding his health.
Apart from him sharing how he overcame a hefty mold intoxication that ravaged his brain and mental capacities thus ruining his entire business as he couldn’t generate any income for two years, what stuck with me most was the idea that a negative event can become the fuel for your new message.
Intuitively I knew Mike was right. Seeing and experiencing the corporate mass marketing mess drove me towards a personalized marketing approach. Concepts that are tailored to individual needs, wants, talents and skill sets is what I’ve been focusing on from day one as a business owner.
You see, sometimes a little reminder can go a long way and even trigger a post like this one.
Capitalize on Your Mess
What are some of the most disturbing things that happened to you? Have you suffered a serious illness and recovered from it? Maybe you made some terrible mistakes and had to declare bankruptcy that taught you a thing or two about what to avoid in business.
All of us have gone through hardships and just when we think things are in balance, we can rest assured that the next hammer is waiting just around the corner.
We can fall victim to mess or we can transform it into something meaningful. How we dissect and look at things matters. If we allow ourselves a paradigm shift and enable our senses to perceive the so called negative from a different perspective, we change and so do our outcomes.
Witnessing how millions of dollars are spent on meaningless advertising campaigns targeting everyone with a pulse and a wallet, was excruciating. Seeing firsthand how marketing and sales silos are kept in an illusionary fight over who’s right and wrong, gave the terms ego and significance a whole new meaning.
While big brands can more or less afford to play these ridiculous games, although it’s the messed up psychology of employees and teams behind these brands not the brands per se who are the cause of the problem, small businesses are forced to think, act and market differently to stay and more importantly, thrive in these highly competitive environments.
While corporations have seemingly unlimited financials, entrepreneurs and small business owners dispose of a more lethal weapon that allows them to move and implement ideas quickly. On top of that, the second has the advantage of human warmth as in knowing the persona that drives the vehicle. Corporations can play nice by naming a charismatic CEO whose name will be implanted all over the media, but you and I know that shareholders could care less about what’s being presented to the masses. It’s all about meeting their numbers.
Corporations will never be able to draft highly individualized and personalized marketing messages that appeal to every single one of us. But I can do it and so can all the other small business owners who care deeply about their clients.
A Congruent Marketing Message Creates Trust
What makes your mess become a trustworthy message is first and foremost the fact that you yourself have experienced it. When you’re congruent and aligned with what it is that you’re communicating, people feel it and ultimately, buy into it.
Nowadays we see all these commercials from corporations touting the sustainability horn while deploying all kinds of fancy modalities to convince one of their tenacious efforts to support climate change. Are you buying into it?
The fact that almost all corporations have come out with the very same message at the same time makes them unbelievable. The message is soulless, distant and adheres to well thought-out advertising criteria to capture attention and influence human psyche. This is mass marketing at its best and I for one find it blatantly dull. It is the opposite of congruence and trustworthiness.
Don’t copy big business. Not everything these guys do is good, far from it.
Respect yourself. Have a congruent message that best portrays your persona and what you stand for. This will be far more effective allowing you to attract the individuals that will do business with you.
Image by GraphicMama-team on Pixabay
Originally published on my blog at StrengthInBusiness.com.
