SoKy Local Business or "SoKybiz"

Imagine waking up one flag day and finding a small American flag stuck in your front lawn. At first glance it would seem like a very appropriate gesture, but on closer inspection you find the business card of a real estate agent you never heard of stapled to it. Is that effective marketing? Is that appropriate marketing? Or is it "litter marketing?"

I read about this on a website for web developers. Andrew Neitlich titled his blog post, "An idiotic way to market your business" and I have to agree with him. He wrote:

It happens every Flag Day, Memorial Day and July 4 in the USA in my neighborhood: Some real estate agent plants a small flag in my lawn, and the lawn of every homeowner in my area, with a business card. To me, this kind of marketing is the ultimate intrusion, not to mention a misuse of an important symbol, and I can't imagine it results in much business.

What's this have to do with you?

Litter Marketing (my term to the best of my knowledge) is marketing that could easily fall into the category of litter. While it may be effective in some strange way, it just seems wrong. One classic example of Litter Marketing is the annoying flyer under your windshield wiper. Most of us have been subject to the phenomenon of coming out of the local shopping mall and finding a bright poorly designed, photocopied piece of paper under the windshield wiper of your car, and then noticing that every other car has also received a visit from the aggressive marketer. Upon closer inspection, you would likely be able to see a number of these same pieces of paper on the ground around the parking lot, perhaps even blowing into neighboring business and residential landscapes.

I'm sorry, but to me it's just litter! My personal response to this marketing is to avoid that business just as I avoid businesses who use SPAM to reach me. I might want the product or service, but I won't support the business and their tactics. It's just me.

That said, Mr. Neitlich also commented on involvement marketing, or what many marketing and sales people know as "network marketing" as a more appropriate method of getting the word out. He wrote:

It is much more effective to get visible in your community, speak and write articles to become the go-to professional in your market, demonstrate your value without making a blatant sales pitch (e.g. with a powerful marketing message), and build relationships that result in referrals and new business.

On this I had to agree, actually I did in a comment...

Andrew - You are so RIGHT! I can tell you from personal experience that what you say is true. I've been developing websites for the past 7 years and while I made a good living, I could not seem to expand my market in the community. It wasn't until I became involved in the local business community that I saw my business start to take off. Chamber functions, community events, advertising and marketing meetings, small business networking opportunities abound. The value added benefit? (to me) My social circles have also expanded. I'm invited to more parties, gatherings and after work social hours than ever before. As the social circles grow, business opportunities grow and vice a versa. One of the key ingredients however is sincerity! Don't show up with your game face on and your fee on your sleeve. Just participate and let things happen. At least that's worked for me.

Advice to Andrews' neighborhood realtor; if you want to canvas the neighborhood with your business card, mail it to them. If you want to make a small patriotic gesture with an American flag, then send it to them or hand deliver it. This allows the residents to refuse it and allows you the opportunity to meet them. But please, don't plaster my neighborhood or my car with unsolicited litter because we have enough fast food wrappers, discarded bourbon bottles, and other trash to pick up along the roadsides of our neighborhoods, sadly enough.

Advice to the small (micro) business owner who wants to grow their business. Join all of the community clubs and associations you can, attend the public gatherings available and just meet people. The rest will fall into place nicely.

As Forest Gump would say: "And that's all I got to say about that."

• Andrews' Blog

This was posted by SoKy : 8:31 AM