It seems like every other day I am getting a phone call or email from some kind of scam artist which, like most people, I find extremely irritating. However, I also think there are a few marketing takeaways we can all learn from them because scam artists certainly know about people engagement…
So here are the top four lessons you can learn from a scam artist:
- Know your target – scam artists really think about their target audience and how to appeal to them and deceive them. They look at the interests of the target audience and what they are likely engaging and interacting with in their lives. Then they make sure they craft their message to speak to that audience. So its crucial to clearly identify your target market, their interests and interactions, then plan your channels and build your marketing messages to be targeted and relevant for maximum engagement and optimal results.
- Be inventive – scam artists think outside and inside the square to see how they can cut through. With everyone’s lives so busy and so much noise in the marketplace, when marketing our businesses, we also need to be inventive in thinking of ways to get cut through and get attention. Don’t always assume though that the ideas need to be totally out there, sometimes it is a rehash of something in a different way or even using an older traditional less used channel again. After all some of the scams that have the most penetration are just emails pretending to be a package being delivered or some money being given back to you.
- Be tenacious – don’t give up just because the first marketing activity doesn’t work. Scam artists don’t give up when the first email or phone call is not as successful as they want, they just keep refining it till they get the optimal results. The same goes for your marketing, don’t just send one email, expect to get amazing results and if not give up. See what did work and try to refine it – it might be as simple as giving the email you sent out a different subject. Also people need to see things a few times before they action it – you need to build some momentum. So try, try, try and try again – strategically of course.
- Overcome the barriers – scam artists know they are going to hit roadblocks so they think through the barriers that are going to come up and develop ways to overcome them before they start. If they find something comes up they hadn’t expected, they just brainstorm it after and come up with a new strategy to overcome it. Knowing how you are going to deal with the prospects’ barriers before they come up will help you navigate your phone call, email etc. to a successful conclusion.
Next time you’re getting a scam email or phone call, think about what they are doing and how you can apply some of their techniques – in a less dodgy way – to getting some cut through and successful outcomes for your business. After all, though they are annoying they sure know how to engage people and get results.
