A subtle thing that restaurants do is say: “We are doing last call, would you like to get a drink?”

The practically of this question, is that in a lot of ways it shouldn’t entirely matter. Yes, I may have lost track of time but did you really need to remind me?

The real value of the question lies in a thought experiment: If I wanted to increase drink sales and I only had two options 1) Stay open 30 mins later in the night or 2) Close 30 mins early and say the last call line – would I have more sales in the latter situation because there is a time constraint?

I don’t know. What I do know is that there are always these last call lines in any type of businesses we work in. What we learn about them, is little questions, asked at the right time, have the potential to make a big difference.

A full marketing experience, whether its a landing page, a seminar or a billboard, goes through three elements or incorporates these three elements: 

1) The element of understanding and empathy for the struggle or problem. This is the “before state”.

2) The tension: The turning point, the realization, the solution, the key. This is the “transition state”.

3) The change: Life after or with the solution. This is the “after state”.

Each point goes through the feelings, tensions, fears and desires at each point. It goes through the social implications and questions the persons very identity.

Great pieces of marketing create real change in peoples lives and change moves through these three stages.

When you create something new you have a chance to say something that has never been said. You have a chance to connect dots that have never been connected.

When you create new marketing, you have the opportunity to do the same with customers. You have the opportunity to introduce new ideas that will help make their life better. You have the opportunity to connect things in their life that was never connected.

In a lot of ways marketing is simply the act of connecting real world innovations to a humans life, in a way that makes the innovation larger then life itself.

Why does everyone settle for average? Why does everyone not think for themselves and just follow the group?

To produce great marketing, you yourself must become a great person.

Being a great person is an act and thus a skill that can be developed.

Marketing is full of copycats. Not just internet cats but copycats. It’s all focused on what’s hot instead of the customer. It’s all focused on data rather then value.

Are you being a copycat?

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Asking how can you change someone’s mind? Is maybe the wrong question. Instead ask: how and why would they want to change their mind?

‍If they don’t have a reason and if it’s not as easy as possible for them to change their mind- why would you expect them to change it?

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People always try to hit home runs in marketing.

They try to change the entire game. This is perfect. This is what you want to do.

However, the downfall comes when you get attached to outcomes. Because, what if you set out to create the best marketing campaign that ever existed – and you fail – What do you do then?

Outcomes are out of the marketers control. What we can control is the way we approach our work. The way we listen to the customer. The way we adapt when the data comes in.

It’s not about the marketer that does one campaign, its the one that can keep doing campaigns for the long run. That requires patience and listening.

Just as Peter Drucker said: “All profit is derived from risk.”, so is all great marketing is derived from risk.

Every creative act that means something stares into the dark obis. That dark obis is the idea that it might not work. That you could fail, be shamed or worse feeling the responsibility of failing.

But for marketing to ever work you must take the leap. If it has no risk its called average, mass market spam advertising. If it has edges to it, it has a chance to connect with someone and maybe even change them.

When you feel your heartbeat rise. When you feel the risk. Keep going. You are on to something.

When you start studying the great works in marketing, what you start to realize is that it’s mostly from people that would never call themselves a marketer.
They are still doing the act of marketing but typically looking at it through the lens of the customer, asking themselves how much impact and contribution they can make.
These are of course different concerns when you contrast them with the stereotypical marketer.

In a someone recent interview (I forgot which one) the legendary Russell Brunson gave his advice on how to be a great marketer.

The advise was simple and profound.

Rebuild the great marketing around you that you would be proud to make. Marketing from the people that you admire.

Taking a sales funnel and printing each word and image off. Collecting every touch point they send you and writing it out.

Then doing the work of asking: why?

Why this design? Why this type? Why this image? Why send this? Why not send this? Who’s it for? Whats the change?

It should be our goal to create books and books of the great marketing works that have become before us (and the not so great work) so that we all can do better marketing.