A quick post today… major snowstorm here in Boston has got me busy.
Remember the game you are playing: If you are marketing your restaurant, the same things appeal to people now as they always have, good food, social interaction, not having to cook, do the dishes, or all eat the same thing. People respond to many factors including your location, cuisine, price point, and philosophy. You are spreading the word about what you are doing. That is marketing. It doesn’t matter that you are using twitter and not a guy with a sandwich board on the corner. The tools have changed, the game hasn’t.
The guys in this picture are playing chess in Washington square park in 1969… if you and I started a chess game tomorrow we would play by the same rules. Just because you are in Toronto and I am in Boston, and I am playing on an iPad
What you need to do is get the same reaction, by marketing the same things, using today’s tools. Sure tactics change based on the medium (A post on this) but there are countless new tactics introduced to chess from the Sicilian Defense Taimanov System to the Classical Kings Indian to the Spanish Gambits… new tactics have been introduced to chess over the ages. It is still the same game, remember that. It is Marketing.
So you may need to brush up on the new technicalities of moving your pieces, and communicating your move to your audience, but you are moving them for the same reasons.
You must be Human, Identifiable, Yourself. Any notion that Social Media Marketing has changed the need to be any of those things is fools gold. If you are anonymous nobody listens, if you are too polished nobody feels you, if you are a corporate name you are seen as a seller only.
This is what we do for our clients at GuestFeed, we use modern communication vehicles to express their humanity, to distribute their uniqueness, and to do it better, faster, cheaper than older methods. If you want a free suggestion of what we would do for you contact me here, or via @spirocks, or spiro@guestfeed.com…
Otherwise have an amazing time tonight, I will be shoveling myself out of 3 feet of snow here… yikes.
Update 6/2011 I just came across this intelligent and eloquent article that I believe gets asimilar point. Removing Technology
Comments
11 responses to “Don’t Forget The Game”
Hi there Rocks,
Great article! Quick, pointed and indisputable. I move things around online, share who I am, and am deeply into exploring interactive possibilities. But I don’t always know how to express to my clients what it is that we’re getting at here. I dig your angle.
Sorry about all the snow in the Bean. I grew up in Quincy, I live in Denver now.. Past two days reached high 60’s out here! But there’s no place like Boston for people and food. Enjoy your online social interactions ’till the snow blows over.
xo
I just came across this, thanks for the kind words. Made my first trip to Denver in January hit up Vail and Boulder Creek too. Gorgeous.
I am now following you on twitter…you invited me! I write a blog for boomer/retirees called Retire In Style Blog. I am always interested in information about the service industry and how they work. I will be following your information. Promoting a blog can’t too much different than promoting a restaurant! Thank you for the invitation.
Oh…good luck with that snow. I live in Arizona in the winter…no snow here. Not yet anyway.
b
http://www.retireinstyleblog.com
orencoopinons@gmail.com
love the analogy, and the analysis. I read
loads of articles on marketing, and this is easily one of the best, and I think that is because it is basic common sense. It also chimes very much with my views on, eg, safety and bullying on the internet, and why Shakespeare’s plays still resonate today: human behaviour doesn’t change much!
I am glad that this resonates with you, with all the innovation and new technology that is being inserted into our daily lives it is important to remember that we are doing the same things just with new tools. Thanks for the kind words and best of luck.
Great post, and very timely. I think many companies or salespeople dont understand social media, it is much more than just about selling. Sales have always been about rapport, trust, quality. The key is to show these characteristics of your company/product/self through new methods like twitter, etc. I will continue to read and be inspired by your blog!
I agree wholeheartedly, and I am working on some cool Stuff so please
let me know what you think about my upcoming ideas…
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[…] there is a trick in the machine that they need to figure out. I strongly urge you to ignore the tools and focus on the rules. Build human relationships, in every way you can, and you will experience more success than […]