Do you like fishing? Or love fishing? A friend of mine can go fishing almost every weekend. It's almost like a ritual. Not doing it becomes an exception rather than a norm.
To those who love fishing, there's no greater joy than to fight a muscle straining and victorious battle against a gigantic creature or to find a catch that's rare. You can't wait to share your catch with all that you know. Standing with your glorious win on your hand to snap a photo has becomes common.
Whether you are an amateur or professional one, you'll always be excited and proud of your catch. And of course, there's a difference between the two. From the equipment to the tide, from the baits to the location.
Fishing is like marketing. You fish to catch fishes and marketers market to catch customers. Even if you're doing it as a leisure, there's no fun for you to go back empty-handed.
However, most business owners approach marketing like amateurs in fishing. They get the equipment and baits, find a location that's convenient and that's it. Down goes the fishing rod, up goes the spirit and there's nothing else to do except wait, wait and wait.
If you're lucky, you'll catch a fish very soon. But most of the times, it's the tiny ones. And sometimes you wonder if it's your luck or the fishes are smarter than you to steal your baits without getting hooked, if they eat your bait at all.
This reminds me of my first and only fishing experience during my army days. A group of us were at a enclosed pond in a warehouse near the river. This property belonged to my friend's uncle and no outsiders are allowed to fish there. We were told there are many fishes there and catching ten to twenty shouldn't be a problem.
Armed with our fishing rods and bread as baits, we started casting our rods. Being my first experience, I was particularly excited and have my eyes fixed intently on the rod to see if there's any slight indication of a fish getting hooked. And when I thought I caught something and pulled it up, there's nothing. Maybe the bread was too small and the fishes couldn't see in the muddy water. So I stuck a bigger piece on the hook. I was told to be patient and not to make any noise that will scare away the fishes. So I parked myself under the scorching sun in anticipation. One minute went by. Then ten minutes, twenty minutes, half and hour, one hour, two hours...
Finally, it's time for me to go home and I concluded that fishing is not for me.
The next Monday, I heard from my friend that those who went later managed to catch fishes. The reason we were not successful earlier was we used the wrong bait. The fishes in the pond don't eat bread. They eat prawn and squid.
In marketing, we often go out marketing without knowing who we want to attract and what they like. We run an advertisement and hope that someone will see and like what we are offering. Throw a stone often enough and you'll hit someone someday.
As a business owner, you have to know your prospective customers well.
- What do they like/dislike?
- What's their age?
- Where do they shop?
- What magazines do they read?
- Do they drive?
- Do they have kids?
- What's their hobbies?
- Where do they usually hang out? With who?
- How they dress?
Knowing as much as possible about your prospective customers will helps you to identify them in the crowd. In fishing, you have to know where to find the kind of fishes you want to catch. Are they living in the deep seas? Do they eat bread, prawn or worms? Do they migrate during certain seasons? When is the best time to catch them?
If you do not understand your prospective customers well enough, you'll end up like me using bread as bait to fishes that do not eat bread.
When you know your prospective customers, you can offer something to them that is irresistible to them. Time to stop wasting your money offering what you sell to everyone. That's like the company handing out flyers across the street near your office to every passerby. Offer them to those who are most likely to say yes to you.
Having the right kind of equipment is also important. If you are trying to catch fishes weighing at least 10 kg, you better make sure your fishing rod is strong enough. Even if you are only fishing for ikan bilis, you have to have the right equipment. You need a net and not a fishing rod.
In your business, you have to consider the best and most appropriate media to attract your prospective customers. Are they risk averse? Do they need a trial offer to get them started? Are they using the internet as a source of gathering information? Do they prefer to go to a retail front? If you sell health product for people over 70s with no computer knowledge, are you going to use the internet? Well, the answer depends on who is the decision maker and how he or she looks for information.
The only difference between marketing and fishing - In marketing, you can make the prospective customers come back again and again once you catch them. In fishing, it's a one time sale.