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Subject: Profitably Linking Your Business, Profession & Purpose Part 3

Author: Dennis S. Vogel

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 20:56:35 01/23/07 Tue In reply to: Dennis S. Vogel 's message, "Profitably Linking Your Business, Profession & Purpose Part 1" on 15:37:34 11/26/06 Sun “General Eyes” Can’t See The Difference It’s like a M*A*S*H (TV show) episode, Hawkeye said he’s different from other men. Hot Lips said, “You different men are all alike.” They were both lonely & knew they were incompatible with the other. But they wanted insight to help them find compatible mates. They each stayed on the topic, but yet, talked past each other. They each knew they needed & wanted somebody different from most potential mates they met. Hawkeye concluded they were looking for tailor-made mates in an “off-the-rack” world. Many of us know the pain of loneliness, so we settle for less than we deserve. Then we get burned & realize loneliness wasn’t as bad as getting burned. When we feel lonely, we realize it’s an “off-the-rack” world & think we shouldn’t be so picky. When we get burned & we want to avoid another (potentially) doomed relationship. So, we generalize & think all potential mates are the same (& will also hurt us). Between those points is the belief “All the good ones are taken.” As hunger grows, discernment diminishes. Yet what Gary Halbert said is valid. If he had a restaurant, he’d want a starving crowd. When people are hungry, it’s easier to satisfy them. Hungry people may realize they need & deserve better food, but they’ll settle for less & get a quick solution, even if it’s not a healthy option. Here’s another conflict or catch: When people aren’t hungry, it’s harder to get them to pay attention to food offers. But if you offer distinctive food, you should reach your target market between times when they’re satiated & when their stomachs feel empty. If they don’t have any desire, it’ll be hard to get their attention after you’ve caught their curiosity. If they’re desperate, they may not wait to find you. McDonald’s food & restaurants are functional & reliably fast. But hunger is urgent & food (especially nutrition) is vital, but too often nutrition seems optional. If somebody just wants a meal of safe (non-lethal), decent tasting food & you offer a nutritious, delicious feast, you’re talking past the person. Your offer is overshooting their desire. If someone is satiated, your food offers will probably slip by unnoticed unless you set the context about a future, important meal. (I described this is another post.) Here’s a tip you can use if you offer food (you can adapt it, if you don’t offer food). NOTE: Some customers buy meals from McD’s 4 or more times per week. They’re not apt to think all quick-service restaurants are alike. They may think all the rest of quick-service restaurants are alike. If these regulars cut back to just 3 McD’s meals per week, McD’s may not lose customers, but would be less profitable. While I’m writing this, McDonald’s executives feel the pressure to use a low or no trans fat oil. If they don’t they’ll lose some customers & miss the chance to gain some. But they know if they use bland or bad tasting oil, they’ll lose customers. Even if a significant part of their customer-base only cuts back on buying McDonald’s meals, it could reduce McDonald’s profits by millions of dollars. Some regulars may eat McD’s meals just as often, but may not buy fries from McD’s anymore. Even that would be a big loss of profits. Other customers might buy from Wendy’s 1-2 times per week. It would make McD’s weaker & Wendy’s stronger. A competitor can push a sharp wedge in by 1) accusing McDonald’s not moving quickly enough to eliminate bad food or 2) introducing better tasting, more nutritious alternatives. But option 2 would require very similar products & enough money to blast the idea into consumers’ minds. The blast could be done on a local level. The possible marketing angle could be “We’re close enough for your lunch-time drive. We’re fast enough to satisfy your boss & our food is nutritious enough to help you be productive through the whole day & a great value for your budget.” This could satisfy 3 criteria customers think of & introduce a criterion they should consider. Then if it could be proven; a competitor could explain how its food provides equal energy through each phase of a workday. People feel tired when they don’t eat the right foods. When they’re tired, they don’t work well & make mistakes. They’re irritable & hard to work with. Not getting along with others & making mistakes are major reasons people are fired. It also emphasizes: 1) they need & deserve better than competitors offer, plus 2) better food (solutions) is available & they can afford it. Of course, many consumers have low self-esteem (consciously or subconsciously) & don’t believe they deserve anything better than what they’ve been getting. Those who compete with other giants in other business categories can adapt this. Dennis S. Vogel thrivingbusiness@email.com Focus your efforts & consumers’ attention on specifically defined solutions & make it easy for people to accept what you offer. You can find information & methods to help you help do this by using these URLs. http://www.voy.com/31049/ http://www.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Profitably Linking Your Business, Profession & Purpose Part 4	Dennis S. Vogel	21:16:15 02/19/07 Mon