The Story of Nick the Tailor

Those who want a direct ROI for every marketing tactic linked to guaranteed results, just don't get it. Marketing doesn't sell products directly. What marketing does is to start a conversation. And you need that to happen. Here's an analogy.

You are Nick the Tailor. You are at a formal cocktail party. There is an man across the room. His name is Rob. Rob is surrounded by friends and seems well-liked and interesting. You'd like to get to know him. Then, because you are a tailor, you notice that his dinner jacket does not fit as well as it should. It's clearly custom-made so it should be working better for the money he invested. You'd like to offer some help. But you can't just go over and say: "Hey, your jacket sucks. I'm a great tailor and I can do a better job."

But, later that night, Rob's wife mentions that he should get a better-fitting jacket. Now, he is considering whether his current tailor really gives him the best service. He is open to changing providers. He tells his friend Sam that he is considering a new tailor. Sam says, "Rob, you should consider Nick the Tailor as he does very good work - very personalized service."

Two things can happen.

1. Rob has never heard of you and is not interested in taking a chance on an unknown. (Proviso: It is possible that Sam may extol your virtues and urge Rob to seek you out. This is generally unlikely unless: a) you really are that good and b) you have become a key advisor to Sam so that he will act on your behalf. However, this doesn't happen often. And it's not a scalable strategy.)

2. Rob has previously run across references to your work: you won the Tailor of the Year award, you work with a Chamber of Commerce committee providing underprivileged kids with free formal wear for the Prom, and you had a really great ad in the local newspaper. Rob looks for you on the web and researches your work. Luckily, you have a killer website that shows examples of your clothes with (this is the critical part) how you used specific techniques to customize each garment. You demonstrate a thorough understanding of tailoring, you prove your commitment to each client, and your site's overview of the tailoring process educates visitors proving the value of custom over ready-to-wear. Rob asks around and gets enough good references that he finally calls you.

You scored a client. Hurray. Your skill as a tailor is rewarded. But you also needed those background marketing tactics to make the sale happen. Rob may have seen your ads and your awards in the past. At that time, he didn't care. He wasn't open to new providers. But they shaped his view of you, whether he was aware of it or not.

Now, here's something really interesting. When Rob comes in for the first fitting, you dutifully ask him how he found you. He replies "My friend Sam recommended you." Ha! He didn't mention the ads, the awards, the charity work - all those things that created a pictured of the talented, considerate, and dedicated tailor that he was looking for. But those stops along the road were critical to his decision to hire you.

Don't be fooled into thinking that customers don't use marketing as a reference. They do. They just don't talk about it. Don't use direct tactic hits as your ROI indicator. Use overall change in revenue.

Marketing - it's like the wind. You may not see it but you can feel its effects.