Hungry or guarded

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JBloggs

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MARKETING
Hungry or guarded
The hungry person at the all you can eat buffet is happy to take one more item. She doesn't spend a lot of time comparing this to that, or saying 'no thank you' or avoiding certain items. If it's interesting, "sure I'll try a little bit. I can always come back."
The guarded person walking down the street avoids eye contact with the homeless person, doesn't answer a request from the petition-signer and certainly doesn't help a Boy Scout with that old lady.
And this is precisely the dichotomy every cause, every candidate and every marketer faces.
Either you're selling to people who are hungry for what you offer, who are open to hearing what you have to say, who are fans...
Or you're selling to people who are actively protecting themselves, guarding against interruption or a mistake or worse.
How can you possibly have a strategy about what you're going to do next until you determine which mindset you're marketing to?
Here's the key truth: in any given moment, in any given situation, a person is either hungry or guarded. You need to decide which sort of person you'll be telling your story to, because one approach won't work on the other type of person.
[PS the mindset can (and does) change as people go through their day. At the bookstore she might be hungry for a new idea, and just a few minutes later, at the bus stop, she wants to be alone...]
from Seth's Blog
 
Hey these are interesting concepts. My biggest beef right now are the guarded people who can't be bothered to READ a darn thing and then proceed to try to make me sell, sell, sell. I DON"T WANT THEM!
I love my fans
heart.gif
 
Odd. Just the other day I was waiting for a store to open and I was talking to the kids who hand out the lunch menus on the sidewalk in front of the stores. What they hate the most? People who totally ignore them. I watched them for awhile and was going to offer some advice, but figured the restaurant owners had told them exactly how to act. Maybe not. I might talk to the kid I know and ask her to try a different idea.
 
We find that ALL guests are guarded when they first arrive and most are hungry for the whole experience by breakfast time.
Perhaps they are hungry all along and it's just our perception of them during our initial meeting.
 
Interesting view of people...
We are talking about marketing to people...
People that are looking for what you offer are the hungry - they are the ones that hunt you out... they are searching for what you offer, where you are, etc.... You may not sell them the first go round, but they are nibbling away looking for that ultimate bite that satisfies their needs.
All others are garded at least to an extent... take Ike's example of the menu distributor! Everyone needs to eat, yet not everyone is in the current market for food, or lunch/dinner is already waiting for them and they are in a hurry to get there. These people are not interested in the menu offer, they don't need another thing to hold or time to find a garbage can... So this is the dilemma - how do you get these garded people interested...maybe not for today but for that Friday special?
 
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