Everywhere Vs Black Card Marketing

Elite or Everyman?

I don't have a "no limit' AMEX Black Card, so Forrester's new Fragmented Path To Purchase Demands Everywhere Marketing report will not be purchased (if you come by a copy please share reactions, ideas).

I wrote a quick riff about "Everywhere Marketing" on Curation Revolution. Was intrigued enough by the idea to create another riff on Google Plus.

Clutter Marketing

In a time of overwhelming marketing density like our emerging social and content marketing infused "Connection Economy" messages are easily lost. I've used two "cut through clutter" and somewhat opposing strategies in the recent past: Everywhere Marketing and Black Card Marketing.

Black Card Marketing - Elite Buyers Join YOU

You don't "sell" elite buyers better to set up a club they want to join. Attempting to sell well hunted elephants like C level executives or Richie Rich donors is a fool's errand. My father worked on Wall Street. We moved from Texas when his "pension plan" company was purchased by Merrill Lynch.

I grew up in Greenwich (about as far from Texas as a young cowboy could get lol). I am NOT a Richie Rich, but I know lots of 'em and yes some Richie Richs are even friends :). Just because you are RICH doesn't mean life is easy.

Money curation creates its own demands since money is under constant attack. My father made a pretty good living helping Richie Richs stay rich.

 I picked up a few tips for marketing to an elite group from watching dad including:

• Confidence is critical. 
• A good golf game doesn't hurt. 
• Respect but don't be in awe of MONEY (just a tool really). 
• People with money are DIFFERENT, but can be served (just don't think you are friends). 
• Lean, targeted and distinct marketing messaging is important. 
• Don't dream on their dime. 
• Walking and talking same language is MOST important.
• Dissonance is rejected and discarded as "not their problem". 

Elite buyers are connected to other elites and mostly on trust each other.

Best way to have THEM trust YOU is to have an existing member of their "social circle" put social capital at risk in support of your idea, company or brand. You can add rocket fuel on this fire by knowing how and when to up the ante with "public facing" marketing.

BUT, and this is a HUGE BUT, never jump the shark. Wait until elite "join us" marketing is working. Test your "step on the gas" idea over and over. Hedge as much risk out as you can (by testing) and then go BIG and FAST.

You only have ONE chance to make a first impression. This group has memories where ideas and money are concerned like ELEPHANTS. Why such steal trap memories for money and ideas?

You know all those mental cycles you spend figuring out how to work your day? Yeah, they don't do that (lol). They have people do the boring stuff FOR THEM clearing the field to think about a few things VERY DEEPLY. 

 Everywhere Long Tail Marketing

Everywhere Marketing tests more campaigns, messages and ideas than Black Card Marketing. Even when an idea "wins" everywhere marketereers don't double down immediately.

Everywhere marketeers tweak their ideas based on feedback loops. They add in a little more capital with each tweak. As long as an idea is generating positive ROI everywhere marketers keep investing.

Inevitably most ideas reach a point of diminishing returns fast.

Everywhere marketers, "Don't get emotional about money" to quote Oliver's Stone's Gordon Gekko. Everywhere marketers know, much as Gekko realizes in the movie Wall Street, marketing is all about your cash reserves.

You don't commit cash reserves until you are well hedged by testing and having many versions of your marketing organized by Personas and Segments.

Marketing With Personas and Segments

Personas and Segments are beyond critical to everywhere marketing. Personas are archetypes that represent the hopes and dreams of significant groups of customers. Personas are about THEM. Segments are about YOU.

Common segments are "VIPs" for "multi-buyers" who've purchased more than most or "on sale" buyers who only respond to sales and so may not be the most profitable customer segment.

The "Long Tail" of everywhere marketing speaks to the number of ideas you test and the number of groups you marketing is focused against. The key idea in everywhere marketing is to be everywhere with just the right (i.e. relevant) message and support (tribe of intrinsically motivated brand advocates).

Everywhere marketing, done right, picks up scale and SPEED. You can't have one of these benefits without the other these days. Slow and Scale don't work in most highly competitive business verticals. Remember to DISRUPT to win in everywhere marketing and reset your "failure" meter.

Everywhere marketing is truly a journey not a destination, so know you are signing on to some MISERABLE days and a few amazing moments when everything happens in your favor and your customers are doing more and more of your marketing for you. When that happens, and it will, say THANK YOU and double down.

More on Curation Revolution on Scoop.it & on Google Plus.

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