‘Pull Marketing’ Author Emphasizes Trigger Method For Engaging Prospects
- Written by Demand Gen Report Team
- Published in Feature Articles
“There is a force in the marketing universe that compels humans to take anything that occurs as extraordinary and quickly make it ordinary,” Chambers says in his book. “I call it ‘pull.’ ‘Pull’ is ever present, relentless, and if you are not keenly aware of its effect, it is most likely costing you a great deal of money.”
DemandGen Report recently connected with Chambers to discuss Pull Marketing, the trigger strategy and the importance of making your organization “interesting.” The following are highlights of that interview:
DGR: The book talks about how “Triggers,” and “The Remarkability Paradigm,” play an important role in engaging prospects. Can you further explain how these methods can effectively contribute to the success of a service or product?
Chambers: Triggers are executional in nature and key to outperforming your competition. They can take the form of any of 16 possible marketing elements I have identified over my experience. Examples are Benefits, Attributes, Endorsements, Key Graphics, Tag lines and so on.
Splenda built a $500 million-plus business out of three words that form a simple product attribute, “Made From Sugar.” Those words were on the package until recently ordered by the FDA to remove them. By contrast, the Men’s Warehouse is riding a wave of success based largely on George Zimmer’s commercial tag line, “You’re Going To Like The Way You Look.” Someone needs to ask Mr. Zimmer why he has never put those compelling words on the front of his stores.
DGR: Another Important topic you addressed is for marketers to ensure their product or service is attractive to all target customers. To be attractive, businesses must appear “interested” rather than “interesting.” From your professional experience, why is it such a misstep for marketers to be portrayed as “interesting” vs. “interested?”
Chambers: Interesting is all about the product or service. Interested is about the consumer. Mr. Zimmer’s tag line “You’re Going to Like the Way You Look” is all about the consumer. It defines what you, the consumer, are going to get out of using his product. This is a critical distinction because I notice a strong tendency on the part of all businesses large or small to be so enamored with their product or service that they forget to address the target consumer. This is a huge opportunity at the moment, because your competition is likely guilty of this as well.
DemandGen Report: “Pull” stresses the importance of Implementing research on your company or competition, naming backgrounding, innovation and validation as the three important steps for conducting proper research. Which of the three steps do you believe businesses tend to neglect or skip when conducting research for their business?
Chambers: My clients spend millions on research for good reason. Virtually all of the work I do for them is subjected to volumetric research as soon as I present it. I am aware that the high cost of research makes it difficult for small and medium sized businesses to use. For that reason, I recommend you consider the age-old do-it-yourself method. In that regard, I have three simple suggestions. 1] Create options so those you are asking are simply making choices. 2] Ask your target customers, not your employees, friends or relatives. 3] If you must, only ask for opinions after they have responded to your choices and pay far more attention to their choices. The operating state of human beings is “What’s Wrong Here,” so expect they will find something wrong and reveal in sharing it with you.
Keith Chambers established The Chambers Group in 1976, a package design studio that worked with brands including Hi-C, Hunts and MJB. In 1988 The Chambers Group created the brand Sega Genesis. Keith has assisted more than 500 goods and service providers in formulating marketing messaging. The Chambers Group is headquartered in Los Angeles.