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While driving through France on a family vacation, marketing expert Seth Godin
saw hundreds of storybook cows grazing in scenic pastures next to the highway.
For dozens of miles, his family marveled at the countryside noticing how beautiful
it was. Within twenty minutes, however, they began ignoring the cows. The new
cows were just like the old cows. What had once been amazing,
had become common. Eventually it became boring. After you have seen so many perfect
cows, attractive cows, formerly amazing cows, they can become boring. Godin writes, "A purple cow, though.
Now, that would be interesting." This idea for a purple cow became the inspiration
for the title of his book, "Purple Cow". Godin's basic theme in Purple Cow is that
businesses and people have to be remarkable before they can be noticed. He believes that there is so much "advertising
noise" out there, traditional marketing doesn't
work too well--- if at all. "Advertising noise" is created by hundreds of television and radio stations
along with thousands of magazines and newspapers. The advertising campaigns of
the past that taught us to think of jingles and images whenever a product's name
was displayed, no longer work. Traditional advertising
has become a background of white noise that lulls consumers to sleep instead of
pushing them to purchase. It's remarkable products that get our attention now.
Mass marketed products with rounded edges and softened
features or a "one size fits all" mentality are not getting noticed.
People want services or products that stand
out from the crowd. As an example, OXO brand kitchen utensils have handles that
fit comfortably into your hand and are easy to use. I am impressed every time
I grab my OXO brand carrot peeler. The black plastic handle is a non-slip, padded
grip. A simple improvement to make it extraordinary when compared to those every
day boring, all metal, palm-pinching carrot peelers. According to Godin, the opposite of remarkable
is very good. It's not: bad, mediocre, or poorly done.
When the airline gets you to your destination
on time you tell no one. The "WOW" buzzer and
lights go off when the airline gets you there one hour early or gives you a free
upgrade to first class. That's when you tell someone. Godin believes that new
ideas and information are now spread like viruses. He
calls them ideaviruses and the people who spread them are "sneezers".
Sneezers are the people who talk about remarkable ideas and other people listen
to them as they spread the word about purple cows. When I need to make a buying decision,
I don't waste time doing my own research. I rely on sneezers
who already own the product to tell me about it. I buy on the recommendation of
others more than ever before. If your business is creating a very good
product or service, STOP doing it right now. "Tastes like chicken" is
not a compliment. A purple cow philosophy for marketing your product, service
or your self may be the solution to your profitability problem. What can you color with purple thinking?
I have crayolas in stock and am ready to help. Be outrageous for once! Give me
a call today and let's see if,together, we can find a
way for you to become a purple cow. | 
