How does a product go from the cutting room floor to millions of households around the world? Have you ever considered how a book, a film, a new car model, an industrial product or organizational service reaches your door? Considering, the concept is rather simple. Greg Stielstra, a former marketing guru at Zondervan and Thomas Nelson publishers, captured this idea in his book PyroMarketing. Stielstra states, “the era of mass marketing is ending and being replaced by customer evangelists.” Now, the concept is simple. In a world that is saturated with advertising we simply get numb. The advertisement on the billboard, car, street corner, newspaper, magazine, radio, Internet, television, and bathroom wall is simply is too much for us to process. How many of those advertisements do you really remember? The key is not placing more signs, lights, and noise in our lives-but-actually decreasing them. Instead, replace the noise with quality advertising and that comes from these customer evangelists or word of mouth practitioners.
Think about the way fire is created and spread. First, you need something to start the fire-a match. Then you need something for the fire to consume-wood, etc. Then you need to keep the fire going-fuel. Now, take those principles and apply them to marketing. You need something to start the fire-an idea, product or service-and make it relevant to the consumer. Then you need something for it to consume. This is where your consumer comes in. However, do not just target everyone but target those whom your product is most relevant to. Then keep the fire going. Find out who is your audience is, keep record of who they are, and start targeting them again and again. A fire will die with something to keep it alive or something to consume. Without consumers and without relevance a product or service with die. Many good ideas were lost because of this principle. So consider the basic ideas behind a flame turning into a fire the next time you think about marketing. If you want to know more and know how these ideas are more applicable, pick up a copy of PyroMarketing and be ignited by these simple but genius ideas.
