Fight Information Obesity. How to simplify your marketing...

Recently Guy Kawasaki invited me to share a few words over on the Amex Small Business Blog. Inside scoop? He edited my original submission because he said it was obese. That's ironic. Made me laugh. And, he was right. You can always cut words. And, then you can cut again. Here's the edited article. Better than the original.

Fight Information Obesity...How to simplify your marketing.

Information overload occurs when we receive more information than our brain can process. Even if it’s good information, too much of a good thing isn’t good anymore. Whether you’re an information addict or Zen advocate, information overload affects us all.

If you’d like to contribute something of real value that improves quality of life, it’s as simple as dialing back your own volume. Here are five ways you should be looking to help reduce the stress for your customers.

1. Stick to the facts. Don’t over-sell, over-fluff, over-explain or over control. Just provide the information someone needs to self-sort and self-decide. People don’t need a page on the philosophy for every business, product, or event. They do need to know who it’s for, what it is, when it happens and how to get it.

2. Stick to the point. Start with the end in mind before you take action. If you know the purpose behind your letter, brochure, or meeting, it makes it easier for you to stay on track and focused. Otherwise, it’s hard to recognize your own excess. Do you want people to show up, respond, or buy? What are you asking them to do? If you can’t answer that question easily, neither can they.

3. Consider the crowd. Does your announcement (printed or verbal) apply to everyone or just a handful of people? If it doesn’t affect the masses, it’s going to land like dead weight. Don’t punish the crowd to keep a few people happy (even if they are the most vocal). Find a way to talk about the 20% that affects 80% of your audience.

4. Don’t intrude. Unless they’ve asked for it, people welcome your mass emails as much as a salesman ringing the doorbell during family dinner. Respect personal space and put information in a place easy for people to find when they want or need it.

5. Deflate your self-importance. Are you more attached to what you have to say than to who you are talking to? People are more inclined to read and respond when something is delivered from their point of view—not yours. Work hard to think like your audience to find ways to connect.

Life is overwhelming enough as it is. Your business, church, school, or social cause shouldn’t be piling on more and adding to the confusion. Look at your own emails, mailings, brochures, web site, and identify where you need to turn down your volume. It’s the right thing to do for everyone.

Comments

[Kelley Hartnett]

Thanks, everyone for your ideas and suggestions!

I think an underlying issue may be that we simply have too much to communicate. Our leadership team is working on getting very clear on our mission/vision so the "no" happens before it even gets to me. Does that make sense?

[Kem Meyer]

Kelley... instead of saying "no"... provide alternative. For example: "here's what we CAN do" or "how about THIS." People are less hostile as long as it's easy to find the information. Pick one or two places where you can find everything (yes, like the web). Pre-define emphasis buckets so you're not deciding promotional vehicles for every individual event. See this post for what I'm talking about: http://kemmeyer.typepad.com/less_clutter_noise/2007/04/who_makes_the_p.html

Hope this helps.

[Kevin M. Stone]

Kem ... good stuff! I'm already adjusting my writing style.

To the individual above who needs help I say ... set some guidelines and use the guidelines to say no (or yes!) when the request doesn't meet the requirements.

For example, "we have a vehicle for promoting groups and it's THIS. Make your request HERE and you'll be all set."

[steve fogg]

Great post Kem,

Kelley just like all every time we are consuming a bit too much, staff have to go on a diet and say 'no' to those who want entree, main and dessert coverage when it isn't applicable!

I think I say no nearly every day, although I always offer an alternative suggestion! Perhaps a diet/zero suggestion but it helps keep their appetite at bay.

Hope that helps!

[Douglas Haney]

Hey Kem! Been following the blog and read the book. Love them both! We are currently trying to organize and work as a team in our church communication etc. I have loosely taken the role of trying to pull it together and I was wondering what tool you guys use in Marketing project management. Do you work with something online or do you just use paper etc.

Email me back! We are anxious to find a way to collaborate on this stuff better.

[Michelle Traudt]

Great thoughts! I really enjoy your blog. Keep it up!

[John]

watching my marketing weight...

Generally speaking, how much time should you advertise an event or request? It would seem advertising too much would add the marketing pounds, but not enough doesn't give everyone a chance to respond. What do you think?

Great post. Thanks. Stay blessed...john

[Kelley Hartnett]

This post is ga-reat. I'm totally on board with communicating the 20% that appeals to the 80%. However, that's getting people quite upset in my context. So, I have a couple of questions for you and anyone else willing to chime in:

1. How do you say "no"? Today, I had a gentleman request an every-week spot in both our bulletin and E-News to promote a group that's relevant to less than 1% of our audience. I really do try to say, "Although I'm not able to do this, I can do this instead." That doesn't seem to help.

2. How do your folks find out about those opportunities that affect only a few people? I'm guessing the website, but how do people know to even look for it there?

(I feel like these are elementary questions,so I'm feeling embarrassed. The wheels are falling off my communication cart,though, and I need HELP!)

Thanks.

[Dennis Richards]

great post Kem...enought said!