Do you make business decisions and partnerships based somewhat on someone's post count? Does someone's popularity and ability to round the troops as it were have an effect on your marketing plan? Do you take someone's word at face value without investigating every detail of their product simply because you are familiar with them? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you buy into the concept of personality based marketing. We've all done it at one time or another, and given the relatively young age of our business, in some circles it only takes a matter of months to be the next personality. This is both good for business but at the same time is highly destructive to our industry.
I'll be the first to admit that I have gotten by quite well on my name, company, and personality over the years. Often, my name alone gets me in doors. This was not by accident but rather through a combination of years of hard honest work, branding, forward thinking, and playing well with others. It also doesn't hurt that I have worked for, and aligned myself primarily with, some of the industry's longest running and most trusted companies. I'm an assertive sales and marketing person and have been fortunate to be successful in my endeavors during my seven year tenure in this industry. There are many people like me who possess similar traits and backgrounds. You will most likely not get screwed over whether intentionally or unintentionally. To people like us, business reputation is everything.
Then there is that other guy. The personality based marketer who may or may not be pushing a worthwhile product. The "sig whore" with 50,000 posts, the guy who chimes in on every thread with useless drivel, the guy who goes to every trade show and has to outdo everyone in all the photos, the so called "party guy", etc. You get the idea. There is a place for people like these in our business, but to actively pursue business endeavors with them based on their recognizability only is not only bad for business, it's just plain bad business. Indeed familiarity does breed brand recognition, but at what cost? For every fast talker out there, there must be dozens of great products and services that people don't find out about.
To make a comparison, it's like boy-band syndrome. It's over hyped, over marketed, the music is crap, but it sells. And unfortunately some of the best bands go unnoticed. This is not to say that EVERY one of the other guys falls into the boy-band syndrome (ie. the categories mentioned above) but it is the only place where you will find them.
The fewer "smoke and mirrors" marketers we have in our industry, obviously the better off we all will be. Do your research, separate the wheat from the chaff, and don't feed the monster. Again, personality based marketing works, but make it work for you for the right reasons. Does the marketer know what they are talking about? Do they have the substance to back up their sales pitch? Do they work for a different company every four months? Have past companies they have represented gone under? Investigate further to determine if they have a history of "here today, gone tomorrow" with their programs.
I'll tell you that there is little that is as frustrating as doing business with a company via a slick marketing person and getting nothing but dropped balls. It wastes time and money and is a real morale killer. And consequently, it screams volumes about the company in question. Send an email or an ICQ ahead of time... get to know the man behind the man. If the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is up to, run. And tell a few friends. Personality based marketers that don't do their job properly beyond their smile, wit and public persona need less encouragement, not more. They eventually burn themselves out and go away. I've seen it happen time and time again. Make a mental note of who not to do business with and stick to it. My list is continually growing.
Our industry is full of sheep. Sheep are easy to herd. Don't be a sheep.
LAJ is the Vice President for YNOT.com, the director for industry trade show Cybernet Expo, and a marketing consultant to attorney Eric M. Bernstein. He can be reached at [email protected] or on ICQ# 92418228.
