Contradictory advice: Where to turn?

Some basic truths and fundamentals apply in the marketing business but you can read two or more completely different (and sincere) interpretations of of best and bad practices.

Jack Benny

For example, take the “free stuff” arguments described yesterday.  The Reciprocity Principle suggests that generosity results in rewards; give  a little free and gain a lot in return.  Surely, then, some free estimates or preliminary design services “should” help you find new business and attract good-will.  But the evidence observed from consultants such as Michael Stone in Profitable Sales: A Contractor’s Guide is that most contractors gain little from this sort of generosity:  They spin their wheels for price shoppers and idea-stealers and fail to gain enough commitment to justify the effort and time involved.

Sometimes we simply get it wrong.  Conditioned to act the way others behave (another standard of marketing, following the crowd) we do what our competitors do, or what we think is the norm, only to find the efforts are generally wasted.  Take the conventional “ground breaking” news release where a bunch of people stand in front of ceremonial shovels for a grip-and-grin shot.  Yawn.  (But in the real world of new media, these boring shots are actually quite relevant — just make sure everyone you really want to connect with is in the picture, and then publish it in your news release, website, and convince your local publisher to post it as well:  People love to see their name in print.)

But maybe we are right and the other perspective is incorrect.  In my book on construction marketing, I advocate that you consider using supplier-paid co-op advertising, because it is free or nearly free.  However, Adams Hudson debunks that myth in his book:  Contractor Marketing Secrets Your Competition Doesn’t Want You to Know.  He points out that if you use the co-op materials as your primary advertising message, you will be building your supplier’s brand, not your own.

Then last night I turned on the “TV” (my computer) and for an hour watched an old Jack Benny show on a small UHF television station in the Texas Hill Country (where I met the late Walt Hailey in 1995 and learned some of the marketing principles that guide my business today).  As I laughed at some wildly old comedy — the early 60s video portrayed a “prison” in 1985 — the commercial break cut to a local heating contractor who relied on co-op marketing material.  I’m sure the HVAC contractor didn’t expect his ad would “reach” a publisher in Ottawa, Canada.

Is your head spinning now?  Can you even begin to figure out what to do, and what not?  Then, lets get scientific and see if we can find some answers.  But here again, you will discover that physics is something like marketing.  It is, or it isn’t, or it is both, and the truth may depend on where you actually stand.  So, taken in total, we are right, wrong, both or none, and you can believe what you want but if you believe too much you will either become a religious zealot or perhaps head off the deep end.

Seriously, of course, the secret to success is to apply the cumulative knowledge from a variety of places, experiment, test, find a standard that is effective, then consistently and routinely test it against alternatives — always ready for the quantum shift which could change all the rules.  Great stuff lives on, though.  Jack Benny is still funny 50 years later.

And in this free blog I’ve promoted two books  from completely different consultants.  What about my own advice?  Should it be free, or should you buy (sorry, invest in) my book: Construction Marketing Ideas: Practical strategies and resources to attract and retain clients for your architectural, engineering or construction business?

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