Thermometers and thermostats are useful temperature management instruments. Both are valuable, but they have different purposes. Thermometers measure the temperature while thermostats control it.
Marketing thermometers spend most of their time providing slightly different opinions on events originated by thermostats. The Old Spice campaign is a good example of how one topic can be tweaked to death. A Google blog search pulls approximately 92,000 results. How much of that content is original?
Thermometers are important. They verify the accuracy of thermostats. But, if you want to do more than measure and report information, then you need to take a different approach. You need to create. You need to be willing to fail. And, you need to learn from your mistakes and create again.
Marketing thermostats have several commonalities:
- They are well read. The more you know the better you can create. Spending more time reading opens your mind to new ideas and gives you the knowledge to implement them. Read everything from business to fiction. Inspiration hides in the most surprising places.
- They spend time thinking. Quiet time is hard to find. And, if you’re used to being really busy, it’s hard to utilize. If you want to inspire others, work at finding and using quiet time for free flow thinking. You’ll be surprised what pops into your mind.
- They move outside their comfort zone. The best marketing approach is the one that works with your customers. All customers are not created equal. One marketing strategy will be wildly popular with some and a dismal failure with others. If you are comfortable with social media, take a walk with direct mail. If direct mail is your thing, study ecommerce.
- They use all available tools to achieve their objectives. It takes specialized equipment to achieve greatness. This means that you have to work hard to learn how to use the tools that improve your productivity and reach. It is an investment in your future.
- They spend more time doing and less time talking about what they are going to do. The only people that can make a living talking are the ones reporting what others are doing. If you want to be a thermostat, do something worthwhile.
Are you a thermostat or a thermometer? Me? I’m a hybrid.
