Thinking Against the Grain

8 Counter-Intuitive Marketing Principles That May Surprise You
By: Tim Thomason, Thomason Media Group/Atlanta


One of the smartest sayings in marketing is this: “Some of the best marketing principles are counter-intuitive.”

Consumers aren’t in need of 1/4 inch drill bits. They’re in need of 1/4 inch holes.

It highlights one of the great truths in marketing — that you should spend more time studying your consumer than studying your product. If you get inside the mind of your consumer, you can understand what it is they’re really buying. And once you’ve done that, you’re home free.


To drive home this point, take this simple test:


People who buy Porsches buy them because:
1. They have 4 valves per cylinder

2. They have longitudinal engine alignment

3. They have a 9:1 compression ratio

4. They make the owner feel sexy


The answer, of course, is number 4. I truly don’t believe anyone ever bought a Porsche for its longitudinal engine alignment. The people at Porsche understand this. Which is why they sell so many Porsches every year.


What are the timeless truths about marketing that every marketing director should know? With that in mind, here’s what I’ve come up with:


There are only 4 reasons people will buy your product/service. They are 1) price 2) service 3) quality 4) exclusivity or some combination of those concepts. Everything else is just a variation of those themes.


Don’t do research on people who buy your product or service. Do research on the people who have considered your product/service, then gone elsewhere. That’s where you’ll find gold.


Your #1 job isn’t to take care of your existing customers. Instead, your #1 job is to acquire new customers. Oh, sure, taking care of existing customers is a very close second. But your #1 job is to get new customers. Otherwise, you’ll be out of business in about 4 to 6 years. Do the math. Seriously. You’ll find it’s true.


The best time to increase customer loyalty is when a customer is dissatisfied with you. This is also counter-intuitive, and it’s also true. If you can take an existing customer who is about to leave and convert them to a happy, fulfilled customer, they’ll often become your biggest advocates.


Don’t compare your company to other companies in your industry. The trick is to compare your company to best-in-class companies in other industries. That’s where you’ll find the new, innovative and growth-producing ideas that make the cash register ring.


You’ll learn more from your failures than you will from your successes. People spend their careers trying not to fail. But if you aren’t failing, it means you’re not trying new things. Remember, Steve Jobs failed at Apple plenty of times before coming back and kicking ass.


The most important order you’ll ever get is the second order. This is a classic principle first mentioned by Bob Stone, the direct marketing guru. Why is the most important order the second one? Because a two-time buyer is at least twice as likely to buy again as a one-time buyer. Treat your second time buyers like royalty. Because they are.


All the research in the world won’t teach you as much as transactional data. Transactional data is the information from people who have actually purchased your product or service. You’d be amazed at how deep it can go.