I have a deep dark confession to make. I kind of love The Bachelor. I know it’s silly, I know it’s fake, and I know it’s shallow, but that only makes me love it more. Every Monday, I sit down and bask in the silliness. Until two weeks ago, when Amy suggested that I write this post. I kind of blew it off: after all, what can a silly tv show teach you about marketing? Bizarrely, as soon as I blew it off, I had some legitimate ideas. The thing is this: The Bachelor, and other reality tv shows are really a great example of stealth marketing. On the show, each of the women has to demonstrate how they are different and better than the other women, all while not appearing to market themselves heavily. After all, on The Bachelor, as in life, only one person can get the job or the prize.
1. Speak the Right Language.
In Friday’s post, I talked about not using lofty language and scaring off your clients. Well, as you can probably imagine, lofty language isn’t generally an issue on The Bachelor, and grammar is usually pretty spotty as well. However, all the contestants, and the bachelor himself make sure to speak a language that they can all understand. While the repetitive use of phrases can get annoying, all the participants talk about “Being here for the right reasons” or “the journey”. Annoying, yes, but also smart communication. The women in particular pay careful attention to how the bachelor responds to these phrases, and change their presentation based on his reaction.
So, how does this apply to you? When you’re writing your website, think about how you’d woo your ideal client. What phrases are meaningful to them? What phrases do they hate? When you write your website, think not just about the information, but the presentation of it. After all, you want to be the last one standing with the rose in the end too.
2. Don’t Be Afraid To Leverage Your Value.
Late in this season, one of the female contestants on the show was faced with the choice to go home, or stay on the show and lose her job. Impressively, she went to the bachelor and asked him what her chances were of remaining until the very end. This was a brilliant strategy, as all of the sudden she had a value that the other contestants didn’t.
When you’re put in a difficult selling situation (and we all are occasionally) make sure that you survive by asserting your value rather than backing down. Unless you decide you don’t want the job (or the guy), as the contestant did.
3. Don’t Be A Hypocrite.
One woman early on in the season made a drastic mistake: she came in to the show and asked not to be kissed unless she was the final one, and then proceeded to tease the poor bachelor to death. He very rightly kicked her to the curb mid-date a few weeks in. It wasn’t her rules he had a problem with, it was the fact that her behavior demonstrated that it was clearly a manipulative stunt.
When you market, make sure that what you say and what you do match up. There’s nothing wrong with selling your products and services: it only becomes bad when you try and hide it and go about it dishonestly. Be honest, be upfront, and don’t play games.
4. Make it look good.
If you’ve ever seen the show, you will know that hideously ugly dresses are a Bachelor rose ceremony staple. They stylists seem to have an amazing ability to take perfectly attractive women and turn them into muppets. It’s the inside that matters, but sometimes you’ve got to make yourself (or your business) look great to get to the level where you can show your inner beauty off.
You may have the greatest business in the world, but make sure that your website and your marketing materials reflect that. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should be clean, good looking, and presentable. Make sure that you proofread your copy and match your colors, and put a good face on your business.
5. Be Positive.
The woman who looks to be the final one for this season was the most hated woman in the entire house. And it didn’t matter one bit to the Bachelor, because she stayed positive and focused on the issue at hand: their relationship. As a result, all the other women came out looking terrible, and seem to have shot themselves in the foot.
When you’re marketing or landing a client, focus on what you do differently, and what you do better. Don’t focus on what your competitors don’t do, or do worse than you. Market to your niche, and focus on your relationship with your ideal customer. After all, they’re the one that matters.
Jump in with a comment if you have any other ideas, and if you’re in the mood for more games, go enter my contest!
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