In this article we look at a Homer Simpson-style marketing lesson and explain what (not) to do absolutely.
Homer Simpson: a strange character through which to talk about marketing. If you’re not a fan of the cult cartoon series of the past 30 years, I’ll give you two tips relative to the character.
Homer, the head of the Simpson family, is a very peculiar man. In his life he always proceeds blindly, doing whatever comes into his head, without filtering anything.
Each episode is a new adventure, often given precisely by the problems he creates for himself and other characters, not knowing how to get out of them.
Homer himself, long ago, had tried to be a marketing man… Of course, this ended by trashing the books he purchased.
But why use such a strange and unfriendly character to talk about marketing strategy? Simply because Homer can explain to us how not to do marketing strategy.
Marketing lesson: Going by feel?
This is part of Homer’s character. As we said just above, the Simpson breadwinner is a very unstable character who trusts his gut feeling and pursues his goals according to the mood of the day.
When approaching strategic marketing, it is crucial to avoid homerates. It is always better to rely on data, because it helps keep you on track.
Understanding where you want to go is the first thing, and to do that you need to set definite goals. The goal of a marketing strategy is not just revenue growth-this is something we all desire.
Applying a strategy means identifying intermediate steps necessary for one’s growth, then identifying clear and measurable goals.
That’s why you can’t go by sensation-this can be detrimental to your business in the long run.
If I like it, everybody likes it
Homer is also a bit selfish: he always thinks of himself first and then of others.
When it comes to online communication, it is not necessarily the case that if you like it, your target audience will like it too.
Your target audience does not necessarily identify with your tastes, interests, and speech patterns.
Before approaching any marketing strategy, and after setting your goals, you need to know your target audience.
Who is your product suitable for? And don’t answer “to everyone” because no one can speak to the whole world.
Women? Men? Moms? Dads? Single guys?
Who do you want to communicate with? Based on this you will then go on to define the right tone of voice and the channels useful for tapping your potential customers–which are not necessarily the ones you usually use.
Marketing lesson: what matters is that it is talked about?
Another typical Homer mistake: the important thing is to get people talking about him, for better or worse. Here, that doesn’t work.
Social networks and the web have helped create widespread editorial power: anyone can speak their mind at any time. And the good, nay, the bad, is that the Web is unforgiving-never.
A slip can be detrimental to the sentiment revolving around a brand. Changing the perception from positive to negative is not good, because doing so could collapse reputation as well as sales.
The Uliveto case, some time ago, caused a lot of talk. Some accused the brand of being racist, some simply thought that the “graphic designer intern” had made some mistake.
In short, Uliveto to celebrate second place at the Volleyball World Cup created a graphic in dubious taste.
This mistake led to a flood of negative reviews and comments on their company page, thus creating a bad reputation online.
Of course, on a brand like Acqua Uliveto this matters little. But can we imagine if something like this were to happen to a local business?
It would be a disaster of immense proportions, which is why the important thing is not to talk about it. The important thing is to convey the right messages to the right audience.
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