Rethinking your assumptions can bring new clarity

Everyone knows that the world is flat. Everyone knows the sun revolves around the Earth. Everyone knows that our continents don’t move.

Go ahead and laugh at these assumptions, but ladies and gentlemen: We submit to you that the fabled playing field of business is littered with the carcasses of people who knew the truth — until they didn’t.

The world has a funny way of keeping us off balance (beyond the recent tectonic shifts). It’s tempting to say that the period we’re in now is filled with more change than any other time, but that’s likely not the truth.

Each age has felt as though their world was being turned upside down by what the history texts label as “progress.” The rules are that the rules are always changing — and that’s the way it has always been.

So, what do you as a smart marketer do about all of this? Honestly, if we had the perfect plan, we’d patent the idea, write a book, go on the speakers’ circuit and retire rich.

But we do have an idea of where to start. Don’t take any of your marketing assumptions at face value. Start by challenging yourself — and your staff if you’re lucky enough to still have one — to provide some backup for your beliefs, your theories, your “truths.” How do you know that? And even better, how do you know that you know that?

And, here’s another freebie: Talk to your customers. Really talk to them. Not that feeble once-a-quarter-focus-group interaction, not the occasional letter you receive and respond to, but a real, genuine meet-up — face-to-face if you can make it happen.

Here are a few things you might find out: Customers don’t like being interrupted by marketing. They want to hear from you on their terms. They want you to recognize them — especially if they’re already your customers — and talk to them in a way that reflects that knowledge. They don’t mind marketing — if it’s relevant to them.

And frankly, that challenges a lot of our assumptions. We’ve lived too long with the “spray and pray” model, the idea that if you put the message out there and get enough eyeballs on it, sales will rise. We’ve gotten very comfortable with using the firehose instead of the dripline.

So, challenge your assumptions. Think outside the box — or in this case, inside the mailbox. Because mail is one form of communication that’s not an interruption, that is highly targeted and can be completely personalized.

And here’s another assumption that you should shed: Young people don’t respond to mail. Because, as researchers will tell you Millennials make it part of their lives, same as the generations before them.

If that doesn’t inspire you to change your game, then something’s missing. So get out there and revolutionize your marketing. The world is changing. Maybe it’s time you changed, too.