[Marketing Memo] I Didn't Catch Any Fish

By Cary Weston

This weekend, I hopped into my truck and traveled to a remote cabin on Kennebago Lake which is in the shadows of Saddleback Mountain in Rangeley, Maine.

  I've been fishing all my life and I'm no stranger to the calm of the woods, though I must admit that I don't get away nearly enough. There's something pleasant about not having internet connection or the buzz of a tv to keep you occupied.  Kennebago Lake is beautiful and is home to some outstanding brook trout and landlocked salmon....or so they say. 

You see, while I had all the necessary gear, clothing, and associated supplies, I seem to have come up short on the actual catching of the fish when the weekend had come to a close.  Now rest assured, that little detail did very little from dampening the benefit and enjoyment of the weekend.   

But it did leave me wondering why.   Fly fishing is a very technical sport. It's full of variables, from the rod and reel, to the weight and style of the line to very fly that tied to the end of the tippet. There are thousand of combinations and each one has a purpose - to essentially lure and attract a target audience.

Each combination takes weather, season, water, temperature, species, and a whole host of other aspects into consideration.  A lot to think about for sure.  Now, I can read the events of the past weekend one of two ways: there's either a problem with the fish or a problem with my approach.  And hence the connection to our Monday morning marketing memo: The problem is hardly ever with the fish, or your customers.  How have you been doing with your luring and attraction?

If your marketing efforts were a day on the lake, would it be a one fly fits all type of effort or are you prepared to work the elements and consider all the aspects of your environment?  As a firm, when we engage in strategic consulting projects, one of the basic elements of the conversation is a discussion of identifying customer types and what messages and approaches will be needed for each type.

The reason is, identifying the type of customers you serve helps you to better prepare for the unique needs, questions, and answers they are seeking. It will help you to better channel more specific marketing messages and help you be more successful.  

So, I leave you with this - have you thought about the type of customers you serve? Can you divide them into categories?

If you can, you'll start to see the different needs they bring to your business and the way in which your products and services match each specific need. Customer types can be by project, by goal, by situation that brought them in - any number of categories that work best for you.

  Preparing by looking at customer types you currently serve will help you be better prepared to make quality connections with future customers by channeling what you know and what you do more effectively.  It will also keep you from having to make up stories about the one that got away. 

 It was at least 2 pounds if it was ounce :)

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- Cary Weston is a partner of Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications in Bangor, Maine

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