The Bad Bet

by Barbara Mencer

 "Find the trend whose premise is false and bet against it."

 -  George Soros

Hmmm ... so who is this guy and what does his idea have to do with our marketing efforts?

Well, he's a billionaire Hungarian investor who made the bulk of his money by identifying situations where the mass of people believed something that just wasn't so.  He would then pile his bets on the "short side" of the market and wait for the truth to be revealed.  And when they were ... 

ka-ching!

Without getting technical, what he was doing was just like calling the bluff of a player who's bet big on a poker hand.  He would push an equally big stack of chips into the pot and say, "Show me what you've got."

He made a fortune this way.  And I'll bet you he'd tell you it wasn't all that hard finding trends to bet against.  Why is that?  Because people believe lots of things that don't hold water upon close inspection.  They get caught up in the hype and believe the "stories" they're being told.  

It's the same when it comes to marketing your business ... and Soros's insight can keep you from making a big mistake.

The big new thing in marketing is social media, and a lot of people have jumped into it head first.

Don't get me wrong.  Social media is great for what it is ... an invaluable "lower-touch" tool for making connections with your network's connections, staying on people's radar screens, and reminding folks of who you are and what you have to offer.  But don't expect it to do the heavy lifting for you.

What it won't do is take the place of getting out there speaking to people and networking with them.  It won't substitute for building personal relationships.  And if you rely heavily on social media to bring in business, you're almost certainly going to be disappointed.

We see so many people so excited, thinking they can just tap into the power of the web and voila, a full practice.

Sorry, but when it comes to marketing your personal services, the rush to embrace social media as a primary marketing method is the trend whose premise is false.  In almost all cases, it won't work ... not because it isn't useful, but because it isn't up to the job.

That's because nothing takes the place of making contact with people one on one or speaking to groups so that prospective clients get a clear sense of who you are and what you have to offer in an up close and personal way.

Last month, Denise made the point that your marketing needs to be "high touch."

People want to do business with professionals they feel comfortable with and have confidence in.  And it's pretty hard to instill a high degree of confidence and create the requisite level of comfort in someone if they don't really know you.

Exactly.  I'm saying the same thing, only, rather than looking at what you should be doing, I'm looking at the trap you need to avoid.

To extend our poker analogy, you have to play your cards right or you could be out of the game.  Don't be the player who bets big on a losing hand.

The bottom line:  By all means, take full advantage of social media as part of your marketing mix.  Just don't hitch your wagon to it and expect it to pull you all the way to where you want to go.

Best Regards,

Barbara