Post Count Matters ? - LAJ speaks !

[gonzo]

Do you make business decisions and partnerships based somewhat on someone's post count? Does someone's popularity and ability to round the troops as it were have an effect on your marketing plan? Do you take someone's word at face value without investigating every detail of their product simply because you are familiar with them? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you buy into the concept of personality based marketing. We've all done it at one time or another, and given the relatively young age of our business, in some circles it only takes a matter of months to be the next personality. This is both good for business but at the same time is highly destructive to our industry.

I'll be the first to admit that I have gotten by quite well on my name, company, and personality over the years. Often, my name alone gets me in doors. This was not by accident but rather through a combination of years of hard honest work, branding, forward thinking, and playing well with others. It also doesn't hurt that I have worked for, and aligned myself primarily with, some of the industry's longest running and most trusted companies. I'm an assertive sales and marketing person and have been fortunate to be successful in my endeavors during my seven year tenure in this industry. There are many people like me who possess similar traits and backgrounds. You will most likely not get screwed over whether intentionally or unintentionally. To people like us, business reputation is everything.

Then there is that other guy. The personality based marketer who may or may not be pushing a worthwhile product. The "sig whore" with 50,000 posts, the guy who chimes in on every thread with useless drivel, the guy who goes to every trade show and has to outdo everyone in all the photos, the so called "party guy", etc. You get the idea. There is a place for people like these in our business, but to actively pursue business endeavors with them based on their recognizability only is not only bad for business, it's just plain bad business. Indeed familiarity does breed brand recognition, but at what cost? For every fast talker out there, there must be dozens of great products and services that people don't find out about.

To make a comparison, it's like boy-band syndrome. It's over hyped, over marketed, the music is crap, but it sells. And unfortunately some of the best bands go unnoticed. This is not to say that EVERY one of the other guys falls into the boy-band syndrome (ie. the categories mentioned above) but it is the only place where you will find them.

LAJ is part of the brains behind Cybenet Expo - Read More

[softball]

Personally i think if you rely on marketers for your success, you are skating on thin ice. There are a few that have, of course, got rich from this strategy. However, marketers should only ever be an adjunct to your business. I understand what LAJ is saying, but in the long haul, you gotta take care of business......all on your ownself.

[kre8t0r]

I think Jay hit the nail on the head but just didn't drive it home far enough. Not only is this a bad business plan for the business using this approach but over time this has become something all affiliates and sponsor programs have to deal with. How many dropped balls on material needed by "X" date before it starts a domino effect?

I did the same thing as Gonzo, made my name/rep on WHAT I have done not what party I did some crazy shit at or how many times I can post useless bullshit on a board. (RAN ONE AND I KNOW YOUR PAIN GONZO)

If companies don't start hiring on merit and at least some quality skills to go with the "Rep" then it will slowly degrade the industry as a whole..



Wow where did that rant come from...... Maybe because I just hit 1k on "that" board in over 4 years of posting..LOL

[kre8t0r]

See you can trust me to run your multi-million dollar company. I'm almost up to 50 here, what other skills do I need? LMAO!!

[Hell Puppy]

Congrats to all the winners!

[kre8t0r]

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

Congrats to all the winners!

I'd Hit it!

[LAJ]

Hey thanks for the feedback guys.

There will probably be more of these to come too.

In the meantime, i'm fortunate enough to be moderating the Phoenix Forum marketing panel that will be dealing with among many things: personality based marketing.

I wasn't planning on this but the timing with the publication of this article and the recent news of the seminar for me will be perfect.

[Mish]

I thought this month's AVN had several good articles... LAJ's, and the article on a similar topic by MJ McMahon...

http://avnonline.com/index_cache.php...tent_ID=284389