The Problem with Marketing to "Starving Crowds"

"If you and I both owned a hamburger stand..." Gary Halbert famously asked a group of entrepreneurial folks,

"... and we were in a contest to see who could sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you most like to have on your side to help you win?"

You've probably heard this one?before.

The entrepreneur's answers vary. Some entrepreneurs want the freshest beef. Others go for the tastiest?buns, a high-traffic?location,?the lowest prices, etc.

Gary only wanted one advantage: a starving crowd.

When people are hungry, they need to eat. If they're starving, they'll pay anything, there will be no objections to overcome, and the food doesn't even have to be that good.

There's a lot of wisdom in Halbert's idea.

If you want to sell something, you've gotta find some?customers hungry for what you bring to the table.

But... ?

Is a Starving Crowd Enough??

The part of the story that usually gets left out is this: Halbert's imaginary burger-selling contest is, well, imaginary.

Sure, there are starving crowds everywhere, but there are also dozens of burger joints?in the area (if we stay with the metaphor), all competing for the same customers.

How do you keep from becoming a commodity?

A high-quality product?doesn't?guarantee success. Far from it.

You have to do something unique. Something:

• demonstrably better in a way that's meaningful to would-be buyers
• specialized and specifically targeted, e.g. the Slutty Vegan restaurant
• faster at producing results
• easier to use and easier to get results
• less painful
• more glamorous and/or status-elevating
• more fun

...or you have to be cheaper. Which I don't recommend. (It's not a sustainable position, anyway.)

These Benefits Must Be Conveyed Through Marketing

Hopefully this goes without saying. We talk about marketing here every week. So I won't belabor the point.

There's one other factor worth considering: Don't pair great marketing with a subpar product or service.

Make the investments necessary to create the advantages and uniqueness we talked about above.

Businesses only exist because there are problems that need fixing and desires that need fulfillment.

There are starving crowds out there. Are you serving what they're hungry for?

Is there a good reason they should buy from you instead of anyone else?

Have you clearly communicated those reasons through marketing?

Think about it. Then commit to do something about it.

Have a productive day!