May 11, 2000
The simple act of giving your niche a personality
Dr. Lynda Falkenstein
Getting a niche is one thing. Ensuring the right people know about it and come swarming to your door can be quite another. One of the best, easiest, and often times least expensive ways to make this happen is by the simple act of giving your niche a personality. Some of the most successful companies in the world do this already.
One of my all-time favorites is the Mavis Beacon product line. If you frequent office products stores, you've likely seen Mavis Beacon products displayed prominently in the store's software section. It turns out that Mavis Beacon is the best selling typing program in the world with more than 6 million students using it annually. It also turns out that Mavis Beacon products are hard to miss during your stroll through all the other software products. Hard to miss because taking 3/4 of the front of the box is a full-color portrait of a vivacious, broad smiling woman of color. The portrait exudes authority, success, and approachability. The remaining 1/4 of the box announces "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing." If you're saying, "Ok, I get it. A great photo means great sales," read on. That's only part of the story. It seems that even though it's top-of-the heap in sales, the Mavis Beacon company has a problem. It's the phone calls the company receives every day. Lots of phone calls. Not just orders but it's the other ones. You've already guessed it. The problem is the phone calls inviting Mavis Beacon to speak. Operators have to tell scores of people that Mavis Beacon is not available to keynote their national meetings. She can't talk to students. She can't do any special programs, no matter how big or important. Mavis Beacon isn't snooty or unfriendly. The problem is Mavis Beacon doesn't exist. To understand the importance of this example, just imagine if there were no photo on the front of the box. If what the product did was emphasized instead of the personality. Like so many others on the market today without the perceived human behind it, Mavis Beacon would be just another in the pack, instead of the leader.
People buy People.
That personality marketing applies to just about any commodity or service is further illustrated in the Roy Rogers--Hardee's near disaster. The King of the Cowboys was also king of entrepreneurs, with his name appearing on everything from lunch boxes to alarm clocks to a highly lucrative restaurant chain. The chain was so lucrative, in fact, that in 1992 Hardee's bought the Roy Rogers Family fast-food restaurant chain, in which the Rogers family still had a stake. Shortly after buying the chain, Hardee's changed the restaurant's name. And again, you've guessed it. Customers disappeared in droves. Dumb once, but not twice, Hardee's restored the Roy Roger's logo. Customers returned.
People buy people.
Yes, examples abound in every sector. From Salton paying George Foreman $137.5 million for use of his name in selling grills and food-preparation products to Donald Trump, whose ultimate savvy appears to be in marketing his name. Ed Koch, the city's former mayor was quoted describing what he perceived to be Trump's skills saying "What he has done is to merchandise his name, so if a building has his name it commands more money."
People buy people.
The moral of this story has enormous implications for every business of every size and flavor. In an era when competition is fierce and change rampant, the savvy company will market the one thing that remains a constant. The one thing that no one can take away from you. A personality. And, of course, you already know the reason.
People buy people.