"I believe email is dead"
"I believe you shouldn't email people on Fridays"
"I believe that teenagers will respond better over social networks"
Well I believe in Santa Claus. Does that make it so? I have no verifiable evidence to back up my assertion (and, in fact, there are mountains of evidence against it) but that doesn't matter. I've made a pronunciation about my belief in Santa Claus on a blog and people will buy it.
"But Karlyn, that's CRAZY! Obviously Santa Claus isn't real!"
But is it really that crazy? None of the above pronunciations are any more real than Santa Claus, yet they've been made and people eat them up! No statistics are offered to prove them and, when they are requested, never given.
If you call yourself a marketer, you have to do all the steps - not just execute the tactics. How do you know if what you did actually worked? Stats are important and can oftentimes be very surprising. We all carry around pre-conceived notions of what we think works but we can't be so pompous as to close our minds to the reality of what the statistics tell use work. An honest look at the numbers always reveals the truth. It's just not sexy, so most people skip it altogether.
So I beg you: Never believe a pronunciation you hear someone make until you've tested it for yourself. A helpful guide it may be, and if it works great. But do your own research and figure out for yourself what will work. Don't be afraid to try something that 90% of the people out there say will be a failure. Never assume something was successful or unsuccessful because you hear anecdotal evidence - there are always ways to measure quantifiably. All any of us speak from is our own experience and your experience with your audience may be completely different.
And never get in a discussion with me where you say "I believe" without giving stats. It just doesn't fly :-)
5 comments:
"Santa Clause" = bad movie starring Tim Allen
"Santa Claus" = mythical... no... 'legendary' figure.
:-)
hahaha i was wondering if someone would comment on that :-P
Sorry I love those movies
My dad taught me this before I started college, and I absoliutely agree. I can't stand it when people start an arguement with "I believe..." No, you don't, you think.
I believe I'm 99.99% sure your right. :) Great post. I guess I've been waiting for you to write this one with all the discussion of data we have been throwing around. As usual, you knocked it out of the park.
Right on! If I hear one more time that EMAIL IS DEAD.. (I get that blogs and social networking are claiming more and more realestate BUT... I BELIEVE some of these speakers are preparing for their talks with a double bourbon... at least that is WHAT I BELIEVE...
Post a Comment