Extended Metaphors in Marketing: Fishing Edition

Everyone has heard a motivational speech or a blog that begins, “Marketing is like….” followed by a few examples of why marketing is like ________. Today we’re going to go all the way through that metaphor (simile, if you want to get technical) and explore why marketing really is like fishing. Marketing is “like” many things, it turns out, so stay tuned for future editions of marketing extended metaphors.

Know Your Fish

There’s a difference between a dude on a lake hoping to catch something while downing a few beers and hanging out with the guys, and a professional fisherman who is on the water with a high-grade pole and a radar gizmo on the boat. If you’re serious about growing your business and landing marlins as opposed to catfish, then you need to be a pro. That means researching your fish: What do they eat? What do they need to survive? Where do they eat? What are their habits? What bodies of water do they travel to? How long do you have to wrangle them before they end up on the boat? Know your fish, and you’ll have a better chance of landing them.

Choose the Right Bait

Once you know your fish, now begins the process of reeling them in. This starts with choosing the right bait. Know that marlins are attracted to different bait than sea bass. The content you produce should reflect this. You can create bait to land sea bass—there’s nothing wrong with sea bass!—but don’t use that bait if you’re fishing for marlin. Be aware of your fish and what works for which. And once the bait is on the hook, you can’t just throw it in the water and let it sit there. Make it attractive. Catch the fish’s attention. This means design, content marketing, SEO, and social media. You’ll never catch a fish if the fish doesn’t even know the bait exists. If the bait is appealing, attractive, useful…they will bite.

Reel in the Fish

Unfortunately, this can sometimes be the trickiest part of fishing unless you have solid lead capture and lead response tools. Once the fish bites, it should be as easy as reeling them in for a conversation. Don’t make it difficult for yourself by having to wrestle with a clumsy tool. Sophisticated nurturing solutions can make the process from the bite to the boat smooth and seamless.

Finally: Get More Fish

Once you’ve reeled in one fish, make sure you can get more. This means automating parts of your fishing process and knowing what bait caused which fish to bite. That way, you can throw away the worms that don’t work. Because why keep spending money on worms that don’t work? They’re just taking up space in the boat and you could be using that money on the bait that does.

So there you have it. Marketing is like fishing, and now you know why. Want to learn more about marketing and being a better fisherman? Check out this free on-demand webinar, The Marketer’s Guide to Tracking and Scoring Phone Leads.

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/marketing/extended-metaphors-marketing-fishing-edition-0721948?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=extended-metaphors-marketing-fishing-edition