Marketing tip: Think through Big, Scary Ideas

Small Business Achievement Thinking Through Big Scary Ideas
by Mark Mikelat,
www.BuildingAspirations.com


Mark Mikelat is a consultant for small businesses. He is on faculty at Long Beach City College and is the founder and owner of www.BuildingAspirations.com.

Big scary ideas can grow your business, Mikelat says. "If you want big results sometimes you need to make big decisions. The challenge is that this idea is contrarian to our human nature. We work to maintain safety, comfort, and familiarity in our lives. ... Big scary ideas will bring accelerate growth your small business."

He gives an example: A client of his had opportunity to be on a TV show; in her application, she submitted just one line. No spark, no personality. Of course, she wasn't selected. Producers probably assumed she wouldn't make for an interesting show.

"This was her time to shine through, demonstrate her expertise to get on the show," Mikelat writes. "Why did not my client pursue this opportunity with greater enthusiasm? The reason is simple: it was a big scary idea. She had never been on television and the idea was intimidating. I understand that. Of course it is intimidating. That is why it represents such a great marketing opportunity. You can print out flyers and put them on cars in a mall parking lot. That will provide poor results because the idea is safe. Being on TV is not safe. Yet, this unsafe opportunity could have provided her the opportunity to sell 10,000 books by an enthused and engaged audience."

Mikelat isn't saying to just try everything at random. You need to check the risk, and weight it against possible rewards. In his client's case, he says, there was risk, of course, maybe perhaps stage fright. But no significant expense ... and the reward, that potentially would have reached thousands of viewers, and brought his client much new business.