What’s the best thing to do when someone pisses you off? Do you fuss? Scream and shout? Let it roll? Maybe you curse their names from the rooftops?
Wanna know what I do? Except for rare moments when I think that cursing someone’s name from a rooftop can actually lead to some positive change, I zip my lip. I haven’t always, but lately I just don’t talk about the people I dislike (there are very few of them). I don’t link. I don’t dare mention their name.
A mention is Google juice. A link, even one with a negative sentiment or context, is beneficial. Hell, even getting the person top of mind in other people’s attention (positively or negatively) can have the opposite effect of lambasting them.
But if you shut up, if you can get your friends to shut up about them, if you can get your fans to shut up about them, you’ve done the opposite of what businesses hope for in social media. They want your attention, your interaction; apathetic silence is the polar opposite of that.
Give no attention. Customer apathy is a death sentence for businesses.
(Header photo: Ignore That by The One You’ll Love)
The Role of Guile in Business Stories
I’m not apologetic about the fact that I run a business called WTF Marketing.
Beyond making me giggle every time I get to introduce someone new to my business, I use it as a filter to screen for the types of people who will be receptive to the off-the-cuff marketing perspective I bring.
What kind of business has a swear in their name? Mine does. And I like it that way. It’s irreverent, not disrespectful. There’s a difference. I’ve generally accepted that I’ll lose about 25% of prospective clients because of this stance.
Does it bother me that I’ve lost potentially big clients? Not really. That’s their loss and I’m better off; I stick to my guns because my hair turns gray less quickly when those kinds of people opt-out. And being 25, I don’t want to start using my Just For Men coupons until I really have to.
The Fuck in my business name doesn’t diminish the awesome things I’ve done to market small businesses. It doesn’t stop me from running circles around my competition. It does make me more efficient by dealing with only the kinds of clients I want to serve.
There’s room for guile in business; I’m not talking about deceit with harm in mind – that’s wrong, plain and simple.
I’m talking about purple cows – a purple cow is still a cow, it just looks deceptively funky. Only the bravest of the brave will attempt to milk one. These are the businesses that I’m targeting; those brave individuals who understand that there’s inherent risk in doing things the new way, but that the reward is there for those willing to take the chance. And if you’re looking for a guide, you won’t find many better than someone willing to go to the very edge.
In the words of Q, “If you can’t take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It’s not safe out here. It’s wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires, both subtle and gross. But it’s not for the timid.”
It’s true in life and in business.
The question is, in your business story – how far are you willing to go to stick to your guns?
(Header photo: Stand Out by PDBreen)