Something In Common.

Today's Marketing Cookie is about finding something in common.

Our universe was created with a miraculous combination of opposites, all pulling and fighting against one another, so that we may live happily somewhere in the middle. Oil and water, fire and ice, darkness and light, land and sea, life and death, love and hate, good and evil, work and slumber, progress and congress, war and peace—the list goes on. You and I could create a list of opposites from here to the moon and back, and someone would still find another instance of two elements in an active state of opposition. While the combination of these pairs of opposites is often toxic, the insights gained are the most valued result of such mixtures.

While it is quite expected for opposites to begrudgingly repel their counterparts, I find it curious, if not amazing, how some opposites attract. The north and south poles of our Earth, for example, push against one another to keep our planet from folding in on itself. Yet, should you release two magnets on a table, the opposing poles will run and cling to one another like long-lost lovers being reunited at Grand Central Station. There's no greater example of how opposites attract than my wife and I. It is true. If you were to read the longest list of opposites, we would likely have more in conflict than we do in common—except for love, trust, and relevance.

Well, there you go! I think I've discovered the lesson for today.

As marketers, we are trying to sell a product and service to people, while our target prospects are opposed to people trying to sell them something. Marketers might try to call them during dinner, and they let it go to voicemail. Marketers may try to send them direct mail, and they throw it in the recycling bin. Marketers may try to send them an email, and they put it in the spam folder. This is an example of toxic opposites, and no matter how many times a marketer may try to sell, the prospect remains unlikely to buy.

However, if aggressive selling were replaced with a focus on helping, the prospect may allow the relationship to exist. You see, opposites will only attract when there's also something in common. As marketers, it is our job to identify the relevance of what we are offering. It is our job to earn and build trust in the relationship with our prospects, and it is our job to demonstrate true love for our customers. So, as today's fortune says, "Just believe it. Water and oil cannot mix."... unless, of course, they could find something in common.