Have you seen my upcoming book, Marketing Untangled: The Small Business & Entrepreneur’s Map Through the Marketing Jungle? It’s undeniably pink.
Recently I was chatting to a friend on Facebook. Rather than retell the conversation, I’m going to write it as is (well, translated, as it was in Icelandic, so won’t make much sense to most people.) ;)
My friend: “New book looking really good, the cover is SOLID and really makes one curious. Just one thing that surprised me…
And I’m still trying to make sense of …”
Me: “Aha – what?”
My friend: “The cover is just so very PINK… Is it supposed to be like that?”
Me: “Ooooooooooooo yes!”
My friend: “Oh… Thought maybe the printers had made a mistake… Joking!”
Me: “Like me – big, bold and unapologetic!”
My friend: “Your messages are all very consistent. Thoranna … the pink brand!”
Me: “You can’t miss it and it will scare away the people who would never like me anyway and I don’t want to work with.”
My friend: “Ha ha ha… great to filter them out from day one!”
Me: “Yep, one of the most important things I have learned in business is to recognise those that aren’t good business and “scare them away “straight away. Otherwise they can take up a lot of time and energy … I don’t mean to be evil or anything, but no kidding, we all tend to waste too much time on the wrong people so when you are just straight from the beginning you save a lot of time and headache.”
My friend: “Yes, I can see this with some of my customers. I totally agree…”
Me: “Right … it’s tricky and something you can only learn along the way. You can’t really foresee this.”
My friend: “It’s important to know the signals to be able to recognise the tire kickers. Some people give away a “I suppose I need to check this out” vibe and you just know that they are not really serious about doing things.”
Me: “Yep, I hate tire kicking.”
I am sure you can relate to this conversation, although many would not say some of this publicly. I’ve been asked numerous time why I chose this pink color, and whether I’m not worried that it will scare people away – and even if I don’t worry that men won’t do business with me because of it. My answer is always the same. If people have a problem with the bright pink, they are going to have a problem with me. They are going to find me too in their face, too energetic and too lively. The reason I chose this colour is because it represents me perfectly and therefore gives out exactly the right signals to people as to what I am all about.
What are you all about and how do you communicate it to the world to send out the signals to attract the people who you want to do business with and let those that are not a good fit for you know straight away, so you don’t waste your time or theirs?