Are You A Pelican Marketer?

Watching the pelicans catch fish near my house
reminded me of how some online marketers
behave. These pelicans fly high over the water
where the unknowing fish don't notice them.
The pelicans spot a big fish and dive at
high speed into the water. A few seconds later
the pelican surfaces and gulps down the fish.

There's only one problem with the way this
particular species of pelican fishes. Their
method eventually leads to their demise. You
see, as the pelican dives into the water at high
speed, intensely focusing on the target fish,
he is damaging his eyes. Eventually, these
pelicans go blind, then they starve to death.

There are other water bird that slowly swim
along, and when then spot a fish, they dive for
it and seem to have just as much success as
the pelicans at getting a meal. Their tried and
true method provides them with a nice meal
too. Swimming along looking for fish rather
than flying above the water has other hazards,
but they don't blind themselves in the process
of getting a meal!

Many online marketers, are "pelican marketers."
They fly high above the market place looking
for an unaware victim or prospect. Then they
swoop down forcefully and offer them a
product or service that the marketer really
doesn't even believe in. He eats that day,
he makes a profit. However, in the process
he often destroys all possibilities of repeat
sales. He burns the bridge to future business,
in effect "putting out his own eyes."

The non-pelican marketer knows that to enjoy
a steady lifetime of fish, he needs to do 2 things:

1) He needs to make sure he offers his customers
and prospects things that will really improve their
lives. He needs to serve the customer rather than
using him.

2) He needs to develop a marketing system, or
plan that isn't centered around one-shot sales. Instead,
he needs to develop a line of products that provide
him with a steady stream of orders from the same
customers. How do you do this? You develop
a stream of products that all solve your target
market's problems.

Using pelican marketing - not developing long-term
relationships with your customers, means that you
must constantly search for new customers. For
long-term business success, it's much more profitable
to focus most of your energy on serving existing
customers. Then instead of seeking new customer
full-time, you spend a small portion of your time
prospecting. The majority of your customers will
come from repeat business and referrals from your
happy existing customers.

Examine your marketing efforts today. Ask yourself
if you're a pelican marketer. If you are, open your
eyes to the fact that this will likely lead to your ultimate
demise. This is a fact of life for the pelican marketer.
This is a fact of life for the pelican. The only really
old pelicans I ever see are those that hang around
fishing piers receiving handouts from sympathetic
fishermen.