Kairon Gnothi

Gimmicks

from Seth’s Blog by Seth Godin (作者授权翻译. 未经作者和译者许可, 请勿转载.)

在那些寻求”不同凡响”的人们当中,有一些为了能出名,开始求助于噱头了. 要是你开了一个连锁快餐馆或是设立一个网站, 那广告噱头可能会派上用场, 但是如果你是个需要建立声誉的律师或者医生的话, 噱头恐怕会帮倒忙.

那么如何区分”适合”与”不适合”使用噱头呢?

对于消费者有价值的产品或服务就不是噱头. 例如免费的售后服务在20世纪60年代刚刚出现的时候, 就被视为噱头, 至少竞争对手是这么认为的. 而今天这被视为理所当然的服务了.

银行在星期天也照常营业? 好吧, 一开始这主意看起来挺像噱头的, 一直到顾客们意识到他们已经离不开这个服务了. 然后这就再也不是噱头了.

或者, 假设一个医生对自己行医的方式做了彻底的改变. 如果新方法确实有效, 那这种改变就不是个噱头, 因为长远来看, 这对医患双方都有好处.

当你坐下来思考种种不同凡响的方法时, 你遇到的挑战是如何让自己值得被人提起…同时, 你在为那个谈论你的人提供价值.

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Along the way, some people in search of the remarkable have resorted to gimmicks to get the word out about their work. Gimmicks might work fine if you run a chain of fast food restaurants or a website, but gimmicks certainly get in the way of building a reputation if you’re a lawyer or a doctor.

So, where to draw the line?

If a product or service adds value for the consumer, it’s not a gimmick. Toll free customer support, for example, was seen as a gimmick when it came out in the 1960s. At least by competitors. Now, of course, it’s required.

Banks open on Sundays? Well, it seems like a gimmick at first, until customers realize that they can’t live without it. Then it’s not a gimmick any longer.

Or consider a doctor who has completely reinvented the way he practices medicine. If it works, it won’t be a gimmick. Because both sides with benefit, for the long haul.

As you sit down to consider ways to be more remarkable, the challenge is to be worth talking about… at the same time you are adding value for the person who’s talking about you.