Kids have a way of cutting through the distractions to see the center of issues that we, as adults, unwittingly struggle with. Kids can sometimes see through the layers surrounding issues and, like Occam’s razor split the issue open to its logical core. It can be brutal to hear, it can be comical, it can be utterly brilliant, but it is usually accompanied by a certain ‘a-ha’ moment of pure clarity. The moment when you realize someone just did something brilliant is a moment of true cool.
Successful marketing strategies are often a pursuit of the simplest way to convey a complex message. They often are the result of unorthodox thinking, outside-the-box approaches, brainstorming sessions and more that create simple and clever ideas. You know, the kinds of ideas that kids have every 10 seconds.
Listening to your kids may, at times, require enduring a jumble of single syllables repeated over and over. But at other times, it can yield insight that companies pay millions to achieve. Kids are some of the savviest creatures on the planet, and their ideas (not all of them mind you) are worth a listen.
Jim Lodico set up a lemonade stand with his daughter. He initially suggested to sell lemonade for 25¢. But his daughter got bored fast when he tried to explain cost, price, return on investment, etc. She looked at him and said “But Daddy, I just want to give it away. Our neighbors are so nice, I just want to give them the lemonade.”
Unable to convince his daughter otherwise, they went about setting up a lemonade stand for free lemonade. As the folks arrived at the stand set up outside, neighbors and strangers (they weren’t customers after all, they weren’t buying anything…they were people who wanted to participate in the activity) arrived for the lemonade. The first one offered 50 cents. So his daughter got a cup to put it in and left it out on the counter. That cup got seen by each and every following person…and they threw in their 50 cents or more each time. One guy stopped in his car to get some ‘free lemonade’ and gave her 3 bucks.
The brilliance of her insight is that if you give something of value to your target market, they will repay you in kind. Whether it’s your knowledge, some helpful tips, constructive advice or a product sample, when people interested in your product or service can try it out and get a feel for it, they will remember you. They will reward you, and they will tell their friends. When you are seen, identified and persistent, people will notice.
While we’re not advocating you giving away your product or service entirely for free (though there is something to be said for the freemium model), this notion of giving away value is exactly what content marketing is all about. The more valuable content you can give to people interested in your product or service for free, the more likely they will become paying customers in the future.
Jim’s daughter gave away lemonade, and her Dad got a great lesson in return, what are you giving away?
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