Those jeans that are so worn out, faded, and silky smooth…
…that feel better than your best pair of jammies…
…that have developed their unique style over time…
…the jeans that you wish could last forever.
Your go-to jeans never let you down.
You trust those jeans
Why can’t every pair of jeans be like this?
It’s close to impossible to get that feeling with a new pair of jeans fresh off the rack.
These special jeans had to work mighty hard to get into that comfy dream state. Just imagine how many wash and dry cycles they had to go through?
The formula for business success can learn a lot from these pairs of jeans.
They did what all great businesses have done…
…endured relentless “market” wash/dry cycles…
…delivered more than originally promised…
…and stood the test of time.
Time is the true test of remarkable brands – you either get discarded and forgotten about, do just enough to stick around and become average, or become a go-to die-hard, reoccurring favorite.
How and why do people choose the businesses, brands, products, and services they buy?
Imagine if every purchase you made was like the process of shopping for a new pair of jeans…
…simple and straightforward…
…you get to “try on” before you buy and give them a test drive…
…price is not negotiable…
…they come with an ironclad guarantee, you can return them if you change your mind.
The funny thing about jeans – you know immediately when you don’t like them.
The same is true for brands and the customer experience.
Be the go-to pair of jeans for your clients and they’ll be yours for life.
Ridiculousness
No, I’m not referring to the comedy TP series on MTV hosted by Rob Dyrdek…
…I’m talking about the current state of marketing and advertising.
Specifically, when businesses and brands STOP doing the marketing/advertising things that worked in the past.
It’s like they’re allergic to great results….
…they have to invent something new…
…continuously innovate on the innovation…
…relentlessly pursue the shiny and new.
I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve done it myself. I’ve always had too many ideas and just enough execution.
But when I’m focused on one thing, watch out!
I think the same is true for everyone and everything.
In the end, it comes down to the ability to focus…
…on one thing.
Gary Keller wrote a bestselling book on this very subject which I recommend reading.
It’s an obvious point and methodology, yet no one does it.
They can’t. It’s human nature. It quickly gets boring and no one likes to be bored.
So, they continuously invent and try anew.
Ridiculous, wouldn’t you say?
Here is a challenge for you – pick something (anything!) and do it consistently every day next week. (At whatever time commitment you can afford but make it the same every day.)
At the end of the week, write down on a piece of paper what was DONE.
Now imagine if you could a.) keep it up, and b.) add a little more time each day to it.
Just imagine what you could accomplish.
Downright exhilarating ain’t it?
And it works like a magic lucky charm.
WARNING: Don’t overanalyze WHAT you decide to DO, just DO. This is the critical failure point, the endless loop of decision stacking. Maybe it should be this or that? I’ll start with this, then move on to that. I’ll need to research what it is that I should do to make sure it’s the best decision and BLAH BLAH BLAH.
Just do.
Repeat.
Refine.
Relentlessly.
The Disconnect
On the subject of favorite jeans – I recently “found” mine, buried underneath a pile of “newer” (seldom worn) jeans and shorts.
FUN NOTE: I’m wearing my favorite pair of jeans as I write this!
But my jeans are pissed off – “Where have you been? After all that you have put me through, you left me hidden from view because of all the new crap you keep buying?”
Herein lies the disconnect – as the cliché goes, out of sight, out of mind.
As much as I hate clichés, this one is very true.
It happens because we abandon our “one things” in search of “other things,” lose the power of frequency and consistency within our story and don’t end up with the results we seek.
Just like my hidden pair of favorite jeans.
Most marketing is done like this too. Consistency is what people pay attention to – the “keep showing up” part. And when it’s not there, they forget.
A famous advertising wizard once said the following:
‘Never say, “We’ve already reached these people, now we need to reach some new ones.” Advertising is obliterated by sleep, the great eraser of the mind. Consequently, people don’t stay reached any more than the lawn stays mowed.
So, go find your favorite pair of jeans, avoid ridiculousness and be on red alert for the great disconnect.