I was recently re-reading Ekhart Tolle's book, "A New Earth" and was prompted to think about the changing of human consciousness. - as it related to business.
Tolle speaks of the ego and greed and the madness that is humanity - and how the world is awakening to a more enlightened state. I think of how this has affected business.
One of the key principles we have a Roaring Women is that there is enough business for everyone. In that spirit, despite my financial circumstances or the health of my business I have always maintained that each of us has the ability to attract the 'right' customers and that the transactions that occur for the service we provide will ALWAYS sustain us if not bring incredible abundance. But this can only occur when we live (and function) with the understanding that 'there is always enough'.
However when we come from the understanding that we must 'compete' - it really reflects a scarcity mentality. When there is competition there must always be a winner and a loser. In the abundance mentality - there are no losers - we all are blessed with what we need.
So where does marketing and advertising fit into this picture? Both of these activities really do support the abundance theory. Marketing is a process of educating your market on the products and services and how they will benefit your potential clients and also of making them aware of the value that you offer. Advertising is the posting of special offerings or the activities that will notify and make your target market aware that you exist.
Is marketing a competitive activity? No. Not if you believe that there is enough business for everyone and there are clients who will prefer you over other suppliers.
In an example I like to use - I buy my groceries at Safeway. Do I read all the flyers from all the other grocery stores? Yes - but my preference is to shop at Safeway. I like their service, their corporate philosophy and the fact that they identify me by name - even if it is something they collect through a loyalty program. There is nothing nicer than hearing "Thank you for shopping at Safeway, Mrs. Crawford". (I'll have to remind them, many women prefer MS. to Mrs.) But that is just my preference. Some people I know prefer to shop at Sobey's. For them - this is their 'right' choice.
It does not matter what specials exist other places - I choose to follow and buy the specials at my favorite grocery store.
The same thing happens in your business - whether you understand it or not. There are people who will use your services or products regardless of other similar services that may be easier to access or cheaper, simply because they prefer to. Isn't that cool?
If there is one customer out there like that - then there are likely hundreds of others just like that. So now instead of the frantic attitude around marketing and advertising, a business owner can now focus on finding, educating and notifying their customers of what they have to offer.
Think about it. Customers in waiting. If you knew that there were customers waiting just for you - would this change how you ran your business? Would you market with a different attitude?
I guarantee it would. Practicing and thinking abundantly changes our businesses from competitors racing to beat 'the other guy' to a customer service based business - focusing instead on finding those clients in waiting and providing them with the services they need.
Wow. A new business world. I wonder what Eckhard Tolle would think of this?
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Tolle speaks of the ego and greed and the madness that is humanity - and how the world is awakening to a more enlightened state. I think of how this has affected business.
One of the key principles we have a Roaring Women is that there is enough business for everyone. In that spirit, despite my financial circumstances or the health of my business I have always maintained that each of us has the ability to attract the 'right' customers and that the transactions that occur for the service we provide will ALWAYS sustain us if not bring incredible abundance. But this can only occur when we live (and function) with the understanding that 'there is always enough'.
However when we come from the understanding that we must 'compete' - it really reflects a scarcity mentality. When there is competition there must always be a winner and a loser. In the abundance mentality - there are no losers - we all are blessed with what we need.
So where does marketing and advertising fit into this picture? Both of these activities really do support the abundance theory. Marketing is a process of educating your market on the products and services and how they will benefit your potential clients and also of making them aware of the value that you offer. Advertising is the posting of special offerings or the activities that will notify and make your target market aware that you exist.
Is marketing a competitive activity? No. Not if you believe that there is enough business for everyone and there are clients who will prefer you over other suppliers.
In an example I like to use - I buy my groceries at Safeway. Do I read all the flyers from all the other grocery stores? Yes - but my preference is to shop at Safeway. I like their service, their corporate philosophy and the fact that they identify me by name - even if it is something they collect through a loyalty program. There is nothing nicer than hearing "Thank you for shopping at Safeway, Mrs. Crawford". (I'll have to remind them, many women prefer MS. to Mrs.) But that is just my preference. Some people I know prefer to shop at Sobey's. For them - this is their 'right' choice.
It does not matter what specials exist other places - I choose to follow and buy the specials at my favorite grocery store.
The same thing happens in your business - whether you understand it or not. There are people who will use your services or products regardless of other similar services that may be easier to access or cheaper, simply because they prefer to. Isn't that cool?
If there is one customer out there like that - then there are likely hundreds of others just like that. So now instead of the frantic attitude around marketing and advertising, a business owner can now focus on finding, educating and notifying their customers of what they have to offer.
With the abundance principle at work it stands to reason that if you are not making enough money to make ends meet - then you have 'customers in waiting' ready to buy your product or service but may not yet be aware that your business exists.
Think about it. Customers in waiting. If you knew that there were customers waiting just for you - would this change how you ran your business? Would you market with a different attitude?
I guarantee it would. Practicing and thinking abundantly changes our businesses from competitors racing to beat 'the other guy' to a customer service based business - focusing instead on finding those clients in waiting and providing them with the services they need.
Wow. A new business world. I wonder what Eckhard Tolle would think of this?
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