Photo by Linda Tanner

You’ve no doubt heard the call of mockingbirds early in the morning or at night. A series of other sounds strung together to create a unique “calling card”. In creating their songs, they imitate the sounds around them: snippets of other birds’ songs, other animal sounds, humans, and machinery. They’re able to assimilate these disparate songs to create a unique song that serves to attract a mate and establish their territory.

Your marketing system can borrow a lot from the natural wisdom of the mockingbird.

First, listen to business around you. What businesses are flourishing? What catch your attention? What are people most complaining about? What messages seem to have “lasting power” (your business should be anchored in a lasting message, rather than a continual change to the latest business fads). Listen to the sounds of business around you.

Next, craft your own message, borrowing “best practices” from businesses that are succeeding. Repeat the pieces of their message, blending it with yours, to create your own unique marketing message. The message should pleasant and memorable. If it’s too clever, it’s likely to get a chuckle but not be able to be reliably repeated.

Finally, watch the result of your message. How are your prospective customers responding? Do they understand that you’re talking to them? Do they know what you can do for them? Do they know what they need to do to get help from you? Do they know they can trust you?

A marketing mockingbird doesn’t think for a while and create a message that’s written in stone. Evolve the message based on your experiences and reactions. You know you’re on the right path when you’re attracting other mockingbirds.