Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way with some quick definitions.

Perception is the process of interpreting sensory information. What we see, hear, touch, smell and taste.
Perspective is the overall framework through which we view the world. 

This is important because the answers we look for are filtered through our experiences and without getting into the depths of Psychology, a field I’m not professionally qualified in, suffice it to say, my ex-wife got her Masters in the Psych field, and I had access to some interesting materials. 

We develop our worldview or perspective on things from what we’ve learned and understand. As a personal example, probably shared by many growing up in the 70s and 80s we learned eating meat was unhealthy, causing heart disease and cancer. That was what I perceived by what I was told. These days, I’ve changed my perspective and have never felt better, nor my son, nor many of my friends have changed their worldview on food. Learning more about the subject has changed my life in considerable ways, I feel better than I ever have. From time to time, the old fear of eating meat creeps in like a flashback so the poor perception of food still lives in the ‘old noggin’ but my perspective is backed by real-world experience. I don’t shop from the inner isles of the grocery store unless I have to. For those individuals who’ve been bowled over by marketing tactics that work on retail sales, try email marketing, it doesn’t work for several reasons, and all marketing becomes relegated to “just marketing” which is no longer worth doing for many. I’ve got countless clients over the years who no longer have that perspective.

The goal isn’t looking at clever ways to sell Snackwells™ or how corporate marketing sells poison to unsuspecting consumers. But rather the understanding of the marketing that works rather than the misunderstanding that all marketing is the same. Marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all endeavor, and that perspective needs to change if you think marketing doesn’t work to generate referrals.

What you sell, and who your past client is means everything. Exodus sells and produces Direct Mail Marketing to Loan Officers and Real Estate Agents who want to generate referrals from past clients exclusively. If your marketing effort is data collection and automated emails with content that’s vaguely relevant to the industry it won’t generate referrals. Don’t use marketing that doesn’t consider your PAST CLIENT’S perspective of the world based on their perception of who you are, what you’ve done for them, and their relationship with you. 

I put that in bold red because it’s the basis of your marketing to past clients in this industry. This so important and always overlooked. Please read what’s in red again. 

We’ve heard it said and it makes sense that “If you drop the hook in the water, the bait catches the fish’s attention, then you have to reel them in” Past clients don’t have the same bait as someone looking to replace a toaster or buy new shoes. 

If you’ve used retail marketing tactics to try to generate referrals, you know full well that email doesn’t work very well.

– Keith Shapiro