Bulls Eye: Striking Gold in Marketing

Imagine sitting in a bar and someone comes up and offers you a bottomless box of darts. No matter how many you take out and throw, there will always be more in the box. Sounds great right? Think of the scores you will be able to achieve with an endless source of darts. There is just one catch: to use the darts in the box, you must be blindfolded.

OK Let’s assume that the box is marketing and the darts are all the different marketing tactics—specific actions or ideas. I bet some of you are thinking you struck gold! A never ending supply of different ways to market—that’s great! Or so you think, you seem to have forgotten that you are blindfolded and you are not sure where the dartboard is.

This is the problem that many companies face with their marketing. Receiving or finding the darts (new ideas) is so exciting that often times they forget that what makes playing darts fun is the strategy and the focus it requires.

Yes you can randomly throw darts around the bar and yes you will hit people, furniture, mugs, and walls, and maybe occasionally the dart board. And yes it would be fun, although I don’t think the people would enjoy being targets but that’s not the point.

Finding the endless supply of darts is just the beginning. Learning how to use the endless supply in a way that leaves a lasting impression is truly where you strike gold.

Marketing is more than just this tactic or that, there is a method to the madness. When you take the time to establish that method, the blindfold comes off. You are able to see that you are in a room filled with dartboards, and you have the opportunity to achieve scores you never thought possible.