My high school science teacher drilled K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) into my head and I had since adapted it for marketing purposes.  I was reminded again last night how valuable – K.I.S.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Straightforward, and Sincere) – can be.

The phone rang around 8:30pm and I assumed it was a telemarketer.  It was, but one I had given permission to contact me.  The Barack Obama campaign was calling to see if I would volunteer.  The  young man on the other end of the phone was soft-spoken and genuine as he described the work he wanted me to do – camp out in supermarkets or malls asking passersby to register to vote.  Since I can’t sell a sandwich to a starving man, I told him that soliciting really wasn’t my strong suit, but that I’d be happy to help out in other, more administrative ways like filing, sealing envelopes, etc.  I expected a fight or at the very least some persuasive banter, but he shocked me and said “ok, we’ll call you back or email you once the field office is setup in your area.”  He wasn’t pushy or overly aggressive and because of that, I will surely show up for volunteering when they contact me again. 

I wish more marketers, especially telemarketers, would learn this fundamental rule — being simple, straightforward, and sincere is often all you need to connect with consumers and achieve your objectives.

Filed under: Off Topic, Uncategorized on Friday, July 11th, 2008 by Koren Henderson |
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.