Effective Branding Strategies - Fiddler In The Subway?

Everyone knows effective branding strategies are the way to make money in any business. Some of us understand there are basically two methods of branding: 1. non-targeted (a. k. a. "the spaghetti plan"), & 2. targeted marketing.

Recently I came across a classic example of the contrasting effectiveness of these two marketing methods in the form of a violinist in a big city subway.

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A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother hurried him along, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time.

This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.

When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

Here are some interesting facts about the man who fiddled around in the D. C. subway.

• The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world.
• Mr. Bell played one of the most intricate pieces ever written
• The music was played on a violin valued at $3.5 million.
• Two days before this, Mr. Joshua Bell performed before a packed out Boston theater
• The average ticket rate was $100.

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In the subway the only one's with any measure of intense interest in Bell's product, his music, were small children. In contrast, an entire theater of fine music lovers sat elbow to elbow to bask in the same orchestral works.

The lesson here is this …

People, MLM prospects especially, don't care about the quality of our product, what we know about it, or the cost of its delivery system. All that matters to prospects is if we have what they want.

Effective branding strategies are the Holy Grail of business building. If you focus on what your prospects really want, then you have the most critical advantage working in your favor.

I appreciate you,

Bill Tessore